The Denver Broncos are busy game planning their opening weekend road game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s prime time and the atmosphere will be as close to playoffs as a Week 1 game can get. Denver’s no offensive coordinator, Davis Webb, was asked about the emotions of calling plays getting to him ahead of his first game and he seems pretty cool, calm, and collected heading into his debut as OC.
“It’s going to happen, and I think that’s a good thing,” Webb said. “I think our staff is prepared,
and I think that our players are prepared. We’ll let it rip when it’s go time, but right now there are butterflies for everybody. I think like as a player getting hit for the first time or the first completion, getting that first play call in and we’ll get rolling after that.”
The challenge for him will be to maintain control of the game. I would imagine it could be easy for a young coach to chase something that just isn’t helpful for the situation. Something tells me that isn’t how Webb will be. I can’t wait to see how he performs on Monday night.
Broncos daily recap
Sean Payton offers thoughts on what makes the Chiefs defense tough
“They mix a lot of looks up. The second game, we got a little bit more coverage than we had seen in maybe the game prior or the years prior. It all depends on what they’re trying to take away, but they’re well coached, they tackle well. They can create negative plays in both the run and passing game because of the pressure looks that you get,” stated Payton.
Broncos vs. Chiefs: 3 Things to Watch in Week 1
It’s just the first game of the season, but this rivalry game will certainly be one of the best and most important to start the season. Here are three aspects of the game Broncos Country should keep a close eye on in the regular season opener.
Potent quotables
Vance Joseph
On the challenges he expects in facing Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes coming off of injury
“I think [Chiefs QB] Patrick [Mahomes] is going to be Patrick. In my opinion, he wouldn’t play if he couldn’t be himself. He’s had a good summer and spring to kind of rehab and from what I hear and from what I read, he’s feeling great. So we expect Patrick to be Patrick, and he is obviously the guy in the league who wins an awful lot. He’s obviously motivated, and it’s a big game for them, it’s a big game for us obviously. It’s Week 1 so everyone’s healthy and excited to play, so we’ll get his best shot.”
On whether Head Coach Sean Payton’s role has changed this season
“No, but I think one of [Head] Coach [Sean Payton]’s strengths is team building. He is fabulous in front of the team. He can paint a picture each week for each opponent that we’re playing. That Wednesday meeting is interesting because he can paint a picture, and most of the time that’s the picture that happens. That’s his strength. He can explain opponents, he can explain the keys to victory, things we have to do to win games and he’s usually right. So I think for him, he can spend more time doing that. Obviously he’s still involved with the offense, and the defense and special teams because he’s responsible for all of it, but he has more time now to do his thing. That’s his best trait in my opinion, is team building, keeping guys on edge and keeping everybody humble and moving forward. When it’s really good, he’s hard. He keeps you going. That’s old school [Pro Football Hall of Fame] Coach [Bill] Parcells. When it’s bad, he shows grace and that’s also old school in Coach Parcells. So he’s in his element, he’s happy, he’s getting rest. So it’s been fun to watch him work.”
On if there is a premium on in-game adjustments during Week 1
“Week 1’s always tough. Even though playing these guys every year, twice a year and we’ve been playing them for a long time, Week 1 is always tough because there are going to be some un-scouted looks and both sides will have those. If you can nail those early and get past those without having tragic results, that’s the key. So I think for us going on the road, it’s going to be a hostile environment, just playing clean early and obviously getting past the un-scouted looks because everyone goes through the offseason. Within your system you have to adjust. We do it every single year, and I’m sure [Chiefs Head Coach] Andy [Reid] and ‘EB’ (Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy] are doing the same. So just getting past those looks early is the stress for me on defense.”
Darren Rizzi
Opening statement
“With tomorrow being the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I just wanted to kind of just mention that real quick. You may or may not know, I’m from the New York metropolitan area. Obviously, this is literally close to home for me. I was actually coaching in the area at the time, just about an hour north at a Division II school. I was the head coach at the University of New Haven at the time of 9/11. I unfortunately lost some friends, a lot of close people, two high school teammates that I lost, Chris Vialonga and Rob Zampieri. So I want to send out my thoughts to their families. Just being in that area during that time, I’ve seen a lot of documentaries and things recently about it. So I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that. My thoughts and our prayers go out to all the victims, their families, both the thousands of people that lost their lives on that day and the hundreds and thousands that lost their lives subsequently. So I appreciate that.”
