Denver, CO
Broncos Camp Observations: Denver’s offense finds success in initial two-minute drill opportunity
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Not all end-of-half or end-of-game scenarios are created equally.
As Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton laid out after Friday’s practice, there’s dozens — if not hundreds — of potential scenarios that a team can face in the final moments of a half or a game. And when a team finds itself in one of those scenarios, the approach can change based on whether the offense or defense is under pressure.
“If I said it’s the end of the game and there’s 38 seconds [and] they need a touchdown, [it’s] advantage defense,” Payton said.
On Friday, the Broncos faced what Payton described as a far more neutral scenario: Trailing by six points, 1:48 to play, two timeouts and the ball at the offense’s own 25-yard line.
“We can get off the field defensively and right away flip the script, [and then] we’re in two minute,” Payton said. “We can be three-and-out, and [they’re] in two-minute. It’s understanding the situation, and we’ve got a litany more [to practice].”
Payton and the Broncos’ focus on Friday was also specifically tailored to the first half, which created a different approach than an end-of-game scenario.
“Every half ends with someone in the two-minute drill, and most of the games end in the two-minute drill,” Payton said. “There’s so many situations — today, we just did end of the half. So when you do end of game, they want to hear ‘Need three [points]’ [or] ‘need seven [points].’ There’s a goal in mind. End of half, not so much so. You’re thinking field goal initially, and then maybe if you get down there a little earlier, you might get aggressive.”
In the first true move-the-ball periods of training camp, quarterbacks Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham each had a chance to lead their groups to points to end the first half.
Nix, who led the first-team offense on Friday, methodically led the Broncos down the field and moved the ball to the opposing 20-yard line. Using a series of quick completions and his legs to scramble for needed yardage, Nix adeptly managed the clock and pushed the Broncos into field-goal range. While an offensive penalty briefly pushed Denver out of field-goal range, Nix and the offense rebounded with completions to Tim Patrick and Samaje Perine to get back in range and earn points. During the drive, Nix also took a shot at the end zone, and he nearly connected with Courtland Sutton for a deep touchdown pass.
In Stidham’s attempt, he used a pair of chunk plays to move his group down the field. He first found Brandon Johnson for a moderate gain before going right back to Johnson for a gain of about 30 yards. As Nix did, Stidham also showed his ability to avoid pressure and scramble for yardage that pushed the Broncos into field-goal range.
When asked what traits quarterbacks must possess to be successful in two-minute action, Payton pointed to a multitude of factors.
“I think they’re fast processors,” Payton said. “I do think, again, the pocket gets muddied, they don’t get stuck with sacks. They understand how to manage the clock. Throwing the ball away’s fine. It stops the clock and we get to the next play. In a two-minute drill, the average amount of times you actually go to the line of scrimmage and call another play without a huddle is just a little over two times. Often times in a hurry-up drill, most of the time, the clock has stopped and you’re back in the huddle. Someone got out of bounds or it’s incomplete and then periodically you’re right on the ball. Today, we’re on the ball a lot just to get them comfortable with that. But [you want] someone that has got good presence and is able to really manage the clock [and] understand what I’m thinking. I can always manage the timeouts. I’m right with the officials.
“… I mean, look, our league’s seen a number of great quarterbacks and we’ve always debated it, but these guys at some point will call the two-minute, and then occasionally you can beep in and say ‘Heads up for a shot here.’ You’re kind of the copilot, if you will. Early on with these guys, we’re in their ear and we’re giving them the play. That’s something, I think, you build that as you get more comfortable with it.”
As the Broncos look to get more comfortable in those situations, Payton also still sees room to improve despite the favorable results for the offense on Friday.
“We had three penalties in the first wave,” Payton said. “We’re off the field defensively, but we have a neutral zone infraction, which all of a sudden extends [the drive]. Not only does it extend it, it stops the clock too. That’s a three-point penalty, essentially. But then we’re in field-goal range, we get an offensive foul that take us out — so [there’s] a lot of stuff for us to coach on, relative to that situation.”
