Why the Broncos decided to go with Brett Rypien on Thursday

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There’s a new starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Again.

For a third-straight week, the Broncos will have a new signal-caller under center.

“We’re going to go with Brett,” Vic Fangio announced on Tuesday, naming Brett Rypien Denver’s starting quarterback. “But we do have the ability to mix Jeff [Driskel] in there some if we feel like we need to.”

The second-year quarterback from Boise State will make his first career NFL start as the Broncos search for their first win of the season on Thursday night against the Jets.

“We’ve had a year and a second training camp and a couple of weeks with Brett here,” Fangio said, explaining why Rypien will get a shot to start. “We just think he deserves a chance here to see how he can do here as a starter, with albeit a short week of preparation, and take a look at Brett that way.”

In the past two weeks, the Broncos have scored 31 total points and their quarterbacks have been sacked 13 times. That’s an average of 15.5 points per game and a whopping 6.5 sacks per game. Neither are good, to say the least.

After starting quarterback Driskel was sacked five times and only managed 10 points through over three quarters on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Fangio decided a change was necessary.

“Obviously we were struggling on offense. Our pass offense in particular, but we didn’t run it well either. I just wanted to get a new guy in there,” Fangio said after the game, detailing why he benched Driskel for Rypien midgame. “See if he can get it out of his hand a little quicker, direct the protections and see if he could provide a little spark there.”

In his lone drive, Rypien did all three in his relief appearance. Starting at his own 27-yard line, the undrafted second-year quarterback out of Boise State drove the Broncos 60 yards down the field in just over six minutes. The drive ended after Rypien threw an interception — his only incompletion on the day.

“Up until the last throw where he made a bad decision and a bad read, he played pretty good in there,” Fangio said on Tuesday. “We want to see if that can continue.”

Outside of the interception, Rypien was constantly making checks at the line of scrimmage and provided enough of a spark to lead Denver’s second-longest drive of the game. While he was sacked once on the drive, his quick decisions and ability to get the ball out quickly were key in the Broncos moving down the field.

After the game, Fangio said that “until we solve the problem” of allowing so much pressure, “teams are going to continue to pressure us down after down until we can make people pay for it.” The head coach acknowledged that the quarterback holding onto the ball for too long is part of that problem.

The Broncos hope Rypien is able to solve — or at least partially solve — that problem.

“That’s one of Brett’s strengths,” Fangio stated on Tuesday, talking about Rypien’s ability to make quick decisions. “He is a smart quarterback, does a good job recognizing things. Obviously, that’s something that’s always been in his favor.”

In fact, Pat Shurmur said Rypien getting the ball out quickly is “just his nature.”

“He executes well. He’s quick-minded. He gets the ball out quickly, which I think is important. He went in and did some good things. That’s what we’re going to do moving forward,” Denver’s offensive coordinator said on Tuesday. “He has a pretty good idea of what we want to get done. He knows what he’s looking for. He knows when he sees it and he’s willing to pull the trigger.”

Since Rypien won’t even have a single full practice to work with the first-team offense due to the short week, he’s been focusing on taking every mental rep possible during the team’s walkthroughs.

“That way I can go out there on Thursday and make quick decisions and not hesitate,” Rypien stated on Tuesday, during his first press conference as the Broncos’ starting quarterback.

One of the reasons Rypien’s able to make checks at the line of scrimmage and make quick decisions on the field is because ever since high school he’s prided himself in being a film junkie.

“That’s always been my MO,” Rypien stated with pride. “Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — That’s always been the standard for the position in how they work and how they watch film and how much they understand the game. That’s what I’ve always inspired to be.”

Fittingly, the quick-minded quarterback will have to quickly prepare for his first NFL start. A key to his performance will be how quick he is with his decisions on the field.