January 10, 2024 • 22 mins
On this episode of "Broncos Now," Sydney Jones recaps the end-of-the-season press conferences of Owner & CEO Greg Penner, Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager George Paton. Plus, Phil Milani joins the show to discuss the progress this team has made this year, Sean Payton’s evaluation of his first season and more. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you find your podcasts. Make sure to leave a rating and review.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's a Broncos Country.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Welcome back to the Broncos podcast network and YouTube for
the latest episode of Broncos Now As Away From Your
host is Sidney Jones, and coming up on today's episode,
we'll hear from owner and CEO Gregor Penner, head coach
Sean Payon, and a general manager George Paon as they
all held their end of the season press conferences, plus
from Lanni joins his show All that more coming out.
(00:25):
It was a busy day here at the Denver Broncos
team headquarters as owner and CEO Greg Penner, head coach
Sean Payon, and a general manager George Payton all address
the media for their end of the season press conferences.
Owner and CEO Greg Penner opened up his press conference
today giving us evaluation of the season.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
First of all, I thought we took a big step
forward this year. I was encouraged by what I saw,
proud of the resilience that the players showed, as well
as the leadership of Sean and George and the whole staff.
With that said, we understand the championship standard that we
have year and both for the organization and our fans expectations,
(01:06):
this is a proud franchise, and we grade ourselves by
our winning record.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
And this year we didn't. We didn't meet our expectations.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
You know, I think back to when we were one
in five. I'm having sleepless nights and thinking, you know,
is this season of bust? And Sean came into my
office a couple of days after the Kansas City game
and had the Detroit Lions schedule and said, you know what,
I think we can be this year's Detroit Lions. And
(01:36):
bounced back from this.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
My chuckled a little bit, and.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
The next five games were really thrilling and exciting for
us as owners, and I'm sure for our fans as well.
Young players stepped up during that period of time. Our vets,
our defense had a resurgence. Special teams became one of
the best in the NFL. So then you go to
Chris this morning, and and you wake up after the
(02:03):
game the night before, you know, with a pit in
your stomach, knowing that you let a let a significant
opportunity slip by. And so I want to make sure
our fans understand, you know, I get their frustrations. Main
message for Broncos Country that I would have is we're
just as impatient as you are to win here, and
(02:25):
we understand we have a lot of work to do
this offseason to get better.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'd go.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Sean Payn and a general manager, George Payton, added to that,
discussing the season from their perspectives.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
My appetites, I think where it should be is a
little bit stronger. And I look, I said this at
the start of the season, and it was really a
discussion kind of off the record, but became I felt
like we had a chance, this team had a chance
to to get into the postseason. And I feel that
(02:57):
the same way now. So I'm disappointed because of that,
and disappointed that I look back on a handful of
things I could have done differently and better and h
and now, make no mistake about it, we finished where
our record was, and we could point to a few
games that would have gotten us to nine or ten,
(03:17):
but we could have pointed to a few games that
got us to six real quickly as well, all right,
And so that's generally that's generally the case each year.
And so yeah, no, no past failed success, non success,
(03:39):
it is what it is. You know, it just leaves
you know a taste in your mouth that.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
That you you look forward to the work.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
And you know, again, the tough thing about it is,
you don't get to a race.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It next Sunday. You know, here here it is. That's
the truth. I think we took a step.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
I think I'm encouraged with the progress we got off
to that slow start. I mean the Miami locker room
and that was a tough one. And and then you
go to Chicago you're down twenty eight seven three, and oh,
I mean, man, that's tough. And then we have another
you know, number one and five. And so the thing
I would say about this team is they stuck together. Uh,
(04:22):
stayed the core. Sean never flinched. You fell in the building,
We're gonna.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Pull out of it.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
No one, no one had any doubt. And so that's
a tribute to Sean and the staff and the team.
And then get to eight and seven, you know, to
have a chance, to have a chance, and then you know,
now we just need to finish. So I think there
are a lot of positives. Eight and nine, you know
is eight and nine and you know, I think Sean
said it, but uh, this is a good locker room.
