Broncos Training Camp Observations: A tale of two quarterbacks

 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — What’s that noise? It’s the sweet sound of pads poppin’.

On Saturday, for the first time in the Vic Fangio era, the pads came on at Broncos training camp. But the story of the day didn’t have to do with big hits or contact.

As always, BSN Denver was on hand for the entirety of the practice. Here’s what went down.

A TALE OF TWO QUARTERBACKS

Just as practice wrapped up on a much cooler day than the previous two, Vic Fangio told his team he had good news and bad news in one sentence.

“There was a lot of takeaways today on defense,” Jeff Heuerman said, relaying the head coaches message to the team after practice. “That’s good for the defense and not as good for the offense.”

In the same format, it was good news for Drew Lock and bad news for Joe Flacco.

Let’s start with the bad.

Saturday’s practice couldn’t have begun better for the team’s unquestioned starting quarterback. On a deep bomb down the right sideline, Flacco went downtown to Fred Brown, who hauled in the ball for a score.

A perfect 1-for-1 for Flacco with a touchdown. It could only go downhill from there. And it did.

In the next period, crammed in the tight confines of the red zone—a place Flacco has historically been on point—he tried to split the defense in the middle of the field. The only problem was the defense wasn’t splitting. Instead, Justin Simmons emerged from the defensive crowd, pulled the ball out of the air and took off for the opposite end zone.

Later, near the end of practice, going up against the second-string defense, Flacco sailed a ball deep down the right sideline. With way too much wind under that sail, Will Parks floated underneath and easily snatched it, turning on the burners going the other way.

Then, on the very next series, trying to hit a crossing receiver short in the middle of the field, the pass from the 6-foot-6 quarterback was tipped and caught by a diving Josey Jewell. Pick number three.

When Flacco had time in the pocket, which was rare, he made many of the right reads, including finding a wide-opende open DaeSean Hamilton on the left side of the end zone during a 7-on-7 period.

He also found Sutton in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown during another red-zone-team period.

Too much of the day, however, was filled with overthrows, sacks and picks for No. 5.

Let’s get to the good news.

The kid was once again turnover free for the third-straight day.

Much like Flacco, Drew Lock’s day started nicely as he split the defense 20 yards down the field connecting with Austin Fort on a dart. If you’re wondering who that is, stay tuned.

During a 7-on-7 red zone period, Lock manipulated the pocket as he bought time to allow the play to develop. It paid off when he found a wide-open Kelvin McKnight in the middle of the field for a touchdown.

The next period was much more meaningful, however.

Going up against the first-team defense, Lock was swallowed by the entire front seven as the pocket completely collapsed on the first play. On the second play, the second-round pick found Khalfani Muhammad for a dump-off completion.

After finding a bit of momentum, Lock wound up and launched the ball 50 yards down the left side. Fellow rookie Juwann Winfree went up for the ball and came crashing down on his back. He kept control—completed pass.

The rest of the practice, Lock wasn’t flashy, but he was making all of the smart decisions, not putting the ball in harm’s way once. That’s an aspect his head coach has to appreciate.

“Every interception has a story behind it,” Fangio said after practice when asked if turning the ball over in practice can ever be a positive. After a long pause, he continued, “But no I’m not okay with it. You don’t want to turn the ball over. Turnovers make it harder to win the game.”

Through the first three days of camp, Lock doesn’t have a single turnover.

BUILDING A FORT

There hasn’t been this much excitement and anticipation for the Broncos’ tight end position in years. Noah Fant and Troy Fumagalli were supposed to bring some flash to Jeff Heuerman’s consistency and there was hope that Jake Butt would heal and turn into the player everyone hoped he could be when healthy.

But what no one expected was a fifth tight end to emerge. That’s exactly what’s happened over the first three days of camp.

It’s time to meet Austin Fort—an undrafted rookie out of Wyoming.

At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, Fort flies under the radar in terms of physical appearance and dominance, but so far he’s also slid right by Denver’s defense.

Every day of camp up to this point, Fort has caught passes from multiple quarterbacks. On Saturday, he caught a pass from all of them. Yes, including from Flacco and the first-team unit.

In fact, Flacco’s first interception into a sea of defenders in the end zone was intended for Fort. Just the play before that, Flacco connected with Fort while working in the red zone. Two series later, the veteran once again looked the rookie’s way for another completion.

It was the same story when it came to his connection with Lock, too.

Drew’s first pass of the day was 20 yards down the field to Fort in the middle of the field. After bringing the ball in, Fort was thumped by a safety bearing down on him but didn’t let the ball move an inch.

The Broncos’ quarterback of the future also looked to the undersized tight end in the red zone, connecting with him as he wheeled out toward the sideline.

And, fittingly, Lock’s final pass of the day was a dump-off to the tight end.

Finding himself all over the field, Fort became a safety net for every quarterback as well as a receiving weapon downfield.

Three days into camp, people are quickly learning about No. 89. And for good reason.

SHANNY RETURNS

The last time Mike Shanahan was at a Broncos practice he was running it.

The greatest coach in Denver’s history hadn’t been to a Broncos practice since he was fired in 2008.

On Saturday, thanks to Denver’s new head coach, that changed.

“I was glad to have Mike here. I invited him out. Wanted him to come,” Fangio said. “I was glad he was here. I think it’s good he’s here.”

The two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach stepped on the field for the first time in over a decade just as the team was breaking for warmups.

Throughout the duration of practice, the former coach showed off his pearly whites as he shook hands and caught up with numerous old friends and familiar faces.

However, it was clear coach still had some coach in him. Shanahan took in a significant portion of the team periods 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage, alone, with his arms crossed and zoned in on the action.

Joe Ellis stopped by and shared a conversation with the former coach before John Elway, his former quarterback, spent the rest of practice with him. As practice was wrapping up, John and Mike walked into the team’s facility just like the good old days.

“Mike’s got a big part in the rich history of this franchise,” Fangio stated. “He’s welcome to come here any time he wants.”

ADDITIONAL TIDBITS

• As the pads came on, the run defense came out. For most of the day, the defensive line swallowed up holes and Phillip Lindsay near the line of scrimmage.
• Josh Watson, a rookie out of Colorado State, received a significant amount of reps alongside Josey Jewell filling in for Todd Davis. After practice, Fangio stated he liked Watson.
• Joe Jones also received reps filling in for Davis and was impressive in many of the reps he had. Whether it was with the first unit or second, Jones was smothering in pass defense, breaking up multiple passes and forcing quarterbacks to intentionally overthrow receivers because the coverage was just too good. Jones also showed quickness rushing the passer from the right side on one play.
• River Cracraft is out “at least a week” with an oblique injury, according to Fangio.
• Receiver Romell Guerrier retired on Friday, opening a roster spot. On Saturday morning, the Broncos worked out multiple receivers and signed receiver Jamarius Way.
• Way caught a pass from Brett Rypien in practice less than two hours after signing with the team.
• Going up against air, Emmanuel Sanders had back-to-back one-handed grabs in the end zone early in practice. Cleary, his hands haven’t gone missing despite recovering from a torn Achilles.