Paxton Lynch named Broncos starting QB vs. Oakland By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post November 22, 2017

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1 Paxton Lynch named Broncos starting QB vs. Oakland By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post After swapping offensive coordinators in search of a simpler offense, the Broncos on Tuesday appointed the quarterback to run it. Paxton Lynch will take over as starting quarterback for Sunday s game at Oakland and Trevor Siemian will be his backup, according to league sources. The quarterbacks were informed of the decision Tuesday and coach Vance Joseph is expected to meet with the rest of the team Wednesday, when they return to practice. The change the Broncos second starting quarterback change this season comes a day after Joseph fired Mike McCoy and elevated Bill Musgrave to interim offensive coordinator and play-caller for the remainder of the year. The final six games could be a final showcase for Lynch before the Broncos likely retool their roster maybe their coaching staff, too in the offseason. I think if you look at where we are and we ve seen the guys that we ve got, that at some point in time I would anticipate that we re going to see what we have in Paxton, general manager John Elway said on Orange and Blue 760 radio Tuesday. Lynch was beat out by Siemian in an offseason competition for the starting job and was inactive the first 10 weeks of the season because of a right shoulder sprain he sustained in the preseason. When Siemian was benched in Week 9, Brock Osweiler took over for three games, only to produce many of the same troublesome results: turnovers, inefficiency and losses. Osweiler will likely be inactive Sunday. By switching offensive coordinators, Joseph hopes to not only jump start an offense that has contributed to six consecutive losses, but also pare down the playbook. Just going against Billy Mus over the years and watching his offenses play just having a system of completion passes in a pass game, Joseph said Monday. Again, sometimes it s doing the same thing more often. You can kind of master it. I feel that we have a lot of good offense and a lot of good plays that we miss. But we hadn t mastered anything. I think it s going to bring a sense of consistency to our offense that we can master four or five concepts and that s good enough to get better. Last season, Lynch played three games (starting two) in place of an injured Siemian, and completed 49 of 83 passes for 497 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also took nine sacks and posted a 79.2 passer rating. Sunday against the Bengals was the first game this season in which Lynch was active following his lengthy recovery. It s been tough, Lynch said last week. Obviously, you want to play. I love this sport and I love playing football. I want to play regardless of the situation, but I think the guys have done a good job and they re going to continue to push forward. We all are.

2 While I was in the training room watching from the inside out, it was just a big emphasis for me being on my ipad the whole time since I couldn t be out there getting the reps. I feel like, mentally, I ve taken a step forward. Obviously, if you ask me if I can play, I m going to say yes. I would have said that right when I got hurt. But I talked to the trainers and the coaches, and like I said, they ve done a good job so far and I feel great. I m just going to continue to leave it up to them. Since the Broncos traded up to draft him in the first round of the 2016 draft, Lynch has worked with two head coaches and now moves on to this third offensive coordinator in Musgrave and third quarterbacks coach in Klint Kubiak. Before making the call at quarterback, Joseph said it would be up to the coaching staff to ensure the system fits Lynch s strengths. They believe it does. And they believe he s ready. Take 3 Paxton Lynch will make his third career start Sunday at Oakland. Here s how he fared in his three games (two starts) last season: Week 4, at Tampa Bay*: 14-of-24, 170 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 94.1 rating Week 5, vs. Atlanta: 23-of-35, 223 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 6 sacks, 81.0 rating Week 13, at Jacksonville: 12-of-24, 104 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 61.8 rating * Did not start

3 Soft? John Elway said comment was directed at entire organization. Himself included. By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post Brandon Marshall took offense. Vance Joseph was initially taken aback. Von Miller was a bit, too. John Elway s four-letter description of his team that it got soft since the bye struck a chord with players. I felt like if anybody has any type of pride about them, it should have struck a competitive chord, Marshall said Monday. I wasn t taking shots at him. I think everybody said, Oh, he s taking shots at the GM. That s just ridiculous. I m a competitive guy and I have skin in the game. I m out here running around busting my tail, so if somebody said that, it really makes me feel some type of way. Tuesday, in an interview with Orange and Blue 760 radio s Dave Logan, Elway explained his thinking and why he falls under the label of soft, too. I think first of all if you think about the comment: No. 1 I was talking about everybody. I wasn t just talking about the football team and I wasn t just talking about the coaches. I was talking about everybody in the organization and kind of the track record that we ve had. And sometimes success will make you soft and you won t pay attention to some of the details that you need to pay attention to. I put myself first in line there. Wait, I got to think about this and we ve got to now put the hammer back down and get back to our winning ways.' Logan, a former NFL receiver, told Elway that if someone had called him soft, he would have had a similar reaction to Broncos players. He, too, would have been offended. Now, if someone took offense to that, I would understand that, Elway continued. And you know what? I would have welcomed a response that you just told me, that you would ve gotten mad. That was the intent, that at some point in time we needed a little jolt and I knew before I said it that some guys weren t going to like it. But my job is not to be liked. My job is to try to win football games. So therefore, I made that comment and hopefully we can get this thing going.

4 Lunch Special: What will the RB rotation look like under Bill Musgrave? By Nick Kosmider Denver Post The Denver Post s Nick Kosmider on Tuesday answered your questions about the Denver Broncos in a live Lunch Special chat. Here are the highlights: I think changing to Bill Musgrave will help the Broncos offense but please don t change to quarterback Paxton Lynch. He isn t the answer to the QB issue. Nick: The reality is we simply don t know if Lynch can be any kind of answer either now or in the long term because he simply hasn t played enough football. He s started two games in his career with mixed results. That s simply not a large enough sample size to draw any firm conclusions. The Broncos now have up to six games to develop a further picture of what the 2016 first-round pick can do as a starter in the NFL. The Broncos refusing to give Paxton Lynch a chance is eerily similar to the refusal to give Tebow a chance. What is it that makes the Broncos unlike every other NFL team in that they don t want to play their first round QBs? Nick: It took longer than the Broncos initially imagined for Paxton Lynch to get healthy. He s only practiced in full for the past two weeks. So it s not as if he has been available the entire season and the Broncos have refused to use him. I do think we will now see Lynch soon if not this week, then perhaps on Dec. 3 at Miami. But in terms of the time it took Tebow to see the field versus Lynch, I don t think you can make a sweeping declaration as to how the Broncos handle first-round QB picks. Both situations were different, and so was front-office management in those situations. So I think similarities are more coincidental than indicative of a tried-and-true philosophy. I like Bradley Roby, but he had a rough Sunday. Why are the Broncos paying Chris Harris and Aqib Talib like starting corners if they re not going to have one of them covering A.J. Green on a full-time basis especially when it was obvious by that point in the game that Roby was not having his best day? Nick: It was certainly a forgettable day for Roby, who got beat on a 29-yard TD throw to Alex Erickson in the second quarter and then gave up an 18-yard score to A.J. Green with 9 minutes left in the game. I would agree that the Broncos needed to make an adjustment there and make sure one of their all-pro corners Aqib Talib or Chris Harris were on Green. Some of that comes down to scheme. For much of the day, it was one of those guys on Green. And, it wasn t Green who beat Roby for the first big touchdown. The hard truth is the Broncos have consistently struggled to keep the ball out of the end zone through the air. The 22 passing touchdowns they ve allowed are tied for the most in the NFL. With Musgrave taking over, what should we expect with the RB rotation?

