Drew Lock has had his worst game as a professional. In the 43:16 loss of the Denver Broncos to the Kansas City Chiefs, Lock fought in cold weather and snow. In his ninth NFL start and eight full game as a starter, Lock looked scared and rattling, leading to some regressive tendencies and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six.
After the game, Lock decided to learn from his poor performance against the Chiefs and improve, but by that point many in Broncos Country had already pressed the panic button and got off the Lock train as quickly as they jumped. As the Broncos’ starting quarterback, he definitely earned the cacophony of criticism that has since been spread by local and national media alike.
Right now, especially for fans, it feels like Week 7 sums up everything Lock is and ever will be. For John Elway, GM of the Broncos, he is a successful Hall of Fame quarterback who played in the NFL for 16 years.
While Elway was certainly disappointed to see Lock fight in an important AFC West game, he recognizes that Sunday’s loss should be viewed as a massive learning experience for Lock and his young offensive teammates to grow from.
“It’s always hard, when you’re so frustrated, to know that we are going to play the defending world champions who are a great football team and to know it was a big game for us,” Elway told Phil Milani website. “I think it will be a good learning experience on how to deal with big games. The fact is, you still have to go in and stay inside, go through your progress and make things happen and not try to make things happen It will be a good learning experience for Drew and our football team, realizing that we can’t make the mistakes we’ve made, we have to play better [on] Special teams and we can’t afford to make the mistakes we made offensively, even though we played well defensively. It’s just a good learning experience for us and Drew. “
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Lock obviously felt uncomfortable in the pocket against the Chiefs, although the Broncos’ offensive line mostly did a good job of protecting. Whether Lock’s atrocity was due to the snow, the pressure of the moment, the size of the opponent, or just a bad day at the office, he broke his pocket too often, didn’t put his feet up consistently, resulting in a lot of off-target Throws and some long third downs.
Elway was there. The GM had a “win-lose” philosophy of sorts when evaluating Lock’s performance in the pocket, attributing it at least in part to the way things sometimes go for a young quarterback when he’s on too much puts his shoulders and finds himself pressing.
“I think that’s natural,” said Elway. “Sometimes you have a better sense of it than other times when it comes to when you are moving and when you are not moving. Sometimes you move a little early. You have days when you feel something that maybe not There is. That just – that happens. The most important thing is when you get into a game like the Kansas City game which is a big game that you don’t push and move on and stay in yourself, stay in your progress and then If you get pressured or flushed or do such things then get out and try to play games.
“But in big games it is very important to stay within ourselves and I think it will be a good learning experience for us.”
Last week was a litmus test for the Broncos to see how this new, youthful force measures the juggernaut bosses. Obviously, the Broncos failed it in a big, bad way.
It’s another AFC West dipstick this week, but it’s more focused and nuanced as Lock takes on ardent QB Justin Herbert of Los Angeles Chargers. Herbert brings a tsunami and brought in an Oregon quarterback that Elway explored and was said to be very fond of.
If Herbert had come out in the 2019 draft after his junior year, he could have ended up in orange and blue. But he chose to stay in school and return for his senior year while Elway drafted Lock with Pick 42 in the second round.
Seeing how well Herbert has played as a rookie so far, Elway recognizes the talent of the QB and the Chargers’ coaching team for his early success. Perhaps Broncos ‘offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur could take inspiration from Chargers’ OC Shane Steichen, who designed his scheme to match Herbert’s strengths and highlight what he does best.
“He’s a very talented quarterback and did a really good job,” Elway said of Herbert. “He made a nice transition. They did a damn good job, the chargers offensive and taken care of him and put him in situations he was comfortable with, and [with] What they’re doing offensively … He’ll be a very good quarterback in this league. He’s got all the talent, he can move, he’s big, he’s athletic, big arm, so we have a damn good division with the quarterbacks that we have in our division. “
No doubt with how well Derek Carr is playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos’ rivals at AFC West seem to have all the answers as the most important position on the field while Elway and outside society are still groping for them . Internally, though, the Broncos remain committed to Lock (for this year at least) and are focused on helping him navigate the pothole he’s currently in.
Elway has taken a personal interest in Lock’s young career and goes beyond the traditional role of general manager. The two have a relationship that extends into the halls of the Dove Valley.
Just last week, Lock spoke about how much he relies on Elway for advice and direction, and revealed that he meets with the GM after every game.
“It was huge for me,” Lock said on October 21, using Elway as a soundboard. “I think it was one of my favorite parts to come in and talk to him after the games. Just hear what he is.” have to say what he meant I could have done better, what he thought I did well and things to look forward to and things to do better in the next week. Anytime you have a guy like that in your corner it is a huge help. And when I say after the game, it’s immediately after the game. “
Elway and Lock finished the game – win, lose, or tie – while their nerves were still raw and fresh.
“He and I will talk right after that,” Lock said of Elway. “Emotions are high, it’s a very real moment for both of us and it was nice to have that feedback and speak right after the game.”
While everyone outside of the Broncos headquarters seems to be panicking, Elway, hearing at least the content of his utterances and the tonality of his utterances, is much more copaket at Lock. The GM isn’t happy with being blown out by the Chiefs, but he also realizes that even in the modern NFL, where young QBs shine a light on the league and are expected to develop very quickly, the pain for Lock will increase.
It will be interesting to see if Lock can turn it around and get back from that sad feat in Week 7 and bring himself and the Broncos back to some semblance of normality and competitive form. In the worst case scenario, the kid has the next 10 games auditioning to allay any concerns Elway might have privately and to prove that he can not only hang in that league but thrive too.
Lock has already proven that he has NFL talent through nine starts. But the annals of NFL history are littered with the bones of hoisted quarterbacks who had all the talent in the world but for some reason couldn’t figure out exactly how to get everything in the league up and running and keep things going for a bit.
At the end of last season, Elway read about the Broncos that the team had finally “ricocheted off the ground” and, largely due to the impact of Lock as a starter, was trending up 4-1 on the track. It prompted Elway to invest both free agent and draft resources in building the nest around Lock for 2020 and beyond.
If anything, Elway’s remarks in Week 8 indicate that the Broncos are still a long way from establishing with certainty that Lock isn’t that guy. The flip side of this coin, however, is that Lock does not yet have to emphatically prove that it is.
There is the problem. For now, let’s just say that Elway and the Broncos are open to either option, but continue to strive to find a more definitive answer to Lock with what is left of the 2020 season.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @ MeileHighHuddle.
