Shurmur Attributes Drew Lock's Ill-Advised Tendency to Drift Backward in Pocket to Basketball Background

Drew Lock has a 'drifting' problem. Too often, when the opponent's pressure gets home, Lock has a tendency to drift backward and throw off his back foot, which has led to many errant passes and multiple turnovers.

Look no further than the Denver Broncos' Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The one thing that separated Lock's fourth-quarter performance vs. Atlanta from that of his winning version in Week 8 vs. the Chargers was the ill-timed interception thrown smack-dab in the middle of the period.

The Broncos' offensive line allowed instant pressure up the A-gap and Lock saw a wide-open Jerry Jeudy over the middle of the field, so he drifted backward, throwing off his back foot. The pass sailed high and was picked off.

Yes, Lock needs to better trust his protection but in the case of that play, there was no protection. So, what was the alternative? In offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's estimation, the preferred result would have been to either "eat it" (take the sack) or to throw it away.

On Thursday, Shurmur likened Lock's drifting problem to a basketball player's fade-away jump shot. There are allegories but in the case of Lock, this particular parallel has not served him well in the NFL.

"He’s got this basketball background where every once in a while it turns into a fadeaway," Shurmur said via Zoom. "There are times when you can get away with that, but then there’s other times when fundamentally you have to stay in rhythm and do what you need to do with your feet and your mechanics. He works on that daily.”

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No doubt, Shurmur and QBs Coach Mike Shula are trying to iron that wrinkle out of Lock's game but unfortunately, through six full games this season, it's not coming out in the wash. While it might be a bridge too far to say that Lock has regressed, it should at least be acknowledged that he hasn't taken that expected step forward with his mechanics in Year 2.

Lock has always been loose with his mechanics and odds are, he's never going to be the fundamentally sound and technically perfect passer that Peyton Manning was. Lock is that athletic point guard, to liken it back to basketball, and that can help him make plays outside the pocket when he has to go off-schedule.

But too often this year, Lock has taken it off-schedule when he should have instead trusted his protection, stepped up in the pocket, and delivered a throw with velocity and accuracy.

"I think that’s what we are working on is to make sure to trust the protection," Shurmur said. "If it requires stepping up and throwing, step up and throw. If it requires sliding and throwing, do that."

At the end of the day, Shurmur and company see Lock's ups and downs as being part of the process. It's a snippet in the larger tapestry of a young and still raw QB's development.

It's frustrating for fans, and his coaches alike, to see him at times make things harder than they have to be but that's part of developing for Lock. Sooner or later, though, if he wants to stick in the league and maintain the faith and support of not only the coaches, but the front office, it has to start showing up on the field consistently.

Shurmur's outlook for Lock, with eight games remaining in the season, is one of optimism.

"For the quarterback, it’s not really quarters in the game, it’s quarters for the season. I’ve seen steady improvement from him each week," Shurmur said. "There are certain things that all quarterbacks need to do—they need to be consistent, but they need to be able to take advantage of big throws and make big throws, and he’s done that. He’s made some big-time throws. If you just sit down and watch the game critically, he made some really good throws the other night that we just didn’t connect on, for whatever reason, and I alluded to some of it. Then there were some things you have to clean up."

Part of what Shurmur is hinting at is the clarion call for the offensive line to block up first-down runs better, to set Lock up for manageable second- and third-down situations. Part of that onus falls on the running backs but when the ball-carriers get met at or behind the line of scrimmage, that falls on the O-line.

Between needing the collective effort of the running game to show up when its number is called and Lock's fundamentals to be more diligently minded by the QB, things can come together sooner than later for this beleaguered, but still very talented, young offense. Recognizing when to throw it away or to "eat it", to use Shurmur's verbiage, is part of growing as an NFL QB.

"We weren’t protected right on the one interception," Shurmur concluded. "He just has to eat it or throw it away and he’ll learn that, but that’s that basketball player in his driveway going to try to make that fade away. So, that’s human nature and part of the maturity process. The growing process is to know the next time that happens, that’s not my reaction. I either eat it or put it somewhere where nobody gets it and then you get back in the huddle and call another play."

It's time for Lock to start showing that growth and maturity that Shurmur is pointing to. Do that, and the 300-plus yards and six total touchdowns of Lock's last two fourth-quarters can be parlayed into big numbers for a full 60 minutes.

I'm guessing that would play out well for the Broncos in the standings. And silence the critics and doubters.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.