5 Nick: We ll get to talk to interim offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave for the first time Wednesday, so we should get a better idea then of some of his plans. But I d be surprised if we didn t see Devontae Booker creeping into more of a lead role. He had 98 combined yards Sunday and had more carries than C.J. Anderson (14 to 13) for the first time this season. Can we please go to a spread offense with Paxton Lynch and just see if it will work? He was comfortable doing that at Memphis and we gotta get rid of the ball quickly with this o-line. Plus Lynch could run it easier if the field is spread. Nick: If Lynch is in fact the starter on Sunday (we should now that decision by tomorrow, if not sooner), he will be presented with a smaller, more concise package to study ahead of Sunday s game. Whether there will be a few more spread concepts within that, I don t know. But I do believe they ll make an effort to simplify what they do in the passing game and take away some of the more time-consuming elements to help out Lynch behind this offensive line. Is a change in the head coach position a possibility at this point? Nick: General manager John Elway gave Vance Joseph a vote of confidence on Friday. Linebacker Brandon Marshall did the same on Monday from the players side. That certainly doesn t mean a change couldn t come, depending on how these next six games go, but my personal feeling is that it s unlikely. But I also think Elway wants to see how Joseph can deal with this team, see whether he has the ability to get them playing better through the adversity they are facing. With all the turmoil with the Broncos I just want the players to know I still have love for them. They are playing hard and giving it the best they can. Sometimes it just doesn t work out like we want it to. Hang tough and it will turn around. Nick: That s a nice sentiment. I m actually writing today about what this losing streak has done to the relationship between this team and its fans. I was at an event this morning in which more than a dozen Broncos players were passing out Thanksgiving meals to families who expressed great gratitude for the players. But we ve also seen the other side, where fans are lashing out at players on social media and players are engaging back. It s been an interesting dynamic to watch unfold. Is it possible the Broncos are the worst team in the league? Nick: The Broncos have not won a game since Oct. 1. The only other winless team in that span in the Cleveland Browns. But Denver s scoring differential since that date is a good deal worse than Cleveland s. So, yes, you can make the argument that the Broncos are the worst team in football right now. I think there are less talented teams out there. But the numbers don t lie. Outside of Lynch showing a ton of promise, is there any scenario where you don t see Denver taking advantage of an early draft pick and grabbing a QB? (Outside of Kirk Cousins as well.) Nick: I ll say this: I ll be surprised if the Broncos enter the 2018 season with the same options at QB it has now. But I was also surprised it went with more or less those options into each of the last two training camps. Whether the Broncos draft a QB high or find a guy they like in free agency, I d say it s highly unlikely there is not a new face battling for the job next season. But, again, I ve been wrong on this before.

6 The last few weeks gave us glimpses of some read option. All of those (from my recollection) were optioned to the RB but should that give us an indicator that we ll see a shift to more read option if the shift to Paxton happens? Possibly to keep him in comfortable situations? Nick: The run-pass option concepts you see teams like the Chiefs, Eagles, Seahawks and others using consistently have become a staple of the NFL, and the Broncos have some of that in the playbook. Lynch s athleticism is what makes him intriguing, and I d agree that it could be maximized in those situations. Again, we ll have the opportunity to find out from Bill Musgrave a little bit more about his ideas for his new role later this week. On paper despite mediocre (at best) QB s and a mediocre o-line do you not agree that this team should be at least hovering around.500? So much talent on defense and we were able to win 9 games last year with even less talent on offense. Nick: The biggest difference between last season and this one is the turnovers. They have absolutely wrecked the team s season. Mike McCoy became the fall guy this week for that crippling issue, but the truth is the team is still scratching its head in its attempt to figure out whey their turnover margin is so dreadful. The giveaways have torpedoed any progress the team makes week in and week out. I have been a Bronco fan for over 40 years, I remember when John Elway started and I would yell at the tv, How much did we pay for this guy? But look at how he developed. It seems to me there is a shorter fuse for developing QBs these days. Why? And I wonder if John started now, would he have been benched! Nick: This is a good observation. There certainly is a shorter leash these days for quarterbacks to prove themselves. I m not smart enough to know all the reasons that s the case, but some of it has to do with the magnified lens on the position now, a larger dependence on it and the jobs coaching, front office, etc. that are often kept or lost based on whether a QB can help you win. I will say it s a tough situation for the Broncos to have drafted a quarterback in the first round 20 months ago and still not know a whole lot about how he plays the position at the NFL level. Broncos are one of 3 teams (Browns, 49ers) that have yet to win on the road that lends credence to their softness (per Elway s comment). What do you think is missing that will help to change that? Nick: The Broncos have gone almost a calendar year without winning a road game. Now, four of their next five are away from Denver. I mentioned it a little bit earlier, but the turnovers that have been so difficult for the team to overcome have been especially damaging on the road. The Broncos may very well have been able to beat the Bills if not for turnovers and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Von Miller that extended a Buffalo scoring drive. Giveaways in Los Angeles were brutal. Same can be said for Kansas City. It s a broken record on the road, and they aren t going to find success away from home or, heck, even at home until they get it fixed. How many pieces away are we from having an offensive line that isn t detrimental? Feels like even with Paxton becoming something or an addition via free agency/the draft, the offensive line will still be a hurdle to overcome.

7 Nick: If you look at the Pro Football Focus grades for Denver s offensive line, the unit ranks near the middle of the league. Good enough, no. But I also don t think it s the total and utter mess it s made out to be. The Broncos have moved the ball with some regularity, even during this losing streak. Stalling in the red zone and turning the ball over have led to the biggest issues. That being said, the Broncos will certainly look to continue adding pieces to the unit. But if you start going all in that spot, you begin to neglect issues elsewhere. What do you think of Baker Mayfield being taken by the Broncos in the draft if he is available? Nick: Baker Mayfield is a very intriguing prospect to me. I ve watched him closely the last few weeks and see quite a bit of Russell Wilson in him. He s a much better pocket passer than people give him credit for. Though he garners some comparisons to Johnny Manziel, I don t think those are apt. Was his unsportsmanlike showing against Kansas last week a concern? Sure. But I also don t think it s a red flag. I d rather see missteps from a QB stem from his competitiveness on the field than consistent issues off it. Spend what it takes to get Kirk Cousins and life is back to normal right away! Nick: The spending will be a lot. Cousins has made $44 million the last two years under the franchise tag, and that number will jump once he signs a long-term deal in free agency that will likely make him among the league s highest-paid quarterbacks. Now, whether life is back to normal if you are to bring Cousins in here, I don t know that you can say that with certainty. Look at the team he is on now. The Redskins are 4-6. Cousins is a talented player and probably has a lot of good years left, and it will be interesting to see how the market plays out for him, but I think we re getting a little ahead of ourselves to say he would be an instant fix here or anywhere else. Should the Broncos move Von Miller to start stocking draft picks? The defense is simply over rated. They are not getting three and outs. Nick: You try to get draft picks in an effort to someday land a player like Von Miller, who is still very much in his prime. I don t think Von is going anywhere. Is Chad Kelly Vance Joseph s go to guy next year? Nick: Far too early to say. Kelly, the last pick of the 2017 draft, is on injured reserve and won t play this season. He ll get a chance to show what he can do beginning with spring practices, but we re a long way from knowing whether he ll have a real shot at competing for the job in Is it true that the Broncos want to part ways with Demaryius Thomas? Bought a jersey last week and hope that it s just a rumor. Nick: The Broncos sternly denied this rumor yesterday.

