Broncos Legend Makes Bold Prediction on Russell Wilson, Sean Payton
According to one Denver Broncos legend, the team couldn't have made a better decision than hiring Sean Payton as head coach. Hall-of-Fame running back Terrell Davis has returned to live in Denver, relinquishing his NFL Network job as an analyst, and while he may no longer make a living covering the league, the Super Bowl XXXII MVP knows the Broncos.
Davis gave the Broncos a vote of confidence back in February but recently explained to The Denver Gazette's Chris Tomasson the wisdom in the Broncos hiring Payton.
“You could not have gotten a better candidate to come in for what the Broncos needed right now,’’ Davis told Tomasson. “I have nothing against first-year coaches but the Broncos needed a stabilizer, someone to come into this situation and not have to think about how to fix it but know how to fix it.”
That's an apt way to put it. The Broncos had to land a head coach who knew how to fix this mess. Not a coach who could theorize and grope at the answers.
If Payton turns the Broncos around, it'll be, in large part, due to quarterback Russell Wilson returning back to his Pro Bowl form and giving the team a return on its $245 million investment. Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to eight playoff berths in 10 seasons as a starter, two Super Bowl berths, and a World Championship, earning nine Pro Bowl nods along the way.
After a shocking first season in Denver, everyone was alarmed at Wilson's regression, including Davis.
“It’s hard to believe that you can go (to that) from a guy who over the last 10 seasons had looked like a Pro Football Hall of Famer,’’ Davis told Tomasson. “I know that he had a lot of different components, coming to a new city, a new head coach, a new offense, a new offensive line, new everything, but I just had a hard time believing what we saw last year is what Russell is.”
Getting down to brass tacks, Davis sees redemption on the horizon for Denver's $245M quarterback, who, unfortunately, became a national lampoon last year.
“I believe that Sean comes in and (Wilson) has a reset,’’ Davis told Tomasson.
The Broncos needed extreme competency in their next head coach and they got it in Payton, in spades. While some of his tactics right now might be questioned, such as his media blackout as Broncos OTAs begin, for now, fans would be wise to trust in his 15-year resume as an NFL head coach with the New Orleans Saints, the fact that he coached one of the most prolific QBs in modern history, and his Super Bowl ring.
Payton is in equal parts dialing things back and getting back to basics, while diving into the nuance and detail of the game that Denver's three previous head coaches were, alas, oblivious to. It's going to be fun to see how it comes together.
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