(04:46):
And the guys love ball, and they fought and again
no pointing fingers.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Plus.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Greg Pennter went on to give his evaluation of had
goat Sean pans first season with the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I was impressed with how after the one in five start,
his leadership to bring us back from that adversity and
getting a position to make a playoff push. Very impressive
And probably the biggest thing here in terms of how
I think about the future and this organization moving forward,
is that he established a culture here. Is establishing a
(05:20):
culture here based on performance, excellence, hard work, accountability.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Sean was also asked that and explained what do he
hopes to improve on for next season.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
There's a couple of things. Our tight red zone was awful,
you know, and so all right, I got to look
closely at, you know, my sequencing and what I'm doing
calling it.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
You know, inside what I mean by that is goal
to go.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
We finished here that, you know, so our red zone
numbers are past the twenty, how many touchdowns, percentage, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
You know, our opportunities.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
I think we're decent, you know, I think we were
fifty something that measured ninth or tenth but inside the
ten first and goal to go that wasn't good enough
third down. You know, there were a handful of things,
and many of you have asked great questions about, Hey,
your offense, your offense, and overall, you know, it was
(06:16):
we collectively, starting with me, it wasn't good enough. We
didn't take advantage of enough field position opportunities and games.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I want to get my eyes fixed.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
So I call the right play and I don't mess
up and call the wrong play on a play that
happened one time this year that was embarrassing.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
But I think the here's the thing.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
I think it's easier when you get older and more
secure with like who you are and what you do,
and when you're younger, I think oftentimes you can be
very defensive with certain things.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
The one thing that I know.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Is how to win, and like sometimes it may not
be that you got four hundred and eighty yards, but
understanding the strength of your team and then and then
playing to that.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
And I think one of the challenges.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
That I had this year, all of us collectively, is like, man,
how do we match up on the other side. How's
this game unfolding? I know some of you had questions
about a couple of timeouts, and but half yard line
end of the first half against Vegas. I'm calling that
time out again. Ninety nine out of one hundred. Just
look at the statistics or field position balls and the
(07:35):
same one in New England. Really, but I would say, man,
we have to be great with the details, and obviously,
you know we weren't good enough with the details if
there were certain mistakes that were repeating themselves. And so
(07:57):
that starts with our teaching, our coaching.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
And also detailed where he felt like the team made
their biggest strides this year.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
Special teams. You know, we we've been in the bottom
of the league and special teams my first two years here.
And you know, it depends on what rankings you look at.
If you look at Westops were first, but we're probably
we're probably.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
In the top five.
Speaker 6 (08:19):
And so I mean that that was a big emphasis
and really we've been trying to get there. And give
credit to Mike Westop, Ben Cowica and Chris.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Banjo you know for what they did.
Speaker 6 (08:31):
You know, we did bring in some players. You know,
you got Mims, you got Ridley Moss, you got Traymon Smith,
but these guys, you know, so really special teams was
a big jump, you know, on defense. You know, like
Sean I think talked about is uh. I think the
defense for you formed an identity you know after you know,
about six seven games, physicality of creating turnovers and uh.
(08:54):
And so that was huge for our team. And the offense.
You know, we were running the ball pretty good obviously
late in the year. We but the offense, the identity
was physicality, all control.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
We didn't turn it over much. You know.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
Obviously we need to get better in in you know,
all both those phases. But you know that that's where
the jump was from prior years.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Plus, said coach Sean Payton was asked about Russell Wilson's
a future with the organization.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
When when we get back and we begin this process
of looking at a roster, you know, where we select.
There's so many things that go into a decision specific
to the quarterback, which is significant obviously, So it's too
early at all. I spent half an hour with Russ yesterday,
(09:40):
you know, and I told him, I said, look, you know,
I don't think it's going to be a long drawn
out process, but it hasn't been decided relative.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
To what our plans are and uh.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
But as as soon as we know something that that certainly,
you know, he.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Would be the first to know.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Greig Penn adda to that, detailing that it will be
a football decision based on winning games.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I mean, obviously, the financial part of it is a
significant component, as you know, in terms of how this
works out in the future, but that's not what we'll
drive the decision. The decision, you know, will be driven
on what's in the best interest of this football team
winning games.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And last, but certainly not least, Greg Penter detailed what
Broncos fans can be optimistic about for the future of
this team.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
There's a number of reasons to be optimistic. I mean, one,
we improved our win total. I expect that to go
up next year. We broke some some key streaks. It
was great to get the win against the Chiefs. We've
got some other other humps to get over in the future.
The we had some young players emerge, significant improvement and
(10:48):
special teams. The medical side. You know, we haven't talked
about that much, but we had you know, last year
when we did the end of season, you know, we're
really clear we've got to improve that for next year.
We'd been one of the most your teams for the
last five to six seasons. This year we're in the
top and a lot of the metrics, so significant improvement there.
(11:08):
But the biggest thing is is the culture, which sets
the floor for how we can go from here. And
on that front again, I'm very encouraged. We know we
have a lot of work to do to get to
where we want to be and this offseason is going
to be a busy one.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Now joining me here in the Broncos podcast studio to
take a look at today's news is Pellatine reporter film
Milani Feil. Thanks for joining me, a lot to get to,
a lot to talk about today rocast news.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
That means that I'm on Broncos.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Now, of course, not our typical Wednesdays anymore, but happy
to have you on regardless.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Thank you very much well.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Phil. To me, it felt like the biggest takeaway from
today's press conferences was just the fact that everyone was
on the same page Sean, George, Greg just about kind
of what the season looked like in the foundation that
was really built the season. Obviously a lot to work
on and a lot to move forward from, but you know,
everyone still was on the same page about the fi
that foundation is that things are still moving forward here
(12:02):
for this team.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That's how I would sort of sum things up.