8 Broncos players taking frustration voiced by fans in stride during six-game losing streak By Nick Kosmider Denver Post Ron Leary grabbed a box of frozen turkeys out of the back of a truck Tuesday morning and effortlessly carried them to a staging table as if they were a bag of feathers. The Broncos hulking offensive lineman was joined by safety Will Parks, who directed traffic with karate moves in a parking lot outside Sports Authority Field at Mile High. They and more than a dozen other Broncos, in partnership with the Denver Rescue Mission, helped pass out hundreds of Thanksgiving meals to families in need. People say, You don t have to be here, but I think I do, said Parks, who used moments between passing out meals to sign autographs and take pictures with young fans. A lot of us do because at one point we didn t have much. I didn t have fresh, frozen turkeys. It s more, for me, a sign of appreciation. I m excited more than (the families) are, probably. The warm interactions between the Broncos and their fans on a chilly, rainy morning one woman got out of her car, greeted Leary, Parks and tight end Austin Traylor with a smile and proclaimed, This is the best Thanksgiving ever! stood in contrast to some of the more contentious dealings players have had with fans in recent weeks, particularly on social media. For the first time in the era of players and fans regularly interacting on Twitter and across other social media platforms, the Broncos are consistently losing. Yes, Twitter was around in 2010, the last time the Broncos had a losing season, but was not nearly as widely used. And with each loss during this six-game skid, the volume of complaints being taken directly to players has increased. Many players ignore negative posts. Some players, such as running back C.J. Anderson, cornerback Aqib Talib and linebacker Brandon Marshall, have responded. I have no problem with our fans. I love every one of them, Anderson said recently. But when you think you know and you don t know, we have the right to put you in your place. We have that right. A lot of them don t think we re going to respond at all. A lot of them just want response. I m just having fun with them. They continue to tell me I don t care about football and I don t care about winning. It s like, OK, that s cool. I come to work every day and work hard every day. I hope you re doing the same thing with your job. That s how I feel about it. Athletes have often said they appreciate Twitter for allowing them to connect directly with fans, whether it s sharing off-the-field hobbies or providing thoughts on issues surrounding their teams or anything else going on in the world. Marshall, for example, posted a message for his 177,000 followers on Instagram on Monday, saying The Never-say-die attitude is when someone never gives up hope in a difficult situation. I always push through, no matter what the circumstance looks like. Marshall concluded the message by asking fans to ride with the team through the final six games, promising they fight every snap.

9 The responses were mostly words of encouragement. But the Broncos have also had a deeper look the last two months at how those interactions can cut the other way. There s a lot in there that I don t go after, Anderson said. Believe me. Leary said he understands fans being unhappy with the results. The criticism, he said, comes with the territory when a team fails to meet expectations. But he and other Broncos who charitably gave their time Tuesday, including several players who helped prepare Thanksgiving meals at the Salvation Army, want their fans to know they are still working for them. Some of the fans aren t happy, and rightfully so, he said. The season s not going the way that we all planned for it to go, unfortunately. But things like this, it kind of puts football on the back burner for the day. We come out here to do things like this and it reminds you there are a lot of other things going on in the world besides football. To come and put smiles on people s faces, those are real fans. Today is about them.

10 Eye on the Raiders: Oakland turns to Boulder native John Pagano to run defense By Nick Kosmider Denver Post Denver at Oakland, 2:25 p.m., KCNC-4. For the record: It will be a battle of interim coordinators in Oakland. The Broncos fired Mike McCoy on Monday and promoted Bill Musgrave into his role as offensive coordinator. On Tuesday, the Raiders fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and named Boulder native John Pagano his replacement. The move by coach Jack Del Rio came after the Raiders lost to the Patriots 33-8 on Sunday. It was the third time in the last four games that Oakland had surrendered at least 30 points. Who s hot: Jared Cook. Oakland s offense hasn t scared anyone lately, but the veteran tight end has 20 catches for 326 yards in his last four games, an average of 16.3 yards per catch. The Broncos held Cook to three catches for 46 yards in the the teams first meeting. Who s not: The secondary. The Raiders aren t the first team to give up 339 yards passing and three touchdowns against Tom Brady, as they did Sunday, but it was simply the latest letdown for one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL. Oakland is giving up passing yards per game, 27th in the NFL. Cornerback Obi Melifonwu had a rough day against the Patriots. Key stat: 0. The number of interceptions by the Raiders defense this season. Every other team in the NFL has picked off at least three passes in The Raiders, who have recovered six fumbles, are the only team in the NFL with fewer takeaways (six) than the Broncos (seven). FYI: Pass rusher Khalil Mack had just a half sack in his previous five games before taking down Tom Brady on Sunday. But Mack has often found success against the Broncos. That includes a two-sack performance during the teams first matchup of the season, a Broncos victory Oct. 1 in Denver. Streaking: The Broncos have won five of their last six games in Oakland dating back to But their five-game winning streak at O.co Coliseum was snapped last season in a loss. A victory over the Raiders would ensure at least a.500 record in the AFC West for the Broncos for the 20th time in the last 22 seasons. Playerspeak: Mailing it in and those type of things, that will never happen. Not as long as I m here. Raiders QB Derek Carr following Sunday s loss, which dropped Oakland to 4-6.

11 Four Broncos named among 27 semifinalists for NFL s 2018 Hall of Fame class By Nick Kosmider Denver Post Former Broncos Steve Atwater, Karl Mecklenburg, John Lynch and Brian Dawkins are among 27 semifinalists for the NFL s 2018 Hall of Fame class. Atwater and Mecklenburg are semifinalists for the seventh time, Lynch for the sixth and Dawkins for the second. Atwater, Lynch and Brian Dawkins all safeties are among a crowded class of defensive backs up for election into the class. The 27 semifinalists will next be trimmed to 15 modern era finalists. Of the 15 finalists, as many as five players will be elected to the 2018 class. Mecklenburg, a linebacker, played for the Broncos from 1983 to He finished his career with 79½ sacks and was elected to six Pro Bowls. Atwater won two Super Bowls with the Broncos and was twice named a first-team all-pro. He played in Denver from 1989 to 1998 before wrapping up his time in the NFL with the Jets in 1999 and finished his career with 1,180 tackles. Lynch played with the Broncos from 2004 to 2007, having previously won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The current general manager of the San Francisco 49ers is also a member of the Broncos Ring of Fame. Before Dawkins played the final three seasons of his decorated career with the Broncos, from 2009 to 2011 and earning two Pro Bowl berths during that span, he spent his first 13 seasons with the Eagles.

