AFC Notes: Broncos, Russell Wilson, Chiefs, Raiders, Davante Adams

Broncos

When asked about why Broncos QB Russell Wilson has struggled outside of the pocket, OC Justin Outten responded that teams have been game-planning more effectively at preventing bootlegs and runs outside of the pocket.

 “If you look back probably about 3 years ago, the boots, the keeper game, they were all over the place on the video. It seems like defenses are really getting better at stopping that,” he said via KUSA’s Mike Klis. “You look at the video from week 1 all the way till now with each opponent, they are doing a really good job as far as taking away that issue. You have a lot more stand-up defensive ends compared to years prior. You get these mammoths on the edge that set the edge and they see everything. That’s the advantages these defenses have when they have these big guys on the edge, they can kind of control what happens on that side.” 

• Outten added that they must be “more creative” with Wilson: “You’ve got to get a little bit more creative with the sprint outs, with the keeper game. But that is something we’re always trying to search to find because that’s typically an easy completion, it gets people moving and then it gets people in space.” (Klis)
• Ian Rapoport reports that the Broncos have ruled out CB K’Waun Williams due to several injuries including a knee injury, and this was later confirmed by the team.
• Broncos DL Mike Purcell was fined $11,139 for unnecessary roughness against the Panthers. (Mike Klis)
• Klis reports that S Dellarin Turner-Yell was fined $4,379 for a facemask penalty.

Chiefs

Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy said that RB Isiah Pacheco hasn’t seemed to hit a “rookie wall” and has shown a lot of energy in practice. 

“The rookie wall is a real thing. I know I hit it my rookie year, OK? But it doesn’t seem to impact him,” Bieniemy said, via ProFootballTalk. “I mean, obviously all the energy that you see after a play he does the same thing in practice. The kid’s very energized and excited about meetings. He does a good job in the walk throughs. We got to slow him down at times and then when he heads to practice, he has a bunch of energy. I want what he has bottled up so I can lose some of this weight moving forward.”

Bieniemy added that Pacheco is in a “great place” mentally and physically.

“But he’s a heck of a kid and I knock on wood, I hope the rookie wall does not hit him. He seems to be in a great place right now, mentally as well as physically. And I will add to that, he has some great guys in that room who have helped him understand what it takes to become a professional at this level and how to take care of his body.”

Raiders

Looking back now on the big moves of the offseason for the Raiders, Las Vegas definitely fared better than the Packers did in the blockbuster deal for WR Davante Adams. The star wideout has been everything the Raiders could have hoped for. At 4-7, though, it’s safe to say things haven’t gone as expected for the team overall. 

“Davante is still a win for the Raiders because you can’t look at it in a vacuum — Adams has held up his end of the bargain. He’s a pro,” an NFC exec said via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “But they have bigger issues than him, most notably the offensive line.”

“The Raiders probably figured, ‘We made the playoffs last year, let’s up the ante,'” an NFC scouting director added. “That’s not how it works every time. They must have thought they were closer than they were.”