The Broncos are putting a first-time playcaller in charge of the offense, and Sean Payton is making sure Davis Webb knows exactly what that job demands.
Payton said he dug up a box score from the first game he ever called plays, back when he was the Giants’ quarterbacks coach in a preseason game from 1999, then used it as a challenge for Webb. He also said he pulled together a couple of call sheets - “or basically stat sheets” - from that first experience and marked them up for comparison.
“I said, ‘See if you can beat this.’ And he did.”
Payton said that kind of constant self-check was part of his own development when he was the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach and playcaller under Bill Parcells from 2003 to 2005. Parcells, he said, never let him lose sight of how the game was unfolding.
“Bill used to say that all the time, ‘Are you paying attention to how the game’s being played?’” Payton said.
Even with Webb stepping into the role for the first time, Payton said there will be moments when he weighs in on what he wants to call. Still, he made clear the Broncos are handing this over with real confidence.
“I’m sure there are going to be times where I say, ‘This is what I want to run,’” Payton said. “But there’s trust there. There’s trust with his ability and trust in our relationship.”
In Los Angeles, Tuli Tuipulotu is heading into the final year of his contract, and the Chargers edge rusher is looking like one of the bigger decisions left for GM Joe Hortiz. Kris Rhim of ESPN described Tuipulotu as the “biggest remaining domino,” and said he is due for a payday.
Tuipulotu didn’t offer much on when a new deal might come together, but he did make one thing clear: he expects to stay put.
“Man, I don’t know. I’m going to be here.
I’m going to be with the team.” (Rhim)
Over in Las Vegas, Raiders first-round quarterback Fernando Mendoza said he sees a lot of the same traits in Raiders HC Klint Kubiak and Indiana HC Curt Cignetti.
Mendoza said both coaches are relentless about the little things, even when a play looks perfect in the moment. He pointed to examples from practice where a big completion would still draw criticism for something as small as an extra hitch or a slight depth issue.
“ I think the example of, you know, in practice you’ll have a good play, ” Mendoza said, via Around The NFL. “ For example, you make a big completion, and you’re looking forward to seeing it on film, and then both of those guys would be like, ‘Come on, really?
You took an extra hitch,’ or ‘Come on, instead of five yards you were at four and a half.’ And you’re like, ‘What?
I literally took the perfect footwork, perfect read, perfect throw, awesome explosive play.’ And you’re like, ‘Bro, you got to give me a break, what’s this guy talking about?’
Then you see, especially with Cignetti, having spent a whole season with him, like when he’s riding me on all these things in fall camp, I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ and then the season you see it show up. And it’s like OK, that pass was completed by this much because I was at the right depth or because I didn’t take the extra hitch.
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