Speaker 7 (12:05):
I would say that they were happy with the progress
that they made this season. There's definite improvement shown by
this Broncos team, but they were not They would not
label it like a successful season because they fell short
of their goal, you know. And I think that Bronco's
owner and CEO Greg Penner summed it up well when
(12:26):
he sort of had a message to fans and said, look,
I'm as impatient as you are. I want to see
winning football here. And I think that that's important to
have that where the expectations are really high. You're happy
with the progress that's made, but you still know that
there's a lot of work that needs to be done.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
And Champagne had maybe.
Speaker 7 (12:46):
The line of the of the whole day where he
said something like he was like foundation, he was like,
we've just barely been like there's heavy construction. That's yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I think he was referring to the offense in that.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
Situation exactly, not the whole team, but definitely, I think
that you have to acknowledge that they did a lot
of good things this year. They won the five games
in a row, won eight games for the first time
since twenty sixteen, beat the Chiefs, which is a big deal,
won a road primetime game. Like there are definitely moments
to be pleased with, but overall, the Broncos fell short
(13:22):
of their goal.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Absolutely, Phil, Yeah, I kind of just told you my
main takeaway. So what do you think yours was from
the day?
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Well, I think that all eyes are sort of on
that quarterback position SID and that's going to be sort
of the main talk this whole offseason. I think is
just one of the Broncos going to do there. Sean
Payton said that he had a half an hour conversation
with Russell Wilson on Monday. He said that no decisions
have been made there and really with the entire team,
like this coaching staff, they're going to take a little
(13:49):
bit of a break here and then return back to
do their evaluations for every player on this team, and
that includes Russell Wilson. But he said that we're not
going to make this a long drawn out process with
Russell Wilson. We're going to make a decision here. He's
going to be the first one to know, which I
think is fair, and then that whatever decision they make there,
that's going to sort of determine the rest of how
(14:11):
the off season is going to go, you know. And
you know, we heard from Jared Stinham on Monday and
he was like, look, I want to be a starter
in this league and I'm hopeful and we'll see what happens.
So the Broncos have some decisions to make, and you know,
I think that that's going to sort of determine where
the rest of this thing goes. But I think that
(14:31):
that it sort of starts at the quarterbacks position for
the Broncos right now. But they certainly need a lot
of things to get better. I mean, Sean Payne was
asked directly how he would evaluate his first season here,
and he said, look, my as a head coach, my
grading is determined on team's success. And so he said
he was eight and nine, so that sort of tells
(14:51):
you how he feels. And he said that he keeps
a notebook where he writes down things that he wants
to improve on and get better on moving forward, so
he knows that he could be better. And I think
that overall this roster, I think George Payton talked about
needing to build depth, and he was encouraged by this
year's rookie class. Mentioned how Marvin Mims was a pro
(15:13):
bowler as a returner, thought he could grow into a
bigger role in the offense of side. And then he
mentioned like Rynie Moss, Drew Sanders, some guys that fit
into that, Jakwon McMillan, mold where as a rookie you
don't play that much, but then your next year you
can really take off. So he thought maybe there was
some candidates for that. And then overall just building this roster.
(15:34):
You know, they'll continue to do that as they head
into the offseason here.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, and the drafts only you know, a few months away.
This is the first time since twenty one that the
team has a first round pick, so that's going to
be key as well too, Phil.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 7 (15:47):
And he talked about the depth, you know, he said
that good teams built that through the draft, and so
he mentioned that just because of where the financial picture
is right now for this Brocas team, probably not going
to be big ves and free agencies, so the fact
that they have the twelfth overall pick, they're going to
have to hit on that pick whatever direction they end
up going and then throughout the course of the entire draft,
(16:09):
just building that. Then you know, this is the second
off season now is Sean Payton, and so you're going
to see them continue to mold this team into what
Sean Payton likes, you know, And that's why consistency is
so important that that hit coaching spot is because year
after year you're continuing to build in the direction of
how the coach wants to play. So this is gonna
(16:31):
be a big off season. Of course, a decision with
Pat Sartan, you know, George Peyton said, spoke so highly
of him and said that, you know, they're going to
have to get to work here on what they do
with him moving forward. So he's eligible for an extension here.
So this is gonna be a big off season for
this Broncos team.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Well, and you know George Payton, he did say that
they feel like they're already a step ahead having all
of last off season with head coach Don Payton here.
You know, both Sean and George talked about that relationship
and what they've over the past year. I know Greg
even talked about it too and spoke very highly of
you know, the relationship that they've built together.
