Former Saints QB Makes Bold Russell Wilson Prediction
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Nothing proves you are genuine head-coaching material, particularly in the Mile High City, than a visit to Mike Shanahan’s famous steakhouse. Between some juicy T-bones and light refreshments, new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s face-to-face showdown with Ejiro Evero over the weekend was a far less fulfilling experience.
Whatever common ground the pair might have shared mattered little, and just like that, the rapidly ascending defensive coordinator was off to join forces with Frank Reich in Carolina. Speculating over who will now fill the position vacated by Evero in Denver is bound to keep everyone engaged over the next few days, as will predicting exactly how Payton will approach his reclamation project with quarterback Russell Wilson.
Some valuable insight, potentially, into Payton’s grand plan came to light when The Denver Post sat down with former New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Luke McCown.
“I don’t think he’s Drew Brees. That being said, I don’t think Russell will ever have any more productive years than he will have for the next however long with Sean Payton,” McCown told Parker Gabriel. “Sean will do that for Russ. He’s that kind of mind and play-caller that will put Russ in positions that he’s not been put in before. Certainly not in Seattle, where it was run-heavy, take shots down the field. I think Sean will put Russell in position to maximize his abilities and call plays in a way that, especially if they work extremely hard to be on the field as Drew and Sean often were, they can be really, really good offensively for the next, I don’t know, five or six years.”
Fundamental to the entire process will be Payton's flexibility to tailor the offense to fit Wilson’s skill set. Despite having the worst season of his career, Wilson did show some glimpses toward the end of the campaign that made Payton feel confident he can build upon.
McCown also pointed toward how Payton got the most out of Drew Brees in the twilight stages of his storied career as a prime example of the magic he can conjure out of aging signal-callers.
“Still producing massive amounts of yards and completion percentage, and he did it without being able to stretch the field like he had in years prior,” McCown told The Denver Post. “Sean was able to see that and know how he had to call the game and know where the comfort level was.”
It’s certainly fair to say that no two quarterbacks are built the same, so Payton will be careful not to attack things in a like-for-like manner. Specific tweaks and adjustments will have to be incorporated, and rightly so, but Payton knows that quarterbacks like Wilson need to feel deep down that the system works for them.
Of course, the cautionary tale of how Nathaniel Hackett botched things for Wilson is close at hand as a valuable point of reference.
That being said, Payton is savvy enough to realize that quickly turning the page on the past to reboot his starting quarterback best is all that really matters now.
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