… The Broncos re-huddled on several occasions during the practice, and Payton said the emphasis on attention to detail was an intentional focus heading into Friday’s session.
“[I] just really wanted to harp on all the details today,” Payton said. “Even as a staff, [I] just met with them [and said] ‘I want to be on [them] about everything.’ Today was that like stone-in-the-shoe day coaching. It’s part of the discipline of playing. Fortifying the right 53, it’s not just physically the talent. It’s the mental toughness, the fortitude, all those other things. Can you be challenged? Can you be coached hard? How do you react? That was part of today.”
… Wide receiver Courtland Sutton and cornerback Pat Surtain II continued their entertaining training camp matchup on Friday, and Sutton earned held the upper-hand on one particular team period rep. As Sutton ran a post, Surtain provided incredibly tight coverage — and yet Nix found a way to sneak the ball into a tight window, and Sutton held on for an impressive 15-yard grab.
… Outside linebacker Baron Browning continued his disruptive play in the backfield, as he showed his speed and chased the quarterback down from the backside of the defense for a would-be sack.
Denver will use $3 million of its contingency fund money to help pay out settlements this year under an ordinance the City Council approved Monday.
The council makes a similar transfer every year, but the amount varies depending on the settlements reached, said Laura Swartz, the spokesperson for the city’s finance department.
“It is difficult to budget for settlements in advance because the amounts and timing can be unpredictable based on each case’s own scheduling, negotiations and court decisions,” Swartz said.
Every year, the city sets aside $2 million for settlements in the budget. Officials request a transfer from the contingency fund for anything needed above that amount. The 2026 transfer brings the amount that will be used to pay out settlements this year to $5 million so far.
This year’s allotment will leave the city with $30.5 million remaining in its contingency fund. The contingency fund is separate in the annual budget from the city’s reserves, which officials have been working to replenish from a recent low point.
The city has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in settlements in recent years related to the Denver Police Department’s actions during the George Floyd protests.
Earlier this month, the council approved about $2.87 million in payments for 13 people who alleged that local police violated their constitutional rights during the 2020 protests.
In April, a federal appeals court ruled that the city must also pay $14 million to another group of protesters, upholding a jury verdict. The city hasn’t yet said how it will pay out that amount.
“The city is contemplating the next steps first and expects to have more to share soon,” Swartz said.
The city has approved a total of $24.2 million for settlements related to the George Floyd protests, according to the City Attorney’s Office. That count doesn’t include the $14 million the appeals court ordered the city to pay in April.
“This is money that we could have used for any other purpose,” Councilwoman Shontel Lewis said during a council meeting. “It represents a missed opportunity.”
The council unanimously approved the contingency money transfer through its consent agenda.
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Courtesy Jonathan Weiner
There’s a semi-controversy brewing in the underground about whether or not banana suits are appropriated concert attire. After the Baltimore hardcore band End It recently directed its audience to rip one such costume off of a fun-loving fan, the dividing lines have been defined — hardcore isn’t so fruit friendly, while metalcore openly encourages dressing however you want for the occasion.
Dance Gavin Dance guitarist-vocalist Andrew Wells confirmed the metalcore ethos, as the long-running band is used to seeing people in all types of garb, particularly bananas, whenever and wherever they play.
“There’s a ton of banana people in our audience,” he says, referencing the group’s recent Warped Tour DC stop that was especially yellow. “I was like, ‘Yo, banana people, you’re welcome here. You’re weird. You’re an outcast. You’re what society deems as weird because you want to dress up in a banana costume. That’s what rock is for.’
“Rock’s historically been since the dawn of time an oasis for the outcasts. You’re welcome here. Come fly your freak flag with us, and we’ll have a good time,” Wells continues. “Honestly, if I played a whole show and everyone was in a banana suit, I would be stoked. That would be sick.”
