Paul Klee: George Paton made the biggest mistake in Broncos history -- and who can blame him?

Oct. 27—LONDON — Think a 9-hour flight from DIA to Heathrow is a quick trip around the world?

Try going from the favorite to win NFL executive of the year... to instead finding out you made the biggest mistake in Broncos history.

"I'm not concerned. We're in it for the long haul with Russ — not the first seven games. We believe in Russ. I believe in Russ," Broncos general manager George Paton promised Thursday afternoon as red-and-orange leaves flittered down from an oak tree behind him.

In Colorado, God's country, or across the pond in the U.K., how quick things change. In the same calendar year Paton won the hearts of Broncos Country by trading for eight-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson, Paton is now co-architect of a dumpster fire without an extinguisher in reach.

The situation is so unfair it hurts. Hearing the soft-spoken general manager try to soothe an angry fanbase that barely had time to catch its breath before it got punched in the gut again, I felt downright bad for the guy.

I would've made the same trade he did. Same for you, if we're being honest. Shoot, the Russell Wilson sweepstakes had every team without a franchise quarterback dialing up the Seahawks.

Here, let's establish a couple new rules: never place a bet against a golfer with a good tan, and never buy what the Seahawks are selling. Seattle is 4-3 and got better without Team Russ.

The Broncos were the big losers who got the deal done. They are 2-5 with a quarterback who looks like a shell of the player who helped guide Seattle to a pair of Super Bowls in his prime.

Now they're stuck with a $245 million quarterback and the No. 6 draft pick (for now, and another second-rounder!) going to Seattle.

As the Broncos were practicing on the campus of a ritzy-schmitzy British boarding school, Paton did his best to convince Broncos media who made this trip that everything is far from lost.

"Russell, obviously, it's a lot of newness. He's trying to learn this staff and this staff is trying to learn him and all of our players," Paton said. "We know what Russ is capable of. It's our job to get the best of Russ and our entire offense."

"You can see the arm strength, the accuracy, the mobility," he added.

Sorry, George. I can't see it. I'll check from the top of the London Eye, but the London fog's rolling in.

Can you blame Paton for making the blockbuster move, shipping out first- and second-round draft picks in 2022 and '23 and three players in exchange for Wilson? The best moves in team history were bold moves. Gerald Phipps stopping the team's move to Atlanta. The John Elway trade. Hiring Mike Shanahan, who established the only standard is winning the Super Bowl.

Paton doesn't own this mess all on his own. Not even close. You know who had it right? Joe Ellis had it right when the former team president said the Broncos' problems were "systemic."

"Frustration levels have reached an all-time high for everyone, and I'm not just talking about me," Ellis said in January.

Then Russ happened. Then Nathaniel Hackett happened.

Right, Nathaniel Hackett, the coach who's now a punchline. That one's on Paton, and the "newness" he blamed is not apparent with first-time coaches Brian Daboll (6-1 with the Giants), my personal choice for the Broncos at the time, or Kevin O'Connell (5-1 with the Vikings).

"I believe in Nathaniel. I support Nathaniel 100 percent," Paton said. "He's been in this (for) seven games as a head coach. The scrutiny he's faced is unprecedented. We've had four prime-time games, so he's kind of had to learn in front of the entire world."

Paton spent a half hour at practice Thursday chatting with Carrie Walton Penner, who's part of the new ownership group that surely will have a say if Hackett's a one-and-done here. One man's hunch: the Hackett-Wilson marriage isn't working, and only one has a doable buyout.

"I see the day-to-day with Nathaniel. I see him in front of the team. He's kept this team together," Paton said.

Paton didn't blame a league-high $70-plus million worth of players on the injured list.

"No excuses," he said. "We need to win."

Paton didn't describe the Broncos as "sellers" before the trade deadline on Tuesday.

"We are not in the mode of getting rid of our really good players," he said.

By George, he didn't blame Russ, either.

"I feel good about that deal. I feel like it will hold up," he said. "I feel good about Russ."

Maybe he's right. Maybe Russ flips the script and this all looks as dumb as a doorknob in the end.

But I can't blame Paton. I would've made the trade, too. Same for you, if we're being honest.