An Open Letter Apology To Teddy Bridgewater And Broncos Coaches
Sure, it's only one game, but I was wrong. I was wrong to completely dismiss the idea of Teddy Bridgewater even being considered for the starting job of Denver Broncos QB and I would like to apologize to Teddy at this time. He seems like a good guy, and I can admit when I'm wrong.
I'm a football nut and while admittedly I'm not a die-hard Broncos fan, I want to see them do well because so many of my friends and our listeners are. So, I'm pulling hard for you all. It's also a LOT of fun living in or near an NFL city when that team is cooking and playing well. Looking at this pretty stacked Denver roster, there aren't too many things standing in their way of being a legit playoff team other than quarterback play.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Drew Lock is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. But I believe the kid has EVERYTHING it takes to make it in this league. With the number of injuries the team suffered last year, in particular to some of his biggest receiving threats last year (Courtland Sutton in Week 2 and then his former college teammate and one of his favorite targets Albert O who went down later in the year), and 2020 being what it was (a complete ______-show), I personally was hoping to see the growth and improvement we heard about. We heard so much for so many in the Broncos organization, including the likes of Peyton Manning who Lock worked with a bunch in the offseason.
Then, with the Broncos passing on some quality QB's in the draft like Justin Fields, I thought Lock, as long as he didn't have a horrible preseason, would be back under center. That was even with Teddy Bridgewater coming in as a free agent. While Lock didn't really dominate in my opinion, I thought he played well enough to win the starting job. But he did stumble a little bit at times, and that was enough for Teddy, who just seemed to be more consistent. In the grand scheme of things, THAT is what is going to be the most important thing the Broncos need from the quarterback position in 2021.
With the stacked defense, a solid running game, and a nice stable of receivers, the quarterback just needs to be consistent and NOT force things and turn the ball over. That's where I think Teddy won the job over Drew. The coaching staff just felt it was a safe decision.
While Drew Lock has the capability to throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns, he also has the capability to throw for 150 yards and four picks. I think the inconsistency is what did him in when the coaches were making their decision. The Broncos can't afford to have an inconsistent quarterback because their window to win is NOW.
I've watched Teddy play for many years and quite frankly, I've just never been that impressed with him. To me, he always seemed like a pretty average quarterback (26-23 career record). Outside of a few brief moments of excitement, he wasn't too thrilling to watch. In fact, he seemed pretty boring to watch.
However, after watching the game yesterday, I was completely wrong. Teddy Bridgewater not only played it safe and did the little things right, but he also played an outstanding game and made some big and incredible plays.
This might have been my favorite one though...
YouTube/Apex Sports
After watching the game yesterday and already hearing it from the fans who thought I was wrong from the get-go, I just want to call myself out and apologize.
It's only one game and things can change quickly in the NFL in a long season. But after watching Teddy Bridgewater yesterday and after the doubts I had about him, I just wanted to personally apologize to Teddy for saying he was boring and to the Broncos coaching staff who I thought was making a terrible mistake in their decision.
Now, there's time for my original prediction to still come true and there's a chance that Drew Lock will once again get his shot. But for now, I just want to focus on what I saw in Week One, apologize for being so hard on Teddy, and hopefully what we saw yesterday continues. Great Job Teddy, and great job Broncos!
The Broncos travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars this weekend and will have their home opener the following Sunday, September 26 against the New York Jets.