12 Broncos Mailbag: Fallout from Mike McCoy firing By Mike Klis 9 News This always happens, at least in the NFL. A guy gets fired and reflexively people point blame at the person who fired. Does this happen at the corporate office, too? Probably. And so the firing of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has stirred plenty of reaction in this week s Broncos Mailbag. Broncos fired the wrong guy. Joseph has to go. --John Figal John Vance Joseph will be the Broncos head coach in 2018, but there may be a few more changes to his coaching staff. And so it goes in the NFL. I would add that when one target is removed, in this case McCoy, then the bulls-eye gets bigger on other targets. The Broncos must start playing better. They must win two of their final six games. Is that too much to ask? They can t lose out or Joseph and just about everybody else employed by the Denver Broncos will be in trouble. You guys need to stop being nice. The problem with the Broncos is Elway. --Bob Clode Bob The bullseye didn t just grow a few rings on the head coach s back. Strange how it works. Two years ago, Elway s general manager accomplishments were unprecedented. Five division titles in five years. A Super Bowl appearance with a record-setting offense in 2013, a Super Bowl title thanks to a historic defense two years later. That type of successful transformation may never happen again. And yet the Broncos are since that Super Bowl 50 title and Elway does deserve critical examination for his run of second- and third-round draft misses. It s come back to haunt the depth on the current team s roster.

13 Elway also outmaneuvered the Dallas Cowboys to move up in the first round of the 2016 draft to select quarterback Paxton Lynch. The early returns have been slow, but we ll see how that pick turns out starting Sunday at Oakland. When I heard about the firing of Mike McCoy, my first thought was that he was a scapegoat for the failures of the head coach. Then I read comments Vance Joseph made last summer regarding his offensive coordinator - he had to put players first and scheme second. He said it several times. If McCoy was truly putting scheme first, as you mentioned this morning, then he either had to adjust or he had to go. Guess we know how it turned out. --Dennis DeJulio, Aurora Dennis This is the type of astute observation that explains why you re a consistent contributor to this mailbag. That and the fact you're one of the most prolific contributors. It was a scheme, by the way, everyone was excited about when McCoy was hired. The concepts of the scheme seem to work well for Tom Brady as McCoy is a disciple of the Josh McDaniels offense. But a big difference between the Patriots and Broncos offense besides Brady is that New England has mastered the mismatch of the tight end and running back in the passing game. McCoy didn t have favorable matchups with his tight ends, but he didn t use his running backs, particularly Jamaal Charles, as much as I thought he would. Devontae Booker has also emerged as a nice receiving running back. Maybe, they weren't used more because too often McCoy needed a back to chip the edge rushers. But the more I dig into this, McCoy s real issue seemed to have been excessive play-sheet volume. The Broncos never formed a core, 15 plays to master and become their offensive identity. There were too many missed assignments, as I understood it, including wrong routes. It s easier to remember 15 pass plays than 30. Not all of Siemian's interceptions were on him. But whether it was scheme, game plan, or volume, the frustration the bosses upstairs at Broncos headquarters had was really about the offense s lack of execution. We ll see in time if this was a good move. I think it's about to be emphasized there is no magic dust that can be sprinkled on the offense to make it better. This offense has many issues. In the meantime, I wish McCoy well. He was philosophical about his dismissal. He s been cut as a player, fired as a coached. Even if you never get used to hearing such horrible news, he understood that when a prideful organization like the Broncos loses six in a row, changes must be made.

14 He ll be fine. He has nearly 2 ½ years left on his contract. He can rejoin his wife and kids in San Diego. Here s hoping he gets another NFL coaching job and will be successful again. Tyrod Taylor -- make the trade Elway! Tyrod Taylor has the lowest interception rate in NFL history (at least 1,000 attempts) --Mina Kimes Mina You made me look it up. Counting his Baltimore Raven days, Taylor has a 1.50 interception percentage (17 picks in 1,130 attempts). The recognized career leader in this category is Aaron Rodgers who has a 1.54 pick percentage (75 interceptions in 4,850 attempts). You know your stuff, Mina. For others, the trading period for this season has expired and won t reopen until March 14, Taylor has $1 million of his $16 million salary in 2018 fully guaranteed. But I think Elway will first explore the free-agent market before a trade, especially if the likes of Drew Brees, Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins become available. If one of those three potential free agents don t wind up Denver, then I d like Elway to strongly consider using that top 5 draft pick (as it stands now the Broncos are tied with John Fox s Bears and the Colts for the league s fourth-worst record) on Baker Mayfield. You want a 6-foot Brees at 39 next year, or 6-foot-1 Mayfield at 23? OK, so 68,894 career passing yards and 480 touchdowns make Brees more of a sure thing. I think Elway made two huge mistakes this year. First, going after a rookie coach in a year the team was fractured. Second, if they went through all the hate and discontent to get Brock back, they should have started him from Day 1. It makes no sense whatsoever that they got him and then didn't plan on playing him. Anyway, that's just my opinion. But keep in mind I have never been an Elway fan even as great as he was, Joe Montana was always my guy. --Nancy Stewart And so now Elway has thrown the team under the bus, by declaring they have become soft? Let Elway stand by his man, the coach, who was supposedly hired to walk the walk and talk the talk. And the beat goes on while the Broncos sink further towards their demise via Elway. --Paul Sundberg

15 Nancy and Paul I want to urge people to stop saying, Why isn t Elway getting any blame? Sometimes, I think the criticism is harsher because he is Elway. Know this: Tom Telesco doesn t hear it from pro-montana fans.

16 Lynch to start, Siemian to back up vs. Raiders By Mike Klis 9 News Vance Joseph notified his three quarterbacks late Tuesday afternoon that there is a shakeup with their position s depth chart, sources told 9NEWS. Paxton Lynch will make his first start of the season -- the third of his career -- Sunday when the Denver Broncos play the AFC West Division rival Oakland Raiders in the Black Hole. Trevor Siemian moves up to No. 2 quarterback and will dress as Lynch s backup against the Raiders. Brock Osweiler, who started the Broncos previous three games, drops to No. 3. The move comes as the Broncos have lost six games in a row the first three started by Siemian, the last three by Osweiler and a day after Joseph fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and replaced him with Bill Musgrave, who had been serving as quarterbacks coach. With the Broncos record only 3-7, the quarterback changes have a clear eye on the offseason. The team must find out if Lynch can become a solid NFL starter as he was projected when general manager John Elway moved up to nab him with the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft. Siemian is also under contract for a $705,000 salary next year while Osweiler becomes a free agent after this season. Lynch missed the first two months of the regular season with an injury to his right throwing shoulder suffered in the preseason. Before the injury, he had lost the competition for the season-opening starter position to Siemian, who held the job for seven games.

