‘You pee, you grab a banana’ — Sean Payton pulls back the curtain on play-calling

Sean Payton handed over play-calling duties to new Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb this season. But when Payton was asked Friday night how long it takes a play-caller to find rhythm, the coaching veteran delivered a note that could find itself in a John Madden book or maybe get a chuckle out of Lorne Michaels.

“You can have games where that call sheet looks magnificent, and then there’s been games where you can stare at 140 (plays) and you hate all of them,” Payton said after Denver’s 27-7 preseason demolition of the Atlanta Falcons. “When you have a rhythm and you feel like it’s great, then how do you create it if you’re not?”

The answer, Payton explained, is sequencing — studying the four possible combinations of first and second down: run-run, pass-pass, run-pass, pass-run. The biggest trick, he said, is knowing how to reset when things go sideways.

“You have a set of openers and you go three-and-out, and then, how do you reset?” Payton said. “We all think we have an idea of how the game might unfold, and that each week can change.”

Payton said the best teams stay connected across all three phases — and that a play-caller has to read the defensive side of the game to know what the offense needs next. But there’s adjustments while the defense is on the field, maybe even more so than the halftime adjustment mythology.

“The halftime is eight minutes,” Payton said with a grin. “You’re in, you pee, you grab a banana, and you’re with your players. That’s going on throughout while the defense is on the field, those adjustments and discussions.”

As for Webb’s first time in the driver’s seat calling plays in more than a trial basis? Denver finished with 359 total net yards and 24 first downs, and Payton kept it simple: “He’s thinking of having his best night tonight, and that’s how I would approach it the same way.”  Under Webb, Denver put up 224 first-half yards and went 2-for-2 in the red zone behind Jarrett Stidham.

The win extended Denver’s preseason streak to eight consecutive victories dating back to 2023. The Broncos are 8-2 in the preseason under Payton, whatever that means — maybe it’s because he actually plays his starters. He insists the preseason matters.

“When we’re playing, regardless of who’s out there, we are trying to win,” Payton said. “It’s eight now in the preseason, but I think it’s important.”

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