Denver Broncos must embrace patience
The Denver Broncos fanbase has been in a toxic battle of what is right and wrong in their own eyes. In here, I’m not going to forcefully tell you to believe something that you don’t want to believe.
So let’s all first take a breath and exhale. It’s important for all in Broncos Country to understand or be reminded that the term patience needs to be applied to the team in its current state.
There has been significant change up top in the front office, but the theme of drafting and developing players remains the same. This does not change the philosophy of taking an opportunity to be aggressive if a situation calls for it. Yet, it is still important to understand that letting this team grow together will be fruitful for every player on the offense.
First, let’s start with the elephant in the room being quarterback Drew Lock. Lock was dealt the same adversity as everyone else in 2020: COVID-19. However, people feel like we were supposed to react the same despite that same adversity. It never works like that. Every single person is wired differently and every single person has a different way of processing things.
Every single team dealt with Zoom calls, reading playbooks, a different version of practices, no preseason games, etc. For Lock and the youngest offense in the NFL, they needed every opportunity to gel. Unfortunately, this never happened but during the regular season.
In essence, the whole team was learning and growing on the fly. Lock had a very up-and-down season. Some good and some bad. Maybe more good and less bad. Maybe more bad and less good. It just depends on who you talk to. However, there is one consistent theme here: Lock needs to play better. He has the tools and traits to be successful.
Lock has the cannon of an arm NFL teams dream of and good enough mobility to escape out of danger. Unfortunately, his aggressive nature got the better of him too often during games.
Gunslingers are a fit in the NFL and Lock will have to find ways to maximize what happened in 2019 for a full season. The other is footwork, knowledge of the playbook, and eye manipulation.
Regarding footwork, if Lock does not have the proper footing it can lead him into bad habits of throwing off his back foot. Now, there are times where this is a smart idea based on pressure. More often than not, it is better to be upright than off-platform. As gunslingers, you cannot change that necessarily. It’s in their DNA.
Eye manipulation is something where Lock will have to spot pre-snap where the safety is and then post-snap see if he can look him off a spot finding an open receiver.
The other point with Lock is growth. Contrary to what people may tell you on social media or on an analytics graph chart, Lock did show growth in 2020. Was it a lot according to a graph chart? No. However, growth is growth and we have to see it as that.
If there is positive growth occurring, then you as a Broncos fan should see that as a good sign. The question becomes if it was enough for him to be a franchise quarterback. He didn’t do enough to say he’s the franchise quarterback, but he has tools to where coaches can be patient with him and develop him to reach his full potential.
It took players like Garett Bolles three and half years to become an All-Pro tackle. Three and half years and two with the same position coach.
This leads to the amalgamation of positions. Knowledge of a playbook and the same system benefits all parties involved. There was a crowd of people who felt Pat Shurmur should be let go. There were also people who felt Shurmur should stay. The latter ending up being the final answer and the right answer.
Dabbling their toes in Deshaun Watson and/or Dak Prescott waters makes sense. As a new GM, you want to be in every single deal. As for Lock and others on offense, it makes a difference when you have the same system two years in a row.
Lock excelled at Missouri when he finally had the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back years throwing for 44 touchdowns as a junior. With a young offensive line and wide receivers, it helps everyone continue to gel learning a route tree, and being thrown into the fire early.
Players Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Noah Fant in the same system now should benefit from that continuity. You insert Courtland Sutton back into the mix and the offense is darn near complete.
Even Lloyd Cushenberry who struggled to begin the season will perform better under Mike Munchak in year two. Bolles in year three under Munchak expects to be even better. The only question mark will end up being the right side at tackle where Ja’Wuan James has to regain the trust of the team again. If there is one side of the ball where the potential transition will happen it is the defensive side of the ball.
Despite a recent repeat of 2019, a patchwork secondary still did a pretty decent job being tasked with dealing with facing tough offenses each week. This is where the mastermind of Vic Fangio comes to fruition. But much like offense, there is still room for improvement.
Cornerback play is one of the glaring holes on the team. The defense was no exception to the injury bug in 2020. About half the season the cornerback room consisted of Bryce Callahan and fourth/fifth stringers.
Michael Ojemudia was up and down but there’s some definite promise to his game with size and ball skills. However, the overall group might see a lot of overhaul. Expect a lot of movement in free agency and draft to ensure the position is upgraded.
As with pass rush and defensive line. There is no question the pass rush and player Von Miller should be retained in a Broncos uniform. Denver still has a decision to make with him and his club option. Both he and Kareem Jackson have club options that need to be figured out soon. As does the safety position counterpart Justin Simmons.
Shelby Harris is another huge decision regarding that line. Does Denver restructure Jurrell Casey or release him? There are far more questions surrounding this unit than offense.
This leads to an important point at hand. The Denver Broncos have to be patient with this young team. All bets are off certainly if they acquire a Watson or sign Prescott, but Denver’s best course of action under George Paton is to evaluate what a team looks like in 2021 with Lock and competition at quarterback.
In a true sense, how does Lock look in the first two years of the same system? Are these young playmakers be worth developing?
Thankfully I am not in charge of the decisions, but I do believe patience must be the direction for all parties in 2021.