Speaker 7 (17:05):
Yeah, I mean, those three really working together determine the
direction how this franchise goes. You know, Champagnes set over
and over how important it is to have the support
there from ownership, and you know, I think that Greg
Pennar did a really great job today just sort of
instilling that the most important thing to ownership is winning
football games, you know, and he talked about like waking
(17:27):
up on Christmas morning and having that pit in your
stomach after the loss of the Patriots. So you know,
this group wants to win. They're dedicated to winning. They've
got a passion and a fiery competitive spirit to get
back on the winning side of things. And I think
that you've got to be encouraged and know that there's
(17:47):
some really respected pieces of the puzzle here within the
building here, and so they're going to continue to work
and evaluate things and move forward here and hopefully winning
football team.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Absolutely. It was interesting to hear Greg and his opening
statement fell talk about how you know, after that one
in five story, he talked about how he was having
sleepless nights and you know, head coach on Pan he
went into his office and was basically like, look, I'm
going to give you the Lions schedule and record from
last year. This is what we can do. This is
how we can turn this season around. And they did
(18:21):
exactly that.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Yeah, I've sometimes like seeing helps you believe that it's
possible to do that, and the Lions certainly were an
example for this team. And you know, the Lions obviously
made a huge jump from.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Last year to this year.
Speaker 7 (18:36):
You know where they ended up winning their division, and
I think that that's where the Broncos that could be
like their next goal here is not just making the playoffs, Well,
let's contend for the division. You know, that would be
a huge step for this team. And continuing to use
the Lions as sort of that example of how you
can turn things around. And that's been a big part
of what this last season was about, too, is just
(18:57):
sort of flipping the page and instilling that culture and
that winning mindset. And I think that they've done that
this year, but it just then't result in the playoffs,
which this year that was a goal for this team.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I think. Lastly, Phil, the biggest takeaway, one of the
biggest takeaways I think that we haven't talked about yet,
is just the optimism for this fan base. I know, Greg,
he talked a lot about what there is to look
forward to and what they're building off of here so
that Broncos Country can be excited about it too.
Speaker 7 (19:26):
Yeah, and I think there's reason to be optimistic about
this team, like sort of the reasons we mentioned there,
just that there's people who are dedicated to winning in
this building, and there's people who have you know, with Champagne,
and he won a Super Bowl before, he knows what
it looks like. He knows what it takes to get there.
And you know, he's going to continue to build this
team in the direction that he thinks is best in
(19:47):
terms of trying to win football games. And you know,
I do think that the sense in the locker room
a little bit on Monday was sort of like, we
don't know what kind of decisions are going to be made.
We know that there's going to be some tough changes,
and you know, the Broncos continue, They're going to continue
to move in this direction. And we saw that result
in a five game winning streak this year when this
team everybody was buying in, playing with that passion, believing
(20:10):
in each other, having that confidence and that sort of
fizzled down the stretch of the season there. But I
think Zach Allen put it in a nice ways that
when it was there, this Broncos team was e leade.
They beat teams that are in the playoffs. You know,
they beat the Chiefs, they beat the Bills, they beat
the Browns. You know, they had some big wins. Now
it's just in terms of trying to do that consistently,
(20:31):
making sure that you're playing with that same type of
energy and attitude and mindset confidence playing with that every
single week. And you know what that would do, in
my mind, said was it was translating some of these
games that you think the Broncos should win, that'll translate
those into actual wins. And I kind of liked what
Champagne said where he said, look, it's easy to go
(20:53):
back and look and say, hey, we should have beat Washington,
or should have beat the Jets, or should have beat
the Patriots, and then all of a sudd and you're
talking about ten win season. He said, don't forget though,
that it could have easily been the other way around,
where you know, maybe you don't beat the Bills, maybe
you don't beat the Chiefs. Now you're talking about a
six win season, so he said that those things tend
(21:13):
to even out over the course of a season. But overall,
the three today, Greg Penner, George Payton, and Sean Payne,
they were very honest about sort of where they didn't
sugar coat anything. You know, they acknowledged, Look, there's things
to be happy about, but there's a lot of work
to be done. And I think that that's some things
up pretty well.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I think so too.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yep. I love to look forward to this offseason.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Is going to be an busy offseason, like you said, Phil.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
But yeah, a first round pick, you gotta be that's
been a while.
Speaker 7 (21:43):
Whatever direction they end up going in, you know that
at twelve you're going to get somebody who can be
like a pat certain and you know who's going to
come in right away and be a playmaker. And so
that's the kind of talent you're talking about them going
to be able to bring in and then sort of
revamp this raw and continue to build in the direction
that Champayton sees fit.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And that's a reason for optimism. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
I agree. Well, feel appreciate you joining the show today.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Thank you very much, said appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Let's going to do it for today's episode of Broncos Now.
