LOS ANGELES — This was supposed to be the best game of the preseason.
Week 3 on the NFL preseason schedule is traditionally when teams play their starters well into the second quarter, if not a series into the third.
There is nothing traditional about head coaches Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams and the Broncos’ Vic Fangio.
McVay was the youngest NFL head coach of the modern era (post World War II) when he was hired at 30 years old in 2017. Fangio was one of the oldest-ever, first-time head coaches when the Broncos hired him in January. He was 60 then, 61 as of Thursday.
> Catch the Broncos and Rams live on KTVD Ch. 20 (5 or 657 on Xfinity), 9NEWS.com, the all-new 9NEWS mobile app and the 9NEWS streaming platforms at 7 p.m. Saturday. A special edition of Broncos Tonight begins at 6 p.m.
McVay has yet to play his front-line starters in the preseason going back to his debut season of 2017. The risk of injury, he reasons, trumps any value that comes with playing games that don’t count.
Fangio is a preseason proponent, but he is treating week 3 on the NFL schedule as game 4 on his own schedule. Which it is. The Broncos played an extra Hall of Fame Game on August 1 against Atlanta. No other team played that week.
So while this week is the third preseason game for 30 teams, it’s preseason game 4 for the Broncos. And starters don’t play in their team’s fourth preseason game.
So what is the purpose of the Broncos and Rams lining up to play their preseason game Saturday night (6 o’clock kickoff, Channel 20) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum?
Here is a Klis List of a few matters the Broncos need to resolve:
Feed the Jake!
Talented, if tough-luck tight end Jake Butt will return to play in his first game since going down with an ACL tear prior to the Broncos' fourth game last year, a source tells 9News. It was Butt's third ACL injury in a 4 1/2-year period.
Butt had eight catches for 85 yards in the Broncos first three games last year.
Hogan vs. waiver wire for No. 2
If a football game were played in the driveway, it would still be about the quarterback. With Drew Lock down for a while with a thumb injury, veteran Kevin Hogan has a chance to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster as the No. 2 quarterback behind Joe Flacco.
Hogan’s competition comes from quarterbacks who are nine days away from getting cut from other teams – just as Paxton Lynch ultimately lost the No. 3 quarterback job to Hogan last year.
Hogan has made a play here and there in each of the Broncos’ first three preseason games, but he will have to play better against the Rams to ward off outside threats.
Play for those final 10 roster spots
I went through a Broncos’ 53-man roster mock-up and counted just 41 player locks. And Lock wasn’t one of them because of his injury.
There are several players who are probable to make the team but don’t have a spot cinched quite yet, either because of performance or injury situation. With two preseason games in the next six days – and final cuts coming on the seventh and eighth days – there will never be a greater sense of urgency for so many young livelihoods.
Everybody playing in this game must attempt to run faster (even if it doesn’t work that way), hold their blocks longer, tackle harder and play smarter.
Stay healthy
Yes, the Broncos have suffered injuries in the first three preseason games but none were to a front-line starter. (Fullback Andy Janovich is a starter but fullbacks are part-time players).
The roster’s second cut of players, though, has been hit hard so the team could use an injury-free game.
Rypien reps
In a perfect world, undrafted rookie Brett Rypien will slide to the Broncos’ practice squad, where his $136,000 guaranteed salary awaits.
Rypien can give his own bosses – and executives on 31 other teams – something to think about, though, if he plays well in the final two preseason games. The less he plays, the more the Broncos may be sending the message they don’t want other teams to see him and like him enough to put in a waiver claim.
Make a few “special” plays
Fangio hasn’t been happy with his special teams preseason play. Brandon McManus is kicking well, but coverage, returns and punting have been subpar.
With so many roster spots still undecided, the opportunity is there for someone to pull a Joe Jones and deliver a team-making, standout special teams play or two.
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