A lackluster day of practice shows the Broncos lack a sense of urgency

The Broncos came back from a day off and practiced in full pads yesterday in the 90-plus degree heat. Rap music played during stretches, trying to bring them to life, but it did little to lift their spirits. Throughout the two-hour-plus practice, I found myself wondering why everything was so quiet.

Especially on the offensive side, it didn’t seem like anyone except Phillip Lindsay was hungry to make plays. Philip stays hungry. You can feel how important this is for him and that is something that’s hard to come by, something you have to hold on to. I believe a scenario will emerge that will utilize both Lindsay and Melvin Gordon in ways that honor their ability to help the team. The NFL is constantly in flux, and teams have proven that there isn’t only one way to win anymore. The Niners and Chiefs were two very different teams and met in the Super Bowl. You can have two stud running backs on one team.

You can also have multiple good tight ends, which the Broncos have. But their problem to me is that no one knows who to look to as the guide, as the veteran who shows the way. The young guys need to have that dude. Jake Butt wants to be that guy, and in spirit, he is, but the arrival of Nick Vannett and Albert Okwuegbunam makes Jake’s road to make the team and contribute a little tougher. Point is, it’s a talented group sort of just standing around. I think that has a lot to do with Noah Fant being unsure of himself and not appearing incredibly interested in being a football player.

I’m pretty sure Courtland Sutton didn’t have a catch yesterday, and it wasn’t his fault. The action just didn’t come his way. Jerry Jeudy looks smooth. Tim Patrick looks solid. Other than that, no one stood out.

It was hard to get a read on the receivers and corners in practice because, for some strange reason, they don’t do 1-on-1s. That’s a separate period when a receiver runs a route against a corner and a quarterback throws him the ball — just those three in the action and everyone else watching. That’s how you prove that you can get open and catch the rock. Otherwise, you’re hoping you get the ball in team and 7-on-7, which has to do with the plays that are called when you’re in and what coverages you see when that happens.

Receivers can go all day not catching a ball, like Sutton did yesterday, but then can be redeemed in 1-on-1s. You make a few nice catches against a corner and everyone notices. That’s how you make the team as a fringe skill position guy—make a big play every day. A play that makes them say hmmmmm.

That, and special teams. Non-starters have to contribute in this area. I definitely have my concerns about special teams because it’s the only part of football that you really can’t simulate at practice. You need preseason games. There is no way to go live at practice, so you’re only time to get the rust off and see what these concepts actually feel like, is to do it in a game. This year, unless Vic Fangio has a live special teams day in practice, the first real special teams action will be the opening kickoff against the Titans.

As for the quarterback play, there is Drew Lock, and then there is a large drop off. Lock has played five NFL games. He is basically a rookie. And behind him is a big fall. If Lock gets hurt, the Broncos have problems. And he did get hurt last year.

Yesterday at practice, Lock’s pocket broke down several times and he was on the run. This will be a common sight this season, both by designed roll-outs and also the break down of the offensive line, which happened throughout practice. The offensive line struggled against a stout defensive front, seemed lackadaisical out there, were getting pushed around, stood up on the line of scrimmage, easily shed by the defensive front. Nowhere was that malaise more evident than when, at the end of a play, rookie d-lineman McTelvin Agim was planted into the ground by center Patrick Morris, a borderline late hit. Agim laid on the ground in pain, while Morris turned and walked back to the huddle.

Shelby Harris saw the dirty hit from the sideline and wasn’t having it. He sprinted over to Morris to confront him, yelling at him the whole way. The eerie part was that no one stepped in between him or came to support Morris or anything. It was as if everyone was just a passive observer watching a very angry Shelby Harris run all the way across the field to go do who-knows-what to their teammate. Now, it didn’t end in any ultra-violence, but the point is that it could of gotten ugly. No one knew what Shelby was about to do.

In my experience, when a scuffle breaks out, or looks like it is about to, everyone comes rushing in to participate in their own way. The fact that no one did indicates, to me, a lack of urgency in the air. A lack of edge. You have to be a dog out there and you have to stick up for your guys, even when they’re wrong.

I can only assume this is a sign of the times and not a Broncos problem. This may also be why things seemed quiet and sluggish. Everything about this season has given us pause. Nothing is happening as planned. No one knows what to do.

But they better find that passion soon. If it takes a few scuffles to do it, so be it. In three short weeks, the Titans are coming to town, and they’re fixing to do a whole lot more than scuffle.

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