Terrible play call on 3rd and 2 at end of game.

[FR Tim]

Not sure what Shurmur is thinking. He is trying to be too cute with a roster that just isn’t that talented or experienced.

The shovel pass on the goal line last week and today choosing to pass with 2yards to go and minimal protection. Really frustrating.

Only possible explanation is a blown protection by Gordon, which has its own issues too.

[L.M.]

We ran for a combined 104 yds, 26 attempts, 4 yds per attempt average. Not fabulous but definitely still worth running on 3rd and 2 IMO.

[Hadez]

He’s the backup with very little experience, he’s going to follow the script and probably stick to his first read more often than not. He wouldn’t be a backup if he was a good QB

That's why he's a backup QB in the NFL. From the behind view (from Pittsburgh's side) it looked like Gordon never had his head around until Driskell was on his way down, if he throws that ball I don't think Gordon ever has a chance to catch it. Denver had a good play call, Pittsburgh had a better one.

I agree

What is sad is I am not sure if Lock plays the game better than Dris did based on what I saw against Ten. I would like to think he would play better but I have a hard time remembering anything I saw on the field in 2020 that makes me think Lock would have been better than Dris.

[Butler By'Note]

I agree

What is sad is I am not sure if Lock plays the game better than Dris did based on what I saw against Ten. I would like to think he would play better but I have a hard time remembering anything I saw on the field in 2020 that makes me think Lock would have been better than Dris.

That's a very very small sample size. And in both TD drives in game 1 he looked excellent. The game would have been called completely different if Lock had been in there, so I'm not sure we can compare apples to apples.

But I do believe Lock was holding the ball too long today. On the play he got injured I think he had two chances to throw the ball for potential completions and didn't.

[Hadez]

He’s the backup with very little experience, he’s going to follow the script and probably stick to his first read more often than not. He wouldn’t be a backup if he was a good QB

That's a very very small sample size. And in both TD drives in game 1 he looked excellent. The game would have been called completely different if Lock had been in there, so I'm not sure we can compare apples to apples.

But I do believe Lock was holding the ball too long today. On the play he got injured I think he had two chances to throw the ball for potential completions and didn't.

That is the main reason I do not think he would have done better than Dris. I am not sure if we score 20 points with Lock at Qb today.

There may be no one outside of Lock who knows why he was holding the ball too long but the answer to that question would be very good information for the coaches to have. Maybe it could be corrected...maybe it can not. We will see.

[Butler By'Note]

That is the main reason I do not think he would have done better than Dris. I am not sure if we score 20 points with Lock at Qb today.

There may be no one outside of Lock who knows why he was holding the ball too long but the answer to that question would be very good information for the coaches to have. Maybe it could be corrected...maybe it can not. We will see.

MHR has a piece up that had the injury play from an angle behind Lock and I have to say my theory was completely incorrect. Fant was 1 on 1 but the defender had inside leverage and Fant didn't make an outside move until 10 yards. So that wasn't an option. And Hamler did come wide open in the middle of the field, but it was after Lock started scrambling right, and Lock was tripped and started to stumble just before Hamler got there open, so Lock's attention turned to the ground and he couldn't see Hamler.

So on that one play, Lock didn't actually hold it too long, as I claimed, he just didn't have a viable option early enough.

[fraguela09]

And we need to know the play call too. If it was to wait for the Hamler cross... then blame is on PS. I’m operating under the impression PS isn’t that dumb and he called for a quick hitter... and when ball doesn’t arrive, he went off script.

[Hadez]

MHR has a piece up that had the injury play from an angle behind Lock and I have to say my theory was completely incorrect. Fant was 1 on 1 but the defender had inside leverage and Fant didn't make an outside move until 10 yards. So that wasn't an option. And Hamler did come wide open in the middle of the field, but it was after Lock started scrambling right, and Lock was tripped and started to stumble just before Hamler got there open, so Lock's attention turned to the ground and he couldn't see Hamler.

So on that one play, Lock didn't actually hold it too long, as I claimed, he just didn't have a viable option early enough.

Throwing the ball away is always a viable option. The good Qbs even know how to do it without drawing a penalty. Young Qbs may draw penalties but they learn by trying to do it. I would even say throwing the ball way is not just a useful tool in avoiding negative plays but it is also one of the best tools for a QB in avoiding hits / injuries.

Would be nice to see Lock try it and not just assume he had no viable options.

Look the NFL is hard. Most people will fail that is just the fact of the game. The good will try...and fail...and will learn. Lock has 7 starts under his belt and we are just fans.

Hopefully the coaches are not being as hard as some of the fans but being hard enough to help a kid grow. Hopefully the coaches are not making as many excuses as some of these fans either or he will never grow.

[Hadez]

And we need to know the play call too. If it was to wait for the Hamler cross... then blame is on PS. I’m operating under the impression PS isn’t that dumb and he called for a quick hitter... and when ball doesn’t arrive, he went off script.

This is something only really known inside the coaching staff and some players but from what the announcer said the Broncos started calling short passing plays after Lock got hurt. He mentioned they were doing it to for the back up QB.

Like the fans the announcers are speculating. Sometimes they get more inside info than the fans but who knows on this case.

[MileHigh Salute]

Why not just line up a OL or DT in the backfield for a jumbo package and run the damn ball. If nothing else you at least get a yard and make it even tougher on the defense to determine what you do next.

It is just the same stuff over and over where we beat ourselves and over think everything