Can Russell Wilson turn the Broncos offense around? | Get Up

SO DAN MAY HAVE YELLED “DON’T SAY THAT” BUT DAN ALSO TWEETED WHILE WATCHING THE BRONCOS, AS HE’S GETTING READY FOR THE GAME, DOING PRACTICE FILM, HE SAID THE BRONCOS OFFENSE IS ABSOLUTELY MADDENING TO WATCH. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT IT. LET’S EXPAND ON THAT THOUGHT. AND MIKE T., I KNOW YOU WERE TELLING US BEFORE THE SEASON THAT YOU HAD ONE MAJOR CONCERN ABOUT THE BRONCOS. IT WAS LESS ABOUT RUSSELL WILSON THAN IT WAS ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE, AND MAYBE THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. MIKE: NATHANIEL HACKETT HAS NEVER BEEN A PLAY CALLER IN

THE NFL. THERE ARE MASSIVE GROWING PAINS WHEN YOU’RE THE HEAD COACH, THE PLAY CALLER, AND TRYING TO MANAGE A GAME. WE SAW THAT. TO HIS CREDIT, THEY HIRED SOME HELP FOR THAT, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE JOB THAT GUYS LIKE MIKE MCDANIEL, KEVIN O’CONNELL, BRIAN DABOLL HAVE DONE, THEY WERE CLEARLY READY FOR THEIR OPPORTUNITIES. NATHANIEL HACKETT WASN’T. HE’S TRYING TO LEARN ON THE FLY. THAT’S A HARD JOB TO DO THAT. NOT EVEN THE DECISIONS, THE WAY IT LOOKS, GETTING OUT OF THE HUDDLE, THE CADENCE, BEING AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, TRYING TO RUN MOTIONS,

EVERY BALL IS BEING SNAPPED AT .1 ON THE PLAY CLOCK, IT’S REALLY HARD TO BE EXCELLENT WHEN THE WHOLE OPERATION JUST ISN’T FUNCTIONING WELL. GREENY: THAT’S THE OBSERVATION

THAT EVEN THE PERSON WHO DOESN’T KNOW THE X’S AND O’S THE WAY YOU DO, THEY JUST DON’T LOOK LIKE THEY’RE AS READY TO PLAY ON OFFENSE AS EVERYONE ELSE IS. HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ON THE COACH, AND HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ON THE QUARTERBACK? BART: TO ME, 100% OF THAT IS ON THE COACH. WHEN YOU SAID JERRY, I HAD TO REMEMBER AND SAY THAT’S MY OLD

SPECIAL TEAMS COACH IN BALTIMORE. I MEAN, THEY BOUGHT HIM IN. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HEAD COACH IN THIS LEAGUE, BUT LISTEN, THAT’S JUST A MISSION OF JUST HOW LONG NATHANIEL HACKETT IS. IF YOU’VE NEVER MADE THOSE CALLS, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW QUICKLY YOU NEED TO GET THE PERSONNEL, THE OPERATION OF IT. AND THEN LISTEN, THE BRONCOS ARE BEHIND. THIS WAS A TEAM THAT QUARTERBACKS LIKE AARON RODGERS, LIKE DESHAUN WATSON WAS SALIVATING ON BEING ABLE TO GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH SOME OF THE TALENT. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, NOW THAT WILLIAMS IS OUT, NOW

YOU GET MELVIN GORDON WHO COULD PRESENT EXTRA OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE OPPOSING TEAMS, WHICH IS GOING TO MAKE IT EVEN HARDER ON RUSSELL WILSON. GREENY: AGAIN, TWO DESPERATE TEAMS PLAYING TONIGHT. CERTAINLY THE COLTS WOULD QUALIFY AS DESPERATE. AND EVEN IN THAT A.F.C. WEST, THE BRONCOS SHOULD BE IN SOME LEVEL OF DESPERATION MODE. BART, I DO NEED TO GO BACK TO THE QUARTERBACK, BECAUSE I GET IT. I SEE THE SAME THING YOU GUYS SEE, AND I CERTAINLY SEE THE GROWING PAINS OF THE COACH. BUT RUSSELL WILSON IS THERE, ONE OF THE REASONS HE’S GETTING PAID ALL THAT