17 Boulder's Boselli joins Atwater, Mecklenburg, 4 other Broncos among 27 Hall of Fame semifinalists By Mike Klis 9 News Tony Boselli, who grew up in Boulder and played at Fairview High School, joins six former Denver Bronco players who made the Pro Football Hall of Fame modern-ear cut to 27 semi-finalists, it was announced Tuesday. Steve Atwater, a hard-hitting safety, and Karl Mecklenburg, a versatile defender who played inside linebacker on running downs and defensive end or outside linebacker on passing downs, headline the Broncos Hall candidates. Other Broncos who made the list of 27 were Ring of Fame safety John Lynch, safety Brian Dawkins, cornerback Ty Law and defensive end Simeon Rice. Rod Smith, the Broncos all-time leading receiver, was perhaps the most overlooked. Among the 27 semifinalists, only two middle linebackers, Baltimore s Ray Lewis and Chicago s Brian Urlacher, are favorites to become first-ballot inductees for the Class of Receiver Randy Moss is also a first-year eligible candidate while another receiver, Terrell Owens, is a semifinalist for a third time. Boselli, who played seven seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lynch and Atwater were top 15 modernera finalists last season. The list of 27 will be trimmed to 15 modern-era finalists in January, with no more than five eventually elected into the Hall in a vote taken Feb. 3 in Minneapolis. The full list: Steve Atwater, S Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Ronde Barber, CB/S Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Tony Boselli, T Jacksonville Jaguars, 2002 Houston Texans (injured reserve) (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Isaac Bruce, WR Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers (Times as a Semifinalist: ) LeRoy Butler, S Green Bay Packers (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Don Coryell, Coach St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers (Times as a Semifinalist: , )

18 Roger Craig, RB San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, Minnesota Vikings (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Brian Dawkins, S Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Alan Faneca, G Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, 2010 Arizona Cardinals (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Torry Holt, WR St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Steve Hutchinson, G Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, 2012 Tennessee Titans (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Joe Jacoby, T Washington Redskins (Times as a Semifinalist: , 2008, ) Edgerrin James, RB Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, 2009 Seattle Seahawks (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Jimmy Johnson, Coach Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Ty Law, CB New England Patriots, 2005, 2008 New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, 2009 Denver Broncos (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Ray Lewis, LB Baltimore Ravens (Times as a Semifinalist: ) John Lynch, FS Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Kevin Mawae, C/G Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Karl Mecklenburg, LB Denver Broncos (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Randy Moss, WR , 2010 Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, 2010 Tennessee Titans, 2012 San Francisco 49ers (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Leslie O'Neal, DE 1986, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Terrell Owens, WR San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, 2009 Buffalo Bills, 2010 Cincinnati Bengals (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Simeon Rice, DE Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2007 Denver Broncos, 2007 Indianapolis Colts (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Richard Seymour, DE/DT New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Brian Urlacher, LB Chicago Bears (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Everson Walls, CB Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns (Times as a Semifinalist: ) Hines Ward, WR Pittsburgh Steelers (Times as a Semifinalist: )

19 Broncos have a 2% chance to make NFL playoffs By Jon Heath 9 News They re not officially out of the playoff hunt not yet. The Denver Broncos (3-7) have a two percent chance to make the NFL playoffs, according to Elo ratings from FiveThirtyEight. Elo ratings are a measure of strength based on head-to-head results and quality of opponent, according to FiveThirtyEight s website. After simulating the rest of the season 100,000 times, the website gave Denver a slim chance of reaching the postseason. The Broncos have the worst odds in the AFC West the Oakland Raiders have a 9 percent chance, the Los Angeles Chargers have a 12 percent chance and the Kansas City Chiefs have a 94 percent chance. The simulation basically feels the Chiefs are a lock to win the division. Denver does have some winnable games coming up against teams like the Miami Dolphins (4-6), New York Jets (4-6) and Indianapolis Colts (3-7), but their chances of squeaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card team are diminishing each week. The Broncos will play the Oakland Raiders (4-6) in Week 12.

20 John Elway clarifies 'soft' comments, says he'd put himself 'first in line' By Jeff Legwold ESPN Denver Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway has tossed himself into the crowd of people he said had gotten "a little bit soft'' during the team's current six-game losing streak. Elway's comments Tuesday came after he had four days to consider what he had said. He received public criticism for the comments, including from notable players in the Broncos' locker room such as linebacker Brandon Marshall and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. "I was talking about everybody in the organization.... Sometimes success will make you soft and you won't pay attention to some of the details that you need to pay attention to," Elway said in an interview with Orange and Blue 760. "And I'd put myself first in line there." Elway added: "I knew before I said it that some guys weren't gonna like it." Speaking after an event Friday night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Elway first made the comments that reverberated throughout the organization. The Broncos are 3-7 and in last place in the AFC West. "I think at this point we're still trying to figure out how we can get through it," Elway said Friday night. "So there's no question at the end of the year we'll evaluate it and we'll look back and see what happened. But I will tell you I think we got a little bit soft. To be dead honest with you, we got a little bit soft. We went 4-0 in the preseason, we started out 3-1, then we get a bye week, and if you exhale in this league, you're in trouble. "To be dead honest with you, I think we exhaled, and it's hard to recover from that. So it'll be a lesson that hopefully we all learned and can prevent it from happening again."

21 Broncos to give Paxton Lynch his chance with streamlined game plan By Jeff Legwold ESPN After 10 games, seven of those losses, the Denver Broncos believe Paxton Lynch is now ready to take his turn behind center in the team s struggling offense. Lynch will almost certainly preside over a game plan that is more streamlined than what the Broncos have done in previous weeks and that will likely support Lynch with a bigger commitment to the run game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. Lynch, who has not played in a game since Dec. 4, 2016, when he start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, will be the third quarterback to start for the Broncos this season after Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler. Coach Vance Joseph said Monday he had not decided who would start at quarterback, but he did say the quarterback who will play against the Raiders would have an offensive game plan that would be more efficient. Joseph fired Mike McCoy on Monday and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave will serve as the interim offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Paxton Lynch will see his first regular-season action since last December when he starts Sunday against the Raiders. Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports I thought at this moment for our football team moving forward, that a change was needed -- going from Mike to Bill Musgrave simply because I want to have a more efficient pass game, Joseph said Monday. You have to have that. Our running game has been good, but our passing game has not been good, in my opinion. We have to find ways to have a pass game where it s more [completions] and we can call them with more confidence. We can call them in hard parts of the game and execute. That hasn t happened, so that s why the change was ultimately made. Lynch, who injured his right shoulder injury in the Broncos Aug. 26 preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, was the team s No. 2 quarterback, behind Osweiler, in Sunday s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the first time he had been in uniform for a game in Joseph had said earlier this month it wouldn t be fair to play Lynch when Lynch had just returned to the practice field. Lynch has worked the past three weeks and Joseph declared Lynch completely healthy this week and the expected changes in the offense's approach likely tipped the scales to give Lynch his chance to show the Broncos what he can do. Lynch, whom the Broncos traded up to the No. 26 spot to select in the 2016 draft, has lost back-to-back training-camp battles, with two different coaching staffs, with Siemian to be the starter. He has struggled with confidence issues, especially after mistakes in practice and in games, but last week declared himself far more ready to play than at this point last season as a rookie. Lynch said he had tried to make the most of his time as his shoulder healed.

22 That was kind of a big emphasis with the coaches and myself since I couldn t be out there practicing, Lynch said last week. While I was in the training room watching from the inside out, it was just a big emphasis for me being on my ipad the whole time since I couldn t be out there getting the reps. I feel like mentally I ve taken a step forward.... I m pleased with how I ve progressed mentally and physically up until this point. I m excited for the opportunity whenever it presents itself. The Broncos will likely put Lynch in a similar approach Sunday as they did in December against the Jaguars, who finished 2016 at The Broncos ran the ball 28 times in the game as Lynch finished 12- of-24 passing for 104 yards without a touchdown or interception. The Broncos had limited opportunities to push the ball down the field against the Jaguars' coverages. Lynch s longest completion on the day was 18 yards to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Lynch had just three completions longer than 10 yards. The Broncos, having started Osweiler against the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, will also send Lynch out against a Raiders defense that has struggled. Also of note, Oakland fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. on Tuesday. The Raiders are ranked 26th in overall defense (allowing 367 yards per game). They are 27th against the pass (253.2 yards allowed per game) and 17th in run defense (113.8 yards allowed per game). The Raiders also are tied for last in the league in sacks with 14. Khalil Mack, last season s defensive player of the year, has 5.5. Lynch was asked last week if he believed he was ready, physically and from a study standpoint, to be the starter. Obviously, if you ask me if I can play, I m going to say yes, Lynch said. I would have said that right when I got hurt. But, I talked to the trainers and the coaches, and like I said, they ve done a good job so far and I feel great. I m just going to continue to leave it up to them.... I d just been focusing on myself and worrying about how I can make myself better day in and day out.

