Training Camp Day 2 - Bridgewater Wins The Day, Patrick with a Big Day Too

The Broncos QB Competition on Day 2 of Training Camp 2021 wasn't really much of a competition at all. For most of the day incumbent Drew Lock struggled, and he didn't even complete a pass until the final team period in the red zone. Although, it's worth noting, he did throw 3 short touchdown passes.

Conversely, veteran Teddy Bridgewater was "Steady Teddy" just taking the little 2 and 3 and 5 and sometimes 7-yard passes the defense gave him. He did cap his day with a nice fade to Tim Patrick who had himself a heckuva day all the way around. As Courtland Sutton continues to work back to 100%, the growth of Patrick last year will allow the team to continue to feature both 6-4 wideouts.

Head Coach Vic Fangio gave a bit of an update on the improvement Sutton is making as he returns to form. "Yeah, I’m seeing progress," Fangio said. "I [saw] yesterday and some today that he’s still holding back a little bit. He worked in the offseason, but all his work in the offseason was on air. Now you put the defenders out there and it’s a totally different ball game. He’s got to react to where they are. He doesn’t have clear paths all the time. He’s got to change [things] unchoreographed and suddenly that he didn’t think he’d have to change. I see a little hesitancy. I don’t want to alarm the alarm. It’s not, but he’s progressing. He’s going to keep getting better and better."

The defense, which may have given up a few more big plays in Day 1, certainly made things challenging for all 3 QBs, as there were multiple would be sacks, including 1 from defensive lineman Shelby Harris who also knocked down a Lock pass in one of the team periods. "Best hands in the league, baby." The host of the "Shel-Shocked" Podcast said. "Yeah, I had a batted ball today, but it’s about getting better. We’ve just got to work on our craft. My boy ‘Sosa’ [DL McTelvin Agim] had a big one. It’s the stuff we do in ‘indy’ [individual], we got to bring as a team. And then when we do that, we’ve got to bring it to the games. Everyone’s out here working and trying to perfect our craft."

It's hard to imagine the Broncos backfield being stronger than the were on paper last year before the Phillip Lindsay got banged up, and only played in 8 games. But with Lindsay's departure in free agency, GM George Paton added a familiar face in special teams ace Mike Boone whom Paton saw every day when he was with the Vikings. Then he traded up from 40 to 35 in the 2nd round to get Javonte "Pookie" Williams out of North Carolina.

Melvin Gordon, who returns after leading the team in rushing a year ago missing the 1,000-yard mark by just 14-yards, admitted after Thursday's practice that he got caught up in the perceived "competition" with Lindsay, but admitted the 2 were actually good friends, he just didn't realize how beloved the Denver South and CU alum was in the Mile High City. Gordon, more comfortable with where things are in year 2 in Orange & Blue gave a pretty detailed breakdown of the 2 new running backs, starting with Boone, "Just explosive, "Gordon said. "Like I’ve said before, being here in minicamp, [RB Mike] Boone is explosive. I think he can be a playmaker, and I like [RB] Javonte [Williams]. [He] has really good vision and really good feet. The game is going to be faster when we get into preseason. It’ll slow down eventually like it does for everyone. That’s when you can really get a good feel for the player. When we’re out here, we don’t have any pads on. You really can’t feel it out how you want to feel it out because when players put on pads, they are a whole different player. They might rise to the occasion, and they might lower. You never know. I think both of them will show us something. Come preseason, that’s when we’re really going to be—especially Javonte. We’ve seen Boone and we know what Boone can do. He has highlights all over YouTube. As far as Javonte, we can really see what he does under the lights."

Fangio talked about how Gordon looks in year 2 with him, "The big difference with Melvin is—you guys are going to see it here shortly...I guess he’s going to be up here in a little bit...He’s [awfully] damn cocky because the [Milwaukee] Bucks won the NBA title. So, get ready for that," Fangio joked. "I think Melvin, like a lot of our guys on offense in particular—second year in the system. We had an offseason, we had a training camp. Everybody has a little more confidence and a little more of an efficient operation and execution of the offense. I think he’s one of those guys. He is a powerful guy, and he’s a good runner. We want to be physical. The narrative out there that the ball is being passed a lot more than it used to be in the NFL, is really not that true. I did a study of it this year, and from 1980 to now, passes have increased four-point-something percent. You still have to be able to run it and stop it. Yep, some teams rely on one more than the other, but running the ball is still very important.”