MONEY IS TO OVERCOME AT LEAST SOME OF THAT, AND IT DOESN’T LOOK OBVIOUS THAT HE’S DOING THAT. BART: HE HAS THE TALENT. THE GREAT THING IS HE WANTS TO BE PUT IN THE SAME BREATH AS AN ELITE QUARTERBACK. THAT’S WHY HE LEFT, BECAUSE HE WAS IN A RUN-BASED OFFENSE. BUT MAYBE PETE CARROLL KNEW SOMETHING WE DIDN’T KNOW. MAYBE HE KNEW HE WASN’T CAPABLE OF DOING THESE THINGS, EVEN THOUGH HE GOT THE DEAL. WE KNOW OTHER QUARTERBACKS WOULD START IMPLEMENTING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HE DID WELL IN SEATTLE TO TRY TO START THERE. I DON’T

KNOW WHAT HIS IDENTITY OF THIS OFFENSE IS SUPPOSED TO BE. IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN IDENTITY, YOU’RE LOST TRYING TO BE A COPYCAT OF SOMEBODY ELSE. GREENY: DAN, WHAT IS THE SENSE YOU’RE GETTING? THERE’S BEEN SO MUCH TALK THIS YEAR ABOUT THEM. YOU JUST POINTED OUT, I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS SNEAKY BIG NEWS, BECAUSE IT’S NOT SNEAKY. LOSING DAVANTE WILLIAMS, WHO HAS BEEN THEIR BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER, A TORN A.C.L., OUT FOR THE SEASON, DEVASTATING BLOW FOR THEM. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT THE RUSSELL OF IT ALL? DAN: IT IS A DEVASTATING BLOW, BECAUSE I

THINK THEY FELT LIKE THEY COULD LEAN ON THE RUN GAME WHILE THE PASSING GAME PUT HE WAS TOGETHER. WHETHER THAT’S HACKETT NEED BE TO BE SHARPER, WHETHER THAT’S RUSSELL NEED BE TO BE SHARPER, WHETHER IT’S ABOUT TIMING WITH THE RECEIVERS, THESE THINGS TAKE TIME, YOU FELT LIKE YOU HAD A DEEP GROOVE OF RUNNING BACKS THAT YOU COULD COUNT ON. NOW ONE IS INJURED, AND THE OTHER ONE, AS BART MENTIONED, KEEPS FUMBLING. SO THEY CAN’T REALLY RELY ON THAT IN THE SHORT TERM WHILE THEY GET EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER. AND YEAH, I THINK WHEN YOU TRADE FOR

RUSSELL WILSON, AND YOU SIGN HIM TO A HIGH-END QUARTERBACK CONTRACT, YOU EXPECT YOU’RE GETTING SOMEONE WHO WILL ELEVATE THE GROUP AROUND HIM, RIGHT? SO FAR, HE HASN’T DONE THAT. IT’S EARLY IN THE SEASON. IT’S ONLY FOUR GAMES. THINGS SHOULD GET BETTER. BUT WHAT TANNENBAUM SAID PUTS IT PERFECTLY, THE ENTIRE OPERATION LOOKS LIKE A MESS. GREENY: TO PUT A RUB ONON THIS PART OF THE CONVERSATION, FOUR GAMES IS FAR TOO QUICK TO MAKE THE DETERMINATION THAT WE FELT WOULD BE ULTIMATELY MADE OF RUSSELL WILSON IN DENVER. HIS SECOND ACT IS GOING TO BE A REFERENDUM ON