Broncos Country, thanks so much for tuning in. Now that
it's the off season, new episodes of Broncos Now will
be coming out once a week, so make sure to
meet me right back here on the Broncos Podcast network
and YouTube and next week for a new episode.
Speaker 7 (22:23):
I will see you all then
What's a Broncos Country.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Welcome back to the Broncos podcast network and YouTube for
the latest episode of Broncos Now As Away From Your
host is Sidney Jones, and coming up on today's episode,
we'll hear from owner and CEO Gregor Penner, head coach
Sean Payon, and a general manager George Paon as they
all held their end of the season press conferences, plus
from Lanni joins his show All that more coming out.
(00:25):
It was a busy day here at the Denver Broncos
team headquarters as owner and CEO Greg Penner, head coach
Sean Payon, and a general manager George Payton all address
the media for their end of the season press conferences.
Owner and CEO Greg Penner opened up his press conference
today giving us evaluation of the season.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
First of all, I thought we took a big step
forward this year. I was encouraged by what I saw,
proud of the resilience that the players showed, as well
as the leadership of Sean and George and the whole staff.
With that said, we understand the championship standard that we
have year and both for the organization and our fans expectations,
(01:06):
this is a proud franchise, and we grade ourselves by
our winning record.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
And this year we didn't. We didn't meet our expectations.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
You know, I think back to when we were one
in five. I'm having sleepless nights and thinking, you know,
is this season of bust? And Sean came into my
office a couple of days after the Kansas City game
and had the Detroit Lions schedule and said, you know what,
I think we can be this year's Detroit Lions. And
(01:36):
bounced back from this.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
My chuckled a little bit, and.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
The next five games were really thrilling and exciting for
us as owners, and I'm sure for our fans as well.
Young players stepped up during that period of time. Our vets,
our defense had a resurgence. Special teams became one of
the best in the NFL. So then you go to
Chris this morning, and and you wake up after the
(02:03):
game the night before, you know, with a pit in
your stomach, knowing that you let a let a significant
opportunity slip by. And so I want to make sure
our fans understand, you know, I get their frustrations. Main
message for Broncos Country that I would have is we're
just as impatient as you are to win here, and
(02:25):
we understand we have a lot of work to do
this offseason to get better.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'd go.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Sean Payn and a general manager, George Payton, added to that,
discussing the season from their perspectives.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
My appetites, I think where it should be is a
little bit stronger. And I look, I said this at
the start of the season, and it was really a
discussion kind of off the record, but became I felt
like we had a chance, this team had a chance
to to get into the postseason. And I feel that
(02:57):
the same way now. So I'm disappointed because of that,
and disappointed that I look back on a handful of
things I could have done differently and better and h
and now, make no mistake about it, we finished where
our record was, and we could point to a few
games that would have gotten us to nine or ten,
(03:17):
but we could have pointed to a few games that
got us to six real quickly as well, all right,
And so that's generally that's generally the case each year.
And so yeah, no, no past failed success, non success,
(03:39):
it is what it is. You know, it just leaves
you know a taste in your mouth that.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
That you you look forward to the work.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
And you know, again, the tough thing about it is,
you don't get to a race.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It next Sunday. You know, here here it is. That's
the truth. I think we took a step.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
I think I'm encouraged with the progress we got off
to that slow start. I mean the Miami locker room
and that was a tough one. And and then you
go to Chicago you're down twenty eight seven three, and oh,
I mean, man, that's tough. And then we have another
you know, number one and five. And so the thing
I would say about this team is they stuck together. Uh,
(04:22):
stayed the core. Sean never flinched. You fell in the building,
We're gonna.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Pull out of it.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
No one, no one had any doubt. And so that's
a tribute to Sean and the staff and the team.
And then get to eight and seven, you know, to
have a chance, to have a chance, and then you know,
now we just need to finish. So I think there
are a lot of positives. Eight and nine, you know
is eight and nine and you know, I think Sean
said it, but uh, this is a good locker room.
