Siemian Shows Poise Of A Veteran As First-Year Starter

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (The Sports Xchange) - Gary Kubiak didn't want to hold back when he named Trevor Siemian the starting quarterback. Before Siemian's first start in Week 1, he said Siemian had the freedom to change the calls at the line of scrimmage, and could make the same checks and calls that Peyton Manning did last year.

Against the Bengals last Sunday, Siemian set up his fourth-quarter, 55-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas by adjusting C.J. Anderson to get him in better position for protection, then, after the snap, looking off a safety to maintain Thomas' one-on-one matchup against Cincinnati cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris.

These are the sort of veteran-type moments that Siemian has had in recent weeks, and have helped the Broncos' offense find its footing, show improvement on a per-play and per-possession basis from last year, and reach 3-0 heading into Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.

"I think he's getting comfortable with coverage, what he's seeing and who he needs to look off," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. "One of the hardest things for a young quarterback, you give him something and he stares it down.

"People are really good defensively, but when a guy can play with his eyes -- I think he's shown progress in that area. That was obviously a play that he did that."

These moments are the reason why Siemian has shown progress in his starts, and, finally, why he was able to do more than just be steady and take a fairways-and-greens approach. He was able to use his confidence and knowledge to seize matters in the Week 3 win over Cincinnati, and that gives him a long-term chance of success.

"He does a great job seeing it," said running back C.J. Anderson. "We do a great job in the huddle letting him know, 'Hey 15,'or 'Hey, 12.'

"Sometimes we're in the huddle longer than we want to be, but he definitely does a great job seeing everything that we put out in practice and if he sees it he definitely changes it to what we need to be called to put us in the right position, and that's what you want to see."

So is his ability to process information.

"One of his strengths is handling a lot of information, and that's a good thing," Kubiak said. "You give him a big game plan, you give him a lot of information and he can get it done. It makes you feel comfortable as a coach going in. It makes the offensive guys feel comfortable."

Progress from week to week is more than enough to occupy Siemian's focus. The notion of whether he can be the long-term quarterback, what his future is beyond this season ... these are thoughts that he says are not on his mind.

"I'm not looking too far ahead or behind me at all," he said. "I'm really focused on taking it week by week. It's one day at a time hammering away and just trying to improve."