For the Denver Broncos, economics, and salary cap hit aside, why would head coach Sean Payton look to move on from Russel Wilson? Sure there were some bumpy roads toward the beginning of the season, but the team looked to be on the right track, and still had an outside chance to make the playoffs. While some may point to the latest loss against the New England Patriots to be the final straw, there have been warning signs throughout the year that Coach Payton was not happy.
Denver Broncos Match Not Made In Heaven
It appeared that Coach Payton tried to make it work with Wilson. However, the on the field production during his first year in charge of the Denver Broncos saw him pay for the sins of his forefathers.
Considered a border line game manager, border line game changer, his actual ability at this point in his career is up for debate. You can see that he is a capable athlete, with a toolset good enough to win games. But overall, it has just been too visibly frustrating for Coach Payton to warrant further testing to see if this will work.
Perhaps most noticeable is the fact that Wilson could not be seen throughout the year making audibles. For coaches that trust their quarterbacks, the ability to make reads at the line, and then check into a good play against the defensive scheme is a vital part of any modern offense. And yet, for Wilson, he appears to not have had this luxury, and was stuck with the given play call.
While some may view this as an indictment on Coach Payton, it again points to the limitations this staff view that Wilson has. By not trusting this quarterback to make the correct reads, or to check into routes. this staff not believing he can make the correct decisions was always a clear, big concern. A limiting factor that they chose to live with instead of offering a more dynamic option from the field really shows that this was never going to last.
Denver Broncos Simplified Approach
The entire season Coach Payton has indicated the need to simplify the language and the scheme for the offense itself. Despite sentiments of ‘Let Russ Cook’, the veteran quarterback never really showed glimpses of being an elite arm talent, without also putting the ball in harms way.
In what has been mostly a conservative offense from a play calling standpoint, the Denver Broncos felt that their best hope was to manage the game, and trust the defense.
Part of what makes Wilson so special, is his ability off of broken plays. One big issue has come as a result. Too often you would see him go off script, or escape from the pocket, anticipating a pass rush that wasn’t there yet. This is part of what made the Denver Broncos frustrated, and part of what ended up culminating into the now famous blowup on the sideline from the head coach.
Either not seeing, or electing to not stick with the passing concepts, it’s not hard to see why Coach Payton is now moving on from Wilson.
Denver Broncos Since QB Came From Seattle
It was a clash of personalities that was not going to end well. Coming from the Seahawks, it became apparent last year that Wilson was believing too much in his own press clippings. When a more serious, highly thought out game planner came to the Denver Broncos, that is really what spelled the beginning of the end of WIlson in Denver.
It is really despite their quarterback play that the Denver Broncos were in a position down the stretch to make the playoffs. With Jarrett Stidham looking to now be the starter for the rest of the year, the experiment in Denver with WIlson is over.