Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien Battling For The Backup Quarterback Position In Denver’s Preseason Game Against The L.A. Rams

By Jordan Long

The Denver Broncos are set to take on the L.A. Rams in their 4^th preseason game.  Not many of the Broncos’ offensive starters are expected to play. This will be a battle for the backup quarterback position.  The Broncos know Drew Lock will be out with a thumb sprain  which could land him on injured reserve to start the regular season.   Kevin Hogan and rookie Brett Rypien are vying for the backup job.

                Hogan will start and should play the whole 1^st half.  Hogan has been below average in the preseason.  He completed 13 of 30 passes or a pass completion of 43.3% for a total of 104 yards.  Hogan doesn’t have a touchdown pass yet but has been picked off 1 time. 

                It hasn’t been all Hogan’s fault.  He is playing with either the 3^rd or 4^th team offensive line.  They are not doing their job to protect Hogan.  He is running for his life on every play and those are sacks or hits on him.  Hogan has been sacked 5 times in the preseason, far too many.

                For Hogan to shine he needs to find his receivers early and often even if they are short passes.  He can’t hold onto the ball too long because those will lead to sacks and hurries and lead to  incompletions or turnovers.  The way Hogan will have time to do this is for his offensive line to protect him.  If they don’t, it could be hard to judge if he should be the backup quarterback if they place Drew Lock on the injured reserve.

                Rypien hasn’t seen a lot of time on the football field in the preseason.  He has only thrown 10 passes with 5 of them being caught by the receiver for 41 yards.  Rypien has 1 touchdown but 1 interception.  The offensive line has done a much better job protecting him with only 1 sack. 

 Rypien should play the 2^nd half.  This will be his turn to show the Broncos’ coaching staff what he can do.  Rypien needs to play well.  This will lead to  Denver having a difficult time deciding what to do with him.  Rypien must outplay Hogan in order to do so.  If he looks like a rookie quarterback in this game, at least there is one more preseason game.

                The Broncos know the backup quarterback position is important.  They are one hit away from losing starting quarterback Joe Flacoo for a few games or even the year, the worst-case scenario.  Hogan and Rypien will have their chance to put a stranglehold on the position.  If they both struggle tommorow night and in the final preseason game, Denver may look elsewhere for a backup.   Kickoff is at 7 P.M. Mountain Time.