23 Broncos to start Paxton Lynch at QB against Raiders By Jeff Legwold ESPN At 3-7 and with a six-game losing streak in hand, the Denver Broncos will announce Wednesday that Paxton Lynch will start at quarterback Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, sources told ESPN. The team's quarterbacks were to be informed of the decision Tuesday, and coach Vance Joseph is expected to announce the move to the team Wednesday morning. Lynch, who injured his right shoulder Aug. 26 in a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, has not played since. He was the Broncos' No. 2 quarterback, behind Brock Osweiler, in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and it was the first time he had been in uniform this season. Lynch will be the third quarterback to start a game for the Broncos. Trevor Siemian was benched following three interceptions in a loss Oct. 30 to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos have gone 0-3 in Osweiler's starts. On Monday, the Broncos fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and announced that quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave will serve as the interim offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Joseph said he made the move to "stabilize'' the offense. The Broncos' two turnovers against the Bengals led to 13 Cincinnati points. The six-game losing streak is the team's longest since "[The coordinator change] was more about the quarterback position and hoping to get a better guy in to, again, stabilize the offense and not give the ball away so much,'' Joseph said Monday. "That hasn't happened.... Brock's had three starts now and the same problems have occurred.'' Lynch, who was the Broncos' first-round pick in 2016, will get his third career start. Lynch lost back-toback training camp battles with Siemian for the starting job and had not practiced until earlier this month because of his shoulder injury. Joseph said Monday he wanted to meet with Musgrave and the rest of the offensive staff to see "who's the best guy for our football team.'' He said at the time that all three quarterbacks could be considered. Lynch's two starts in 2016 included an Oct. 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and a Dec. 4 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars -- games Siemian missed with shoulder and foot injuries, respectively. It's likely that the Broncos will cocoon Lynch in a run-heavy game plan, much like his past start in Jacksonville. In that Broncos win, Lynch was 12-of-24 for 104 yards without a touchdown or interception. He was sacked twice and the Broncos ran the ball 28 times. Asked Monday if it was a lot to ask of Lynch to change offensive coordinators and then start less than a week later, Joseph was quick to say he believed Lynch could be prepared.

24 "That's on myself... if he does play for us, it's got to be a system that fits Paxton,'' Joseph said. "He's practiced the last two weeks. It won't be soccer; it's football for him. What he's practiced the last couple weeks, it may be called a little different, it may be called more, a lot of the same stuff, but it's just football so he'll be fine.'' The Broncos have been far more efficient in a run-first mode this season, but during the losing streak they have trailed so often -- every minute of four of the losses -- the Broncos have spent much of their time with three wide receivers in the formation in most down and distances. It hasn't worked, as the Broncos are 27th in the league in completion percentage (58.8 percent), and tied for 25th in the league in yards per pass attempt at 5.5. Their 17 touchdowns also tie them for the second-lowest total in the league. Osweiler was asked Sunday if he felt the Broncos would try to get Lynch into the lineup. "I'm not worried about that,'' Osweiler said. "I'm never going to look over my shoulder. I'm just going to show up to the building every single day and be myself, work as hard as I possibly can and everything will take care of itself. That's how I look at that.''

25 Broncos' roster and coaching turnover is due to their own turnovers By Jeff Legwold ESPN At 3-7 and with a six-game losing streak in hand, the Denver Broncos will announce Wednesday that Paxton Lynch will start at quarterback Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, sources told ESPN. The team's quarterbacks were to be informed of the decision Tuesday, and coach Vance Joseph is expected to announce the move to the team Wednesday morning. In the sea of numbers that swirl around them, in an almost never-ending scroll of percentages and spreadsheets, the Denver Broncos can easily spot the one statistic that has had the most impact on their free fall from the NFL s elite. The biggest reason they went from 3-1 on Oct. 1 to 3-7 on the doorstep of Thanksgiving? They don t hang onto the ball well enough. And their growing pile of turnovers has now caused plenty of turnover at quarterback and on the coaching staff. Obviously the effort is there; that s not our problem, coach Vance Joseph has said. Our problem is giving the football away and that s got to stop. That comes from players playing better and obviously coaches coaching better. It s all of us. Mike McCoy was fired as offensive coordinator on Monday, as the Broncos continue to struggle with turnovers during their six-game skid. AP Photo/David Zalubowski If you are judged by the company you keep, then the Broncos have a significant problem. There are only two teams in the league with turnover margins that are worse than minus-10 and those two teams are the Broncos, at minus-16, and the winless Cleveland Browns, at minus-17. Only the Browns have more interceptions than the Broncos to the Broncos and the Broncos nine lost fumbles are the second-most in the league, behind only the Chicago Bears (3-7) and the Washington Redskins (4-6), who both have lost 10 fumbles. First, turnovers ultimately cost quarterback Trevor Siemian his job, and they may cost his replacement, Brock Osweiler, his job in the coming days as well. And Monday, Joseph woke up, watched the game video from the Broncos' latest loss and fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, largely because of the turnovers and the impact they ve had on the passing game overall. I don t want to put this all on Mike McCoy, said Joseph, who named Bill Musgrave as the interim offensive coordinator. We could have coached better and played better. Mike didn t fumble the ball, Mike didn t throw interceptions. But ultimately it falls on Mike s plate. So, I don t want to stand here and blame Mike for all of our offensive issues because it wasn t all on Mike.

26 The Broncos had two turnovers in Sunday s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, an interception by Osweiler on a play that started at the Bengals 4-yard line and a fourth-quarter fumble by running back C.J. Anderson. Those two turnovers led to 13 Bengals points, another chapter in what has been the story of the Broncos season. The Broncos have played just one game this season without committing a turnover. That also happened to be their last win, over the Raiders on Oct. 1. They ve had five games when their turnovers have led to at least 13 points for their opponent. It s just tough, man, it s just tough, Anderson said Monday. [I m] not saying that play was the ultimate deciding factor of him being fired, but things definitely piled up and continued to pile up. It was my mistake and I ve owned it. Also consider that the Broncos have been outscored by 76 points this season and the turnovers from Siemian and Osweiler alone have directly led to 58 points by the Broncos opponents. In all, the Broncos opponents have scored 95 points off the Broncos turnovers. So, the Broncos haven t stopped giving the ball away and they haven t stopped opposing offenses often enough after those turnovers. The Broncos do feel a little like, on top of the mistakes they ve made on their own, they ve walked under a ladder, broken a mirror and crossed the path of every black cat -- and they point to a play like Osweiler s interception Sunday. On that play, if Osweiler completed what looked to be a pedestrian throw to Cody Latimer, who had a step on his defender, Osweiler believes the Broncos would have had an early touchdown. However, Latimer collided with the Bengals defender who was covering Emmanuel Sanders on the play, so Osweiler s pass was snagged by Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick returned it to the Broncos' 1-yard line and the Bengals scored a touchdown three plays later. Cody beats the corner inside, he runs into the slot player and the corner continues on, he catches the ball in the end zone, Joseph said. That s where we are right now. We have to find a way to make it stop, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. That kills you we have to clean it up.

