The Denver Broncos were back on the field on Monday as training camp continued ahead of their second preseason matchup this Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Denver Broncos head back to the drawing board
Following last Friday’s preseason-opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Broncos head coach Sean Payton and his staff returned to the drawing board as they looked to adjust to some of the issues that impacted them.
Monday’s Centura Health Training Center practice was light ahead of this week’s heavy schedule leading up to Saturday’s road preseason game against the 49ers.
Denver Broncos Injury Report: Various players recovering from Friday’s game
Players were in shells and shorts on Monday as they prepare for another week of training camp buildup into Saturday’s game with practices scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Payton noted that players will be in pads for Tuesday’s practice which will be open to fans. During Monday’s practice, several players did not participate.
DNP:
- Patrick Surtain
- K’Waun Williams
- Justin Simmons
- Caden Sterns
- Mike Purcell
- Chris Manhertz
- Nik Bonitto
- Riley Moss
- Mike McGlinchey
- Brandon Johnson
- D.J. Jones
- Courtland Sutton
- Kendall Hinton
Payton met with the media following practice and shared a brief update on some of the players like Surtain and Sutton who were on the side field this afternoon.
“I think you’re going to see him this week,” Payton said of Surtain. “I think he’s really close. We have a handful of those guys—[WR] Courtland [Sutton]. I think we have a group of four or five guys that you’ll be not asking me anything here in a couple days.”
Friday’s preseason loss gives Payton insight on adjustments
In his first game as the team’s head coach, Sean Payton was pleased with some of the situational elements he has been working on with players throughout the entire offseason.
While the offense got off to a sluggish start, they finished on a strong note by scoring a touchdown. Payton acknowledged that there’s plenty of room for growth and improvement.
“I thought offensively, it took us a minute to get going,” Payton said. “I think we can protect better. It was good to see that the first group have success.”
Broncos fans have to keep in mind that the full offensive scheme hasn’t been revealed just yet. Payton isn’t going to throw his full-look offense out in the preseason for competitive purposes.
Operationally, he wants to see the offense work through some of the foundational elements his offense will require in the regular season to build off of different schemes, route concepts, and other factors slowly revealing themselves as the regular season progresses.
Broncos starters will play more snaps in Week 2
With their matchup against the San Francisco 49ers approaching on Saturday, Payton revealed that the starters will see more game reps this weekend.
“Jumping ahead, we’ll get a little bit more work with the [No. 1 units] in this game, and then certainly in the third game, we’ll approach it completely differently,” Payton said. “I was kind of pleased with the pitch count numbers. We had one player at fifty [snaps], which was high, but for the most part, our numbers were spot on. That worked out pretty well.”
It’s unclear whether or not the 49ers will play their starters in Week 2, but more in-game reps for the offense, defense, and various elements of special teams’ play are important, with the roster cutdown date fast approaching.
In particular, how Russell Wilson and the offense look in their second on-field dress rehearsal will be under the microscope. While the offense had some ups and downs, Wilson wasn’t a factor for why the offense experienced some downs against the Cardinals.
Denver’s offensive line has to gel together with better communication and, more importantly, execution to give Wilson time to throw the ball and stay clean.
“The assignments were fine,” Payton said of the Broncos offensive line’s performance. “We just got leveraged on a few plays and got hurried a few too many times. We will be able to clean that up.”
The good news is that the issues Denver faces are fixable from a schematic standpoint, and it doesn’t appear Payton will wait and see if things turn around; he’ll facilitate any changes quickly.
Other Denver Broncos news and notes
- Denver signed wide receiver J.J. Koski and waived linebacker Ray Wilborn in a corresponding move.
- Koski played for the Los Angeles Rams more recently in 2021, appearing in five total games for them.
- Outside linebacker Aaron Patrick returned to practice after missing some days last week with an injury.
- Brett Maher received kicking reps on the afternoon and didn’t miss a single kick with distances coming from 30+, 40+, and 50+ yards.
- Jerry Jeudy and Greg Dulcich had several big catches and runs downfield during Monday’s practice.
- Denver will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before heading to San Francisco on Friday.
- Denver Broncos Ring of Fame coach Mike Shanahan and former head coach Dan Reeves will be up for consideration among 12 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.