ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s hot every freakin’ day. Sean Payton has run his team through football practice 12 days out of 14.
Even American workers get four days off every 14. And his 12th practice was full pads and short-yardage poppin’.
The fans may be a little burned out, too. The crowd Tuesday was the smallest of the training camp gatherings at Broncos Park. Camp may not be near as tough as it used to, but Payton runs ‘em tougher than most.
The Broncos are officially in the Dog Days of camp and Payton noticed it Tuesday, even if he wasn’t ready to toss bouquets of compassion.
“I though it was OK, it wasn’t one of our better practices,’’ Payton said. “We’ve got to turn it around tomorrow and get some better work done.”
What didn’t he like?
“I just thought mentally, I thought we hit a wall a little bit,’’ Payton said. He then paused for a few breaths as he gathered his words. “When you come off the field there’s times when you feel, man. I thought it was just OK. So we’ll be sharper tomorrow.”
Payton ran a tough camp last year, too – at least compared to his Broncos’ coaching predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett – yet the Broncos started 1-5. Payton has made adjustments.
“When we pulled up the playoff teams last year, we just looked where they were after the first five games,’’ Payton said. “I think there might have been one team at 2-3 and the rest were at least in the winning category, ahead of the chains.
“So when we talk about a fast start, that can be kind of vague but it’s something that we’ve spent a lot of time with and not a little bit of time. Part of that is how we’re practicing and leading up to the start of the regular season. We certainly have to be better than we were a year ago.”
Bronco Bits
Broncos safety Caden Sterns was waived Monday and claimed Tuesday by Carolina, whose defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, held the same position with the Broncos in 2022. …
The Broncos waive/injured outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins, who played in 7 games for the team last year, and signed former Air Force inside linebacker Alec Mock. Mock was with the Broncos during the offseason after he received a $5,000 bonus as an undrafted rookie.