27 AP Source: QB Paxton Lynch to start for Denver By Arnie Stapleton Associated Press It's time to see conclusively if quarterback Paxton Lynch is a bust or just a late bloomer. The Denver Broncos' former first-round draft pick will make his first start this weekend at Oakland, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Denver coach Vance Joseph won't announce his starter until Wednesday. General manager John Elway moved up in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft to select Lynch with the 26th overall pick, but the former Memphis QB proved to be a project. Trevor Siemian, a 2015 seventh-rounder from Northwestern, handily beat out Lynch in 2016 and again this season. Shortly after coming up short in Denver's quarterback competition for the second time, Lynch bruised his throwing shoulder against Green Bay in a preseason game. That led to the re-signing of Peyton Manning's longtime backup, Brock Osweiler, who had been released by Cleveland following a trade from Houston. Osweiler supplanted a turnover prone Siemian (10 interceptions, two lost fumbles) three weeks ago but went winless in his three starts, including a defeat to Cincinnati on Sunday in which Lynch was active for the first time. On Monday, Joseph fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave. McCoy raised eyebrows with his overly complex game plans and stubbornness in sticking to threereceiver formations despite a flurry of sacks, flags and turnovers that resulted from a porous line and lack of depth at tight end and wide receiver. Joseph said he wanted Musgrave, who guided the Raiders' offense from , to simplify the game plans. Although no team has ever recovered from a 3-7 start to reach the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how Lynch's promotion is met in the locker room. Teammates have been effusive in their praise of the work ethic and leadership displayed by Osweiler and Siemian and they usually speak in terms of promise and potential when talking about Lynch, who's never been known to get to work first and leave last like so many quarterbacks do. Last week, when Lynch worked as the backup at practice for the first time and even handled some passing plays with the starters, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders praised Osweiler's energy and

28 experience that he brought to the equation and said what Lynch brings is a promising upside if he ever buckles down. "Brock, he's been there before, he's been groomed by Peyton, so he understands the ins and outs of how to play quarterback," Sanders said. "Paxton has a big-time arm, big-time talent. He has all the intangibles. It's all about going out and getting more and more comfortable with the playbook, learning and growing as a player, becoming a pro." Lynch went 1-1 last year in place of an injured Siemian, losing to Atlanta and beating Jacksonville. He completed 49 of 83 passes for 497 yards and two TDs to go with an interception. He was sacked nine times. He had to learn a new system when Gary Kubiak stepped down and was replaced by Joseph, who brought in McCoy to replace Rick Dennison. With Musgrave's promotion, Lynch will be working under his third system in less than two years in the NFL, albeit one that will be pared down for him. He'll face a Raiders defense going through its own shakeup. The Raiders fired defensive coordinator Ken North Jr. on Tuesday and coach Jack Del Rio handed those duties over to assistant head coach John Pagano.

29 Broncos Paxton Lynch expected to start against Raiders By Troy Renck KMGH Since 1990 no NFL team has started 3-7 and reached the playoffs. As such the remainder of the Broncos season will be defined by pride and opportunity. The Broncos will start Paxton Lynch at quarterback this Sunday at Oakland, per multiple NFL sources. Lynch has not played since injuring his throwing shoulder in the third preseason game against Green Bay. A projected month-long hiatus became a three-month recovery. However, Lynch has been deemed healthy after throwing progressively better over the past three weeks. Coach Vance Joseph admitted Monday there was nothing preventing Lynch from starting, but wanted to first talk with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. Joseph turned to Musgrave to create a more "efficient passing game." While starting on the road brings a challenge -- the Broncos are 0-4 in visiting parks this season -- Lynch will face a favorable defense. Opposing teams have completed nearly 73 percent of their passes against Oakland, and the Raiders have yet to intercept a pass. And it's not like Brock Osweiler and Trevor Siemian set the bar high. The pair combined for eight interceptions, one fumble and two touchdowns on the road. Their poor play led, in part, to the firing of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy on Monday. Siemian will serve as Lynch's backup with Osweiler inactive. With Lynch, the issue is clear. The Broncos need clarity at the position, and on Lynch specifically, as they plan for the offseason. Lynch went 1-1 as a starter last season and was beaten out by Siemian in training camp. "I feel good," Lynch said of his shoulder on Monday. "We will see what happens."

30 5 former Broncos named semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame By Blair Miller KMGH Five former Denver Broncos players are among the semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of The famed Broncos safeties Steve Atwater, Brian Dawkins, and John Lynch made the list of semifinalists, as did linebacker Karl Mecklenburg. Cornerback Ty Law, who played in seven games for the Broncos in the last season of his career, 2009, is also on the list. They are among 27 semifinalists from pro football s modern era a list that was narrowed down from 108 initial nominees. The list of semifinalists will be cut to 15 in January before the final announcement is made the night before the Super Bowl, Feb. 4. Atwater, Lynch and Mecklenburg are all members of the Broncos Ring of Fame, and all five who were named semifinalists this year were also semifinalists last year, along with Terrell Davis, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. This is Atwater s seventh time being named a semifinalist; Dawkins second; Lynch s sixth; and Mecklenburg s seventh. Law, who spent most of his career with the New England Patriots, is on the list for the fourth time. Among the other semifinalists for the 2018 class are Rams wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, running back Edgerrin James, former Cowboys and Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson, linebacker Ray Lewis and wide receiver Randy Moss.

31 Mason's Week 12 Power Rankings: NFC teams gobble up three of top four spots By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com 1. PHILADELPHIA (9-1) Last week: 1 An injury to kicker Jake Elliott forced the Eagles to keep going for two Sunday night, and they are now 6- of-7 on two-point conversions this season. They should go for two every time. 2. NEW ENGLAND (8-2) Last week: 2 Their last four wins during their six-game winning streak have come by an average of 18.5 points. 3. NEW ORLEANS (8-2) Last week: 3 Their defense finally buckled, which meant the Saints had to win the old-fashioned way -- well, oldfashioned for them, at least. On the Saints' two touchdown drives in the last 5:58 of regulation, Drew Brees went 11-of-11 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Needless to say, his quarterback rating was a perfect MINNESOTA (8-2) Last week: 5 The sizzling Adam Thielen has averaged yards per game the last five weeks. 5. PITTSBURGH (8-2) Last week: 6 The Steelers are one of three teams (along with the Eagles and Rams) to rank in the league's top 10 in offensive and defensive per-possession efficiency. 6. JACKSONVILLE (7-3) Last week: 8 Jacksonville's defense has accounted for just 8.8 points allowed per game in its last six contests. 7. L.A. RAMS (7-3) Last week: 4 The Rams are 1-2 against teams with winning records and 6-1 against everyone else, and four of their next five opponents are above.500.

