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Following the arrival of coach Nathaniel Hackett and quarterback Russell Wilson last spring, hype for the Denver Broncos was off the charts.
Denver failed to live up to that hype. Hackett was fired with two games remaining after going 4-11 and Wilson had the worst statistical season of his career.
In a recent interview with Lance Medow of Mad Dog Sports Radio, former Broncos offensive lineman Billy Turner shared his take on the team’s struggles in 2022.
“You just cannot go into a season relying on expectations that you hear and see from the media,” Turner told Medow. “I found that out firsthand. We weren’t good at all, I’m just going to be honest with you. We weren’t. We were s – – -.”
Turner said the team could have been good — they had the pieces in place to be — but they didn’t live up to the offseason hype. Turner rejected the host’s hinted suggestion that Hackett and Wilson were the driving causes of last year’s struggles. Turner instead took responsibility for being part of the problem.
“It’s easy to point the finger at Nathaniel Hackett or Russell Wilson and blame them … but it’s not entirely either of those people’s fault. … I’m not going to sit here and point blame at any individual person. I was a part of that offense. I was a part of that team. I was a part of the problem, 110% I was.”
Turner actually played relatively well in the eight games he was healthy for last season, committing just one penalty and only allowing a half-sack in seven starts, according to STATS LLC. He missed nine games due to injury, though, and the offense struggled all season.
Turner said the team struggled to gel on the field and find their mojo.
“That is not on Nathaniel Hackett,” Turner said. “That is not on Russell Wilson. That is on the offense as a whole, that’s on the organization, that’s on the entire team.”
One could make an argument that Hackett and Wilson deserved the most blame, but it’s fair of Turner to point out that they were not exclusively at fault. It’s refreshing to see a player take that kind of accountability.
It’s probably also worth noting that Turner reunited with Hackett this offseason when he signed with the New York Jets. Hackett, who now serves as New York’s offensive coordinator, will return to Denver with Turner when the Broncos host the Jets in Week 5 this season.
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