In reiterating the stance, he calls for everyone in Denver to show up in their banana best when Dance Gavin Dance takes the Fillmore on Monday, June 22. Horse the Band, Wolf & Bear and Novelists are also on the bill.
The metalcore machine — which also includes vocalist-guitarist Will Swan, drummer Matt Mingus and harsh vocalist Jon Mess — is riding high with a twofer of fresh material in 11th studio album “Pantheon,” released in September, and last month’s “Tree City Sessions 3,” another collection of revamped takes on classics and deep cuts.
Wells, who’s been with the band in some capacity since 2015, saw the “Tree City” process as an opportunity to put his spin on some of the older tracks that vocalist Tilian Pearson first laid down, such as “Bloodsucker” from 2018.
Courtesy Dance Gavin Dance
“That was a suggestion from me. I wanted to polish up my higher register and showcase what I could do on the Tilian stuff,” he explains. “That was a song Martin [Bianchini, touring guitarist] and I had written on the ‘Artificial Selection’ album, so we were able to play and record the song that we wrote.”
Looking back also allowed Dance Gavin Dance to forge forward with “Pantheon,” a more reflective album than recent releases, Wells admits.
“It was an opportunity for us as a band to revisit the roots of the band, when the band was playing to 100-cap clubs and it was just this alternative style of music that was very unique and different. Some people hated it, some people loved it, but it was this authentically post-hardcore sound, that come from these roots,” he shares.
“When we were revisiting these older songs and doing ‘Tree City’ and also writing ‘Pantheon,’ it was that full-circle moment of doing what we’re passionate about again, exploring new themes and musical territory and getting back to the roots, so to speak, especially as a collaboration,” Wells continues. “It was all of us in the same mindset together working towards the same goals.”
And in Year 21, the band is the “happiest and healthiest” it’s ever been, as he sees it.
“We’re a group of musicians who’s committed to making the best art that we possibly can,” Wells says. “There’s a perseverance to this band.”
But, he adds, they wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for the people in front of the stage, dressing up as bananas and whatever else.
“The external factor is our fans,” Wells concludes. “I think the fan’s abilities to rally and support the band and come out to shows can’t be overstated.”
Dance Gavin Dance, with Horse the Band, Wolf & Bear and Novelists, 5 p.m. Monday, June 22, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. Tickets are $60.
Denver, CO
Glitz and glamor take the stage in Monty Python’s “Spamalot” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Audiences heading to Denver for the upcoming run of “Spamalot” will see plenty of glitz, glamour and even some costumes that have become fan favorites over the years.
Ahead of the musical’s visit to Denver from Aug. 11-23, CBS Colorado was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the production while it was playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
The tour took place backstage inside a costume gondola, where ensemble member Claire Kennard showcased some of the elaborate wardrobe pieces featured in the show.
One of the standout costumes is the production’s “Laker Girl” outfit, which Kennard said is packed with intricate details.
“This is our Laker Girl costume. As you can see, we have the nude mesh, so there’s a little bit of a nude illusion. There’s that fish net aspect in there, the ruffles to mimic the coral, the pearls. There’s just a lot of little details that our costume designer, Jen Caprio, thought very thoroughly about,” Kennard said.
Kennard also highlighted one of the ensemble’s showgirl costumes, noting that each performer wears a different color variation.
“So this is our showgirl costume. Each of the girls, there are four ensemble girls, we have different colors, and I am the teal. Which is my personal favorite color. We have tail feathers that are right over here, which are my second favorite part of this costume,” Kennard said.
The costumes are designed to help bring the musical’s over-the-top comedy and spectacle to life.
“(We have) lots of glitz and glamor, and we shine on stage,” Kennard said.
Fans of the musical may also recognize some familiar pieces when the production arrives in Denver. Several of the most popular costumes from the original touring production of “Spamalot” remain on the road and will be featured during the Denver stop.
The Tony Award-winning musical, based on the comedy of Monty Python, will be performed in Denver from Aug. 11 through Aug. 23. Tickets and more information are available on the DCPA website.
CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
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