Elway: Vikings game was a ‘wake-up call’ Training camp has officially ended and so has the euphoria that comes with the early beginnings of a new season Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , a new crop of athletes and new optimism.Now it’s all business.And Broncos’ GM John Elway was all business in his news conference to wrap up the final session - which was the second joint session with the Bears - and he had a lot to say (and not say) about his team.From the practice field to the playing fieldElway reiterated Vance Joseph’s concern about not getting off to a fast start during the game against the Vikings, but he emphasized that his bigger interest is just in the team playing well.“I’m not overly concerned about the fact that we didn’t take it this week because the vets knew they were going one series or two series. What I would like is to see us take a little bit more pride in what we did, and say, ‘Listen, we want to get off to a good start.’ We didn’t do that, so that was the disappointing thing,” Elway said, adding that he wants to see the team start preparing for the upcoming preseason games as they will for opening day. “The starters have to play. They’ve got to start getting ready and the mindset has to now get to the point that we’re here to get ready to play that opening game against Seattle.”The GM also thought the Vikings game was a bit of a wakeup call for the veterans.“I think it was a little bit of a wake-up call that first game, realizing that we had to take it from the practice field to the playing field,” Elway said. “As much as we didn’t want that hiccup, it was probably a good hiccup for us. We’ll see how we take it from the practice field to the playing field.”Step No. 1 - a ‘better offense’ than last yearAlthough the main goal is to win games however the Broncos can, Elway didn’t hesitate to say he’d like to see the Broncos “play better than we did last year on offense. I think that that’s step No. 1.”And whether the Broncos are still primarily a defensive team is fine, but Elway would like more balance.“To be a great football team, you’ve got to play good defense and you’ve got to have something offensively that you can move, put points on the board and not beat ourselves,” he said. “That’s where I’m excited with Case. He does a good job so far with taking care of the football. Hopefully we can continue to grow and get better offensively and play as good of defense as we have in the past.”Elway’s confidence in the offense is bolstered somewhat by the running game, which he anticipates will be more explosive this season with rookies Royce Freeman, David Williams and Phillip Lindsay showing promise.“We’re only one game through it, but we feel good about that room and the guys that we have in that room,” he said. “The young guys are stepping up. The playing time will be invaluable for them because of the youth that we have in the room, so we’ll continue to work on that.”The former quarterback has also been impressed with rookie wide receiver Courtland Sutton, but he isn’t ready to hand out accolades just yet.“He’s been good in camp, but he’s a rookie,” Elway noted. “I say the same thing all the time: preseason is a different animal than he’s used to seeing. It was good for him, especially for our young guys, to see different helmets and then get into the preseason, but we also know that it’s a step up once we get to the regular season.” The key will be being patient with some growing pains but knowing that the rookies and other young players will have to get up to speed pretty quick because the team will need them.“We’ve got a lot of young guys that we’re going to lean on this year, so they’re going to have to grow up fast,” Elway said. “I think they’re all off to a great start, but we’ve got to continue to see them getting better, and also knowing that with each step and being young, we’re going to have to be patient with them too. It’s a growing situation.”The offense is also going to need to rely on tight ends to be successful, and Elway is hoping Jeff Heuerman can stay healthy long enough to live up to his third-round pick four years ago. “We have high expectations because he has a lot of talent. Hopefully we can keep him healthy,” Elway said. “He’s struggled with some injuries, but he’s very talented and he wants to be a good player and he wants to be on the field. Hopefully, we can keep him healthy and keep him out there, because we think he can be a guy that can be very helpful at tight end.”The QuarterbacksOverall, Elway is happy with his new starting quarterback, but the Hall-of-Fame QB didn’t hide his lack of enthusiasm over the less-than-stellar start to the preseason.“It’s been good. I was hoping to get off to a better start than we had the first week in preseason, but it’s been a good week of practice and Case has had a good camp,” Elway said. “Hopefully, we dig in a little bit more this week and get off to a better start.”But of course the big quarterback question for Elway has nothing to do with the starter. It’s all about the backups, which now showcase 2017 seventh-round draft pick Chad Kelly at No. 2 and 2016 first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch at No. 3.Elway acknowledged Kelly’s talents and that he had earned the right to move up on the depth chart, but the GM wasn’t ready to give much more than that. He expected Kelly to play well, but he expects it to be easier for Lynch this week too getting to go against a third-team defense.“It did not surprise me, the way Chad played. He played very well. He’s got good instincts,” Elway said. “He deserved the chance to play with the twos this week.”Elway seemed to indicate that watching Lynch take on the threes and Kelly take on the twos against the Bears this weekend should provide a fair comparison of where the two quarterbacks are.