It’s been a wall-rattling, franchise-shaking week for the Broncos.
No matter how much coach Sean Payton tries to make the benching of Russell Wilson about beating the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon, the move sent tremors through the organization.
The writing’s on the wall. Divorce is coming. It could proceed in a relatively orderly fashion, or it could get messy. All the while, the Broncos have two games remaining this season and slim-but-not-snuffed playoff hopes.
How does a player not named Wilson or new starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham handle a week like that? Particularly one whose job it is to protect quarterbacks?
Quinn Meinerz said the task is to take all the stuff that you know, deep down, is of monumental consequence for the organization long-term and make it as simple and practical as you can in the moment.
“Our job is to block and that hasn’t really changed,” Meinerz told The Denver Post on Thursday. “Who we’re blocking for has changed, but at the end of the day our job is to block. Whatever or whoever is playing the position, that’s what our job is.
“Keeping things simple when there’s a complicated situation happening, that’s the best thing you can do.”
Wilson, of course, made himself a nine-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion and one of the highest-paid players in league history in part because of his unique ability to improvise. Stidham is likely to play more from the pocket.
Wilson has started 188 regular-season games in his career and won 115 times. Stidham? Two and zero.
For Meinerz, it’s more about the minute details.
“The cadence is different,” Meinerz said. “Jarrett likes the ‘White 20’ and Russ likes the ‘Green 80.’ So, it’s a little bit different, little bit different operation, but whatever makes this smoothest for each quarterback. That’s what we’ve been working through is making sure we’re all having clear, concise communication.”
That’s about the only way to wrap your mind around a move you don’t have control over but has an impact on your job, team and organization.
“That’s something I learned a lot from last year,” Meinerz said. “That was a big learning point in my second year when I was in my self-reflection was just keeping things simpler. That’s kept me happier, kept me with better motivation and I just feel better overall with that mindset.”
Hindsight is 20/20
A double this week.
First, Meinerz puts a lot of work and thought into his approach to the game. He’s a unique guy off the field, obsessed with space and a fan of “chill synth” music, and as a third-year player he feels as though he’s honed his game mentally and physically. He can see those gains — and the club’s — in part by occasionally looking back.
He said even though the Broncos’ playoff odds are below 10% after that brutal loss to New England and then turmoil arrived from within the building this week, there’s still positives to take from the season — and maybe even still to accomplish this fall.
“With our situation, it’s unfortunate with the loss and our percentages went down, but as long as there’s a chance, there’s a chance,” he said. “At this point last year, we had no chance. So for there to still be a chance, that feels good.”
He wasn’t the only one looking back this week. Payton, who spoke highly of Stidham from the time he signed with the Broncos in free agency, suggested revisiting the end of last season for a glimpse at what he sees as the 27-year-old’s potential.
“Take a peek at the 49ers game or take a peek at the Chiefs game with just some of those things we saw,” Payton said.
Stidham threw for 584 yards, four touchdowns and three picks in those final two weeks and led the Raiders to 34 points against a stingy San Francisco defense. He also rushed for 84 yards, put the ball on the ground three times and was sacked six times.
Number to know
8.4%: That’s Stidham’s sack rate through his NFL career so far. It’s nearly identical to Wilson’s 8.5% career rate, though clearly Wilson’s played much more and the players have different styles. It’s more a way of highlighting that, in limited work in New England and Las Vegas, Stidham’s been sacked a lot. The Broncos will try to keep him upright over the final two weeks of this year, but he’ll benefit most if he’s able to get the ball out quickly and not have to work through too many long-developing concepts.
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