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PRESENTING THE TREVOR SIEMIAN CONFIDENCE INDEX™

The former Wildcat starter all-star has a legit shot to be an NFL starter

By Ben Goren
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

2016 is officially extremely good.

We've been covering Trevor Siemian's exploits not just as a Wildcat, but also in the pros, from his awe-inspiring debut, to his Super Bowl ring, to his cameo appearance in Major League Baseball. Shoot, remember this headline? Y'all probably laughed. Not us. We knew what Touchdown Trevor could do.

But now there is an increasing likelihood that Trevor Siemian is a legitimate threat to win the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos' starting quarterback competition. No seriously. He's competing with overhyped rookie Paxton Lynch, who remains unsigned at this point, and one of the worst QB's ever former Jet and Eagle Mark Sanchez for the starting signal caller spot. Siemian has the advantage of being in the Kubiak system for a year, unlike either of his competitors. He has a cleaner grip on the offense it appears, and that can go a long way. Personally, I'd let Trevor go out there and draw some plays in the dirt and just toss the ball around. I bet that offense would work pretty well too.

But of all of think-pieces and news hits about Siemian's ever increasing chances to be an NFL starting quarterback, it was this one from Pro Football Talk, which leaned on this story from the Denver Post, that seems to provide the best evidence. Trevor Siemian is confident. He's confident in his health, his hold in the playbook, and in the fact that he is the best 7th round draft pick of all time. To be more precise, here's Trevor in his own words (via PFT):

I feel great," Siemian said, via the Denver Post. "I feel really confident at this point. Last year at this time, I had the knee [injury] and was swimming a little bit in the playbook. I'm light years ahead of where I was last year. I still have a lot of work to do, but I feel pretty confident.

Trevor Siemian at Northwestern was a fairly confident quarterback, if perhaps a little more understated. I'm not exactly how confident Denver's version of Trevor Siemian is really feeling right now. Is he "really confident" or "pretty confident?" How does one even measure confidence? These questions are the ones keeping me up at night. So I felt the need to create the Trevor Siemian Confidence Index™. It's a 1-10 scale, ranging from completely hopeless to borderline irrational behavior. It's also the most important thing I've ever done.

I have Trevor sitting at a calmly cool 6.8 on the scale.

1.0–M00N

If there was ever a yakkity-sax moment in Touchdown Trevor's origin story it is this play. Slipping on your behind in front of thousands while trying to win the game on a two-point conversion is some next level stuff. Let's put this in a box, put the box in the basement and never think of it again.

2.0–2014 Iowa game

Oh hey, what was that game again, I think I forg–

Sports Reference

Oh wow, that's not good, but how did Trev–

Sports Reference

/coats laptop in vomit

3.0–Running a speed option with Mike Trumpy

I promise this is a thing that happened. I promise this is not the product of some fever dream where I saw Noted Slow Person Trevor Siemian trying to get to the edge with Also Slow Person Mike Trumpy flanking him. This was a real thing that was drawn up multiple times. I seriously wonder if Siemian could keep a straight face when he got this playcall. I mean there's no way it was ever going to work.

4.0–Being in a QB platoon system

Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter handled it like champs, but I refuse to believe that having someone over your shoulder ready to come in if and when you screw up is good for confidence. Northwestern rode it to 10 wins, but it still felt like a good way to engender QB paranoia.

5.0–2013 Gator Bowl

Trevor Siemian played a huge role in getting Northwestern their first bowl win since 1949. Kain Colter struggled, throwing a pair of interceptions, and while Siemian's touchdownless 120 yards passing (he ran for a score) were nothing to write home about, Northwestern probably doesn't get the win without him.

6.0–Giving Illinois the business

Sports Reference

Sports Reference

Inject this game straight into my bloodstream. LOOK AT THAT PASSER RATING. LOOK AT ALL THAT OFFENSE. LOOK AT JEFF BUDZIEN CAPPING FIELD GOALS. /faints

7.0–GENERAL SIEMIAN'S CAPTURE OF SOUTH BEND

Ay, the night was dark and mother nature vindictive in her chilling winds, but General Siemian marshaled the troops past the sturdy Irish defenders, with the finishing blow applied by the plucky Corporal Jack Mitchell. Truly it was a victory that the people of Evanston shall not soon forget. Hail to purple, hail to white, hail to Trevor Siemian.

8.0–Saving the day vs Syracuse

In 2012, Trevor Siemian was QB 1B behind Kain Colter. But with Northwestern looking at a 6-point deficit with just 2:44 left, Pat Fitzgerald turned to Siemian, who, despite completing just one of his four passes to that point, led Northwestern on a 10-play, 75-yard, 2-minute drive into the end zone to win the game. We are officially reaching Sam Cassell celebration levels of moxie.

9.0–Saying he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash

Despite our previous attempts to waylay Siemian's credibility by calling him a liar, I still 100% believe this is a real thing. I mean he delivered the line with such panache. There's no way it's not legit.

10.0–PULLING OFF THE GREATEST KNEEL DOWN IN NFL HISTORY

LOOK HOW PERFECT THIS IS THOUGH.

IMAGINE THE CONFIDENCE IT TAKES TO DO THE DAMN THING THIS WELL. DOES THIS LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAD TO REPLACE ONE OF THE BEST QB'S EVER, PEYTON MANNING, AND ALSO A MONSTROUS HUMAN BEING, BROCK OSWEILER? NAH. MY MANS IS COOL, CALM, AND COLLECTED. GIVE THIS MAN A STARTING POSITION RIGHT NOW, DENVER. HE'S READY.

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