If Davis Webb thinks he’s got a big play somewhere on his call sheet Sunday against Jacksonville, the first-year Broncos offensive coordinator says he’s not going to delay in getting it called.
That was one of many lessons Webb said he learned in a play-calling debut Monday night in Kansas City that resulted in just 176 total yards of offense and 10 points in a three-touchdown loss to the Chiefs.
“There’s a ton,” Webb said Friday when asked about the lessons he learned Monday night. “I think the one thing that sticks out is, if you’ve got a play you like, don’t wait. Shoot it. And there were a couple opportunities where that definitely happened.
“(You’re thinking) maybe later in the game you’ll get to something as opposed to being aggressive and shooting it early.”
Webb said he thought the offense had some positives to take away from the game, but they were too often negated by penalties, negative plays or the inability to string good reps together.
For his part, Webb said he thought the game was there for the taking from the time Denver tied it at seven in the first quarter through, essentially, the rest of the first half.
“Most good offensive coordinators are watching whatap going on over (on the other side), too, and feeling out how the game is playing out,” he said. “I think in that second quarter it was 7-7, it felt like, for an hour.
“There were plenty of opportunities to break through that wall and we just didn’t get that done.”
Webb also said that the challenges of being on the road in a hostile environment had an impact, acknowledging that “a couple times Arrowhead won” and he got a call or a substitution in late.
Quarterback Bo Nix said Thursday that he thought the offense was good in and out of the huddle and in communicating overall despite the crowd noise. Webb, clearly, felt as though he could have been better in that department in his first game calling plays.
One area that Webb is categorically not worried about: Jaylen Waddle finishing with one catch in his Broncos debut. Waddle got free several times but the ball didn’t find him. Webb was asked if the time Waddle missed in training camp might mean that he and Nix are behind on developing rapport, and he said that perhaps “some has to do with that.”
“(Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) did a good job, too, of showing some things that he hasn’t shown before in many, many years,” Webb said. “He had a really good idea of where Jaylen could be and had a good plan for that.
“There were a couple balls that definitely could have gone his way and it just didn’t happen for whatever reason, whether that be execution or he just ran a deep route and was getting off the field. I definitely think Jaylen’s going to get involved. I’m not too worried about that.”
