While a tucked-away Peyton Manninghas yet to speak with Brock Osweiler, Denver's defense has spent all week practicing against the untested Broncos backup quarterback.
"Oh, he's ready. He looks good," linebacker Brandon Marshall told the team's official website ahead of Osweiler's start against the Bears on Sunday. "He looks really good. I'm excited, and I think everybody is excited to have him out there."
Said fellow linebacker Von Miller: "He's looked excellent throughout the year. In the preseason, he looked phenomenal. When he got in the game, he was able to make some stuff happen, and he didn't even expect to be playing last week. That's pretty encouraging. I've got full confidence in him."
NFL Media's James Palmer first reported Thursday that Osweiler's preparation for the Bears has unfolded without a helping hand from Manning. Coach Gary Kubiak is fine with that, though, preferring his veteran passer to focus entirely on healing his banged-up foot.
In the meantime, Osweiler has worked closely with offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, who talked about a smooth transition for the fourth-year passer because of a scheme that stays the same no matter who plays.
"We've got the 2015 Broncos. That's it. It's the same playbook," Dennison said. "We (don't have a) new playbook. It's the same playbook that we've had ... It's what we expect to do."
Sunday will answer many questions about Osweiler's ability to run the show, but here's the bigger question: If he thrives, could Osweiler steal this job away from a living -- but slumping -- legend?