(04:46):
And the guys love ball, and they fought and again
no pointing fingers.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Plus.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Greg Pennter went on to give his evaluation of had
goat Sean pans first season with the Broncos.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I was impressed with how after the one in five start,
his leadership to bring us back from that adversity and
getting a position to make a playoff push. Very impressive
And probably the biggest thing here in terms of how
I think about the future and this organization moving forward,
is that he established a culture here. Is establishing a
(05:20):
culture here based on performance, excellence, hard work, accountability.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Sean was also asked that and explained what do he
hopes to improve on for next season.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
There's a couple of things. Our tight red zone was awful,
you know, and so all right, I got to look
closely at, you know, my sequencing and what I'm doing
calling it.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
You know, inside what I mean by that is goal
to go.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
We finished here that, you know, so our red zone
numbers are past the twenty, how many touchdowns, percentage, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
You know, our opportunities.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
I think we're decent, you know, I think we were
fifty something that measured ninth or tenth but inside the
ten first and goal to go that wasn't good enough
third down. You know, there were a handful of things,
and many of you have asked great questions about, Hey,
your offense, your offense, and overall, you know, it was
(06:16):
we collectively, starting with me, it wasn't good enough. We
didn't take advantage of enough field position opportunities and games.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I want to get my eyes fixed.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
So I call the right play and I don't mess
up and call the wrong play on a play that
happened one time this year that was embarrassing.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
But I think the here's the thing.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
I think it's easier when you get older and more
secure with like who you are and what you do,
and when you're younger, I think oftentimes you can be
very defensive with certain things.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
The one thing that I know.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Is how to win, and like sometimes it may not
be that you got four hundred and eighty yards, but
understanding the strength of your team and then and then
playing to that.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
And I think one of the challenges.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
That I had this year, all of us collectively, is like, man,
how do we match up on the other side. How's
this game unfolding? I know some of you had questions
about a couple of timeouts, and but half yard line
end of the first half against Vegas. I'm calling that
time out again. Ninety nine out of one hundred. Just
look at the statistics or field position balls and the
(07:35):
same one in New England. Really, but I would say, man,
we have to be great with the details, and obviously,
you know we weren't good enough with the details if
there were certain mistakes that were repeating themselves. And so
(07:57):
that starts with our teaching, our coaching.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
And also detailed where he felt like the team made
their biggest strides this year.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
Special teams. You know, we we've been in the bottom
of the league and special teams my first two years here.
And you know, it depends on what rankings you look at.
If you look at Westops were first, but we're probably
we're probably.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
In the top five.
Speaker 6 (08:19):
And so I mean that that was a big emphasis
and really we've been trying to get there. And give
credit to Mike Westop, Ben Cowica and Chris.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Banjo you know for what they did.
Speaker 6 (08:31):
You know, we did bring in some players. You know,
you got Mims, you got Ridley Moss, you got Traymon Smith,
but these guys, you know, so really special teams was
a big jump, you know, on defense. You know, like
Sean I think talked about is uh. I think the
defense for you formed an identity you know after you know,
about six seven games, physicality of creating turnovers and uh.
(08:54):
And so that was huge for our team. And the offense.
You know, we were running the ball pretty good obviously
late in the year. We but the offense, the identity
was physicality, all control.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
We didn't turn it over much. You know.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
Obviously we need to get better in in you know,
all both those phases. But you know that that's where
the jump was from prior years.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Plus, said coach Sean Payton was asked about Russell Wilson's
a future with the organization.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
When when we get back and we begin this process
of looking at a roster, you know, where we select.
There's so many things that go into a decision specific
to the quarterback, which is significant obviously, So it's too
early at all. I spent half an hour with Russ yesterday,
(09:40):
you know, and I told him, I said, look, you know,
I don't think it's going to be a long drawn
out process, but it hasn't been decided relative.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
To what our plans are and uh.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
But as as soon as we know something that that certainly,
you know, he.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Would be the first to know.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Greig Penn adda to that, detailing that it will be
a football decision based on winning games.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I mean, obviously, the financial part of it is a
significant component, as you know, in terms of how this
works out in the future, but that's not what we'll
drive the decision. The decision, you know, will be driven
on what's in the best interest of this football team
winning games.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And last, but certainly not least, Greg Penter detailed what
Broncos fans can be optimistic about for the future of
this team.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
There's a number of reasons to be optimistic. I mean, one,
we improved our win total. I expect that to go
up next year. We broke some some key streaks. It
was great to get the win against the Chiefs. We've
got some other other humps to get over in the future.
The we had some young players emerge, significant improvement and
(10:48):
special teams. The medical side. You know, we haven't talked
about that much, but we had you know, last year
when we did the end of season, you know, we're
really clear we've got to improve that for next year.
We'd been one of the most your teams for the
last five to six seasons. This year we're in the
top and a lot of the metrics, so significant improvement there.
(11:08):
But the biggest thing is is the culture, which sets
the floor for how we can go from here. And
on that front again, I'm very encouraged. We know we
have a lot of work to do to get to
where we want to be and this offseason is going
to be a busy one.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Now joining me here in the Broncos podcast studio to
take a look at today's news is Pellatine reporter film
Milani Feil. Thanks for joining me, a lot to get to,
a lot to talk about today rocast news.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
That means that I'm on Broncos.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Now, of course, not our typical Wednesdays anymore, but happy
to have you on regardless.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Thank you very much well.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Phil. To me, it felt like the biggest takeaway from
today's press conferences was just the fact that everyone was
on the same page Sean, George, Greg just about kind
of what the season looked like in the foundation that
was really built the season. Obviously a lot to work
on and a lot to move forward from, but you know,
everyone still was on the same page about the fi
that foundation is that things are still moving forward here
(12:02):
for this team.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That's how I would sort of sum things up.
