ENGLEWOOD – The Chad Kelly you heard and read about? Nothing like the Chad Kelly we’ve seen since he joined the Broncos last year.
The young Chad Kelly frequently made headlines with his brash talk and occasional foray into trouble related to the common malady associated with a young male’s ego. The Broncos’ Chad Kelly is nicknamed Swag, but he’s been much more buttoned up in his interviews, constantly deflecting his success to his teammates and concern with the next practice snap.
And it’s on purpose. He is what he always wanted to be -- a professional quarterback -- and he wants to act like one.
“That’s exactly what it is,’’ Kelly said in an interview with 9News this week that will be shown during the Broncos pregame show on Channel 20 at 6 p.m. Saturday. “It’s the NFL and you’re the head man of a Fortune 500 company. You’ve got to act like, and approach every day, like you’re the boss and you want to be the man. You’ve got to come in with a level head. Keep on working hard and get those guys around me to follow suit.’’
Kelly is one step closer to becoming the man. His exciting preseason performance last week against the Vikings got him promoted to No. 2 QB.
He will follow Case Keenum into the preseason game Saturday night against the Chicago Bears. Which means expect Kelly to jog onto the field sometime in the second quarter.
“Yeah, for right now that’s what it is,’’ he said. “I’ve got to keep on working to make sure I’m studying, doing the right things, taking care of the football, driving my team down, making plays. But also keeping those guys with a sense of urgency.’’
It may not be so much his in-game, ultra-competitiveness that separated Kelly from Paxton Lynch on the Broncos’ depth chart this week.
It may have been Kelly’s maniacal desire to make it.
There are millions of young boys in this country who wish, or naively think, they are going to grow up to become a major-league ballplayer, or star in the NBA or play in NFL.
Kelly, who was born and raised in the blue-collar city of Buffalo where his uncle has ruled for going on three decades, pretty much was hungry from the crib to become a professional quarterback.
“I think the biggest thing growing up, my uncle used to take me down to the sidelines, being able to see these NFL players play and everything was going super, super fast back when I was 7, 8 years old,’’ Kelly said.
By then, uncle Jim Kelly was retired as the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, but sideline passes and tickets were never more than a phone call away.
“And then I remember sitting in the stands, Punt, Pass and Kick was going on and kids were getting announced for winning this and that and I said, ‘Dad, I want to be out there and do that,’’ Kelly said.
“The next thing you know, my dad was out there in the backyard or down at the church parking lot and we were out there 365 days whether it was rain, sleet or snow. We were out there practicing every single day, punt, passing and kicking. And that’s kind of how I got my work ethic because I wanted to be the best. And my dad got me in that situation and helped get me to where I am today.’’
In stage one of his life, practice made perfect. Chad Kelly went on to win four national Punt, Pass and Kick titles – the 8- and 9-year-old boys division; the 10- and 11-year-old division; the 12- and 13-year-old divisions and the 14- and 15-year-old divisions.
His pass of 212 feet, 5-inches as a 15-year-old in 2000 remains a Punt, Pass and Kick record, according to prosportsexperience.com. That’s 70.8 yards in the air. For a 15-year old. Let’s hear it for Kevin Kelly, Chad’s father.
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Chad Kelly’s electrifying performance in the Broncos’ preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings last Saturday as the No. 3 quarterback, coupled with Lynch’s disappointing results as the backup, caused Denver general manager John Elway and head coach Vance Joseph to flip-flop the passers for preseason game No. 2 against the Bears this Saturday at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
“Yeah, for right now that’s what it is,’’ he said. “I’ve got to keep on working to make sure I’m studying, doing the right things, taking care of the football, driving my team down, making plays. But also keeping those guys with a sense of urgency.’’
When Kelly entered the game with 5:50 left in the third quarter last week, the Broncos had two first downs – both on running plays.
Kelly led the Broncos to 12 first downs in three series. A fourth series was halted early by an ill-advised throw that was intercepted.
“Sometimes, I get a little careless, which I have to tone down and understand I have to take the check-down,’’ said Kelly, who took his share of check-downs this week during joint practices with the Bears.
“Everybody who plays the game of football, you learn more and more things as you go on and play and learn the system and try new things. It’s a good thing it’s practice right now and the preseason. It doesn’t count towards coach Joseph’s record but to us, it’s an interview.’’
Kelly was an impressive on the stat sheet against the Vikings, completing 14 of 21 for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first NFL action last week. This is not a quarterback, though, who can be quantified on paper.
The beauty of Kelly’s game is the sheer joy in which he plays. During his interview with 9News, he was shown a clip from his high school playing days, including an on-camera interview and a couple of his big-game scrambles while wearing the No. 12 in honor of his uncle.
Against the Vikings, Kelly demonstrated that same kind of playful spirit.
“Yeah, I think that’s how I got to this position,’’ he said. “Being able to make plays with my legs, moving outside the pocket and making things happen when stuff isn’t there. I feel like I’m bringing high school kind of back into play. But now it’s where I know that I’m healthy and I can do that stuff now. Being able to go out there and run around and make moves and feel like myself that I can go out there and play like a kid again.’’
Last year, he felt like a lion in a zoo cage. The last pick in the 2017 draft, Kelly essentially redshirted his rookie season to recover from knee and right wrist surgeries. He could go to meetings but he couldn’t’ even practice.
“It felt like an eternity,’’ he said.
Now that he’s rolling again, the big question is whether his interview Saturday night with coach Joseph and boss Elway really will matter. It’s possible that no matter how well Kelly plays, Elway and Joseph will go out and acquire a backup quarterback who has NFL regular-season experience.
If he were so inclined, Kelly could tell his bosses that experience is overrated. See his hometown Buffalo Bills in their second, third and fourth consecutive Super Bowls during their four-year run to start the 1990s.
A younger Swag might have walked upstairs and told Elway what was on his mind. Chad Kelly the professional, though, is too intensely focused on the Bears to worry about a quarterback who is not on the roster.
“I can’t really focus on that,’’ Kelly said. “I’ve got to go out there and execute my job to the best of my potential. Whether it’s reading the flat defender, whether it’s reading the hook-to-curl and then the check-down. I have to be on my exact reads and knowing exactly when that time clock goes off, I need to find the check-down.
“Everybody’s trying to be perfect, but you strive for excellence. That’s the whole goal, to be the best player you can possibly be and execute the system to the best of your ability. And of course, we all want to be perfect but it’s probably not going to happen. There’s not many people who went out of a game being perfect, knowing they made the exact read.
“So, try and get better each and every snap and have fun doing it. A lot of people wish they were in your shoes and I’m very blessed God gave me this ability and look, I’m on a great team, great franchise and I’m excited for this season.’’
Whether Chad Kelly one day develops into a very good starting NFL quarterback remains to be seen. What’s certain is no one wants it more.
