ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The quarterback no Denver Broncos fan hopes to see during meaningful regular-season time will be in a play-off Saturday night.
Brett Rypien against Josh Johnson for the backup role to starting quarterback Russell Wilson.
>Video above: Preseason Games That Matter, QBs Who Need To Play & New Division Winners
In the Broncos’ first two preseason games, Johnson was the starter as the No. 2 quarterback. Rypien played the second half, which goes to the No. 3 quarterback. The No. 1 QB, Wilson, has not and will not take a preseason snap.
After Rypien played extremely well in the second half this past Saturday in preseason game No. 2 at Buffalo, completing 22 of 26 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown – albeit against fellow third stringers – he got the nod to start in the third and final preseason game this Saturday night when the Broncos’ backups play the Minnesota Vikings’ backups at Empower Field at Mile High (kickoff at 7:05 p.m., Channel 20).
“I think it's important to flip the script on them,’’ offensive coordinator Justin Outten said Thursday. “Having ‘Ryp’ start it out and Josh on the back end. It's important for those guys to really understand the different mindset of the game and how they handle it, how they handle the huddle and the presentation in the huddle itself, and just the communication aspect of it. It's important to move those guys around and just continue to evaluate. We evaluate them all week, and it's going to be an ongoing process until the game.”
While the backup quarterback competition figures to come down to the third preseason game, Rypien may have to clearly outperform Johnson to earn the right to help Wilson look at the defensive pictures from the bench between series. The veteran Johnson took almost all the No. 2 reps during training camp and has continued to work with the second unit during the preseason until this week.
Anything in particular head coach Nathaniel Hackett will look for in the battle between Rypien and Johnson?
“Consistency,’’ Hackett said. “Consistency is the big one. You want to be sure that they’re going out there, executing the plan, understanding when we want to change plays or keep the same play on, understanding the progressions and all those things, and making good decisions. To this point, they have made some pretty good decisions, so we want them to continually take care of the ball also.”
Like it or not, No. 2 quarterbacks are one play away from going from the No. 53 man on a team's roster to No. 1. Just in case, Rypien and Johnson, Johnson and Rypien, are worth watching Saturday night.
Not happy
Ejiro Evero had his first rough day from his defensive coordinator perch last Saturday when his second- and third-string units surrendered six touchdowns off their first six defensive series to the Buffalo Bills’ first-, second- and third-team offenses. Evero addressed his reserves’ poor showing during his press conference Thursday.
“It’s one of those deals where the competitor in all of us will never be happy for that type of performance,’’ Evero said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the preseason, regular season, or playoffs. As competitors, we want to be better than that and we have to be better than that.”
Wednesday Wilson
Wilson and the Broncos’ offense didn’t have it in practice Wednesday.
“I would say that’s being nice,’’ Hackett said Thursday. (The press conference Wednesday was held before practice). “I lost my voice, again. In the end, we have a standard. They didn’t live up to that yesterday and they owned up to it. They understood it. It wasn’t just one guy. That kind of stuff is unacceptable.
“You just have to continue to keep your focus. We changed the schedule a little bit, so it was a little bit different. Those are the adversity things that we’re going to face throughout the year. So, I’m excited that they had that opportunity to see those things that might have gone wrong. We watched the tape, now we are moving on.”
Linebacker switch
The Broncos waived/injured Barrington Wade with a hyperextended elbow and replaced him on the roster by signing undrafted rookie Jeremiah Gemmel, who was recently cut by the 49ers.
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