Sean Payton Is About To Make A Crucial Early Decision

The Denver Broncos now have a genuine play-calling controversy on their hands, and it’s exactly the sort of thing the team was looking to avoid going into the season. The running game isn’t working, the passing game isn’t even up to the level of dink-and-dunk, and the inconsistencies of last season have turned into borderline incompetence so far this year. 

Should Sean Payton take over for Davis Webb? The head coach could easily do this, and no one would complain much given the way Webb’s debut season as offensive coordinator is going so far. Defenses are dictating the game, as Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post noted, and they’re sitting back and waiting for Bo Nix checkdowns after the Broncos quarterback realizes there’s no play to be made. 

Payton noted that defenses are staying “high and deep,” to use his coach-speak expression, and he followed that up with more coach-speak about “efficiency.” He also offered a tepid apology for his offense, saying that he was encouraged by the way drives were starting, with no comment other than to say they've been unable to take a lead.  

So is this play-calling or coaching? The latter is about putting players in a position to succeed, while the former is about making the right decision to get the team over the top. 

Gabriel called what the Broncos are doing a “small-ball offense,” and he’s absolutely right. Denver has an impressive array of explosive talent on paper, but that’s exactly where it’s staying right now. Scoring in the NFL is tough when you have to string together a series of successful plays to get points, but that’s where the Bconcos are. 

Gabriel also pointed out that Payton has typically used the first quarter of the season to figure out what kind of team he’s got. Payton can’t be all that thrilled with what he’s seen so far, and the question going forward is whether he’s seen enough of a foundation to indicate improvement going forward. 

Nix is still advocating for Webb, which isn’t surprising at all. He pointed out that the Broncos have played four of the toughest teams in the league, which is a shocking bit of excuse-making given how candid Nix usually is about this sort of thing. 

Payton will need to push some buttons this week, and he has to make sure they’re the right ones. He’s going to get heat whichever choice he makes here, but the right decision is whatever he feels is the best one for saving the Broncos’ season.