Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t the only starting quarterback who won’t be out there next week. Broncos passer Drew Lock has a sprained AC joint in his shoulder and is expected to be out 2-6 weeks, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Schefter adds that Lock will have an MRI on Monday to determine more specifics, but it sounds like Denver is going to be without him for at least a couple of games. Jeff Driskel came on in relief, and will now be the starter moving forward. It’s a brutal blow to the Broncos after they’ve suffered two narrow down to the wire losses through the first two weeks.
They’ve had some bad injury luck, with star pass-rusher Von Miller likely to miss the season due to ankle surgery and top receiver Courtland Sutton banged up. It’s also tough for Lock’s development, since the Missouri product only started five games as a rookie and could use all the reps he can get.
There was a lot of optimism internally with this Broncos team entering the year, but that has mostly been dashed now. Driskel performed admirably against the Steelers and nearly led a comeback in the second half, but he’s shown during previous stints with the Bengals and Lions he isn’t going to be an above average starter.
This kid is super overrated.
Dude has played 6 games but ok
I don’t think so, I think Elway finally got it right TBH
The good news for Denver is that Driskel looked mostly good in relief. He hit a lot of throws that Lock has struggled width (or at least gave his receiver a chance), mostly in the deep and intermediate parts of the field. His arm looked great, and he threw with a lot of zip and accuracy and looked like he knew where his primary target was on most of his snaps.
That said, his decision making could use some work. He missed several important protections on pressures and did not get rid get through his reads on a few snaps. Driskel has Hamler wide open in the end zone for a sure touchdown, and just did not read his route for a score that would have won the game.
Overall Driskel played decisively and was physically impressive, but needs to make better decisions on taking care of the ball and interpreting situational football. He needs to have better command of his reads and not take bad losses on critical plays. All of that said, Driskel played better than Lock has since his first few starts, and gave Denver a chance to capitalize on a decent defensive performance and win the game. Defenses next few weeks will be preparing for him, and not Lock, and Driskel will have to clean up these mistakes while continuing to deliver on the strong points of his game today.
Also, Hamler looked fantastic. And on more than just deep routes. As good as Jeudy is at getting separation, he is going to have to work on looking the ball in and completing his catches.
So does Elway sign Paxton Lynch, Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Tim Tebow or Jay Cutler now?
LOL. Elway and his QB picks. Always an interesting one. Should’ve stuck with Case Keenum and worked in what worked for him in Minnesota.
Honestly, I feel like the Broncos’ QB coaches have been the problem more than Elway’s picks. Beyond developing a QB, established QBs coming to Denver have struggled to get into a rhythm. When you ask yourself what Denver’s offensive identity is, do you have a clear answer?
There has been no long term QB, no long term head coach, and no long term coordinator. There has been no offensive system to hand down to successive coaches or players either, and no player leaders to hand down knowledge. They’ve changed offensive systems a lot with their high turnover in staff the last five or six years, and Manning commanded so much of that offense-even in 2015. When you look at Denver, the only constant that you see is Elway, and obviously he does not coach the quarterbacks.
I think that he was counting a lot on Osweiler to continue that system after Peyton and Gase left. He re-hires McCoy to bring back some familiarity to the offense, but that didn’t work out either. He’s tried veterans (Flacco, Keenum), and young guys (Siemian, Lynch, Lock, Allen). The problem is that there is no one there to coach them and develop a consistent offensive system. Those guys were almost on their own, due partly to a lack of consistency and partly to poor coaching, especially after Kubiak left.
Shurmur is a veteran coordinator though, with a clear offensive identity. Mike Munchak is a veteran and proven line coach. Will he have the effectiveness to install an offensive system in Denver, and the ability to develop a young quarterback (whether that’s Lock or someone else)? Denver needs a reliable offensive coach.