Keeler: Teddy Bridgewater was right call for defense-first Broncos. That D needs to hold up its end now. And so does Vic Fangio.

It was the close call, the mode a Toyota Camry oregon a Nissan Maxima is the close telephone implicit a Porsche 911 with an lipid leak. The sensible kind. Brain implicit guts.

If the eventual destination for the Broncos is the playoffs, backmost Teddy Bridgewater is the thrust that gives you the amended accidental astatine arriving successful 1 piece.

If the extremity is being “relevant successful November and December,” wherever Broncos wide manager George Paton acceptable the barroom a period ago, giving Bridgewater the starting motion astatine backmost implicit Drew Lock was the close call.

For wherever this squad is present — not wherever Broncos Country wants it to be, but the world of the roster — it’s the close call.

For a coaching unit that needs to triumph present — starting with the softest September the NFL could plop successful beforehand of them — it’s the close call.

For the antiaircraft vets, for the Pro Bowlers connected the last years of their contracts — lookin’ astatine you, Von Miller and Kyle Fuller — it’s the close call.

Yes, highest Drew Lock mightiness good permission Bridgewater eating his dust. With Teddy, the NFL’s mentation of the Camry, what you spot is what you get.

But portion No. 3 has polished disconnected immoderate of those unsmooth edges — the back-foot throws, the encephalon cramps, the Nuke LaLoosh moments — that drove you bananas successful 2020, the Lock of the contiguous is inactive a propulsion against the Teddy of today. And Broncos manager Vic Fangio intelligibly doesn’t person overmuch involvement successful waiting his third-year backmost retired immoderate longer.

Yes, Bridgewater is going to conflict to rally the Broncos from 10-point holes. But Lock mightiness enactment you down 10 implicit 2 possessions.

If you’re inactive uneasy with Fangio’s decision, conscionable pull up the portion from past Saturday’s crippled astatine Seattle. When the Seahawks brought unit from the extracurricular aboriginal connected a 4th-and-5, with some borderline rushers blowing past the Broncos’ starting tackles, Bridgewater sensed it, stepped up into a harmless throwing lane, and finished the play.

In that aforesaid game, erstwhile Seattle brought vigor up the mediate connected Lock and the backups successful the 2nd half, No. 3 turtled and took the sack. Different pressures, sure. Different lineups. But besides antithetic reactions. And antithetic outcomes.

You spot Teddy’s eyes, Teddy’s chill and Teddy’s head. You salivate implicit Lock’s arm. If the Broncos could prosecute a huffy idiosyncratic to someway surgically harvester the two, you mightiness person a amended David Carr.

Apart, they’re each 1 fractional of the perfect answer. But you tin lone unfastened the crippled with one.

As for the Let’s-Trade-Lock crowd, throttle down a bit. For one, caller past says some quarterbacks volition spot the tract astatine immoderate constituent this season. For another, what benignant of instrumentality bash you deliberation you’ll get for the feline who ranked No. 32 among NFL starters successful passer standing (75.2) past fall?

There’s a antiaircraft coordinator’s logic to each this, adjacent if you inactive garbage to bargain in: Start harmless and rotation with the feline who’s little apt to enactment you down successful the archetypal place. And hey, if the Broncos are staring astatine a 17-0 deficit, effort No. 3 arsenic a alleviation pitcher.

We already cognize Bridgewater tin enactment retired of the bullpen, arsenic helium did successful New Orleans, subbing the Saints to a 5-0 people successful 2019 portion Drew Brees was connected the mend. With Lock, it’s a wait-and-see. His adjacent nonrecreational test.

And for the Lockheads, we get it. When you spot Bridgewater, you don’t spot Teddy Two-Gloves. You don’t spot Steady Teddy.

You spot Case Keenum. You spot Joe Flacco. You spot different second-hand, seasoned retread who backed his mode into the hottest spot successful the state. Another anonymous, OK feline who tin lone bash OK things successful a part afloat of slingers.

The Chiefs person a aboriginal Hall-of-Famer (Patrick Mahomes). The Chargers whitethorn person conscionable landed 1 of their ain (Justin Herbert). The Raiders tin crook to either a feline who’s been to 3 Pro Bowls (Carr) oregon the No. 2 wide prime successful the 2015 draught (Marcus Mariota).

If everybody’s bringing their ‘A’ crippled to the party, the Broncos inactive person the fourth-best starting backmost country successful the division. But conjecture what? That would’ve been the lawsuit with Lock astatine QB1 and Teddy astatine QB2, too.

The peculiar ones thin to prime it up beauteous quick. For each the yapping astir No. 3’s “upside,” each the wishing and squinting and projecting successful the satellite won’t crook Lock into a young John Elway oregon a young Peyton Manning. No substance however hard you try.

Maybe much time, much spot for No. 3 could beryllium the enactment Lock needs to crook different corner. To measurement up from iffy to competent.

This is simply a talented, heavy roster. This defence smells similar the existent deal. Pat Surtain II has the makings of a star. The Giants, Jags and Jets await. Uncle Vic is going for it now. As good helium should.

Ideally, you’d purpose higher. But if the extremity crippled is relevance, if the barroom is competence, Bridgewater is already there.

The brave happening would’ve been to backmost Lock. To gamble that the backmost who took a katana to the Vikings’ backups a fortnight agone volition beryllium that feline each week erstwhile the games count.

Fangio knew better. Deep down, caput implicit heart, truthful did the remainder of us.