The Broncos hit the practice field for the 1st of 3 scheduled days of a mandatory mini-camp Tuesday at UC Health Training Center. All eyes, of course, were on the Quarterbacks as Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater battle for the starting job. Although Head Coach Vic Fangio is always urging those watching to not look into these practices too much, it was obvious to everyone in attendance that Lock had a much better day than Bridgewater.
Fangio was asked about the progress he's seen through OTAs and now the 1st day of mini-camp, "I think they’ve both done well," he said. "Obviously, they’re getting more comfortable with the offense. I’ve seen them operate a little quicker and a little faster with their decisions, comparing the first few days to now. I think both of them have benefitted greatly from the work we’ve done.”
Without pads on, it's often hard to get a read on exactly who had the best day or who's excelling, but when QBs are throwing and pass catchers are trying to haul it in against a full team of defenders, it's hard not to keep track to some degree. And, in a couple of goal line periods we saw Lock complete TDs to TE Andrew Beck, WR Tyrie Cleveland and capped it off with a strike to TE Noah Fant, all whilst working with the 2nd Team Offense against the 1st Team Defense.
Lock knows at this point as well as in training camp, it's all about consistency as he battles with Bridgewater, "There’s a lot that goes into that," he said "but I’d say the easy question is just focusing on yourself and what your job is and not letting a ball hit the ground affect you. Balls are going to hit the ground in a game; you’re going to throw a pick in a game; there’s going to be bad points in the game; there’s going to be bad points in the can; you’re going to have a bad day. It’s about moving on to the next play and just growing from those mistakes so that you can go out there on Sundays or in the year and really benefit from those bad days in camp.”
Bridgewater, who didn't have really any success in the Red Zone didn't seem deterred and said he learned a long time ago what his approach had to be when you're in a QB competition in the pre-season, "You just keep shooting," Bridgewater said. "You don’t get carried away in what’s going on. You just keep playing ball. When I’m out there, I understand my job is just to [get] completions, get the ball to my guys and not my opponents, and keep our offense on the field. Everything else will take care of itself. It’s one play at a time where you’re out there. If you look too far ahead, that’s when you fall. Just keep shooting. That’s the mindset.”
Day 1 of Mandatory Mini-Camp also marked the first appearance of the Spring by incumbent starting running back Melvin Gordon who's been training on his own in California. Fangio said he expects Gordon will be ready to go when training camp rolls around at the beginning of August, but admitted, he can't really asses where the former Pro Bowler is right now with his conditioning, "It’s hard to tell, Fangio said. "He’s probably not getting enough reps to really be tested. He seems to be in good shape, but we’ll see. We’ll see how he comes back tomorrow from the work he had today. The next five weeks will be critical for him.”
Gordon said during the off-season a year ago, he never got into his routine, but that he feels a lot better about where he is physically with his normal off-season regimen. He also has a bit of a different look after cutting off his signature dreadlocks which have been a calling card of his since he came into the league 7 years ago, "I just needed some change. [Former NFL RB] Bo Jackson has been trying to get me to cut my hair for a while, so I know he’s somewhere smiling," Gordon said. "I just wanted some change, and I felt it was time. I’ve been wanting to cut it for a couple years now, but I was kind of nervous and scared to. My dad was pretty [upset] at me. He literally told me that I’ll lose the power of Flash if I cut my hair (laughs). He’s a little [upset]. It’s not in the hair, it’s the talent. I hope you guys like it. It’s different.”
Whether he's still "Flash" or not remains to be seen, and how much he can hold off 2nd round draft pick Javonte Williams from taking some of his snaps will play out once camp starts, but Gordon did give some insight into why he doesn't really like participating in the off-season training program with his teammates, "My biggest reason for hating OTAs is because the looks aren’t realistic to me," Gordon said. "You can still work other things. You can work your details and that’s what we do. We try to fine tune our details and do what we can. It’s not going to look as clean or as sharp as far as the look. It is what it is.”