Russell Wilson says Broncos want to be a “physical, running football team” in 2023. When will we know if they are?
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Sometimes a simple message hits home with surprising impact.
It doesn’t even have to be new information, necessarily. Time and place and the deliverer can take something that’s obvious or old news and renew its sense of importance or urgency.
Take Denver quarterback Russell Wilson this week.
At the Broncos’ outdoor podium after a run-of-the-mill training camp practice, he delivered a mostly standard-for-him barrage of relentless positivity and sunshine about where he thinks his team is with a little less than a month before the season opener.
And he also happened to slip in some insight that gets right to the crux of what head coach Sean Payton and the Broncos front office spent the entire offseason — and tens of millions of dollars — trying to build on the offensive side of the ball.
“We’re feeling really confident in what we’re doing and the identity of what we want to be. Obviously being a physical, running football team, being a team that can also throw the ball around the field.”
First thing out of his mouth after “identity”: physical. Run the football.
This has been the plan all along, of course. Payton’s talked about it since he was hired in February. The Broncos prioritized a pair of big-ticket offensive linemen during free agency in Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers, plus fullback Michael Burton, tight end Chris Manhertz and running back Samaje Perine.
But for Wilson to say it so plainly spoke volumes.
As Denver heads into the second half of August and toward its Sept. 10 opener against Las Vegas, though, it’s difficult to ascertain exactly where the offense is in its quest to become a big, nasty, rolling-downhill run-game machine. Part of that is because of health — Javonte Williams’ admirable comeback from an October knee injury and McGlinchey’s sprained knee earlier this month among the key factors — but also because 9-on-7 drills and preseason games can only tell part of the story.
At Arizona, Denver’s first half featured 29 pass calls and seven rushing attempts. That’s not at all indicative of what a 17-game season is going to look like.
Really, not much is. Take what offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said this week about Williams, the third-year running back who much prefers running through defenders to skirting around them.
“He’s one of those guys that you’re not going to fully appreciate until it’s real football and he’s breaking tackles and pushing piles,” Lombardi said.
Neither are part of the equation during training camp, even on the longest and most grueling August days.
Same with a run game in general. Offensive line coach Zach Strief has drills and meetings galore to work technique, landmarks and scheme. Players spend time together on and off the field to build chemistry. But that’s not all it takes to take over a game on the ground.
“The first thing is having a play-caller that’s committed to doing that, which we have. That’s important,” Strief said in reference to Payton. “Then the biggest thing for these guys is — the scheme is fine and we have to have good scheme for them, but they have to commit to it, too. There’s a lot of mindset and mentality in running the football. Things aren’t always clean when you’re running the football. Things don’t always work out exactly how you want. Can you get a bunch of guys that can work basic fundamentals to give themselves a chance, and then can they just play their tails off through the whistle?”
Right guard Quinn Meinerz said that commitment is what ultimately will instill confidence in Payton to rely on the front line.
“We set the tone in the run game and it’s our job to get the movement and to, at the end of the day, influence or make the coach want to call more runs,” he said. “That’s a lot of fun for us.”
Sometimes Payton’s run in New Orleans is treated as a yearslong festival in aerial acrobatics. After all, quarterback Drew Brees threw for 5,000-plus yards five times and nearly hit the mark two other years. Wide receiver Michael Thomas set the NFL single-season record for catches with 149 in 2019.
“That’s a thing,” said tight end Adam Trautman, who spent his first three seasons in New Orleans, including 2020-21 with Payton. “That’s all people think about, that Drew threw for 5,000 yards I think five times, which is absolutely insane. But (Payton’s) always built the teams up front. We’ve always had great offensive lines, tight ends who can block, receivers who can stick their head in there and dig out safeties and stuff.
“So, it’s a huge emphasis and that’s part of our identity.”
In three of his final four years in New Orleans, Payton’s offense finished No. 30 in the NFL in passing rate once and No. 28 twice. The only other year — No. 13 in 2019 — was the record-breaking season for Thomas.
Otherwise, the Saints ran the ball as much as anybody in the NFL.
“It makes you have to load the box,” Trautman said. “You want to play six in the box and we’re in (one running back, two tight ends) personnel? Good luck. We’re going to run the ball.”
Players like Trautman, Burton and Manhertz have all played for Payton in the past, as have receiver Marquez Callaway and running backs Tony Jones Jr. and Dwayne Washington, among others. They know the mentality the coach wants. Part of the reason McGlinchey and Powers were priorities in March is because their play told Payton and the Denver front office that they’d fight right in on that front, too.
“I firmly believe that you have to win games by running the football and you command the whole flow of a game by being able to run the football,” said McGlinchey, who is recovering from a sprained knee but played for San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan in the NFL’s model rushing offense the first five yeas of his career. “The NFL is about running the football and converting on third down. If you can do those things well, you’re going to have a really successful offensive football team. I think we’re built to do it. I think we have a great stable of backs, a great offensive line and coaches that are getting us all on the same page.
“It takes all 11 guys on offense to be able to run the ball well; it’s not just the offensive line. I think we have a really great shot to do it, and I love the mindset from (Payton).”
One of the Broncos’ biggest questions offensively is how quickly the collective mindset of the players develops with McGlinchey having missed time and without any preseason reps with the entire first-team offense on the field together.
How the Broncos answer will go a long way toward determining just how much of an identity this group truly has in 2023. Just don’t expect any true insight until Sept. 10, when Las Vegas comes to Empower Field.
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