ENGLEWOOD, Colorado — The Broncos will finish their open training camp in style.
With Denver hosting its final open training camp on Friday, the team will welcome the Green Bay Packers for a joint practice before their preseason game on Sunday.
And as the Broncos coaching staff explained Thursday, the upcoming reps are of tremendous value.
“It gives you a little more momentum to practice,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday. “You’ve been out here for three or four weeks or something, and you’re still seeing the same looks. You have some plays you’d like to practice, but maybe the structure of your defense is such that they’re not good plays, so you don’t want to run them according to plan. It gives you a chance to work on different things and evaluate the guys compared to other guys.”
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph echoed Lombardi’s sentiments, saying practicing together gives Denver a chance to “test” its system against a talented offense. Led by quarterback Jordan Love, the Packers’ offense showed its potential when the unit scored 48 points in an upset win over the Cowboys in January.
“We’re not playing Green Bay in the fall, so it’s a good opportunity to test your scheme and also your players,” Joseph said. “This offense obviously has a great quarterback and about four (or) five good, young receivers with speed, size and quickness. Good tight ends, two good runners and it’s a really good scheme. So for us, it’s going to be a nice challenge to test where we are.”
Joseph and Lombardi both also pointed out that meeting different players will help them better assess where the Broncos stand both individually and as a team.
“It’s tough going through training camp in this league and not knowing what everyone else is doing,” Joseph said. “Sometimes you misjudge. So having these guys back on Friday and Sunday will be a good test, especially for our defense.”
Lombardi added: “You’re playing against the same guys every day, you get used to them and you know their tricks. I think that gives you a good appreciation of your guys more than anything else compared to other players. Then just seeing different things and reacting to different looks – things you’re not as familiar with – it’s probably a little more realistic at that point between training camp and game day.”
Although the open training sessions are coming to an end, the Broncos still have a big test ahead of them.
A day after tackle Mike McGlinchey discussed the Broncos’ increased confidence in their second year under head coach Sean Payton, Joseph discussed the Broncos’ upcoming challenges. While acknowledging the team’s recent struggles, Joseph expressed confidence in the team’s direction and emphasized the need to take things day by day.
“It’s been a long time since this team has been in the playoffs, but everything is going right,” Joseph said. “Coach Payton came in and changed the culture. It’s not the same team it was last year. We’re young, but it’s a smart, tough, confident group. Our goal right now is to keep improving. We have to keep improving and prove the wins in our words. Say less and do more. We know what it is. I’ve been here half my life, so I know how important the Broncos are to the city and how important it is for us to win. We get it, so our goal is to win. That’s the most important thing.”
