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DENVER BRONCOS
Brock Osweiler

Brock Osweiler must prepare for Bill Belichick's grab bag of tricks

Lindsay H. Jones
USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cody Latimer (14) against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — During his season and a half with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib picked up enough about how coach Bill Belichick creates his defensive gameplans to provide advice to his new quarterback, Brock Osweiler, as the fourth-year passer prepares for his second career start.

“Just be ready to change,” Talib told USA TODAY Sports. “Have a few things that the Patriots haven't seen and just be ready to change stuff on the fly, because you're probably going to have to.”

Belichick is notorious for taking advantage of inexperienced quarterbacks, which gives Osweiler an added challenge as he continues to fill in for injured Peyton Manning.

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Talib was confident Belichick and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia spent this week dissecting what limited game tape they had on Osweiler, including his quarter and a half of play against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago along with footage of the Broncos’ 17-15 win against the Chicago Bears in Week 11, to figure out what element of the Denver offense they want to try to take away.

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It might be focusing on the running game after Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson each averaged 4.9 yards per carry as the Broncos rushed for a season-high 170 yards last week. Or it could be shutting down the tight ends in the middle of the field after Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels were Denver’s top receivers against the Bears.

“Whatever you've been doing really, really good, he's going to make sure you can't do that. That's what makes him so great — he makes you beat him in different ways,” Talib said of Belichick, whom he played for in 2012-13.

“That's old quarterbacks, young quarterbacks. I guess young quarterbacks have a harder time adjusting to something new.”

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But while Osweiler hasn't played in many NFL games, the Broncos aren’t treating him like a young quarterback. Coach Gary Kubiak didn’t simplify Denver’s playbook for Osweiler last week, and he won’t again this week in preparation for the Patriots.

“It won't be any different this week as far as the load and what we do, but it will be a little bit different for him because of what these guys do. That's where the pressure amps up a little,” Kubiak said. “These guys defensively do a great deal. You may practice against one thing all week and you may play against another. This will be a new test for him from that standpoint.”

Osweiler said it has helped to have Manning back in offensive meetings this week after the veteran quarterback was kept away from all football activities last week in order to rehab his ailing left foot. Now that Manning is in a walking cast (on the recommendation of Charlotte foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson as a way to speed up the recovery of his torn plantar fascia), he’s giving Osweiler tips he has gained from 19 prior games against Belichick’s Patriots defense dating back to 2000.

Manning even spent some time on the field during Wednesday’s practice, helping talk Osweiler through different situations.

But Osweiler said he’s trying to not let the prospect of preparing for a Belichick defense psych him out. He didn’t get too amped up for his first career start, which came on his 25th birthday and against several of his former coaches, so he’s not going to put too much pressure on himself now.

“I'm not big into the one-on-one matchups. Obviously have huge respect for what he's done as a coach, what he does schematically on defense, but it's just a football game,” Osweiler said.

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones

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