Joint Practices With Vikings Present New Challenges For Broncos QBs

(CBS4) - The Broncos quarterbacks got their first taste of a new defense on Wednesday as the team practiced with the Minnesota Vikings in the first of two joint practices.

The afternoon practice at the Vikings practice facility brought a slew of new looks and new challenges for Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, which is to be expected when seeing a totally new defense. More importantly, it's a crucial opportunity to get better as a team.

"Today, we did a good job of just trying to execute based on different looks. Just to see some of the different looks that the Vikings defense has shown. It was huge for us just to see where we stand as an offense and what areas we need to get better in. Seeing the different looks, trying to protect it and trying to make the right reads versus different looks is the big takeaway from today," Bridgewater said.

"There's a lot to take from it today. I'm anxious to get back, watch this film. There's a lot of things that I could've done better today. Some good things that I did today, some good things that we all did today, some bad things we all did. I think that's the benefit of coming to these things. There's some wild looks that we saw and will be able to go back and learn from," Lock said.

Joint practices are meant to present new challenges. It's how both teams get better. The real test is in how players respond when the teams meet for a second time.

"We make a play, we learn from it. If something goes bad, we get back to the meeting room and we learn from it. You don't really see guys making the same mistake twice when we come out to practice. That's huge to see and that's showing a lot of growth in this offense," Bridgewater said.

"They do a lot of different stuff. When you go against the same defense over and over again for a couple weeks, you get pretty used to what they're doing. You kind of fall into some habits that you made against your defense when you come out here for the first day. That's why I'm ready to go back and go watch film to see what I was doing wrong, what they were doing and how we come out tomorrow and be a lot better," Lock said.

A new defense is just one more thing to add to the mountain of tasks Lock and Bridgewater are dealing with in camp, but one thing that neither guy has on their mind is the one thing everyone else is talking about - that pesky quarterback competition.

"It's all going to play out how it's meant to play out. I can't think too far ahead. For me when I'm out there, it's one rep at a time. How can I maximize this one rep? If I'm thinking about the quarterback competition while I'm taking a seven-step drop, then I'm doing harm to myself and to this team. It's just one play at a time for me. I'm trying to become the best player I can be while making sure I'm making the right reads with proper technique. The rest will take care of itself," Bridgewater said.

Lock will get the first start of the preseason, as Vic Fangio named him the starter for Saturday's game against Minnesota. Bridgewater will get the start in the second game against Seattle the following week. So, it's safe to assume a decision won't be made until at least those two games are played.

"Whether I was first or whether I was second, I'm going to go out with the same mindset. I'm going to focus on being the best me while I'm out there, leading the other 10 guys around that offense, go down there and score," Lock said.