Nathaniel Hackett has faced plenty of criticism through the first eight weeks of his NFL head coaching tenure, and this week, Coach Hackett picked up two new critics in the form of two NFL legends — Kurt Warner and Richard Sherman.
Warner was the first to launch his takedown of the Denver Broncos’ first-year coach, and more specifically, his offense.
Watching @Broncos tape and not even through the 2nd qtr & I have a detail ? On almost every single play!!! Why that route technique? Why that spacing? Why reading that side? I’m frustrated & I’m not even a part of it!!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) November 1, 2022
“Watching Broncos tape and not even through the [second quarter] and I have a [detail-related question] on almost every single play,” Warner wrote on Twitter, with several exclamation points, to underline his frustration.”Why that route technique? Why that spacing? Why [are they] reading that side? I’m frustrated and I’m not even a part of it!!”
While those finer details of execution all fall on the respective players, the fact it’s a team-wide issue suggests it might have something more to do with coaching. It’s the coach who’s ultimately responsible for the execution of his players, so if execution is poor to-to-bottom on offense, Coach Hackett should certainly face some heat.
Richard Sherman was quick to join in too, which was surprising, considering how the former All-Pro cornerback has lept at every available opportunity to dunk on his former teammate, Russell Wilson.
However, during an apperance on The VonCast, hosted by former Bronco and franchise legend Von Miller, Sherman seemed to surprisingly defend Wilson, at the expense of Coach Hackett.
Richard Sherman on Russell Wilson in Denver 👀
(via The Voncast) pic.twitter.com/997DvujrNC
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) November 2, 2022
“You can’t just put anybody in any scheme and think, ‘oh well, I’m just gonna make him fit my scheme,'” Sherman said of how Coach Hackett has managed Wilson. “Like, it’s almost like they didn’t even watch tape of him in Seattle and say, ‘okay this is what he likes to do and stuff.’ If you have Russell Wilson, run the plays that he’s run and had success with. He will be the guy you expected him to be. But when you have him run offense he has not run in the 10 years he’s played, expect him to struggle until he figures it out.”
Broncos Country will have to hope Coach Hackett and Wilson can combine to figure it out soon, as the season is now on life support with a 3-5 record and Bradley Chubb playing elsewhere.