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Drew Lock looks to take what the defense gives him versus Texans

There is a fine line between taking what the defense gives you and never getting anywhere and challenging a defense to produce the big play. Drew Lock has to find out how to do that consistently.

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During his first start, not everything went according to plan. When asked on Wednesday about what he took away from the Denver Broncos 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Drew Lock noted how he needs to take what the defense gives him.

“For one, going back to the pick, just learning not to force anything,” Lock said. “In college, I might have been able to get away with a couple decisions like that, but these guys are quicker, these guys are faster and these guys are smarter. I’m not going to be able to get away with things as much as I did in college. Where being able to take the things that they give me 24/7, that’ll just help us move down the field better. You-can’t-go-broke-if-you’re-taking-a-profit-type deal, so take what they give you. Being able to realize the little decisions throughout the game can really affect the big picture of the game, that was one of the big takeaways.”

At the big picture level, all of these things are true and is something Lock will need to keep studying and working on. What I hope he doesn’t do this week and in the coming weeks is become more hesitant in his decision making and less aggressive down the field.

The balance of taking what the defensive gives and challenging a defense is a fine line that the great quarterbacks know how to walk. However, even the great quarterbacks throw interceptions. It happens. I’d take the game Lock had early and late with an interception like he had now and then.

The issue, for me, is the tendency for this offense to completely disappear for long stretches of the game. Lock was asked about those ruts and he felt it just comes down to execution on the players end.

“Seeing it from the sideline, it’s hard to exactly get everything that was going on in those games, but I think it was just some little mistakes that we made on those plays,” Lock said. “We want to be perfect in execution and be able to pick up plays. I think we can go back to those three-and-outs and find one or two little small things that would’ve extended the drive, regardless of the play call. If we just come out and execute a little bit better out of halftime, keep focus in halftime, I think we come out and do an awesome job.”

We’ve seen that issue crop up time after time regardless of the quarterback. Whatever is ultimately causing the ruts, this team is going to be quite unpredictable on a week to week basis until they fix it.

The good news, at least from my perspective, is that the moments of the game never seemed to big for Lock. If he keeps working at it and grinding through the struggles of being a young quarterback in the NFL, he could have a bright future with the Broncos.

Your Broncos Links

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Lock’s successful debut is much more important. He made a handful of excellent throws on Sunday and should have another month to learn on the job and, hopefully for the Broncos, showcase the potential to be the long-term solution at the position they have been trying to find since Peyton Manning retired.

NFL Draft Links

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The Pick: Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa

The Denver Broncos just might have something in rookie quarterback Drew Lock—enough to see what he has for the remainder of 2019 and entering 2020 as the team’s starting quarterback. In the 2019 second-rounder, John Elway has the potential future, which he should protect with an improved offensive line. Garett Bolles isn’t getting it done at left tackle, and replacing him with Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs would be a huge upgrade for the Denver offense. Wirfs, who plays right tackle for the Hawkeyes, has the movement skills to play on the left of the Broncos line. He also has power in the run game that will help Denver get back on track offensively. The Broncos could use a cornerback or a defensive tackle, but Elway cannot pass up a chance to draft a left tackle of this caliber.

NFL Links

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