Situational improvement starts in woeful red zone
In addition to equal reps for players, Broncos coach Vance Joseph said he has “absolutely” adjusted how he runs the 10 organized team activity workouts.
“If you don’t do that, it’s a disservice to your football team,” Joseph said. “Every year, we’re trying to do something different to make us better. This year, we’re going to incorporate a situational period so we can be a smart football team.”
Adjusting the practice schedule is commonplace around the league. This is the time to experiment and set a foundation. In Philadelphia, coach Doug Pederson cited the off-season situational work last year in helping the Eagles’ offense on third down and in the red zone.
Third down — 20th in 2016 (38.1 percent) and eighth (41.7 percent) last year.
Red zone — 24th in 2016 (57.1 touchdown rate) and first (65.5 percent) last year.
The Eagles won the Super Bowl.
“I think it’s extremely important and I think it did help us by setting up practices situationally to hit those specific areas,” Pederson told reporters. “Those are things that we’re going to continue to do throughout this whole OTA process. Exposing our guys to those situations obviously helps.”
So what situation jumps out for the Broncos?
Turnovers leap off the page — they were minus-17 in margin last season (second-worst) and their 34 giveaways were second-most.
But as it relates to the Eagles, red zone should be a focus for the Broncos. The Broncos averaged 2.1 yards per play in the red zone — worst in the league.
The Broncos’ success play rate was 34.1 (gaining 40 percent of the required yardage on first down, 50 percent on second down or converting third and fourth down chances), which was also worst in the league.
The Broncos averaged only 3.83 points per red zone possession (19 touchdowns and 17 field goals), which was the worst in the league.
The Broncos’ red-zone quarterback rating of 79.5 (the NFL average was 90.4) was the fourth-worst.
Enter quarterback Case Keenum, whose 110.4 red-zone rating last year for Minnesota was third-best in the league.
Hitting is not allowed during OTAS, but working on situations like red zone play could pay dividends in the fall.
Working with Kelly
Former NFL assistant and Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild trained Broncos quarterback Nick Stevens before the draft and he also worked with Chad Kelly, a Broncos’ seventh-round pick in 2017.
Fairchild said he led “probably 5-6 workouts,” for Kelly.
“Chad’s a neat guy and he sure seemed dialed into his opportunity so he will be interesting to watch,” Fairchild said.
Kelly missed all of last year with knee and wrist injuries but was full go when he worked with Fairchild this off-season.
“There was no sign of the (wrist) injury,” Fairchild said. “He’s a long-armed, strongarmed guy and those guys, you have to make sure they’re right from a technique standpoint. We drilled the basic stuff. He really kind of grooved his stroke. He’s a hard worker so it was fun to work with him.”
When he trains a quarterback before the draft, Fairchild said, “Roughly 80 percent they do well enough to play in the NFL. It’s my job to find that 20 percent that they don’t do well and drill that and get it up to speed.”
About the anthem policy
Five thoughts about the NFL’S anthem policy, which was passed by NFL owners Wednesday:
1. The owners should have left this alone. Broncos cornerback Chris Harris was right when he said, “I think it kind of died down anyway,” late last season. But owners reignited the issue by instituting this policy.
2. The part of the policy allowing owners to fine their players is laughable and there should have been chuckles from some of the more progressive owners when that wrinkle was introduced. An owner fining one of his players? Talk about losing the locker room.
3. If teams lock arms on the sideline while standing for the anthem, it should not be viewed as disrespecting the flag and/or anthem.
4. If a Broncos player (or 10 or 12 players) stay in the locker room for the anthem in Week 1 and then take the field, will they be booed by the home fans? A fascinating part of the plot.
5. The optics of not including the NFLPA in the discussions was a tactical error. That allowed the union to play their card of not being at the table for key decisions. The owners should have invited to the union to the table.
Around the league
Slow signings. Among the top nine draft picks, only Indianapolis guard Quenton Nelson (sixth overall) has signed. The usual hang-up is off-set language. Some teams want to include that in the first-round contract so if the player is released within four years, he can’t “double-dip” — sign with another team and still be paid by their original team.
Fan friendly? Upon being awarded the Super Bowl following the 2022 season, Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell said it will be the most “fan friendly” Super Bowl ever. What does that mean? The stadium won’t become bigger. The corporate suits will still get the premium lower-bowl tickets. It may be a fan friendly Super Bowl Week, but that is difficult to measure.
Super selections. One decision the league has nailed is eliminating the public bidding for Super Bowls. Up until this year, multiple cities would present their vision to the owners, who would then vote for a winner. That meant “losing” cities had to slink back home and explain why they came up short. The new process involves the NFL negotiating with selected cities, which gives the league more control over where the game is held.
Tight end search. An injury during the Chargers’ first OTA may have impacted the thinking in Green Bay. The Chargers lost tight end Hunter Henry to a torn ACL on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Packers signed veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis, who could have been a candidate in Los Angeles. Some available options: Antonio Gates (the 15-year Charger) and, gulp, Julius Thomas.
Ryan O’halloran: rohalloran@ denverpost.com or @ryanohalloran