Why Hasn't Broncos' HC Vic Fangio Named a Starting Quarterback?

After multiple practices, and even after the Denver Broncos' first preseason game, head coach Vic Fangio has yet to name a starting quarterback. However, the reports from practice and the film from Game 1 suggest that Drew Lock has pulled away from Teddy Bridgewater in the competition.

Fangio's vacillation has been frustrating to watch as both of these quarterbacks could use all the first-team reps they can get before the season starts. But most quarterback battles are frustrating because they rarely work out for the team, and yet, you don't want to just hand one guy the job.

In a way, it is a necessary evil that teams without a concrete franchise quarterback have to go through a competition like this. Unfortunately, it often harms the team by taking away first-team reps. It would have been beneficial to see Denver pick a starter by this point.

However, it makes perfect sense, for a few reasons, why Fangio has yet to announce a decision. The biggest and most apparent reason? Football politics, for lack of a better way to put it. You don’t want to alienate the locker room by not letting the competition play out after billing it as a true "50/50" battle for months.

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Some veterans would prefer one quarterback over the other, but you don’t want them to be heated about it. Denver dealt with an issue that arises from a situation just like this not long ago with a locker room fracturing. As a coach, you have to keep your locker toom intact, and that is what Fangio is doing.

On top of that, Lock got his chance to start, though he worked with and against primarily second-unit players. He did very well in that performance, and the battle was close enough going into the Minnesota game to justify Bridgewater getting the start in Game 2. Based on what has been seen, it will take a lot for Bridgewater to get back into the race.

After a recent practice, Fangio said the Broncos are 'damn close' to naming a starter and it could come as early as Sunday. That falls in line with the timeline of at least letting Bridgewater get a start in preseason action. Then the Broncos can go into their final week of the preseason with a set starter getting all the reps.

So the reason a starter has yet to be named isn’t that Fangio thinks the battle is still 'even-steven" but because there is a reason to hold off. As he coaches for his job, letting the locker room fracture would be a nail in the coffin for him, so he must protect against that. Both guys will have received a shot to start a preseason game before a winner is ultimately declared, making it as fair as possible.

It's also likely there is some disappointment from Fangio, and other staff members, that neither quarterback exactly took hold of the reigns in this battle. There was much back and forth between them, including both performing well in Game 1, though Lock got the start.

This coaching staff was probably hoping that one of the quarterbacks would come in, blow them away, and take off in the battle to cement the job. Alas, that's not how it's shaken out.

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel.

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