HARROW, UK — George Paton is the boss of the whole Broncos’ football department. Scouts, coaches, players, equipment managers, practice facilities, weight room, everything.
Nathaniel Hackett is the head coach who was hired by Paton. Hackett is in charge of coaching the Broncos players to victory.
Which hasn’t been happening often enough. The Broncos are 2-5 – much like their previous five seasons, but well below expectations after the team acquired star quarterback Russell Wilson – entering their game Sunday against the similarly 2-5 Jacksonville Jaguars at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Because of the Broncos’ sorry record and inept offense that ranks dead last in the NFL in scoring with a meager 14.3 points per game, Hackett, a first-time head coach, has been criticized by national and local pundits, not to mention Denver’s fan base.
Video above: Broncos prepare for game in London
After a first-game, 17-16 loss at Seattle in which he chose an improbable 64-yard field goal try instead of a less-improbable, fourth-and-5 chance with his famous returning quarterback, Hackett has primarily been charged with not being ready for the big job.
Paton indicated he’s going to stay with his coach as he grows into the job.
“I believe in Nathaniel,’’ Paton said while his Broncos were practicing Thursday at the Harrow School Fitness Club. “I support Nathaniel 100%. He’s been in this for seven games as a head coach. The scrutiny he’s faced is unprecedented. We’ve had four primetime games, so he’s had to learn in front of the entire world.
“But I really like how he’s kept the team together. They’re connected. He’s kept our building together. I appreciate how he came through that.
“I see the day to day with Nathaniel," Paton said. "I see him in front of the team. It’s hard to lose five games like we’ve lost. And Nathaniel has great leadership. And he’s kept our coaching staff, really our entire building together.’’
But for many fans and media observers, it is difficult to reconcile what’s happening behind headquarters doors with what has been happening in front of all to see on game day. Especially on offense, which is where Hackett’s expertise lies. Hackett is not only the Broncos’ head coach, he is their offensive play caller.
In six of their seven games, the Broncos have scored one or no touchdowns. Why has the offense gone so wrong?
“It’s not just one thing as you can see,’’ Paton said. “A lot of newness. A new coaching staff. A lot of new players, a new quarterback, new schemes – it doesn’t come all together, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a well-oiled machine. I knew it would take time. Obviously it has, but there’s a lot we have to work on.
“Then we have some injuries on offense," he said. "Our coaching staff is trying to learn each other. Our players are trying to learn each other. So it’s a lot. No excuses. We need to be better, obviously. The offense hasn’t been good enough to win games. The defense has kept us in it but the offense has to play better.”
After Hackett, blame for the Broncos’ poor start has been directed at Wilson, who has not performed to the caliber he established as a nine-time Pro Bowler during his previous 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
“Russell, like we talked about, there’s a lot of newness,’’ Paton said. “He’s trying to learn the staff, these guys are trying to learn him and all of our players. We know what Russell is capable of and it’s our job to get the best out of Russ and our entire offense. I know we’ll get there.
“We’ve seen flashes with Russ, whether it be the first half of the Raiders, the first half of the Chargers. You see the arm strength, the accuracy, the mobility and we all need to play better, that’s for sure, on offense.”
Wilson’s early season struggles – he ranks 25th among league passers – and recent run of injuries (strained shoulder and strained hamstring in a span of three weeks) has led to concerns the quarterback is not the same physically as he moves within five weeks of his 34th birthday, while also second-guesses Paton’s decision to extend his contract for a guaranteed $161 million over the next four years.
As the new contract wasn’t executed until five months after the trade, it seemed there was a moment when Paton wanted to see Wilson play before making such a heavy financial commitment, only to get the deal done abut 10 days before the season opener.
“We considered everything,’’ Paton said. “We just wanted to get ahead of the contract cycle. We had seen how Russ was in the offseason and training camp and we felt really good about Russ. We feel really good about Russ. We wanted to get ahead of it. We didn’t want a lot of distraction during the season. We feel really good about it. I feel good about that deal. I feel like it will hold up. I feel good about Russ.”
Paton, Hackett and Wilson are all in this 2-5 mess together. All speak of better days ahead.
“Obviously the results aren’t there,’’ Paton said. “Not good enough. We’re 2-5 and we all need to get better and it starts with me. But I do believe in this football team. I do believe in the people in our building, our coaching staff that we can turn it around. It’s only 7 games. We’ve been in every game but that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about winning games and we need to learn how to win football games. We haven’t done that.”
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