ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When Head Coach Sean Payton said the Broncos’ focus for the first month of the voluntary offseason program would be running and lifting weights, he meant it.
As the Broncos continue with Phase I of their workouts, the team’s focus has been purely on conditioning and strength work rather than on spending time in the meeting room.
Denver will begin to install its systems when Phase II of the voluntary offseason program begins, but for now, Payton’s mindset is clear.
“There’s no meetings,” Payton said Thursday during the Broncos’ pre-draft media availability. “When I say that, honestly, there’s no football meetings right now. Phase II begins in three more weeks. We’ll begin to introduce the offense, defense and the kicking game. We’ll do the Phase II activities that we can do.”
Payton said he adopted the approach from Hall of Famer Bill Parcells and doesn’t want his players to feel like they’re going through another month of football practice.
“This month is lifting and running,” Payton said. “If there’s a question [to a player], it’s how’s the weights going. We see these guys running in the morning when we’re coming in here for draft meetings. We’re not in a meeting-room setting. I don’t want the players to feel like they’re pulling into the parking lot coming to football practice in April. It’s just not happening. It’s great to see these guys around.”
The process of engaging with the players is in itself a major aspect of the offseason. For the last several months, Payton has worked with General Manager George Paton to build and get to know Denver’s roster — but he hasn’t met many of the players in person.
“Everything’s gone well,” Payton said. “I would say this, for me and our coaches, it started last Tuesday, aside from the injured players that were here, it’s our first chance to meet interact and be around [them]. It was kind of quiet — crickets — here for a while. And then last Tuesday was the beginning.”
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