Here we go.
The smoke began to circulate last night when former Broncos wide receiver and now radio personality Brandon Stokley tweeted out that he is hearing that “Sean Payton is going to be taking over play calling this week”. Then, this morning, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is also reporting that Payton will be calling plays on Sunday, not Davis Webb.
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Well now, the national reporters have picked up this story, and it appears to be true. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton will be more heavily involved in the offensive play-calling this week.
Rapoport adds that the process will remain collaborative, with offensive coordinator Davis Webb continuing to be a major voice on game days, but Payton will have a larger say in the process.
Payton met with the media on Wednesday and was asked if a four-game sample size was enough to evaluate a play caller. He told reporters that “our focus needs to be more on the specifics and the detail of each play regardless,” but did add, “certainly this isn’t championship football”.
“I think our focus needs to be more on the specifics and the detail of each play regardless. I think [Offensive Coordinator] Davis [Webb] is very fast and quick and understands what we’re doing. So I appreciate the question, but I think that the most important job I have is really evaluating the why’s. I think collectively we all after a game… After a four-game sample size… All right, certainly this isn’t championship football or what we see, how quickly can we correct those things?”
This switch had to happen, and it makes sense for Payton to take the reins once again. Let’s face it, the offense has been bad. Every part of the offense has taken a step back from last season. Nix has been inconsistent and hasn’t looked like the quarterback we saw vs. the Bills last season. The run game is nonexistent again, and JK Dobbins is either hurt or washed. Courtland Sutton went from being a 1,000-yard receiver catching nearly 10 touchdowns to having 9 catches for 86 yards and 0 touchdowns through 4 games. Remember Jaylen Waddle and how he was going to transform the offense? Well, now, outside of one game vs. the Jaguars, he has not been featured and feels like an afterthought in the offense.
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The Broncos could not afford to let this Davis Webb play-calling experiment continue much longer with these results. They are likely in a short Super Bowl window right now and are off to a poor start. They need to make changes, get things rolling again, and look like the offense that clicked against the Packers and Bills late last season.
They play the 0-4 Chargers this Sunday, who are banged up and struggling on all sides of the ball. They cannot afford to struggle or lose against this team, with the Seahawks coming to town on a short week next Thursday. Hopefully, this move gets the offense rolling in the right direction, and we see a better offensive output moving forward,
