The Denver Broncos named Teddy Bridgewater their starting quarterback for the 2021 season on Wednesday. This comes after a long, but necessary, battle with 2020 starter Drew Lock.
Against the Seattle Seahawks during their second preseason game, Bridgewater orchestrated a long drive that spanned 16 plays, went 87 yards, and took 9 minutes and 47 seconds off the clock. He threw a touchdown pass to K.J. Hamler to conclude the drive.
Both quarterbacks have yet to throw an interception this preseason, but preseason was only part of the equation. Training camp was the other.
Bridgewater’s leash should be fairly long in 2021. Even though head coach Vic Fangio has stated recently that the competition is close, I just don’t think it would make sense to go back to Lock if things don’t go as planned with Bridgewater. The name of the game is consistency. It doesn’t do anybody any good to alternate quarterbacks. Especially if the quarterback who lost the competition hasn’t won in the past.
Going from one quarterback to the other would be a huge mistake because you don’t simply go through this competition and make an almost last-minute decision to go to the other guy in the middle of the season.
Pulling Bridgewater for Lock during the middle of the season would also make Fangio and Pat Shurmur look like they don’t know what they are doing. It would look like they admitted that they chose the wrong guy.
The Broncos had opportunities to select a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, as well as potentially trade for a better quarterback than Bridgewater. There were other guys out there. If Bridgewater does not pan out in 2021, it’s going to have a bad impact on this team.
If the roles were reversed and Lock was named the starting quarterback, things would be quite different in terms of a leash. If Lock were to fail, it would be a lot easier to switch to the veteran.
As former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer asked recently, how do players respond to the quarterback? It appears that they probably responded nicely to Bridgewater even if they all say that similar things about Lock as well.
What is the determining factor for the Broncos QB competition?
— Dave Althouse (@davealthouse) August 22, 2021
Just ask Jake Plummer (who has been in a similar situation) - "It comes down to how the players respond to the quarterback, who is the leader, who can get the players to believe." pic.twitter.com/WJUT1YrHN1
Not to say Lock isn’t a leader, but Bridgewater has also been around longer. It is natural for the veteran quarterback to be more of a leader. It will have an impact on getting teammates to believe in your abilities.
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At the end of the day, if Bridgewater gets the hook, I believe it sends the wrong message to the entire Denver Broncos football team.