Fangio Says Broncos Have 'Committed' to Drew Lock but the QB Must 'Keep Improving'
The Denver Broncos are rolling towards the conclusion of their turbulent and injury-plagued season. Quarterback Drew Lock’s big performance in Carolina gave fans another tantalizing glimpse of his unique talents.
Lock’s career-high four passing touchdowns were buttressed by vastly improved decision making against the Panthers, which could point towards him making the strides forward in his development to secure a future as the Broncos' quarterback.
Some fans argue that Lock's powerhouse performance in Week 14 was a case of 'too little, too late' and while that’s most likely true as far as the Broncos' playoff hopes go, it doesn't take into consideration the unique challenges Lock has faced in 2020. The difficulties of changing offensive coordinators in Year 2 could explain why the Broncos' offense has taken so long to gel this season.
What Lock has not been short of is advice from NFL veterans, all of whom have been preaching the value of staying poised and not making rash decisions with the ball. That support group has ranged from head coach Vic Fangio to OC Pat Shurmur, and QBs Coach Mike Shula.
On Monday, Fangio gave his insight on some of the tweaks Lock has been making to become a more efficient and effective signal-caller.
“He’s got to go through his progressions and be quicker to maybe find the shorter outlets more so than we have in the past, “Fangio said. “ I thought he did a good job of that yesterday [in Carolina], and when we had something downfield, he did a good job of hitting those guys.”
Patience has been in short supply throughout the ranks of Broncos Country in 2020, especially when other young guns like Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, and Joe Burrow (pre-injury) have manufactured such splashy headlines. What Fangio made clear is that Lock is being coached up incrementally with the long game firmly in mind.
“I think everybody’s always being evaluated each and every week,” Fangio said. “Obviously, we’ve committed a lot to Drew here. We want to see him keep improving, and we’re hopeful and anticipating that he will.”
Lock revealed on Sunday that his continuing student/teacher relationship with GM John Elway has hammered home the virtue of not forcing the ball into difficult situations, something the young QB has clearly struggled with this year.
“That’s the toughest thing to learn, for me at least,” Lock conceded. “I don’t know about others, but that’s the toughest thing for me. Yes, he’s preached to me just doing your job and not trying to force anything. Once you force, those are the ones that you want back. It sucks, because the ones you end up forcing are in games that you want really, really bad.”
Going through growing pains in the NFL spotlight is never easy — something Elway himself can attest to as a Hall-of-Fame signal-caller. It also goes a long way towards explaining why Lock struggled in games vs. divisional rivals. The Chiefs and Raiders have done well to turn Lock's competitive characteristics against him.
Opposing defensive coordinators have frequently baited the 24-year-old into forcing bad passes, a reality Lock is now waking up to.
“You want to win so badly that you end up doing some things out of character,” Lock confessed. “It’s all about being calm and focused in those games. That’s when you make the right decisions, and I’ve been getting preached that quite a bit here these last couple of weeks.”
Dialing down backyard 'hero-ball' instincts is essential for an NFL QB to reach an elite level. This Saturday, Lock will suit up for his 16th start, which adds up to one full season spread over two years, so perhaps fans shouldn't be surprised to finally see him maturing and learning from the harsh lessons his NFL exposure has taught him.
Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL and @MileHighHuddle.
