Hello boys,

I’m hoping the NFL will not postpone the game against the Panthers. We need a win desperately, and if Drew “Pick the” Lock can’t beat a depleted 4-8 Carolina team, then I’m storming down to Mr Elway’s office and demanding we draft Zach Wilson.

The Panthers are as pathetic as we are, so they should recieve no leniency from Roger Goodell. It may be considered an empty victory, but a W is a W.

Cheers to worsening our draft capital with a meaningless win on Sunday.

I am Shat, this is the way.

Guys,
First off, THANK YOU for naming the realities of Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz yesterday. I’ve been mind-boggled tracking the conversations of people actually trying to make sense of bringing in a Darnold or Wentz. I haven’t been able to make sense of it or come up with actual thoughts on it, so thank you for the reality check there.

Second, are we still too far away from Sunday to know how likely the offense is to continue in the, as I think RK called it on Sunday’s postgame, “Scangarello-style” or should we expect to be back in shotgun sets in large part? Along with that, what are realistic Tuesday expectations for the offense this week against the Panthers defense?

Hoping Drew takes another full step or three this week!

Hey guys,

We all know how important these last four games are in the evaluation of Drew, Vic, heck everything. I don’t believe in moral victories, but seeing how the Broncos played against the Chiefs has given me some optimism for these last match-ups. What did you guys see from this last game that can give you optimism going forward?

Fellas,

You guys, namely RK, has talked a lot about Zach Wilson. I don’t follow college football that much and don’t know anything about scouting. Why should Denver consider drafting him? Why should they stay away from him? Who is his closest pro comparison?

Greetings gang,

All things considered, I’m pretty darn proud of how our team played against KC. Our defense stood tall in the redzone, and have us an opportunity to win.

As a commenter had mentioned yesterday, I’m not off the Lock train yet, but I’m unbuckling my seatbelt and gathering my belongings. I so want him to be “the guy”, but the excuses of no offseason or new offseason are losing weight each week. I’m not seeing his decision making improve. The tools are there, but what does it take for him to make better decisions, to run his reads? Is he capable of taking those steps in this offense?

Stay safe and stay healthy,

Jonny G.

P.S. Hats off to the Chargers. (I really dislike Kelce)

In each of his past two starts, Drew Lock has been top 10 both in QBR and in EPA per play. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

hey guys!

are y’all (i figure rk might be, but zac and mase might not) familiar with the situation that’s happening with the eagles?

i think they’re doing doug pederson SO wrong this year. he’s a great head coach who’s being scapegoated by the organization imo. it started when jeffrey lurie made him fire two assistant coaches at the start of the year despite doug saying he wouldn’t the day before, and things have only gotten worse- starting from injuries -especially to the offensive line- the regression of carson wentz and several questionable personnel decisions from howie roseman over the past few years.

i know i was preaching continuity yesterday and we all know that vic probably isn’t getting fired, so this is hypothetical, but would y’all let vic go if/when pederson gets fired? i have zero doubt that he can get another head coach job next year and judging by his pressers recently he’s done being in a big market and answering big market questions so denver might be appealing for that reason.

ironically his strengths as a head coach are almost the opposite to vic’s. his situational coaching and game management have generally been pretty good, but he needs a strong supporting cast of assistant coaches to help with game planning and scripting. what do y’all think?

tldr- if the broncos fire vic, would y’all hire doug pederson?

The Broncos have made a decision. The defense and running game will have to win the games and they came so close this week. Of Drew’s 15 completions, 13 were passes to a player within 10 yards or less from the line of scrimmage. Still he missed 7 of these short throws. He had only one completion over 20 yards (first throw of game to Fant) and 5 incompletions with 2 ints at that level.

Sorry, those saying he needs another year and a full offseason will be saying the same next year. They will point to a couple good games he has, and this is a much QB class than next year is projected as hands down.

Let’s have some controversy……. My rankings of QB’s in next years draft at this point

1. Trevor Lawrence
2. Zach Wilson
3. Kyle Trask
4. Justin Fields
5. Trey Lance
6. Mac Jones

I don’t trust Justin. Ohio State program doesn’t prepare a QB for NFL. His only competitive game vs. Indiana, wasn’t that great. Trey Lance needs to join a team with a starter with limited time and time to learn, this isn’t Denver. We are at #10 at the moment with Washington’s win so a slight chance for Wilson and should have a shot at Trask. O-line isn’t strong this year and we are locked to Ju’wan James for at least a year, so it’s either QB or defense. Outside of CB, the draft talent isn’t worth that #10 pick if you look at our needs.

No chance, but wishing Gase keeps his job and screws up the Lawrence situation, as he does everything else. We need to draft a QB and make the moves necessary to get one with real upside. Let him compete with Lock. No more babying him.

Hey guys!

Y’all gotta be kidding…

To compare Drew Locks “leash” to Baker Mayfield is absurd. Let me remind you that Baker was the first overall pick, coming off a Heisman trophy win and a CFP berth. He was always getting a minimum of 3 years. Given Drew’s draft status and play thus far, he should be given 4 more games to prove he belongs, not a snap more. If my math is right this would give him 18 career starts which is what a second rounder should be afforded, plain and simple.

