Fangio Explains Truth Behind Broncos Not Naming a Starting QB on Tuesday

The Broncos finally broke their silence on the big decision fans were waiting to hear.

Tuesday's episode of 'The Decision: Denver' turned out to be a Mile High disappointment for fans hoping head coach Vic Fangio would finally call the offseason-long quarterback competition. After the incumbent Drew Lock received a start in preseason Game 1 and played very well, the newcomer Teddy Bridgewater got Game 2 and also excelled. 

Perhaps fans shouldn't have been too surprised Fangio opted not to make the decision in the wake of both signal-callers answering the bell in their respective starting auditions. With the Broncos now operating practice in season mode, fans had to wait 'til late afternoon to learn of any development on the decision front. 

By the time Fangio took to the podium around 4 pm MDT, word had leaked that both Lock and Bridgewater had received and split the first-team reps in practice. That alone was confirmation that this 'even-steven' competition was going to drag on another week. 

“We haven't decided that yet," Fangio said coyly at the podium. 

The veteran coach followed that up with a little more nuance but not much. Why the agonizing wait, coach? 

“We just want to do it at the right time, meaning the right time obviously for the players involved, for the team involved, and for everybody," Fangio said. "We don't play another game—we've got 19 days.”

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Some in media have donned their tinfoil hat, declaring that Fangio has made a decision but he's waiting to reveal it until the Broncos suit up in the season-opener on September 12 at the New York Giants. Because, you know, for a defensive coordinator faced with the prospect of preparing for either quarterback, the gap between the two is so steep and perilous that it's likely to keep them up at night and sweating bullets. 

All joking aside, Fangio probably does believe, on some level, that waiting 'til gameday to announce the starter would give the Broncos a modicum of a competitive advantage over the Giants. However, after a long offseason replete with rampant speculation and a divided fan base (and maybe even locker room), the upside benefit to naming the starter sooner than later should outweigh any Giants-oriented scheme. 

Although many journos are scratching their heads over Fangio not naming Bridgewater 'The Guy,' the truth is, Lock played well in Seattle despite the disadvantage of the second-team offensive line choosing to pick that game to play at their worst as a unit. Fangio acknowledged that and, somewhat surprisingly, complimented Lock — a phenomenon that has been rarely heard since Teddy arrived at Dove Valley. 

“I think he [Lock] was the victim of—we had some protection breakdowns there early when he got sacked those couple times," Fangio said. "We had a little quarterback-center exchange issue which caused him to get tripped up there on that one play where we fumbled it in the red zone and had to settle for a field goal. I thought he made some good throws, I thought he stepped up a good time [and] improvised on that one play to [WR Seth] Williams. I thought he played well overall.”

Lock's day at the office in Game 2 wasn't anywhere as impressive as Teddy's, though the supporting cast around Bridgewater executed at a much higher level. No surprise, right? That was the first-team unit, after all. 

But what likely factored into the team's decision to stretch this out another week was the fact that while the first-team offense also played well around Lock in Game 1, the twos did as well for Teddy. The same could not be said when Lock was with the second team in Game 2. 

The silver lining, in Fangio's eyes, anyway, is that the margin separating Lock and Bridgewater is razor-thin. That's a good thing. The alternative could be that of the 2011 Broncos that saw the powerhouse battle between Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow play out. 

So, what must Lock and Teddy do over the next handful of days, including the preseason finale vs. the Los Angeles Rams, to finally sew this thing up? 

“It's pretty damn close," Fangio said Tuesday, echoing the same statement from a week ago. "I mean, you guys have seen it. I've asked a few of you a few times and neither one of you [has] come up with an answer. So, it is close. I think it's close for a good reason. They both have played well. The good news of this competition is we've got two quarterbacks that we feel we can go win with.”

All will be known in due time. Stay tuned. 

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