Sean Payton Sends Message to Broncos Locker Room After Film Session

The Denver Broncos are fixing to find out about the soul of this roster.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is rapidly discovering what his team's got deep down, now that adversity has well arrived. Many will fall by the wayside in Payton's pursuit of separating the mentally tough from the weak, especially if the Broncos fail to stand up and be counted.

"One of the things we preach all the time about finding smart, tough players is not just for the three hours on gameday, it's for the times that—our league brings us every year for every team," Payton said on Monday. "These are moments where you find out a lot about each other. We have to have a better work week than last week. We have to have a good plan in place for the team that we’re playing, and we have to be able to take the coaching. Then ourselves as coaches, say, ‘Hey, where did we fail? Where did we not do a good enough job?’ That has to happen quickly.”

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The intervening days since the Broncos' humiliation in South Florida have seen the narrative shift between firing defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and tanking to get USC quarterback Caleb Williams in next year's draft.

Furthermore, Russell Wilson's staunch critics have picked up their pitchforks in the hope they can skewer a player whose stats are actually on a similar level as NFL poster boy Patrick Mahomes through three turbulent weeks.

Wilson's sweet style of leadership might not appeal to everyone, but given Payton's recent demands for strong work ethics and grit to spring forth, it's abundantly clear how much the Broncos need their quarterback's quiet authority more than ever.

Wilson and Payton are more in tune than anyone had previously thought after the quarterback and head coach were brought together. Indeed, Wilson's post-game declaration that he plans to double down on getting things right could have come straight from Payton's mouth.

"From a leadership standpoint, I think the biggest thing we have to do is learn everything that we can from the film," Wilson said in the aftermath of Sunday's crushing defeat. "Learn what we did well. Learn what we didn't do so well... I think the best thing we can do is come back on Monday and have the best film session we can have, have the best work ethic we can have."

Obviously, pulling themselves out of the mire won't be easy for the Broncos, nor will it come without some collateral damage. Payton had to force himself to go back over the Miami game tape before making a decision on the team reviewing it.

On the flip side, the notoriously self-critical Wilson was already embracing the process from his locker room stall deep within Hard Rock Stadium. It was as painful as Payton likely expected. 

"It's a tough film to watch," Payton said on Monday. "I debated whether we were going to show it or not, but I think we would be remiss if we didn't. We have to sit here today—as unpleasant as it's going to be—we have to get these things cleaned up."

As the dust settles, Payton turning even more toward Wilson to hold the line now makes logical sense. It will also display faith in his quarterback, which will send a powerful message out to the entire organization moving forward.

Hating on Wilson has become a flippant national pastime, but redemption comes in many guises. If Wilson can help keep the Broncos locker room united after the fallout of Sunday's historic blowout, the veteran QB will prove he's truly built for adversity, and that's invaluable to his head coach.

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