Furthermore, to claim the Broncos “broke Drew Lock” like the Eagles did to Wentz or the Jets did to Darnold is laughable. It’s laughable because Those 2 players were top 5 picks that have been sacked on average of 2.5+ times per game over the last 2 seasons. That’s how you break someone; draft them high and let them get beaten up. Drew Lock has been sacked less than 1.25 times per game since entering the league. Drew has been sacked 16 times in his career! WENTZ HAS BEEN SACKED 50 TIMES THIS SEASON ALONE! The reality is that Drew Lock was never “fixed” enough to have ever been broken. He entered the league broken. His footwork is a mess, his bad habits routinely put the team in bad situations, and his overconfidence bordering on cockiness every time he does anything remotely decent on the field is head scratching to say the least.

I pray you’re both wrong in saying that John Elway will think about bringing Lock back next season because he “50% believes in him”, this is the mentality of a loser and I can’t reckon with my beloved Broncos adopting such a loser mentality. In this league it is so easy to turn things around, by simply adopting a winning mentality. Really hope Cold Water Mase can back me up here…

Thank you for all your great content, even if I do wholeheartedly disagree with you from time to time. It’s all love!

(P.S. you all owe the WFT an apology, amazing the strides that franchise has made this year)

The Phil Problem –

He’s not great in pass pro
He’s Not great as a pass catcher

Shurmur, therefore, only uses him as a runner. So when he’s in there, the other team knows he’s getting the ball on the ground and can arrange their defense accordingly. (See the Chefs game)

Solution. Shurmur needs to figure out how to use two back sets and disguise the backs.

Love
The Count

Essang Bassey got me thinking about injuries again. It seems like the bulk of them happened so long ago that we forget just how wrecked this team is. Do you guys have a stat on hand that can give some reference to how bad the injuries have been relative to the rest of the NFL? Like the number of missed games from expected starters? Do the Broncos have it worst or is it the 49ers or Eagles?

Fun side note: I listen to all my podcasts at 1.5x to get through more of them. If you’ve never listened to the DNVR songs at 1.5x you should, they’re great! The opening tune becomes an upbeat bluegrass romp and the closer becomes a rocker.

Cheers!

Hey guys it’s been awhile since we’ve seen drew play at a high level. So remind us, what is his athletic or talent ceiling?
Also look for fsu rb johny ford , hes thr next great midget rb coming out of college.
Thanks for everything guys!

There’s been a lot of talk on this pod about how the Broncos are going to call plays going forward in order to get the best read on Lock that they can. Coddle him vs. throw him to the wolves….and likely the truth is likely somewhere in between. However, how does the job security of Vic and Shurmer factor in?

If they unleash Lock to see how he responds, and it goes very poorly, doesn’t that increase the likelihood their seats get hotter? Or if they “play it safe” with him, squeak out 2 or 3 low scoring wins, but at the expense of not gaining any more insight into Lock’s prospect going forward…don’t those “wins” likely help secure another year for Vic and Shurmer?

This is my long winded way of suggesting that what’s best for the Broncos long term (learning about Lock) and Vic/Shurmer’s job security don’t exactly line up. That scares me.

MY BOYS! RIP to Top 100 Denver Bronco Member and offensive guard, Paul Howard, who recently passed away. Gary Kubiak said that “Paul Howard was a nasty, nasty player. He was an old-school type of guy.” Jim Saccomano had this to say about Howard: “In our 61-year history of the Denver Broncos, only one player has played more for the Broncos on the offensive line or started more games, and that would be Tom Nalen. [Howard] was a very, very good solid player.” . . . The Broncos’ current offensive line seems to be trending in the right direction. Do you think that the Broncos will draft their right tackle of the future this April or will they cross their fingers for Ja’Wuan James to be willing and able to play next year and in seasons to come? Do they re-sign Demar Dotson to another one-year deal as a hedge? Have a terrific Tuesday. DNVRMY SALUTE!

Longest comment I’ll post, sorry. Seeing others’ comment about how unlikely it is that Drew’s the guy next year. Again, unless Drew lights the world on fire these last 4 games, Broncos country will be torn apart if we don’t have another option at QB. Just “hedging our bets” with someone like Darnold but having Drew viewed as the probable starter would devastate a lot of Broncos Country. We’d have a serious schism in the fanbase with lots supporting Lock, but lots of people feeling hopeless. It’s not good for the team to have large portions of your fans feel like that because you put your hopes in another struggling QB for too long.

Honestly, 16 TD to 15 INT is kind of a pathetic line that indicates no serious team should start that QB. QBs doing that (Baker last year, Daniel Jones this year) had like a dozen games of better numbers before putting that up. Besides, Jones arguably shouldn’t even be a starter.

Bare minimum I want to see Drew throw 8 TDs and 2 Ints to finish 17 and 15 but even then he probably shouldn’t be our QB. 19 and 15 is more like it. If you guys were forced to put money on Lock either hitting that 8 and 2 the next four games or falling short and you guys would bet against him hitting it, it says a lot about how high the chances are at this point that we need someone else next year.

