If there was one glaring weakness in the Broncos’ play on Friday in the preseason opener against Seattle, it was the special teams unit, which allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown to Tyler Lockett and muffed two punts (one lost). Now, as the team turns it attention to Saturday’s second preseason tilt, in Houston, special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has his unit focused on improving what he called “correctable mistakes.”
DeCamillis met with the media following Tuesday’s practice to address his unit’s play on Friday and what they’re doing to correct those mistakes and get things right for Houston.
One thing is clear from his comments: DeCamillis isn’t giving – or getting – any breaks for his unit’s sloppy play. Even his wife, Dana, daughter of former Broncos head coach Dan Reeves, is holding him accountable for their mistakes.
Here are the highlights as DeCamillis faced the music…
DeCamillis: “First of all, in the game, I thought the best thing that we did was rush the field goal and kick field goals. That was the most positive thing we did for sure… Just like we said, though, the kickoff thing’s going to come into play for whoever that guy is. You have to be able to do both… It’s a competition, all of it, the whole thing. We had it like that from the start. I think John (Elway) set it up like that from the start and that’s how we’re going to finish it.”
Joe DeCamillis: “(Our performance) was disappointing, but not discouraging. Those are all correctable mistakes. I didn’t see effort as a problem. I did see some missed leverages and some missed fits, so we’ve got to get that corrected, but I thought effort was good. We just have to get some of those corrections done and we’re going to do it this week.”
DeCamillis: “We knew he was coming in. We knew Lockett was a heck of a returner. We knew that going in, but it all starts with the kick. You have to put the ball in manageable space. We didn’t do that a couple times. You have to get off blocks and make the tackle. We didn’t do that. It’s an emphasis this week and we’ll do better this week.”
DeCamillis: “We didn’t play real well in the first game (I coached) in Chicago last year, to be honest with you. And then we ended up being first in the league in kickoff coverage, so I’m hoping that same thing happens. That’s what I’d like to see.”
DeCamillis: ” I watched (the Seattle game film) about 20 times and felt as pitiful on the 20th time as I watched it on the first. The great thing about it is, when you go home, you have such support from your wife. No, not so much. She’s the worst critic. She’s like, ‘We’re not even going out. You played pitiful. I don’t want to be around you.’ She just wants accountability just like I do.”
