Shurmur Reveals how Drew Lock Checks Box for What 'You Really Judge a QB by'
Drew Lock stepped into the starting quarterback role for the Denver Broncos in Week 13 of last season. By the time he left the field, the Mile High City had been lifted and energized.
Lock would finish his five-game audition with 1,020 passing yards, a 7-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio, while completing 64% of his passes and he set a few team and NFL records along the way. What really made people around the NFL sit up and take notice, however, was how Lock helped the Broncos win games.
It's important to remember; heading into what was the 11th game of the season, the Broncos had won a measly three games. Three games! Lock stepped into the starter's role and the team finished the season on a 4-1 tear, handing first-year Head Coach Vic Fangio a 7-9 record.
7-9 isn't something to write home about but 4-1? That is. New Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur put his finger on Lock's ability to win games in his Thursday virtual press conference.
“Well, his sample size—one of the really good things that happened last year is he was able to play the last five games," Shurmur told local media. "You really judge a quarterback by his ability to help the team win games. To be 4-1, that’s a really good start. Now I would say he fell victim to some of the rookie things that happen, but the fact that he as a rookie had a chance to play—you only learn as a quarterback, in my opinion, by playing in live game settings. He learned a great deal."
Shurmur's remark cuts to the core of an issue that I've debated before. Wins are not a QB stat per se — not in the same way that yards, touchdowns, interceptions, completion % are — but a signal-caller, no matter how experienced, is very much judged by his ability to lead his team to victory.
Some media types might take exception to the notion of wins being a QB metric of note. But to the people inside the NFL — the executives, coaches, and players — it means everything. Shurmur started his evaluation of Lock from the 4-1 finish.
Then, the Broncos' OC dived deeper into some of Lock's mechanical issues and, as Shurmur said, the traditional rookie pitfalls he "fell victim to". Despite there being no in-person OTAs this spring, Shurmur and QBs Coach Mike Shula have been offering up their tutelage to Lock remotely on the technical flaws he needs to work on ironing out this offseason.
From a football IQ perspective and a thirst for learning, Shurmur has been impressed by how Lock has attacked this unique offseason of virtual installs and team meetings.
"Along the way you’re constantly testing them," Shurmur said. "I was very impressed. He was able to keep up with the installations when he and the rest of the quarterbacks and [O-Line Coach] Mike [Munchak] and I would sit down and just generally talk concepts. I think he’s got a really good feel for the game. He’s developing a good feel for what we want to do."
When July 28 rolls around, Shurmur and Lock will finally get elbow-to-elbow with his coaches and then the fun truly begins. Meanwhile, Lock has been organizing throwing sessions around Denver-area parks with guys like Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and now KJ Hamler.
"If the rumor is true that he’s throwing to our players, I think he’s learning something there," Shurmur said. "We’ll just try to put it all together here come July.”
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
