Bewerbungen » This year, the Broncos and Falcons get that

Way back when the Broncos first traded for Joe Flacco Phillip Lindsay Jersey White , I spoke with QB Statistician Ryan Michael to gather gather his thoughts. Broncos Country found this a bit harsh in February:Now we’re all nodding our heads. With Drew Lock watch clearly underway, I thought now was a good time to check in with Michael and gather his thoughts on Denver’s quarterback conundrum.1st and 10What have you thought of Joe Flacco’s play for the Broncos so far this season?Ryan Michael: When you and I spoke in February, I felt that Flacco “may be more of a boom or bust addition, with a greater likelihood to be the latter,” so things have pretty much turned out as I expected they might.What I see is a quarterback that is doing his imperfect offensive line few favors. This has been the bad version of Flacco - a conservative short-game passer who holds onto the ball too long and looks like a fumble waiting to happen.It’s the kind of performance that an elite offensive line and turnover-savvy defense could help mask. Unfortunately, that hasn’t come together for the Broncos yet this season (Denver ranks 26th in the NFL with only six forced turnovers).2nd and 7How much of the Broncos issues on offense come from Flacco?Ryan Michael: It’s too bad Elway didn’t draft Russell Wilson instead of Brock Osweiler because I believe Wilson is just the kind of quarterback that could get the most out of this offense.A fair amount of the blame this season falls on Flacco, but we should recognize that this would be a tough situation for most NFL quarterbacks. He’s toward the top of the league’s bottom third, for whatever that’s worth.This isn’t an offense that can afford molasses movement in the pocket. Rhythm is so important and it’s very difficult to develop when drives fizzle out; tough completions seem like pleasant surprises and touchdown passes are nowhere to be found. Outside of the loss to Jacksonville, Flacco has averaged 0.5 touchdown passes pergame, oversixgames.3rd and 3The last time we chatted, you had this to say about Drew Lock, the prospect: Given the way Flacco has looked and how the season is moving, would it make sense for the Broncos to turn to Drew Lock when he’s eligible to return?Ryan Michael: If they don’t attempt a trade for Matt Ryan or Cam Newton? I’m kidding. You have to consider Lock’s health first and that’s not something I can answer. If or when he’s 100 percent, I wouldn’t have any issue with starting him though.I wish I could tell you to expect great results, but I’m apprehensive. Not only is Lock inexperienced, not only did he present consistency issues pre-draft, not only did he play poorly in the preseason — but he hasn’t been healthy enough to get in the work that most backups would. That’s not a good combination Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , but I don’t know how much longer the Broncos can remain content with mediocrity.At 2-5, the postseason is very unlikely. Rebuilding isn’t fun. Uncertainty isn’t reassuring. I get it. But I’d rather see the team think long-term (and lose more games during the second half of 2019) than I would a spirited 7-9 finish that leaves you with more questions than answers heading into 2020.4th and 8If the Broncos do move to Lock, what would you hope Scangarello does to give the rookie his best chance at success? What would you hope to see from him?Ryan Michael: Fangio was pretty critical of Lock’s readiness this offseason, and the challenge of preparing him to be a consistent, reliable passer may be a blessing in disguise for Denver. Not only would it give them the opportunity to evaluate Lock, but it could also tell them a lot about what Scangarello brings to the table. Did his time under Kyle Shanahan help him to develop a little bit of creativity that a young quarterback with Lock’s upside could take advantage of?Better blocking and more creative play designs could help this offense establish an identity. Scheme your receivers open to take advantage of Lock’s range. Tight windows will likely result in more interceptions, so play to his strengths. A “poor man’s Patrick Mahomes” is something the Broncos could build around. You’d be taking a risk with Lock, there’s no doubt about that. But I’ve seen enough out of Flacco in this offense to determine that swiping left may be their best long-term option in the near future. The Broncos have had consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72. They also had a losing season in 1970, which means that they’re currently one losing season away from matching that three straight years of sub-.500 football.But the days of zero-and-zero are a time for optimism and hope, even if it’s unreasonable and/or implausible. It’s the time for puffing out the chest and calling a shot. Broncos G.M. John Elway declined to do that on Wednesday.“I’ll let you guys set that,” Elway told reporters on the question of expectations. “We know what our goals are. The bottom line is I never went into a season saying, ‘We’re going to be 10-6.’ I think we walk into every game with the idea that we can win it. The bottom line is we’ve got to go out and execute and play well. Obviously, you’ve got to get a little bit lucky and stay healthy, but our expectations are to take it a day at a time. Get through preseason, see what we have and then look forward to the opener in Oakland. Really take it one week at a time. Obviously, there are a lot of unknowns because it’s a new staff and a lot of new players. We put that all together. We’re hopeful to have a good year.”Hope really is the key word. All teams have hope that they can secure a spot in the playoffs. And all playoff teams eventually have hope that they can climb the playoff tree.“I think this is always the exciting time of year because you get to see what you have,” Elway said regarding the degree of hope in Denver. “Once we get the pads on John Elway Jersey White , we get a better feel for everybody. Then we get into the preseason, get a feel for the young guys and the players that we haven’t seen play. It’s an exciting time of year, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. I think that we always have high expectations of ourselves, but we just know that the position that we’re in, and the last two seasons that we’ve had, we’ve got to take it one day at a time. That’s what we’re going to do. I think we’re in good shape, too. I think being in early, having the extra week playing in the Hall of Fame Game, I think is going to help us with a new staff. I think that’s a positive for us being in early.”That’s an underrated aspect of playing a fifth preseason game.dvantage of extra work in practices and in practice games. The key for the Broncos could be new coach Vic Fangio, an old-school, defensive specialist who for whatever reason previously didn’t get a shot to run a team of his own. If he can do for the Broncos what he’s done for multiple defenses, the Broncos could make things very interesting in the AFC West, where the Chiefs and Chargers are believed to have separated from the Broncos and Raiders.