On balancing snap counts for players that have roles on offense and special teams such as WR Marvin Mims Jr.
“I think the honest answer to that is that’s kind of every player every week, it’s like, ‘OK, what is the best formula for this guy?’ Whether that’s more touches, less touches, more reps, less reps. I think that’s everybody. I understand the question. [WR] Marvin [Mms Jr.] obviously is a unique player because he’s obviously a very good receiver, very good returner. So every week, no different than the plan to win the game as I just mentioned, we’ll kind of have that plan going in, the punt return stuff, the kick return stuff, the receiver stuff and have a really good idea on how we want to use them. Every game unfolds a little differently. We may not get a punt return, we may get a punt return on the fourth play of the game, we may not get a punt return until later. Who knows how the games play out with turnovers and whatnot. So we’ll kind of play that by ear as the weeks and the season go on, but my honest answer is we do a lot of discussing on the 48 guys that are going to be active and everybody’s role. That goes back to [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] having a really good grip on the roster.”
On K Wil Lutz being named a captain
“I’ve known [K] Wil [Lutz] a long time. I obviously got to the Saints in 2019, so I’ve gotten to know Wil a long time and it’s fun, even with my own children, it’s fun to watch the maturity, how a player and a person matures. The one thing I can say about Wil is to watch him grow both as a player, a teammate and a leader has been a really fun thing to watch his development. He deserves it. He’s a guy that has a really, really good feel for the game. He has a really good feel for the locker room. I don’t think there’s a guy on the team that would tell you that they’re not in some way, shape or form, he hasn’t communicated with them. So it speaks volumes of him. I also want to give [S] Devon Key a shout out too. I think both those guys deservedly, I was really, really happy that [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] and the team voted for two guys and Sean named two captains because I thought both those guys are well deserving.”
Davis Webb
On facing Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
“[My mind] has gone back a few times. In Buffalo, we played him often. We were usually on the losing end of that. Then he was our interim head coach for the last four or five weeks of the season, I believe, back in the day [with the Giants in 2017]. I was like a scout team quarterback, so back in the day, only the defensive players and myself got banana pudding from his wife. I miss ‘Spags’ (Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo). He’s a great dude, and one of the best defensive coordinators in this game’s history. He’ll be a tough challenge for us out of the gate.”
On what he has seen from the wide receiver room this summer
“I think the No. 1 thing is that everyone has had really good consecutive days. [WR] Marvin [Mims] has had two in a row, [WR] Troy [Franklin] has had two in a row, [WR] Courtland [Sutton], ‘Wad’ (WR Jaylen Waddle), [WR] Pat [Bryant]. All of them have consistently gotten better from OTAs to here. I think a lot of it is [Wide Receivers Coach] Ronald Curry. ‘RC’ comes in from New Orleans, he’s played receiver in the league and he played at North Carolina. He was Gatorade Player of the Year as a quarterback and a point guard. Slam dunk champion. I can keep going, and he was [Bills QB] Josh Allen’s quarterback coach the last few years. There are a lot of good talks him and I get to have because I was there before him and then he kind of came after me. I’m very blessed ‘RC’ is here. I think his relatability with the players is noticeable, and we’ve always had that in our rooms. It’s a blessing to have Ronald Curry here coaching those guys up.”
On the kind of resource Head Coach Sean Payton has been for him this week and on gameday
“I think gameday will be similar to what it has been in the preseason. He’s been awesome throughout the game. He has his few pointers here and there, and they are all productive pointers. He’s 62 years old, and I’m 31. It is what it is, he has a lot more experience than me. Even the last few nights, he’s given us five to 10 nuggets that have really benefitted us going through the gameplan meetings. It’s still a [Head Coach] Sean Payton offense, and that is how we want to operate it.”
Under the radar
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Oh yeah! There is another game today. The San Francisco 49ers and their electric substation will be on the road to take on their NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. The Rams look like a dang good football team and should be the team to beat this year in that conference. The only thing that would alter my opinion there is if they lay a big fat Drake Maye-sized egg in their home opener tonight.
Do you think that could happen? I doubt it, but you never know.
