Scangarello Reveals What he Needs to See From Drew Lock in Order to Activate him
For the last two weeks, the Denver Broncos have given off mixed signals as it relates rookie quarterback Drew Lock. Before the Broncos' Week 6 win over Tennessee, head coach Vic Fangio intimated that Lock would return to the practice the following week.
But with Denver's Week 7 bout vs. Kansas City being a short-week turnaround, Fangio later said that Lock — and the three other injured-reserve players eligible to resume on-field workouts — would end up being "robbed" of their opportunity to practice.
After all, the Broncos did not practice on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday before the Thursday night Chiefs game, outside of walk-throughs. But Fangio still made it sound like Lock would practice during the preparation for Week 8.
That didn't happen, though. Fangio admitted earlier this week that the Broncos are "trying to postpone" getting any of the IR players back to practice, including Lock, which was a demarkation from everything else the head coach had intimated in the weeks previous.
That was followed up by GM John Elway telling KOA radio that Lock "isn't ready" and that he's reluctant to play the rookie for concern that the "whole roof will cave in" on him.
Elway's public misgivings on Denver radio were followed by 9NEWS' Mike Klis issuing a seemingly team-sanctioned report that made it sound like the Broncos don't plan on even greenlighting Lock to practice until well after the Week 10 bye. Klis speculated (not without a basis of insider team info, mind you) that if Lock is activated, he might be able to serve as the backup QB for the final four games and maybe start the final game or two of the season.
A bizarre series of events — contradictory even. It all sets the stage for Thursday when offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello took to the podium for his weekly presser.
Scangarello was asked what he needs to see from Drew Lock in the coming weeks in order to feel confident he's ready to return off IR.
“Right now, he’s injured and it’s hard to make any of those kinds of judgments," Scangarello said. "He hasn’t done anything in such a long time and you know how it is—preseason seems like a lifetime ago. As he gets back into the swing of things and we see where he’s at, obviously you’ll have a better feel for where he’s at. He’s a rookie in this league who hasn’t played a snap and has a lot to learn. We’re excited about him and we’ll see where it goes.”
Okay, Coach. We get it. Lock is "injured", even though Fangio said a few days ago that of all the IR players eligible to return, Lock is the farthest along physically. So if Lock is farther along in his recovery than, say, Tim Patrick, why on Tuesday did Elway so casually reveal the Broncos' intention to activate Patrick to the roster following the bye?
You see? Mixed signals at the very least. How about a real answer, Coach, about what you need to see from Lock to feel good about activating him?
“A lot of it is just, you’re a young quarterback that hasn’t taken any snaps in the NFL," Scangarello said. "It’s the single toughest job to do well on the planet—I’ll put it against anything. You’ve got to have all the traits and that includes experience. And when you played in a certain type of offense and you haven’t done anything with any of these players in two months, that’s hard enough if you’re playing every day. You look around the league, I’m looking at the 2017 draft class right now—all those quarterbacks, it’s hard. You want to make sure a guy develops in the right way and he’s doing those things.”
While it's encouraging to hear Scangarello say that the Broncos are still "excited" about Lock, as I've said on the Huddle Up Podcast and written multiple times, there's no perfect time to rip the band-aid off and start the clock on the young signal-caller.
No one, including me, is advocating for the Broncos to activate and play Lock immediately. But getting him the much-needed practice time with "these players" he hasn't "done anything with in two months" is, at the very least, the first and next step in his development.
I wish I could tell you what was going on with Drew Lock. And what the Broncos' true view of him and plan for him is, but I'm honestly at a loss. The team's machinations of late have been inexplicable, especially in the face of Joe Flacco's incompetency, and are indicative of a lack of any plan for Lock whatsoever.
Scangarello's remarks smack of a coach trying to push the company line. I genuinely wonder what the Broncos' top offensive coach thinks privately about how the front office has managed the Lock situation publicly and from a football perspective.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
