It is game day for the Denver Broncos against the Tennessee Titans and time for the team to unleash Drew Lock Week 1.
The Denver Broncos begin the regular season against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. There is a bunch of things for Denver to consider in beating the Titans.
One of the things they should strongly consider is unleashing their young quarterback Drew Lock early and often. Lock enters the 2020 campaign with a 4-1 record as a starter and in one month. All during that time, he did enough to convince the Broncos to surround him with weapons to give him success.
With a tremendous pass rush in Tennessee, Lock needs to give up the ball fast. Luckily one of the traits he showed in December was a quick release to help neutralize the pass rush. Quarterbacks who get rid of the football not only help avoid the pass rush but the offensive line as well.
If Lock throws on average of two seconds, then there is a decent chance he can affect the pass rush of Jadeveon Clowney, Jeffrey Simmons and others. Lock’s mobility on the run is another factor to help eliminate chances for the defense.
One of the keys this year is when Lock sees chances to take off. This type of tactic was pushed by his coaches to extend plays making it more difficult on defenses. With the weapons Lock has around him it will be important to gain comfortability early.
Denver’s wide receiver corps is now arguably one of the best in the NFL. Courtland Sutton is well on his way to being a top-five player at his position. Jerry Jeudy is one of the most polished wideouts to be a first-year talent. Tim Patrick is a big body wide receiver who does not have any glaring holes. He just does things exceptionally well and plays at big moments.
At tight end, Noah Fant will be much improved both physically and mentally. Talent is already there, but with Fant looking stronger there’s a good chance he takes that next step in his growth.
K.J. Hamler will be a factor during the season but does not look likely to make his debut against Tennessee. Hamler’s speed will be an incredible weapon to help dictate coverages and create opportunities for others.
In Monday night’s game, the most likely candidate for the relationship early is Sutton and/or Jeudy. Both players will be seen early and often unless the team commits to a heavy rushing attack.
Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay lead an assault on the ground capable of pounding teams up front. With Jeudy, he is capable of creating so much initial separation Lock’s chances to see him go up drastically.
Sutton is a do-it-all threat capable of winning every deep ball. One of the strong things coming from camp was the rapport with each other. Lock and Sutton are creating a bond where they can grow and improve together year by year. They both trust each other.
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In a bizarre season, quarterbacks will need a target they can trust. Now if Lock brings that same trust to Jeudy and others than the offense will be difficult to guard.
One of the few reasons to unleash Lock this earlier is due to the injury to Von Miller. Miller sustained a foot injury and missing the rest of the regular season still remains unclear.
Vic Fangio still is in charge of cooking up schemes to backfill the loss of Miller, but he must also make sure his quarterback is ready to ball out at any time. For all intents and purposes, this is Lock’s rookie season, but he is set up to succeed quickly.
There still should be patience involved with a quarterback like this; however, throwing this amount of confidence into a player shows they believe he is the guy long-term.
It begins Monday night against the Tennessee Titans. The Denver Broncos must unleash Lock early. This will be a late game, but make the pundits stay up drooling at the offense of Lock and the Broncos.