Following first preseason game, Broncos coach Sean Payton addresses to-do list of things to clean up
ENGLEWOOD – Sean Payton’s to-do list apparently has grown.
After Saturday’s 30-9 win at San Francisco in the preseason opener, the Broncos coach said, “I’ve got 14 things written down that I’m p—ed off about that have nothing to do with the game.”
After Tuesday’s practice at Broncos Park, Payton was asked what had irritated him. He said they were things related to the first road trip of the season such as what happened on the sideline, the team hotel and with the travel.
“I’m not going to go through all 14 of them,’’ Payton said. “There’s probably 17 by the time I get home, all of which can be cleaned up and easily corrected.”
Perhaps the list grew while the Broncos were delayed flying home from the Bay Area due to plane issues. They didn’t arrive in Denver until after 3 a.m. Sunday, about 1½ hours behind schedule. Payton said that altered the team’s practice schedule due to “sleep studies” and “the days it takes to recover from” the travel situation.
Payton said players watched tape Sunday, were off Monday and Tuesday was a “ramp-up practice.’’ The Broncos will be back in pads Wednesday and then Thursday have a joint practice for the second straight week. After having one at San Francisco last Thursday, they will meet up with Arizona and then face the Cardinals in a preseason game Saturday night at Empower Field at Mile High.
Star outside linebacker Nik Bonitto didn’t practice Tuesday after suffering a minor foot injury against the 49ers. He had a slight limp during the second defensive series of the game, when he pressured San Francisco quarterback Mac Jones on three straight plays, with one being a sack.
“He’s doing fine,’’ Payton said. “I anticipate him practicing (Wednesday) and this week. He should be in good shape. It was something in his foot, but he’s going to be all right.”
While Payton figures to be busy behind the scenes correcting his 14 pet peeves from last week that perhaps turned into 17, work was done at Tuesday’s practice on football issues.
The starters had their share of struggles against the 49ers, who played only reserves. The Broncos fell behind 9-0 before scoring the final 30 points of the game.
The 49ers took a 7-0 lead by driving 71 yards on their first possession, getting 50 of them on a pass from Jones to Jordan Watkins. But Denver’s defense was dominant on its second and final series of the night.
The Broncos starters on offense didn’t do much in three drives. On the second, a safety was assessed when quarterback Bo Nix was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.
“I think defensively, the first drive obviously you don’t want to see a score,’’ Payton said when asked about the showing by starters. “The third-down play (by Watkins) was a significant play that led to that touchdown. We bounced back pretty quickly. Offensively, we’ll clean some things up.”
Payton said the Broncos, who had 11 penalties for 87 yards, need to “get our alignments cleaned up on offense.”
Overall, though, Payton said “there were a lot of positives” in the joint practice and the game. He said the Broncos’ “depth showed up well” and he was pleased with the defense getting four takeaways.
Payton said the joint practice “was pretty long, maybe a little longer than I would have liked” leading into the game two days later. It remains to be seen how the joint practice and the game with the Cardinals will go this week. Payton said he normally wants his starters to play into the second quarter in the second preseason game, but he doesn’t know yet how he will handle what he does Saturday.
Payton, in his 18th year as an NFL coach, said one reason for matters being up in the air is this training camp schedule is different than ones he has had in previous seasons.
“This is the first time for me and for us (of having) back-to-back joint practices,’’ Payton said. “The first time for us, we’ll see if we ever do it again. I’m used to really one either Week 2 or Week 3 (of the preseason). So what was different was Week 1.”
Regardless, count Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II as glad to have a second straight week with a joint practice.
“It’s always good to go up against a new opponent, especially in the practice setting,’’ Surtain said. “You can try different stuff and try new things as well, see a new look and see different personnel.”
Surtain said he’s “looking forward” to going against Cardinals star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and it will be a “good matchup.”
On offense, Payton will continue during the joint practice and the preseason game to take a hard look at his running backs. Rookie RJ Harvey got the start against the 49ers and carried seven times for 25 yards.
“He’s an extremely instinctive runner,’’ Payton said. “We’re going to get a number of looks to see him between the tackles.”
Among other running backs against the 49ers, Tyler Badie had five carries for 32 yards, Blake Watson four for 28 yards, Audric Estimé eight for 21 yards and Jaleel McLaughlin three for five yards. Veteran J.K. Dobbins, listed first on the depth chart, didn’t get an attempt, but Payton expects that to change Saturday.
“He’ll get some touches,’’ Payton said. “I want to get some protection work with him and sort through the third-down protection role for some of these guys. If it’s not him, who’s the next protector? That kind of thing. Part of it is trying to get quality reps for the other guys.”
After Saturday’s game, perhaps Payton will come up with a new list of things ticking him off. At least the list might be reduced with the team not being on a road trip.