Will that be Joe Flacco, Drew Lock or one of the studs in the 2020 draft?
Things are hopping right now in the Denver sports scene. Though the Rockies are underperforming, they have time to work out the kinks and their struggles are put to the back burner as the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche fight their way into the depths of the second round of their respective playoffs. Each of these three teams has been slow to grow and each is led by one clear superstar that is the face of the franchise and has a long-term future in the city of Denver and the Rocky Mountain region.
The Avalanche have Nathan Mackinnon who has blossomed into one of the top players in the NFL during the 2019 playoffs. The Avs are very young and have a corps that should be together for years to come behind their superstar.
The Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, who is one of the most unlikely and incredible stars in the history of the NBA. The guy just finds a way to win and is putting up stats that have never been seen before in the league. He’s 24 years old.
The Rockies, of course, have Nolan Arenado who signed a monster contract extension in the off-season that keeps him in Colorado for at least three more seasons. He’s perhaps the greatest defensive third-baseman in MLB history and routinely puts up MVP numbers as a hitter.
The future is bright for all three teams and all three have built around youth, good coaching and a young superstar.
The Denver Broncos are, for the first time - in my memory at least - the worst team of the big four sports in the Mile High city. They do have a superstar in Von Miller and a young corps that should give fans hope for what the team could be in coming seasons but the problem in the NFL is, that if your superstar gets paid a ton of money and isn’t the guy slinging around the pigskin, you typically don’t win Super Bowls.
The Broncos have had their share of superstar QBs and few teams can claim to have had two of the all-time greats calling shots from under center. This fact puts more pressure on whoever is next to fill the shoes and we have seen many crumble under the big lights in Denver.
For the Broncos to join their brother teams in the true sunshine state (Florida, really?), they have to find their next superstar - and he must be a quarterback.
Joe Flacco is not a superstar QB. He never has been, and he never will be. He is a temp that can do the job well enough while they search for the next guy that can become the face of the team and share the limelight with Jokic, Mackinnon and Arenado.
The big question of course is, can Drew Lock be “the guy” in Denver?
Until we see him on the field, we obviously can’t say. So the next big question is when should Lock get his shot to show what he can be and if he can fill the giant shoes of the Hall-of-Famers who came before him?
We (the guys at Broncos & Bratwurst Podcast) believe that he is too rough to begin right away. He needs to work on his footwork and how to progress through his route tree and it’s hopefully something that he can manage to fix during some time on the bench behind Joe Flacco. The issue is that 2020 is a draft with some fantastic QBs and the Broncos very well could be in position again to pick in the top 10 (though hopefully not).
If Flacco starts the year 3-6 or something of the sort, do you give Lock the wheel? Is nine games enough to work with Scangarello on his shortcomings? Probably not but do you roll with Flacco and get another top-ten pick without having seen what Lock can do? If you get the chance to pick one of the big-three QBs coming out in 2020, can you really draft them without ever having seen what your 2019 2nd rounder can do?
Lock needs work but before the team can go after someone else or decide that Lock is their superstar, he will have to show what he can do in a real game against an NFL defense. In other words, the coaching staff is going to have some tough decisions to make during this season, especially if they struggle out of the gate. We will again have a QB debate here in Denver and we may as well print “team Lock” and “team Flacco” T-shirts.
What do you think? Can Lock be the superstar at QB that this team needs? Will Flacco be a guy like Elway says is, “just coming into his prime?” Or do you throw them both away and draft one of the studs in 2020?
A few things are certain:
- We need a star at QB
- QB controversies are dumb
- Drew Lock has an off-field feel of a superstar
- Joe Flacco has never been a superstar
- No one has any clue about true QB talent until they’ve played 10-20 games in the NFL
Here’s to hoping that as the superstar QBs around the NFL begin to retire, the Broncos begin their run of dominance behind__________________, the next Colorado superstar.
Go Nuggets!
Go Avs!
from Mile High Report - All Posts http://bit.ly/2GZmk8x
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