Sean Payton got more of what he wanted

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Sean Payton wanted better from his team Wednesday after a Tuesday session in which he said that his team mentally “hit a wall.”

In his eyes, he got it.

“I thought our tempo was better,” Payton said. “I think our focus was a little better, too. Thought we hit a little bit of a mental wall yesterday, and I think we were better today just fighting through that.”

But the practice also saw the Broncos work on defensive-pressure packages, which had the effect of putting the offense under constant duress.

“Now, there’s going to be some things we look at on film that we want to clean up,” Payton said.

And for a team like the Broncos still attempting to answer the quarterback question, that was going to mean some issues — such as “a couple free rushers,” as Sean Payton noted.

Sean Payton liked Wednesday's practice better than Tuesday's session, although it wasn't perfect.

"Now, there's going to be some things we look at on film that we want to clean up. You know, a couple free rushers," he said. pic.twitter.com/LcpM4ccu1J

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 8, 2024

“So we’re, installing a third-down package. Defensively, they are as well,” Payton said. “So, some of the looks we get, we need to change the protection.

“That’s the biggest thing is communication, protection –is it staying on or are we changing it? That’s where the stress is.”

• Highlighting the day was the move-the-ball period at the end of practice, which saw the defense win two out of three series. Given 51 seconds and the football at the defense’s 37-yard line, the offense had one timeout, first-and-10 and a 26-20 deficit.
• Bo Nix led the No. 1 offense in the first series, and after a promising start, his drive stalled. Two completions got the offense to the 13-yard line, but from there, three passes fell incomplete before time ran out.
• Inside linebacker Levelle Bailey came up big on the second series, which saw Jarrett Stidham lead the No. 2 offense against the second-team defense. Stidham opened the drive with a 21-yard pass to Devaughn Vele to start the effort, but the drive stalled from there. With first-and-10 at the 10-yard line following a defensive penalty, Stidham threw into traffic, and Bailey intercepted the deflected pass at the goal line. Bailey also had a sack earlier in practice.
• Zach Wilson and the No. 3 offense finished the job. Completions to Hunter Kampmoyer and Troy Franklin — who had a drop during the one-on-one period earlier in the practice — to get the offense to the defense’s 21-yard line. Wilson took a sack, but two plays later, with the clock ticking below 6 seconds, Wilson hit Franklin on third-and-12 for a 23-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone. Defensive players signaled incomplete, but the play stood and practice ended.
• Sean Payton had his players do a 9-on-7 run period early in practice. D.J. Jones was one of the standouts of the period, bursting through twice in the first three snaps to blow up runs.Other notable performers who shone in run-stuffing moments during 9-on-7 included rookie edge rusher Jonah Elliss — who burst off the edge to chase down Jaleel McLaughlin on a sweep — and defensive linemen Matt Henningsen and Enyi Uwazurike.
• Nose tackle Jordan Miller had one play during a team period when he burst over center Alex Forsyth, exploding into the backfield to pressure Stidham on a play-action fake.
• Edge rusher Durell Nchami flashed during a team period, blowing up consecutive plays. Later, Jonathon Cooper did the same thing, with consecutive third-down rushes off the edge that could have been sacks in game conditions.
• The defense generated a pair of takeaways from the No. 3 offense. There was the afore-mentioned interception in the final practice period. But earlier in the session, cornerback Art Green stripped the football from running back Blake Watson, allowing Tanner McAlister to recover.
• Special-teams periods emphasized punts, with one of them focused on downing the ball inside of the 10-yard line after punts with the line of scrimmage in defensive territory. Riley Dixon had one punt end in a fair catch, and another that hit at the 5-yard line before bouncing forward into the end zone. Trenton Gill had two punts hit inside the 5-yard line and bounce away from the goal line, allowing them to be downed.

Lucas Krull flashed as a run-blocker Wednesday, including one one Blake Watson rush where the tight end crushed linebacker Andre Smith, helping spring Watson for a run that would have covered at least 10 yards in game conditions.

“He has to carry our pads, that’s mandatory. Pretty much anything that goes wrong, I just blame him.” — Stidham, on Nix’s rookie responsibilities to other quarterbacks

Jarrett Stidham, on Bo Nix’s rookie responsibilities:

“He’s gotta carry our pads; that’s mandatory. Pretty much everything that goes wrong, I blame him. … At whatever point we decide to do his rookie dinner, I will be getting a nice bottle of wine or something that he’s gonna… pic.twitter.com/6ekWcAYTtL

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 7, 2024

• Edge rusher Nik Bonitto remained out due to a back issue. “No update. He’s working through it,” Payton said. “And I think he’s close, but nothing to report.”
• Safety Brandon Jones and cornerback Levi Wallace continue to miss time due to hamstring injuries. Jones was seen working on the side field. Payton had “no update” on the potential return of either.

Thursday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. MDT.