The Broncos and Los Angeles Rams may have been on the practice field less than two hours whistle to whistle, but they got in copious work Wednesday on the first of two joint practices at the Centura Health Training Center.
On the eye test, Sean McVay’s team got the better of Sean Payton’s on Day 1, though work this time of year can be dangerous to bank too much on. A year ago on these same fields, the Broncos looked superior across the board to Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys. One of those teams went to the playoffs and the other fired its coach after 15 games, making an historically short tenure for Nathaniel Hackett.
On this day, repetition ruled the day. The teams focused heavily on 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods by design.
“We’ll have a lot of film to cover, obviously,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “I thought, overall — again, I’m on half the field – we got two real good special teams periods done, quite a bit of team work and finished with the two-minute drill. I would say, I don’t want to guess how many plays, but a lot of plays run in a pretty short period of time and I thought both teams handled it really well.”
Two days of joint practices and then the team’s preseason game Saturday night — the game, in particular, is likely to be tilted toward the reserves after starter-heavy work Wednesday — provide the rare opportunity to work, correct and get right back to work against the another opponent.
“It’s not what I’m hoping to see on film today, it’s what I’m hoping to see tomorrow with corrections,” Payton said. “On the offensive field where I was, we had too many false starts. I thought we tired pretty quickly. They were doing a lot of plays relative to what they’re used to and maybe even more than a real game would present.
“It’s good from a conditioning standpoint. There’s some mental toughness that’s required to play. Poise. All of those things are required not just to play, but to play well and win. Those challenges came up a little bit and we’ll watch them on tape. Then the key is making the corrections and hopefully not seeing the same mistakes from the same players again.”
Observations
Broncos’ offense
The Rams’ defense had the upper hand. Los Angeles created a ton of pressure up front and did a solid job containing Denver’s run game. In the first 11-on-11 period, running back Javonte Williams was stopped for no gain, then outside linebacker Byron Young came off the edge and stuffed him for a loss of yards. The Broncos only had one turnover. Backup quarterback Ben DiNucci’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Rams defensive back Timarcus Davis.
Denver’s first-team offense was overwhelmed by the Rams in the red zone. Quarterback Russell Wilson got sacked twice. Rams outside linebacker Michael Hoecht pushed away Broncos offensive tackle Alex Palczewski to record a sack. Moments later, Wilson rolled to the right but was sacked by defensive tackle Larrell Murchinson after he couldn’t find an open wide receiver in the end zone.
Wilson also overthrew wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the end zone while his pass to rookie Marvin Mims Jr. was broken up by Rams defensive back Robert Rochell.
Flags were flying. Denver’s offense was penalized three times during practice, including a pair of false starts in the red zone period. Payton attributed the penalties to the players getting tired.
“There’s a mental toughness required to play (with) poise,” he said.
Slippery fingers. Broncos wide receivers had an issue catching the ball, which Payton said could be a combination of mental and physical issues. During the 7-on-7 period, Jeudy dropped a pass from Wilson, who beautifully placed the ball in the corner of the end zone. Later, Jeudy watched the ball slip between his hands in 11-on-11. Wide receiver Marquez Callaway also dropped a pass, while Michael Bandy couldn’t make an open catch during the red zone period.
“At some point (the drops) gotta go away,” Payton said. “I’ve had really good receivers that might drop a pass early in a game, and then you wouldn’t see it again. There were a few (drops) today by a handful of players. You are paid to catch…It’s pretty simple.”
Denver’s offense still had its moments. Wilson threw a deep touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton in 7-on-7. Sutton sped past Los Angeles’ secondary before making an impressive two-handed catch in the end zone.
Undrafted rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin also had made a few plays. He had a long run down the middle and later caught a screen pass from quarterback Jarrett Stidham before running for a big gain.
Mims showed off his speed. He ran to the end zone untouched on a jet sweep. Meanwhile, tight end Adam Trautman had a couple of catches for positive yardage. During the second 11-on-11 period, Wilson stepped into the pocket before completing a pass to Trautman near the sideline.
Hinton and Okwuegbunam had big days. For wide receiver Kendall Hinton and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, Wednesday was an opportunity to improve their chances of making the roster. Hinton had a couple of receptions during the team period, including a 27-yard catch. Okwuegbunam, on the other hand, was perhaps the best offensive player. He caught two touchdown passes from Stidham during the red zone period. He also had a touchdown catch during 7-on-7.
Okwuegbunam’s performance was essential, as he is last on the depth chart, sitting behind undrafted free agent Nate Adkins.
“Hopefully we can continue that trend,” Payton said.
Broncos defense
Rams QBs slicing and dicing. Los Angeles quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and rookie Stetson Bennett were sharp against Denver’s defense Wednesday.
Stafford threw a red zone touchdown to Tyler Higbee past coverage from Kareem Jackson in a red zone period, fired strike after strike in 7-on-7 and in general led a crisp day for the visiting offense.
Bennett, meanwhile, looked calm and in control as the No. 2 man. It’s always a little bit difficult to judge even in these settings because quarterbacks aren’t going to get hit, but overall the Rams’ passing game was crisp.
“It’s just good work, competition and seeing different things schematically against a different team,” Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “I think we got a lot of great work and a lot of great competition. … A lot of shifts, a lot of motions, pre-snap motions. Us as a defense, we’ve really got to focus on honing in on communicating, our eyes, leverage, little things like that against an offense like that. That’s the main thing we’ve got to work on.”
The day ended with Los Angeles receiver Puka Nacua making a tough, leaping catch over Denver corner JaQuan McMillian in the back corner of the end zone to finish a red zone period.
A couple of standouts for the Broncos: Cornerback Fabian Moreau made several plays on the ball including a couple of break-ups. As the day went along, Nik Bonitto flashed in pass-rush a couple of times.
Run run run. Early in practice, the Rams also ripped off a bunch of big run plays. The Broncos defense seemed to stiffen a bit as the day went along, but not before plenty of whooping and hollering from the Los Angeles sidelines. The Rams offensive line also controlled the one-on-one segment against the Broncos’ defensive front.
Good on good. Rams All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp returned Wednesday after missing a couple of weeks and looked to be in fine form. He made a couple of big plays in 7-on-7 and stands out for his combination of size and speed to go with his precise route-running. He and Surtain didn’t line up one-on-one very often, but Kupp did haul in a 10-yard completion against No. 2. Suffice it to say, Kupp vs. the first-team All-Pro counts as good-on-good.
“He’s an all-around great receiver,” Surtain said. “He possesses a lot of traits. Run-after-the-catch – YAC yards. His route running is very calm. Great at the catch point. He’s a great player, so it’s great work competing against him.”
Only one scuffle. The only kerfuffle of the day came early in practice when Broncos corner Damarri Mathis gave up a contested catch to receiver Van Jefferson and the two got tangled up. Linebacker Josey Jewell and the Denver defense came to Mathis’ defense quickly and, though (to use baseball parlance) the benches cleared, the sides separated quickly without much more than hot air exchanged.
“It was just a little competition,” Surtain said. “Going after it. Heat of the moment. It happens, it’s football. Guys are competing out there. Sometimes things like that may occur, it’s the name of the game. Nothing too crazy.”
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