The Davis Webb play-calling experiment is officially over. Recently, Head Coach Sean Payton confirmed he would be taking over those duties for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
After four games, the Denver Broncos were in a serious rut on offense. The aerial attack has been erratic, the running game was rarely committed too, and they weren’t putting enough points on the scoreboard. Slow starts have been a common issue throughout the Payton era. However, this year’s early season outing
was definitely the worst Broncos Country had witnessed.
Yesterday, Webb spoke offered his thoughts on the situation, reflected on what he had learned, and what he hopes to see from the team moving forward.
“I think it’s more just how we started off offensively,” Webb spoke with where most of his disappointment was centered. Given the team’s talent and additions over the course of the offseason, for the Broncos to be near the bottom of the league in most categories was a significant surprise to many—even with Webb being a first-year play-caller.
“I’m excited to see how our team responds this week. We’ll try to get a team win against a divisional opponent. It was a long week in some ways, but in other ways, it’s back to work,” added Webb.
Truth be told, a lot of it wasn’t on Webb. You can’t really blame him for the team’s penchant for pre-snap penalties. Nor can you assert blame for players failing to execute on the particulars they work hard at on a week-to-week basis. He acknowledged there was a sentiment amongst the offensive players that they had let their offensive coordinator down and acknowledged he will do whatever it takes to help them be successful moving forward.
“No question. I’m very thankful for all those guys, from the offensive line, to the wideouts, the quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends. I’ve definitely felt that, but like I’ve been saying right now, it’s onto the next thing. That’s the NFL. We wake up, and we have a job to do and that’s to help these players be successful. That’s the only thing on my mind right now, and I think our staff’s doing a good job of that.”
As far as Webb’s other responsibilities, everything will stay the same. He will continue to lead the team’s offensive meetings on a weekly basis. Additionally, he will keep close tabs on and be a mentor for Denver’s trio of quarterbacks as the season continues.
Hopefully, this is the weekend the Broncos’ offense finally takes off. The Chargers are banged up on defense and will have several starters out for Sunday’s matchup. Even though they are 0-4, the Broncos can’t afford to underestimate them. Just look at what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
Things didn’t turn out the way Webb had hoped. Nevertheless, he remains confident the offense is close to firing on all cylinders moving forward. If so, that should bode well Denver on Sunday and throughout the rest of the regular season.
“Extremely, extremely close. I think there are a few things in the pass game that were close last week, a few things in the run game that were close last week. You can see the second halves of the Jaguars game, the Rams game. I just mentioned three good teams right there. Kansas City was tough on everybody. I think getting off to this start, being at 2-2 is not what we wanted, but it’s where we’re at. I think that a lot of teams in the NFL will be OK with that.”
