Sean Payton Reveals Truth Behind Sideline Incident With Vance Joseph

Sean Payton, quite publicly, gave Vance Joseph a piece of his mind during Week 7's action.

Vance Joseph's defense has been much improved over the past two games, thanks in large part to the Denver Broncos getting two starters back on the field — Justin Simmons and Josey Jewell. Still, despite the tandem's veteran leadership and savvy, the Broncos were forced to use a pair of timeouts in the second half of Sunday's 19-17 win over the Green Bay Packers, which incensed head coach Sean Payton. 

Payton could be seen giving Joseph a piece of his mind on the sideline after the second snafu that led to a timeout, which saw the Broncos defense line up with 10 men on the field. With a night to sleep on it and work out all the elevated hormones and emotions, Payton nipped in the bud any notion of a growing rift between him and his defensive coordinator. 

“I’m in a great spot with him," Payton said of Joseph on Monday. "You have to understand one thing about me. He won’t be the only one. I was frustrated, and you don’t want to use those timeouts. Sometimes, it’s hard to be pleased or not upset. You want to play your perfect game."

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Payton has a great reputation around the league, built upon a 15-year tenure of excellence in New Orleans that included a World Championship in 2009. That constant pursuit of perfection is what drives the greats — the players and coaches alike.   

Payton letting Joseph have it on the sideline in Week 7 was also influenced by safety Kareem Jackson's ejection for an unnecessary roughness penalty, for which the veteran was suspended four games on Monday. 

"That was a good win for us, and yet I’m driving home last night heading to get Sushi," Payton said. "I don’t like Sushi, and I’m finding myself circling around the parking lot [thinking], ‘Alright, why can’t I be happy?’ Well, you’re searching for that perfect game. I’m just that way. I’m going to wear my emotions on my sleeve, whether it’s defense or offense. We got caught with 10 [players on the field]. Obviously, the [ejection] of Kareem was one thing, but it also impacts kind of a goal line personnel grouping. We’ll get that cleaned up, but all good there.”

Joseph has been deservedly maligned since returning to the Mile High City as Payton's coordinator. Entering Week 7, the Broncos were ranked at the bottom of the league in four of the eight key defensive statistical categories. 

By virtue of holding the Packers to 17 points, the Broncos are no longer alone in the NFL cellar when it comes to scoring defense. Denver now shares a league-worst ranking with the Carolina Panthers (31 ppg). 

Of course, allowing 70 points to the Miami Dolphins is a big reason why the Broncos are still at the bottom of the league in scoring defense. It'll take quite a few more games like the Green Bay win to whittle away at that ignominious average. 

The bottom line is Joseph's defense is improving. It's no coincidence that the biggest strides have come on the heels of Simmons and Jewell's return, as well as the Broncos cutting bait with a pair of cancerous veterans who a.) weren't getting the job done and b.) were setting a bad example in the locker room *cough* Randy Gregory and Frank Clark *cough*. 

The Broncos move forward at 2-5 with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town on Sunday for the second meeting of these once bitter AFC West rivals. Clark's time in Denver may have been short-lived, but one thing he said was true: Broncos-Chiefs can no longer be called a true rivalry because a rivalry, by its very nature, is supposed to be competitive. 

The Chiefs have defeated the Broncos in each of their past 16 meetings. It's time for Denver, with a lot of help from Joseph's defense, to start balancing those scales. 

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