A somber Hackett postgame says he’s a teacher, players must make plays

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett sounds like a man who’s out of answers.

At his postgame press conference after yet another Denver loss, Hackett spoke like we’ve heard him several times this year. He’s frustrated, he’s upset and he’s willing to acknowledge he and the players have to be better. That wasn’t the case in 17-10 loss to the Titans in which the team scored a whopping zero points after halftime.

“I think they see it. For me, it’s about accountability. It’s about holding myself accountable first, the coaches accountable and the players accountable. As long as we point the things out that we can correct and get better on, and everybody understands what that is and what we need to do to be able to go on a run at some point during this season, I think they’ll be able to stay together,” Hackett said.

That’s a mouthful, but the message is clear. Guys need to look in the mirror and start playing better. And at some point, Hackett feels like he and his staff are indeed doing enough. The guys on the field, particularly on offense, simply aren’t executing at a high level.

“That’s what this thing is. We’re teachers. We’re out there trying to teach them how to be successful out on that field. And all we can do is continually teach and then they go out there and have the opportunity to make those plays. So, we’ll continue that message and keep growing,” Hackett said.

Ouch. Again, that is a man who feels like he’s done everything he can possibly do, and the players still aren’t getting it. To use a classroom analogy, he’s gone over the review problems 100 times and the students are still failing the test. The teacher is flabbergasted this is still an issue.

And while Hackett talks about going on a run, the Broncos are simply running out of time. At 3-6, the season is essentially shot. Denver would have to lose just one game the rest of the way to even have a chance at the playoffs.

We all know the odds of that are pretty astronomical.

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