32 8. CAROLINA (7-3) Last week: 7 No one can say the Panthers won't be battle-tested. By Week 14, they will have played five of their 13 games against teams are among the five clubs with at least eight wins so far this season. 9. DETROIT (6-4) Last week: 11 The Lions are one of two teams (Jacksonville is the other) with five touchdowns on interception or fumble returns. 10. ATLANTA (6-4) Last week: 12 Head-to-head tiebreaker advantages over the Lions and Seahawks could come in handy. 11. SEATTLE (6-4) Last week: 10 Philadelphia, Jacksonville and the Rams loom after this week's game at San Francisco, and that stretch will determine whether the Seahawks can extend their streak of five consecutive postseason appearances. 12. KANSAS CITY (6-4) Last week: 9 Their offense continues to struggle to find the end zone, and it has now scored just eight touchdowns in the last five games. 13. BALTIMORE (5-5) Last week: 16 With Houston, Cleveland and Indianapolis remaining on the schedule, they have a clear path to eight wins, and then they would have to beat one of the Lions, Steelers or Bengals to get to a ninth win that might be enough for a return to the playoffs. 14. TENNESSEE (6-4) Last week: 13 Their next four games are against teams that are a combined 12-28: Indianapolis, Houston, Arizona and San Francisco. Ten wins and a wild-card spot is a reasonable expectation. 15. WASHINGTON (4-6) Last week: 14

33 Four of the Redskins' last five foes have put up at least 30 points on them. 16. L.A. CHARGERS (4-6) Last week: 19 Only one of their final six opponents has a winning record (Kansas City, Week 15). 17. DALLAS (5-5) Last week: 15 Dallas' offense has failed to record a first down on 10 of 22 possessions the last two games without RB Ezekiel Elliott and OT Tyron Smith. 18. TAMPA BAY (4-6) Last week: 21 The Buccaneers' net yards and first downs per possession are down with Ryan Fitzpatrick replacing the injured Jameis Winston -- from and 1.87 to and 1.72, respectively -- but their net points per possession are up from 1.56 to Fitzmagic! 19. CINCINNATI (4-6) Last week: 24 The Bengals are a respectable 4-4 since firing offensive coordinator Ken Zampese and replacing him with Bill Lazor, and that should be 5-4 if they dispatch the winless Browns this week. But they will need to upset Pittsburgh or Minnesota to have a shot at the postseason. 20. GREEN BAY (5-5) Last week: 17 Some Packers fans are calling for Joe Callahan to replace Brett Hundley after just four starts in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers. 21. BUFFALO (5-5) Last week: 18 Sunday was the worst day for a Peterman since J. Peterman found out that Elaine Benes ate a $29,000 piece of cake from the wedding of Edward VIII to Wallis Simpson. But the Bills' imploding defense is as punishing on one's gastrointestinal system as a butter-based frosting after six decades in a poorlyventilated English basement. 22. OAKLAND (4-6) Last week: 20 The chess match between newly promoted coordinators Bill Musgrave and John Pagano in Sunday's Broncos-Raiders game will be fascinating to watch. 23. HOUSTON (4-6)

34 Last week: 28 Tom Savage's best game as a pro gives the Texans hope, but their playoff hopes likely rest on upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore next Monday. 24. N.Y. JETS (4-6) Last week: 22 Carolina and Kansas City visit in the next two games, and these are exactly the kind of opponents that the feisty Jets have driven batty at home this season. 25. DENVER (3-7) Last week: 23 The Broncos' defense is the league's best in forcing three-and-outs, ranks third in net yardage allowed per possession and is fourth in first downs allowed per series... but is 21st in net points allowed per series. 26. CHICAGO (3-7) Last week: 25 The Bears' last four losses have come by a combined 21 points. 27. MIAMI (4-6) Last week: 27 Miami has allowed an average of 34.0 points per game in its last five outings. 28. ARIZONA (4-6) Last week: 26 With Jacksonville on the horizon, the Cardinals' woes seem likely to worsen. 29. INDIANAPOLIS (3-7) Last week: 29 The Colts have played competitive football in their last three games, posting a net point differential of plus-two. In those three games, QB Jacoby Brissett has a rating. 30. N.Y. GIANTS (2-8) Last week: 31 The Giants are 2-1 against the AFC West, and 0-7 against everyone else. 31. SAN FRANCISCO (1-9) Last week: 30 With the Seahawks' secondary banged up and the 49ers coming off a bye with momentum, their home game with Seattle this Sunday presents the possibility of an upset.

35 32. CLEVELAND (0-10) Last week: 32 Dec. 10 against Green Bay or Dec. 24 at Chicago appear to be the Browns' best chances to avoid the ignominy of 0-16.

36 Power rankings roundup, Week 12 By Ben Swanson DenverBroncos.com The Broncos' current average ranking among these publications is about 26th overall. ESPN.com Current rank: No. 27 Last week: No. 22 Following a 3-1 start, the Broncos have dropped six straight games for the first time in a single season since Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy already has lost his job, and there's no clear-cut No. 1 QB on the roster. This season couldn't get much worse for Denver. Sports Illustrated/The MMQB Current rank: No. 22 Last week: No. 21 USA Today Current rank: No. 26 Last week: No. 25 You're not soft, Paxton Lynch. But we question how wise it would be start you in same week very capable OC Mike McCoy was thrown to wolves. Yahoo! Sports, Frank Schwab Current rank: 25 Last week: 23 Bleacher Report, Chris Simms Current rank: No. 28 Last week: No. 24 It's been the same story for the Broncos all year. They controlled the game against the Cincinnati Bengals but screwed themselves with turnovers. You can't throw an interception when going in for a score and not expect it to cost you. You can't fumble the ball in the fourth quarter in a one-score game. Washington Post, Mark Maske Current rank: No. 30 Last week: No. 29 It has been a rapid deterioration of what was a Super Bowl winner two seasons ago. NFL.com, Elliot Harrison Current rank: No. 28 Last week: No. 22

37 The Broncos took a steep drop this week, mostly because they've lost six in a row. We can't hold steady on them based on talent. That was not a contender they fell to at home. Sometimes it feels as though the whole situation is a mess. The quarterback situation is in disarray, while the once-impregnable defense hasn't been able to buy a turnover or a major stop when needed.

38 Karl Mecklenburg, John Lynch, Steve Atwater among Pro Football Hall of Fame modern-era semifinalists By Aric DiLalla DenverBroncos.com Five former players with Broncos ties were among the 25 modern-era semifinalists named Tuesday for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame s Class of Three Ring of Famers linebacker Karl Mecklenburg and safeties John Lynch and Steve Atwater made the Hall of Fame s cut from 108 candidates to 26. Brian Dawkins and Ty Law, who spent three seasons and one season, respectively, with the Broncos, were also selected. Lynch, who was both the Broncos Ring of Fame and the Buccaneers Ring of Honor in 2017, was selected as a finalist for the fourth time last year, while Atwater first became a finalist in The Hall of Fame will pare its list to 15 finalists in January, and then those former players and coaches will wait for a knock on their hotel-room door from Hall of Fame President David Baker. Terrell Davis became the Broncos fifth Hall of Famer when he received the knock in February of 2017.