Also, Lock had 4 throws that were nearly picks that game not including the one where the WR slipped and it was a flag cause that’s not his fault. Most of the time, Drew’s probably leaving that game with 3-4 picks, sometimes he’s walking away with 5 picks. When I re-watched those, I think this game was a step back for Drew.

PS: Did you guys do helmet stickers? Not sure if I just missed it

Good morning everyone!!
Well I can’t comment on the game because I couldn’t find a sports bar playing it in Costa Rica the other day but hearing your breakdown on the road today has been solid, just wanna say thanks for that and ask a quick favor.

If you could make today’s pod a quick seven hours and then again tomorrow that would be SUPER! I’m not excited to drive from Orlando to Houston but seven hours of comments while I drive to go do some jumping in warmer weather for the holidays would make the drive bearable.

I believe in you guys!!!! SEVEN HOURS

Danimal

My Boys!

I gotta say I’m a little disappointed the Broncos signed a reserve kicker. I was hoping if anything happened to McManus the Broncos would trot out Kendall Hinton to blast off a few from 50+.

Hi guys. Loved the discussion about Lock, not because I love the fact that we still have questions about our QB, but because it was balanced, nuanced, and recognized there is no easy answer. That kind of discussion is why I really enjoy this podcast and community.

I think RK is exactly right. For those that still believe we don’t know the answer on Lock yet, I think there are only two options in the offseason. If you find through trade or draft somebody you 100% (or at least 90%) believe is better for 2021 and/or beyond, then get that guy and say goodbye to Lock. If you don’t find that guy or can’t get him, then give Lock 2021 with the same offense, a real offseason and OTAs, and a (hopefully) return of Cortland Sutton. Give him a chance to do what Josh Allen has done.

IMO, the worst option is a hedge. As RK said, you don’t come to Denver for football rehab and the entire organization is going to face pressure the first time Lock throws an interception or the offense looks stagnant. It’s not that I care about Lock facing the pressure of that situation, it’s that I’ve seen how the organization handles it and it sucks. The QB carousel didn’t work in 2017 or 2019, so I don’t know why anybody thinks it would work in 2021. The Broncos need to be decisive and either give Lock 2021 and live with what happens next year or say goodbye to him. Anything else is just setting up for disaster, IMO.

My boys! I am actually very concerned with Jerry Jeudy, he truly seemed to not be trying out there at times. That terrifies me, I understand he should be targeted more, but that gives me an Emmanuel sanders vibe. I understand everyone wants the ball, but even when Sutton wouldn’t touch the ball, he didn’t look like he was giving up. I would take the less talented WR who just wants to win over the ultra talented receiver who would give up on his team. I’m definitely over reacting, but could jerry be a guy who demands a trade, or who gives up if things don’t improve? Am I freaking over nothing? Thanks guys!

Hey guys, I think it’s pribably safe to guess a quarterback will be added in the offseason, and I’m curious as to who you think would be Elway’s most likely target.

As far as veterans go, Matt Stafford is the obvious choice but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be available, it’s not hard to imagine the new regime in Detroit feeling like Matthew is their best option going into 2021. Dak would be another obvious one, but again, no guarantee he can be had.

From there, and maybe more likely for us is a football rehab guy like Darnold or Wentz. Do you guys think either would be a fit or someone John Elway would covet? He liked both of them going into the draft and we’ve seen flashes of brilliance from both (less so from Darnold) so maybe Elway thinks a change of situation could be benificial.

Lastly, there’s the draft. Lawrence and Fields won’t be in range, and fields isn’t Elway’s type. Lance I think is a little to raw and I can’t see us pulling the trigger on another longboard term project. Zach Wilson could be in range for us and would be a fantastic pick for us, but if I look at it from the FO’s perspective, Kyle Trask seems like the idea fit. Played against top competition at Florida, prototypical size at 6’5” 240 lbs with the ability to stand in he pocket and make great throws with pressure in his face. He also plays in a pro style offender, diagnoses defenses well and is well liked by his teammates. The biggest knock on him is that he’s not sexy, he doesn’t make big plays with his feet, he doesn’t have a Josh Allen rocket arm either (I’d say his comp is a less athletic Wentz or Roethlisburger).

Seeing his skillset as a player, Elway’s ideal prototypical size, relative polishedness, and likelihood of being available at our pick, I think we will be hearing a lot of Kyle Trask to Denver talk as the draft approaches.

I agree with RK, give Drew more situational trust, just putting the game on him and telling him to run the whole playbook is how we got into this mess

What do you think our record would be this year with the team as it currently stands (injuries and all), but with a middle of the pack QB. I’m thinking Kirk Cousins, Teddy Bridgewater etc.

So why isn’t there a statistics and percentages aide to help Vic in situations until he doesn’t need them anymore?

So I’m on team Drew and its because of Josey Jewel. Follow me down this rabbit hole, will you….

Josey recently talked about how the defense in year 2 is reaction instead of thinking thinking thinking…

So why isn’t the offense granted the same? Then you tie on the covid opt out….you add the injuries to the #1 TE an the #1 wr…… There’s a lot of moving parts…. Give him a break!!!