Gary Kubiak Comments on Brock Osweiler's Progress in Offense

Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler is 2-0 as a starter replacing the injured Peyton Manning, and while impressed, his head coach, Gary Kubiak, is concerned he's taking a pounding from defenses, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.     

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Real concerned. I think Brock has been sacked I want to say 11 times in his 10 quarters — maybe 10 times — so that’s way too many. Some of those are his that we’ve got to get corrected. A couple of those are protection issues, but [the Patriots] came after us, especially in the second half they came after us, blitzed us a little bit more and he’ll learn from that. Yes, protecting him and doing a better job—that’s important right now. It really is.

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The actual number is 11, and that's 4.4 sacks per game. Manning was sacked just 1.8 times in his eight-plus games before getting injured.

Kubiak and the Denver coaching staff are probably overly concerned considering the reason Osweiler is even playing is because Manning was injured. However, the more a quarterback is hit, the more likely he is going to get hurt.

Kubiak's concern also could be coming from the fact that he appears to trust the fourth-year quarterback out of Arizona State to lead his team, per Florio:   

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I think the No. 1 thing that’s impressed me is I think he understands exactly what he needs to do for the team to be successful. What I mean by that — sometimes guys will get put in situations and they’ll try to do too much. I think he understands he’s on a good football team. If he’ll just do his job, handle the ball well, handle the team well, then our football team will have a chance to be successful. I’m really impressed with how he’s approached that. He’s very comfortable in his preparation, his work and obviously he’s confident in his abilities. I really think just understanding the situation he’s in and handling it might by the No. 1 thing.

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Osweiler, who has attempted just 123 career passes, has thrown just two interceptions in 93 attempts this season along with 666 yards and four touchdowns. The 25-year-old helped engineer a come-from-behind victory in Week 12 against a previously undefeated New England Patriots team.

Former Denver Broncos linebacker and current ESPN NFL analyst Tom Jackson is impressed with Osweiler as well, per the NFL on ESPN:

Considering the 39-year-old Manning was leading the league in interceptions prior to getting hurt and Osweiler is undefeated as a starter for the AFC West-leading Broncos, Kubiak should take Jackson's advice unless the backup regresses as the season goes on.

Until then, a struggling offensive line needs to keep Osweiler upright if the Broncos want to go past the first round of the playoffs.