The Denver Broncos ruled running back RJ Harvey out for their game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but with no word or comment on the severity of the knee injury he seemingly suffered in practice this week.
A source told The Denver post that the injury does not appear to be serious:
It really stinks that Denver won’t have him in the biggest regular season game of the season so far, but at least the injury doesn’t appear to be serious. They are two games away from the Bye Week, so maybe putting him into rehab mode for a return after the bye would make the most sense.
The Broncos need some juice in the run game now, though, so maybe its time to find out if Jonah Coleman is the dude.
Broncos daily recap
Vance Joseph emphasizes the importance of limiting Kenneth Walker’s impact
Slowing down running back Kenneth Walker will be mission critical for the Denver Broncos to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
“This one is important to us:” Broncos ready for another shot at KC
The Broncos know what’s at stake when they face Kansas City again, and Bo Nix made it clear this is one Denver wants.
Potent quotables
Sean Payton
Opening statement
“Final day here. Any questions?”
On managing RB J.K. Dobbins’ workload throughout the season
“I think one of the challenges sometimes with three back is it’s much easier with two to get the balance. He’s doing well. It’s a deep room. I like the way they’re playing in general. So with him, his numbers have peaked. There are certain times when you look at this analytical data we have now that you can see burst and speed. So we like the depth there.”
On RB RJ Harvey’s status
“No status right now.”
On if he talks with players about sharing opportunities
“Yes, a lot. Each one’s different, but you’re always when you’re installing plays, there’s certain—you’re wanting to make sure there are these targets that they see in the plan. It’s important. Then even after the game, there are times where maybe that a certain player didn’t get some of the looks that we were hoping, but you’re always paying attention to that.”
On if a player having a ‘hot hand’ influences opportunities during the flow of a game
“There’s a little bit of that. It’s easier to have that at running back than some of your receiver sets. Yes, there’s a little bit of that.”
On adjusting the game plan in real time
“I think it’s within the framework of a game plan, there are certain things that are more specific to receivers and tight ends that maybe are a little bit more flexible at running back.”
On the qualities that make him comfortable with K Wil Lutz
“There’s a consistency. He’s made a lot of big kicks. Earlier in the week, [G] Ben Powers was celebrating a 30th birthday. I asked our guys, ‘Give me the playoff experience.’ Starting with Ben, six years, and [DT] D.J. [Jones], six playoff years. Then I think it went to ‘Huf’ (S Talanoa Hufanga), seven, and [T Mike] McGlinchey. Then it kept climbing up, and Lutz was at 10. So some of those big moments and having been in that position, that matters.”
On originally bringing K Wil Lutz to New Orleans
“It was that old message, ‘Pay attention.’. In training camp, often times guys lock in on the depth chart. What they don’t understand is they’re competing against everyone in the league at that position. So we had a kicking battle. Every day in the media, it was who made what, both of those guys back and forth. Then we brought Wil in after the final cut and had a workout. We signed him, and then released both the other two kickers. There would be just an example of that. So I think as a player, it can be very easy to just narrow in on the depth chart when you can’t possibly understand the depth chart around the league.”
On the keys to sustained success in red-zone defense
“I think the first thing is you have to be able to stop the run. Most teams that are playing well offensively in the red zone have a little bit more efficiency in the run game. I think what’s really important is that four-point play. When you get to a third down in the red zone, understanding you can get off the field, that’s a big deal.”
On what he likes about the jumbo formation
“I think it is game dependent. It’s a great question. I think that it depends on some weeks, like last week if you’re putting a game plan together and let’s say there’s a play you like against their base defense, well you want to make sure you get their base defense. One way to do that is to put the jumbo in. Another way is to put your true full[back]. So sometimes if you’re putting something in that is designed for the base defensive structure, you want to make sure that… Today we’re getting all these defenses now can play like a sub-Buffalo. So last week was one of those games where there were certain things we wanted to do against the base, and we wanted to ensure that we were getting that.”
On using an offensive formation to dictate the defensive personnel on the field
“If we’re going to put a game plan together, and let’s say we’re going to discuss six runs that we want against their base defense. I’ll always say, ‘Well, how do we make sure.’ If we put ‘Traut’ (TE Adam Trautman) and [TE] Evan [Engram] in the game, we may very well get a sub defense to that. So if we’re going to design something for base, we want to make sure that we’re getting it. That’s one example.”
On the message to the team that this is a big game, but they will play in bigger ones
“I think that’s right. I think everyone understands it’s a divisional game. Here it is on the schedule. We’ve done a good job just compartmentalizing. Way back when, you put the season into quarters. We don’t do that. I know who we play this week, next week. Then there’s a bye. Then after that… It’s a divisional game, and those are important. That’s what it is.”
On why he stopped dividing the season into quarters
“I don’t know that I ever really, maybe a year or two. I can’t think of the exact. I just know that I didn’t like the idea of saying, ‘We’re going to finish 3-1 in each quarter.’ What if we want to win 14 in a row? You know what I mean. So that’s probably one of the reasons.”
On the importance of stopping the run against the Chiefs
“The big point [Defensive Coordinator] Vance [Joseph] made all week was our pursuit to the ball, hats to the ball. The pursuit to the football, you never know when you’re that important guy. Seattle did a good job of populating the football against a really good runner and a really good run offense. So I think the first thing you start with is, ‘All of us are playing with clean eyes and pursuing to the ball, effort to the ball.’ It’s something that I know he feels like we can do a better job of compared to Week 1.”
On if he doesn’t have to overemphasize messages to the team this week since they experienced Week 1
“Yes, no question. In other words, these guys are grown men. They recognize the things we didn’t do well, offensively, defensively.”
On if he thought Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ career would play out like this
“You go through all these drafts. You can never project… If I felt like this was going to be the end product, we would’ve gotten to [No.] 1 [overall pick]—whatever it took. (Laughs) That’s the tricky thing about the draft.”
On if he thinks he got the pre-draft evaluation right on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
“You’re really looking at these pods of players. I remember [NFL CB Marshon] Lattimore was in that pod. If you get down to three picks left, and you have two in your pod, you’re hoping that one of those two still remains. There’s that old adage, ‘If you pick 11th, you have to like 11 players.’ You can’t just say you’re going to trade back. What if no one wants to do that or trade forward?”
On thinking certain players will turn out to be good
“There are always these guys throughout your career. There’s a dead spot for me in 2012. I wasn’t in the draft room, so I didn’t get to see [Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Luke] Kuechly or all these 2012. Then there’s a dead spot in ’22. The tight end we just played [Cardinals TE Trey McBride]. I don’t recall any draft readings… Those others, you have a memory of the readings. Those blank years, ’12 and ’22, you weren’t in draft meetings to go through that process.”
On the unique traits that jumped out to him when evaluating QB Patrick Mahomes
“He was extremely smart. All the stuff, the testing. He had a real good arm. [Lubbock, Texas is] a tough place to throw. It’s like playing golf in Texas. Those guys all learn to flight their balls into the wind. He had real good arm strength. A different type of offense, but you saw all the arm angles. Again a different system, but his football intellect… We had one of these private days. It was exceptional. Each thing you’re looking for was just remarkably high.”
On if Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid’s offense is one he watches for inspiration
“Sure. Absolutely. They’ve been very creative. There are a ton of different things they do. This week, the touchdown reel, the short yardage. We’ll look at trends. We absolutely will.”
Under the radar
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