ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — As media personnel are inching closer and closer to knowing who the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos will be, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur hasn’t been afraid to put in his two cents about assumptions.
“Unfortunately, you guys are all charged with doing the math on everything,” Shurmur said.
How many reps did Drew Lock get? How many reps did Teddy Bridgewater get? It’s been an ongoing calculation since the start of camp, and Shurmur has his own views of Lock though.
“He just needs to play well. We talk about the quarterback thing behind the scenes and in private all the time, and I think that’s really kind of the topic. That’s for coach to discuss with you publicly, but he just needs to play well and continue on the right path. We’ve seen the improvement. We’ve seen a young player—in my opinion—get better with an offseason and now a training camp,” Shurmur said.
And of Bridgewater.
“Teddy and I had common background with scheme, but just getting used to things—cadence and how we function here. Every pro organization is professional in their approach, but how you handle meetings and practice is a little bit different,” Shurmur said. “I think that’s just getting to know the Broncos, our quarterback room, and how we function on offense.”
Bridgewater will get the start in Seattle, but no matter what this will be a real test against the Seahawks defense.
“No, I think it’s great. There are about four or five, maybe six real different styles of defense that you face, and this is one that’s been tested over the course of time. A lot of one high safety, a lot of man, a lot of three deep, a lot of guys down close to the ball trying to stop the run,” Shurmur said. “In preseason they play a little bit more man—probably to see who can cover. [That’s] in their discussions of who their best 53 are. But it’s a challenge. The good thing for us is it’s different then the style that we face here in practice. That’s the unintended advantage of getting ready to play against these guys.”
Game time is 8 p.m. MST Saturday in Seattle.