Speaker 7 (12:05):
I would say that they were happy with the progress
that they made this season. There's definite improvement shown by
this Broncos team, but they were not They would not
label it like a successful season because they fell short
of their goal, you know. And I think that Bronco's
owner and CEO Greg Penner summed it up well when
(12:26):
he sort of had a message to fans and said, look,
I'm as impatient as you are. I want to see
winning football here. And I think that that's important to
have that where the expectations are really high. You're happy
with the progress that's made, but you still know that
there's a lot of work that needs to be done.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
And Champagne had maybe.
Speaker 7 (12:46):
The line of the of the whole day where he
said something like he was like foundation, he was like,
we've just barely been like there's heavy construction. That's yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I think he was referring to the offense in that.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
Situation exactly, not the whole team, but definitely, I think
that you have to acknowledge that they did a lot
of good things this year. They won the five games
in a row, won eight games for the first time
since twenty sixteen, beat the Chiefs, which is a big deal,
won a road primetime game. Like there are definitely moments
to be pleased with, but overall, the Broncos fell short
(13:22):
of their goal.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Absolutely, Phil, Yeah, I kind of just told you my
main takeaway. So what do you think yours was from
the day?
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Well, I think that all eyes are sort of on
that quarterback position SID and that's going to be sort
of the main talk this whole offseason. I think is
just one of the Broncos going to do there. Sean
Payton said that he had a half an hour conversation
with Russell Wilson on Monday. He said that no decisions
have been made there and really with the entire team,
like this coaching staff, they're going to take a little
(13:49):
bit of a break here and then return back to
do their evaluations for every player on this team, and
that includes Russell Wilson. But he said that we're not
going to make this a long drawn out process with
Russell Wilson. We're going to make a decision here. He's
going to be the first one to know, which I
think is fair, and then that whatever decision they make there,
that's going to sort of determine the rest of how
(14:11):
the off season is going to go, you know. And
you know, we heard from Jared Stinham on Monday and
he was like, look, I want to be a starter
in this league and I'm hopeful and we'll see what happens.
So the Broncos have some decisions to make, and you know,
I think that that's going to sort of determine where
the rest of this thing goes. But I think that
(14:31):
that it sort of starts at the quarterbacks position for
the Broncos right now. But they certainly need a lot
of things to get better. I mean, Sean Payne was
asked directly how he would evaluate his first season here,
and he said, look, my as a head coach, my
grading is determined on team's success. And so he said
he was eight and nine, so that sort of tells
(14:51):
you how he feels. And he said that he keeps
a notebook where he writes down things that he wants
to improve on and get better on moving forward, so
he knows that he could be better. And I think
that overall this roster, I think George Payton talked about
needing to build depth, and he was encouraged by this
year's rookie class. Mentioned how Marvin Mims was a pro
(15:13):
bowler as a returner, thought he could grow into a
bigger role in the offense of side. And then he
mentioned like Rynie Moss, Drew Sanders, some guys that fit
into that, Jakwon McMillan, mold where as a rookie you
don't play that much, but then your next year you
can really take off. So he thought maybe there was
some candidates for that. And then overall just building this roster.
(15:34):
You know, they'll continue to do that as they head
into the offseason here.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, and the drafts only you know, a few months away.
This is the first time since twenty one that the
team has a first round pick, so that's going to
be key as well too, Phil.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 7 (15:47):
And he talked about the depth, you know, he said
that good teams built that through the draft, and so
he mentioned that just because of where the financial picture
is right now for this Brocas team, probably not going
to be big ves and free agencies, so the fact
that they have the twelfth overall pick, they're going to
have to hit on that pick whatever direction they end
up going and then throughout the course of the entire draft,
(16:09):
just building that. Then you know, this is the second
off season now is Sean Payton, and so you're going
to see them continue to mold this team into what
Sean Payton likes, you know, And that's why consistency is
so important that that hit coaching spot is because year
after year you're continuing to build in the direction of
how the coach wants to play. So this is gonna
(16:31):
be a big off season. Of course, a decision with
Pat Sartan, you know, George Peyton said, spoke so highly
of him and said that, you know, they're going to
have to get to work here on what they do
with him moving forward. So he's eligible for an extension here.
So this is gonna be a big off season for
this Broncos team.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Well, and you know George Payton, he did say that
they feel like they're already a step ahead having all
of last off season with head coach Don Payton here.
You know, both Sean and George talked about that relationship
and what they've over the past year. I know Greg
even talked about it too and spoke very highly of
you know, the relationship that they've built together.
