Flacco vs. Lock is a perfect example of “Death by Inches”
May 23, 2019, 6:00 AM | Updated: 1:24 pm
Yesterday morning, I woke up and there was a fresh coat of snow beyond my back gate covering the playing fields of Smoky Hill High School. I saw on my virtual daily newspaper (my iPhone) that we had set a new record low for the date.
It was a jarring 30 degrees on May 22nd. Outside, I heard a bizarre sound considering the circumstances.
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
The sprinklers were going full force. Again, the field were blanketed in snow.
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
It was a real life example of “Death by Inches.” I understand this is an old-school cliche, but I can’t help but love it.
I posted a video of this idiocy on Twitter and a smarty pants responded, “The sprinklers are on a timer, loser!”
This to me was a fascinating response to what I assumed was a relative harmless and fun critique of a watering system that wasn’t being paid attention to. I, in all good humor, responded that I agreed that there was probably a timer involved. I kindly suggested that the timer most likely had an “OFF” switch, probably located close to the “ON” switch.
I didn’t respond to a personal insult. I’m sure he isn’t a loser.
But, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has used this “Death by Inches” cliche to cinch his job with John Elway. He’s also going to use it as a mantra for this season. How the Broncos do things this year will matter.
The organization has always been in front of things when it comes to community involvement, as they proved once again by hosting the STEM School graduation last week. They invited more than 100 high school coaches to their latest public OTA.
Fangio has been generous with his time and insight in all quarters. The early reviews of this coaching staff and how they are doing things – like using game jerseys instead of practice jerseys and amping up the pace of practice – all seem to be going over well save for the season-ending injury to Nico Falah. It’s hard to think about any missteps along the way.
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
But, what exactly is Fangio suppose to do with Drew Lock?
Joe Flacco is not gonna be intimidated by Lock’s presence. He is so far superior to Lock at this stage that it’s preposterous to even suggest there’s anything close to a QB competition.
Guess what? That will be the same next year and the year after.
We’ve seen this before. The concept that Paxton Lynch would ever look better than Trevor Siemian in practice was absurd. It was never, ever going to happen.
In fact, if Trevor was kept by the Broncos, the odds that he would’ve looked better than Case Keenum were also extremely Rocky Mountain High.
Lock faces a steeper hill than the embankment at the UC Health Training Center fields. It’s not his fault. It’s not Fangio’s fault. It’s not Rich Scangarello’s fault.
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
We’ve had Tim Tebow with Kyle Orton. We’ve had Brock Osweiller with Peyton Manning. We’ve had Lynch with – well – everybody. Now, we have Lock with Flacco.
It’s an old story. This is nothing new. So, don’t expect the results to be much different.
Meanwhile, Brett Rypien is the new Kyle Sloter and Kevin Hogan is the new Kevin Hogan.
“Death by Inches” isn’t about making big mistakes, it’s about making small mistakes over and over. Sometimes, the Broncos just can’t get out of their way.
It’s not a disaster – not even close – but when the moment happens this season where you think, “Man, we could’ve used a better center,” or “Did you see D.K. Metcalf catch that TD from Russell Wilson?” or “Man, Chris Harris does look a little older than I thought,” just think of those sprinklers wetting down that already snow soaked grass.
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
