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Fangio Strongly Compliments Broncos QB Brandon Allen: 'He's a Gamer'
Only a couple of short weeks ago, Brandon Allen was a third-year quarterback still yet to make his first NFL start. Fast forward to today, and he's now 1-1 as a starting quarterback and almost led the Denver Broncos to what would have been a massive upset win over the Minnesota Vikings.
For a player who arrived in Denver for the first time on the doorstep of the regular-season opener, it's fair to say that Allen has exceeded expectations. No question.
Allen might be .500 as a starter, but he's earned the admiration and respect of his head coach. On Wednesday, Vic Fangio offered up a rare public compliment directed at the Broncos' current starting quarterback and share what he's learned about Allen over the last few weeks.
“That I think he’s a gamer," Fangio said. "Like I told you guys before he played his first game, I didn’t know exactly how he would do, but it wouldn’t be because he was overwhelmed by the situation. He’s verified that. He likes playing football. He enjoys being out there in the fray. He’s got good quarterback instincts. I like him. He’s taking advantage of his opportunity.”
Allen's 6-foot-2 size and traits won't blow anyone away. He fell to the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft for a reason. But he is absolutely a young QB who finds a way to flip the switch when the lights go on. Hence Fangio's 'gamer' tag.
Undoubtedly, Allen is trying to make some hay while the sun is shining. The question is, how long will the sunshine of being the Broncos' starter beam down on his shoulders?
With Drew Lock being fed an almost unprecedented 8-10 reps with the first-team offense during each practice, it's only a matter of time before the Broncos give their rookie second-round QB a shot to start.
The more games the Broncos lose, even with Allen at the helm playing admirably, the closer Lock gets to the field of play. Still, whatever comes with Lock, Allen is putting on tape an overall impressive body of work, relatively speaking.
Through two starts, Allen is 29-of-59 for 433 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He's been good for a solid QB rating of 83.5. As a thrower of the football, the biggest knock on his resume thus far is the putrid 49.2 completion percentage, which is at least 11 points shy of the NFL low-water mark.
Allen's lack of arm strength has been evident at times, but most obvious on the second-quarter interception he threw in Minneapolis, although there was a communication issue there between he and the target. However, outside of that one throw he'd like to have back, and his lack of awareness to get out of bounds or hurry up to clock the ball as time was running out in Week 11, Allen has outkicked his coverage.
“We had a run play and I couldn’t get out of bounds, so the clock is going to run," Allen said on Wednesday, reflecting on Week 11's loss to the Vikings. "You have to do your best to get up to the line, get a play called and we had a play called. We got up and got set and then they burned a timeout right after that. I think you do what you can, but you want to be as quick as possible and make sure everybody is set and lined up correctly.”
Live and learn. Faux pas like that one is the cost of doing business for the Broncos with such an inexperienced QB under center. It'd be no different if Lock were starting. With Joe Flacco on injured reserve, the Broncos have the most inexperienced QB room in the NFL currently.
However, there's no question the Broncos offense has looked like an entirely different product on the field with Allen calling the signals. Firstly, he's a much more aggressive QB from a mindset perspective, which we've seen result in many more explosive pass plays downfield, whether it be to Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant or Tim Patrick.
Secondly, Allen is young and more athletic than Flacco, and thus has brought a more dynamic style of play to the Broncos offense, which has allowed OC Rich Scangarello to open things up a bit and not be as conservative.
Tip your cap to Allen. He's making the most of his situation as Fangio said. It's unfortunate for him that he drew the Vikings and Buffalo Bills (later this week) in two of his first three career starts.
If the Broncos fall to the 7-3 Bills on the road, they'll fall to 3-8, at which point, it'll be next-to-impossible for Allen to do anything to forestall the rise of Lock. At worst, Allen has proven to the Broncos his competence and viability as a backup-level QB the team could count on in the years to come.
But this starting job still has Lock's name all over it. Currently garnering about 25% of the first-team practice reps, it's only a matter of time before Lock gets the greenlight and the clock officially starts on his era as the starter in Denver.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
