Drew Lock vs. Teddy Bridgewater: QB Scorecard Through 10 Practices
The Denver Broncos are trying to figure out who their quarterback will be for the upcoming season. The battle between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater has not quite seen separation in practice. While preseason games matter a lot more, you want to start seeing one guy separate.
After the first five practices, Lock had a decent lead over Bridgewater, but that has since dwindled. With this back and forth, there is a noticeable trend with which QB wins and how.
When Lock wins the day, it's mostly a big victory with super highs from him, but when Bridgewater wins, it is often thanks to Lock having a bad day, more so than Teddy straight-up taking the practice, all of which highlights the high variance of the incumbent.
Getting to the scoring system for this battle and each of the 10 days, there is a total of 10 points to be awarded to each quarterback, depending on performance. Whichever won the day, that QB earned the majority points.
The first day of practice was a push, with both players scoring five points. That was followed by the biggest win for Bridgewater by a score of 7.5 to 2.5 as Lock was making minor mistakes while Bridgewater was hot. Day 3 was a shallow win for Lock as he made big plays while Bridgewater kept it short and simple and won the day 6-4.
The fourth day of practice was the day Bridgewater crumbled and threw three interceptions with a near-fourth one. Lock kept it clean, made big plays, and easily took it 9.5-0.5 over Bridgewater. Day 5 was another shallow win for Lock with a score of 5.5-4.5, while t he sixth was another push day with each getting five points.
Bridgewater then started gaining some decent wins over Lock because of the mistakes the young guy was making. Days 6 through 9 went 6-4 each day for Bridgewater over Lock. Bridgewater really stepped out of his comfort zone by pushing the ball while Lock was reserved, keeping it short, and having some bad miscues.
Both quarterbacks made some big mistakes during the span, so none of these days are really a win for either of the quarterbacks. Instead, what they were was a loss for the Broncos because these three practices highlighted the concerns of rolling with either of these two as the starter.
Finally, after their 10th practice, Lock bounced back in a big way and was no longer the reserved self he was for the previous few days. He kept it mostly clean, suffering from a couple of near interceptions, but he pushed the ball and made big plays.
Meanwhile, for Bridgewater, there was little he could do to move the ball. There were multiple occasions where he held the ball too long and took what would’ve been a sack in a game, which Lock struggled with as well but not as often.
Bridgewater had a bad day with multiple miscommunications and bad throws, highlighting his arm-strength concerns. Lock took the day 8-2 over Bridgewater, and it was due to the former looking solid out there while Bridgewater had almost another big collapse as he did in the fourth practice.
Overall score: Lock 53.5, Bridgewater 46.5
Each quarterback has taken four days, with two days being a push.
This should be very concerning, no matter how you look at it since neither of these quarterbacks has started to break away. As said, it is only practice, but this is when you want to see it start happening out there.
Why it's Bad for Lock
If he wants to be a franchise quarterback, he has to take this sizeable step forward. If he struggles to put away another quarterback that was ranked bottom-5 last year, it's not a good sign for taking that step.
That's especially the case when the argument often made was how he needs another year in the offense. But, unfortunately, this is Lock's second year in Pat Shurmur's scheme, and yet Lock continues to make the same mistakes he did in college and even a year ago. If he seeks to be a franchise quarterback, he should be separating more than he is than ‘Steady’ Teddy.
Why it's Bad for Bridgewater
Teddy has made it clear that what he is, is what he is. There shouldn’t have been this hope of great growth from Bridgewater because you can't teach an old dog new trickw.
It's especially concerning with Bridgewater because he's displayed a lot more high variance with his practice showings with much lower lows. He's produced several practices with multiple interceptions, and his big plays are often the result of a shorter throw and the receiver making a big play after the catch.
This isnt a good place for the Broncos to be when it comes to the quarterback position. Neither guy is doing enough to really separate from the other, and by now, you want to see a decent lead for one of them. Well, with the first preseason game coming up on Saturday, hopefully, that separation really begins.
With Lock having the lead, as it stands now, with solid practice, it would be best to see him build on that, show consistency, and start to run away with it. Having Lock win this battle was always the best option as he does have far more upside than Bridgewater, but he has to cut down on the offensive killing plays.
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