Speaker 7 (17:05):
Yeah, I mean, those three really working together determine the
direction how this franchise goes. You know, Champagnes set over
and over how important it is to have the support
there from ownership, and you know, I think that Greg
Pennar did a really great job today just sort of
instilling that the most important thing to ownership is winning
football games, you know, and he talked about like waking
(17:27):
up on Christmas morning and having that pit in your
stomach after the loss of the Patriots. So you know,
this group wants to win. They're dedicated to winning. They've
got a passion and a fiery competitive spirit to get
back on the winning side of things. And I think
that you've got to be encouraged and know that there's
(17:47):
some really respected pieces of the puzzle here within the
building here, and so they're going to continue to work
and evaluate things and move forward here and hopefully winning
football team.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Absolutely. It was interesting to hear Greg and his opening
statement fell talk about how you know, after that one
in five story, he talked about how he was having
sleepless nights and you know, head coach on Pan he
went into his office and was basically like, look, I'm
going to give you the Lions schedule and record from
last year. This is what we can do. This is
how we can turn this season around. And they did
(18:21):
exactly that.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Yeah, I've sometimes like seeing helps you believe that it's
possible to do that, and the Lions certainly were an
example for this team. And you know, the Lions obviously
made a huge jump from.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Last year to this year.
Speaker 7 (18:36):
You know where they ended up winning their division, and
I think that that's where the Broncos that could be
like their next goal here is not just making the playoffs, Well,
let's contend for the division. You know, that would be
a huge step for this team. And continuing to use
the Lions as sort of that example of how you
can turn things around. And that's been a big part
of what this last season was about, too, is just
(18:57):
sort of flipping the page and instilling that culture and
that winning mindset. And I think that they've done that
this year, but it just then't result in the playoffs,
which this year that was a goal for this team.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I think. Lastly, Phil, the biggest takeaway, one of the
biggest takeaways I think that we haven't talked about yet,
is just the optimism for this fan base. I know, Greg,
he talked a lot about what there is to look
forward to and what they're building off of here so
that Broncos Country can be excited about it too.
Speaker 7 (19:26):
Yeah, and I think there's reason to be optimistic about
this team, like sort of the reasons we mentioned there,
just that there's people who are dedicated to winning in
this building, and there's people who have you know, with Champagne,
and he won a Super Bowl before, he knows what
it looks like. He knows what it takes to get there.
And you know, he's going to continue to build this
team in the direction that he thinks is best in
(19:47):
terms of trying to win football games. And you know,
I do think that the sense in the locker room
a little bit on Monday was sort of like, we
don't know what kind of decisions are going to be made.
We know that there's going to be some tough changes,
and you know, the Broncos continue, They're going to continue
to move in this direction. And we saw that result
in a five game winning streak this year when this
team everybody was buying in, playing with that passion, believing
(20:10):
in each other, having that confidence and that sort of
fizzled down the stretch of the season there. But I
think Zach Allen put it in a nice ways that
when it was there, this Broncos team was e leade.
They beat teams that are in the playoffs. You know,
they beat the Chiefs, they beat the Bills, they beat
the Browns. You know, they had some big wins. Now
it's just in terms of trying to do that consistently,
(20:31):
making sure that you're playing with that same type of
energy and attitude and mindset confidence playing with that every
single week. And you know what that would do, in
my mind, said was it was translating some of these
games that you think the Broncos should win, that'll translate
those into actual wins. And I kind of liked what
Champagne said where he said, look, it's easy to go
(20:53):
back and look and say, hey, we should have beat Washington,
or should have beat the Jets, or should have beat
the Patriots, and then all of a sudd and you're
talking about ten win season. He said, don't forget though,
that it could have easily been the other way around,
where you know, maybe you don't beat the Bills, maybe
you don't beat the Chiefs. Now you're talking about a
six win season, so he said that those things tend
(21:13):
to even out over the course of a season. But overall,
the three today, Greg Penner, George Payton, and Sean Payne,
they were very honest about sort of where they didn't
sugar coat anything. You know, they acknowledged, Look, there's things
to be happy about, but there's a lot of work
to be done. And I think that that's some things
up pretty well.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I think so too.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yep. I love to look forward to this offseason.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Is going to be an busy offseason, like you said, Phil.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
But yeah, a first round pick, you gotta be that's
been a while.
Speaker 7 (21:43):
Whatever direction they end up going in, you know that
at twelve you're going to get somebody who can be
like a pat certain and you know who's going to
come in right away and be a playmaker. And so
that's the kind of talent you're talking about them going
to be able to bring in and then sort of
revamp this raw and continue to build in the direction
that Champayton sees fit.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And that's a reason for optimism. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
I agree. Well, feel appreciate you joining the show today.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Thank you very much, said appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Let's going to do it for today's episode of Broncos Now.
Broncos Country, thanks so much for tuning in. Now that
it's the off season, new episodes of Broncos Now will
be coming out once a week, so make sure to
meet me right back here on the Broncos Podcast network
and YouTube and next week for a new episode.
Speaker 7 (22:23):
I will see you all then
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