WHETHER HE’S MERELY BEEN A GOOD QUARTERBACK OR WHETHER HE IS TRULY AN HISTORICALLY GREAT QUARTERBACK. FROM WHAT YOU’VE SEEN SO FAR, HAS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON IT CHANGED? MIKE: A LITTLE BIT. HE’S DEFINITELY MORE MIDDLE OF THE PACK, AND THEN COMPOUND IT WITH YOU’RE GOING AGAINST JUSTIN HERBERT, PATRICK MAHOMES, AND A REALLY GOOD QUARTERBACK IN DEREK CARR, THE BAR IS SO HIGH IN THAT DIVISION, GREENY. AS THE GUYS MENTIONED, WITHOUT WILLIAMS, I THINK IT GETS HARDER FOR THEM, AND I CLEARLY SEE THEM AS THE FOURTH BEST TEAM IN THIS DIVISION. GREENY: OK, SO THAT FEELS LIKE

TROUBLE. THAT SAID, IF THEY WIN TONIGHT AGAINST A STRUGGLING COLTS TEAM, AND WE JUST TALKED ABOUT HOW DISAPPOINTING THEY HAVE BEEN, THEY’LL BE SITTING AT 3-2, SO FAR WORSE THINGS CAN HAPPEN. LET’S PUT THE PICKS UP AND SEE WHO EVERYBODY LIKES TONIGHT. THE COLTS ON THE ROAD, THEY HAVE THE TIE AGAINST THE TEXANS. THEY SOMEHOW BEAT KANSAS CITY. GRAZIANO, YOU’VE GOT THE COLTS ON THE ROAD. WHY DO YOU LIKE I UNDERSTANDY AND MATT RYAN TONIGHT IN DENVER? DAN: THEY HAVE TO BE BETTER THAN THEY’VE BEEN. I THINK FRANK REICH’S SEAT IS GETTING A LITTLE TOASTY,

BUT IT’S PROBABLY THERE. SHORT WEEK, EVERYBODY’S BANGED UP. EVEN RUSSELL WILSON WAS ON THE INJURY REPORT THIS WEEK WITH A SHOULDER THING. SO YES, NO JONATHAN TAYLOR, NO DARIUS LEONARD. I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A BOLD PICK, BUT I THINK THE COLTS NEED THIS, AND I THINK THEY’LL GET IT TOGETHER. GREENY: IT WAS ACTUALLY YOUR BOLD PREDICTION TO START THE SHOW, I JUST REALIZED. GIVE ME A QUICK MINUTE ON THE COLTS HERE. EVERYONE ELSE LIKES DENVER TONIGHT, THURSDAY NIGHT, THEY’RE AT HOME. AS BAD AS THEY’VE BEEN, THE COLTS HAVE BEEN WORSE. WHY HAS IT BEEN

SO DISAPPOINTING FOR INDY, A TEAM THAT HAD SUPER BOWL EXPECTATIONS? BART: I THINK WE OVERESTIMATED THE VALUE OF THIS OFFENSIVE LINE. WE THOUGHT THEY WERE A LOT BETTER. NOW WE REALIZE THAT THE LEFT TACKLE POSITION IS A POSITION OF NEED, BUT ALSO MATTY ICE STILL BEING A STATUE. WE THOUGHT THAT MATTY ICE BEING ABLE TO GET THE BALL OUT OF HIS HANDS, HOW ACCURATE MATT REICH SAID, WELL, HE’S BEEN ACCURATE FOR THE OTHER TEAM. YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT HE’S STARTING TO SEE THE RUSH. WHEN HE STARTS NOT LOOKING DOWN THE FIELD, IT’S THE BEGINNING

OF THE END, AND IT COULD BE THE INNING OF THE END FOR MATTY RICE. DAN: MOST EXPENSIVE OFFENSIVE LINE IN THE LEAGUE, AND THEY DON’T HAVE A LEFT TACKLE. SOMEONE WENT WRONG THERE. GREENY: WHEN YOU HAVE A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK WHO RETIRES SUDDENLY AND YOUNG AS ANDREW LUCK DID, IT SETS THE FRANCHISE — THEY NEVER CAUGHT UP. THEY’VE BEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP TO THE ANDREW LUCK THING FOR YEARS. THEY’VE TRIED A MILLION DIFFERENT THINGS. EVERY ONE OF THEM SOUNDED LIKE IT MADE SENSE AT THE TIME, INCLUDING BRINGING MATT RYAN IN THERE. LOOK, IT’S STILL EARLY.

THEY COULD TUR