“We’re going to see Paxton against their thirds too. It’s the same role, it’s just reversed,” he added. “I hope Paxton takes advantage of it and goes out and plays well.”As for the qualities Elway would like to see in the team’s backup quarterback, the primary one is being able to come in and win games.“Somebody that can win football games. I think that’s the key thing. The backup is a guy that you have confidence in that if something were to happen to your starter, that he has the experience and the ability to come in and help you win a football game,” Elway said, adding that a backup has to be physically and mentally ready all the time without having a lot of playing time. “As hard as it is to find a starter, it’s just as hard to find a guy that can back up. We’re always looking for those.”For those reasons John Elway Jersey White , Elway is definitely not ready to anoint Kelly as the true backup QB yet, nor is he is willing to tip his hand on whether he wants a veteran backup in the mix.“We’ll wait through this week and see what happens and go from there. I feel like we still have time. At the end, guys continue to take their reps and we’ll go from there,” Elway said, refusing to answer a question about what it would mean for Lynch if he didn’t become the backup. “I’m not going to get into the hypotheticals right now. We’ll cross that bridge—we still haven’t played two preseason games yet. I’m not going to get into hypotheticals.”‘Kaepernick had his chance’Elway also declined to entertain the idea of seeking out Colin Kaepernick as backup. “I said this a while ago - Colin had his chance to be here. We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it,” Elway said. “As I said in my deposition [regarding Kaepernick’s case against the NFL] ... he’s had his chance to be here. He passed it.”Several media outlets made this quote their headline story (damn you, clickbait) and some even tried to compare it to Elway offering Brock Osweiler a contract a year after turning down an offer for a major contract to stay with the Broncos.Let’s just get a few things clear here (and in full disclosure, I am not one of the people against Kaepernick playing in the NFL, but let’s be real - it is not happening in Denver, and it was a baiting question to ask): C’mon, sports media, find a different angle. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)The angst that permeated the Denver Broncos for two straight summers of quarterback competitions is noticeably absent from team headquarters this year.Veteran Case Keenum is the unquestioned starter and that’s allowed the Broncos to install their offense without having to take different skillsets into account.That certainty has had a ripple effect on the entire roster.”That makes a huge difference, especially for the players, for your receivers, for your offensive line, hearing the same cadence every day, working with your same quarterback every day,” coach Vance Joseph said Thursday. ”It’s huge for Billy (Musgrave) as a coordinator to build his system around one quarterback.”Having Case as the starter has definitely helped matters.”A more relaxed attitude that was evident all spring culminated with Von Miller wearing fake dreads under his helmet and again at the podium as the Broncos wrapped up their offseason program.Fifty feet away, quarterback Paxton Lynch , the 2016 first-round draft pick who has started just four games in two years, displayed a fresh maturity in his first interview since being relegated to understudy duties in March.”I was really excited actually when we got Case, for the fact that he’s a veteran guy who’s been through it a little bit. He’s had his ups and downs. But the way he carries himself and the way he handles himself, he’s a pro and that only benefits me and other guys in that locker room,” Lynch said.While many fans may have given up on Lynch, general manager John Elway and Joseph are still his biggest boosters , suggesting he still has a bright future in the NFL.”It means a lot, especially the head coach and the big guy upstairs, too, having my back,” Lynch said. ”… Whenever I get the opportunity to go out there and take over, I’m going to be ready for that.”Lynch’s confidence level remains high even after losing out to Trevor Siemian twice and now having to fend off Chad Kelly to win the No. 2 quarterback job in training camp. (Siemian is now the Vikings’ backup).”There’s always room for improvement,” Lynch said after a spotty 7-on-7 drill Thursday. ”I obviously believe that I can go out and play right now, but that’s not my job right now. Case is the guy and I’m doing everything I can to make myself better and make the team better.”Obviously, I’m confident in what I can do and confident in my abilities. So, I’m hanging my hat on that.”Miller donned the same disguise he wore recently while working as an undercover waiter at a upscale Denver steakhouse .”It’s just the last day of camp, it’s just like the last day of school, so I try to mix it up, I lost a bet,” Miller said.He wouldn’t divulge the nature of the wager.”I can’t really talk about it, but I lost it,” Miller said. ”And then I started thinking about it, man, it would be cool with dreads. Some of the best pass rushers in the league have dreads, Melvin Ingram, Jadeveon Clowney, so maybe that will rub off on me today.”Miller had fun wearing the wig during an undercover appearance at Guard and Grace in Denver to promote the club’s ”Taste of the Broncos” charity event later this summer”I think after about like 20 minutes they knew it was me,” Miller said. ”But at first, I was making guys mad, eating off peoples’ plates and taking shots with people. It was fun.”Miller said he used to wear the wig out to dinner and to the movies to blend in.”But now I’m busted,” he said. ”Now I’ve got to switch it up.”—