When the Denver Broncos struggled with delay of game penalties and clock management last season, most of the blame was cast on former head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Hackett likely was a big contributing factor in those struggles, but it seems that quarterback Russell Wilson might have shared in the blame as well.
Buy Broncos TicketsAgainst the Washington Commanders last week, the Broncos had several moments that brought back memories of last season’s clock-management blunders. At times, the offense wasn’t fast enough getting out of the huddle, and while the offense played well overall, there were plenty of hiccups.
After the game, coach Sean Payton took some responsibility, but he also pointed out that quarterback Russell Wilson has to improve.
“It was more than just one drive,” Payton said. “There were a number of drives where we were late with personnel, getting out of the huddle we took a while. That has to change. We had to burn timeouts in the first half, and I’m not used to doing [that].
“We have to be better. I have to be better. ‘Russ’ has to be sharper with getting the play out, and then we have to look at how much we have in. If we need to wristband it, we will.”
Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey said offensive players have to “be on their Ps and Qs” and stay composed when the game is not going their way. Payton suggested simplifying the verbiage in plays and having Wilson call more plays from a wristband to make the operation smoother.
“The first thing that we always try to look at — but we have to do a better job of as coaches — is reduce the verbiage,” Payton said. “If we have a longer play, then we can easily get to a wristband. We have to reduce the variables. I just finished saying this in the team meeting: if we’re making [mental errors] defensively, and offensively, we’re having trouble breaking the huddle and getting lined up, then we have to look at if have too much in.
“Then, how do we reduce the verbiage at the line of scrimmage, or in the huddle, quite frankly? Because it goes from me to the QB, the QB to the offense, and then here we go. That’s going to improve. How we do it — and you bring up one of the questions — how we do it can vary. One of the methods is to reduce verbiage. The other is to get to the line of scrimmage spontaneously. The other is to wristband certain plays that are longer calls.”
Perhaps all three possible solutions will be in play this week — less verbiage in the calls, more urgency from the offense getting out of the huddle and more wristband usage for Wilson. The veteran QB switched to a wristband mid-season in 2022.
