While a tucked-away with , Denver's defense has spent all week practicing against the untested backup quarterback. linebacker told the team's official website ahead of Osweiler's start against the on Sunday. "He looks really good. I'm excited, and I think everybody is excited to have him out there."Said fellow linebacker : Steven Wirtel Jersey "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 has unfolded without a helping hand from Manning. Coach Gary Kubiak is fine with that, though, preferring his veteran pa ser 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 pa ser because of a scheme that stays the same no matter who plays."We've got the 2015 . 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? Randy Ramsey Jersey