Fear not, Broncos Country.
There are countless examples supporting the notion the season opener is the least indicative game of a team’s well-being.
The Tampa Bay Bucs won the 2020 COVID-season Super Bowl even though they lost to Sean Payton’s New Orleans Saints in the opener. Payton has lost season openers as head coach of the Saints and went on to have great seasons that included one playoff win.
Payton is now 8-8 in openers after his Broncos lost Sunday, 17-16, to the Las Vegas Raiders. In two of those season-opening losses, Payton’s Saints carried on to finish 13-3 in the regular season and win a playoff game in both the 2011 and 2018 season.
And in 2017, the Saints began 0-2, yet finished 11-5 and again won a playoff game.
So maybe the Broncos’ second game this Sunday against Washington is not quite as critical as people think. (Cough! Cough!)
Sometimes, it takes a while for a team to come together and start playing near its peak performance. This was true with some of Payton’s established teams in New Orleans. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if it turns out that way with Payton’s new team, the Broncos.
“I would say any time you win 13 games or 11 games you probably have a good team,’’ Payton said in an interview this week for Broncos Huddle on 9NEWS and Channel 20. “I do think regardless of winning or losing your first game, around our league there’s a sprint to improve. And usually you can see that in the first month.
“So there is a sense of urgency that quickly digests in the game, making the corrections, then coming out here and practicing and improving as a team. That has to happen. So I think the combination of putting it behind you and improving and doing that with a good team. I wasn’t aware of that stat. You made me happy today so thank you.”
The first-game loss to the Raiders was Sunday. The corrections were made during team meetings Monday. The improvement started Wednesday with practice. During Payton’s news conference after practice Wednesday, he again complimented, rather than criticized his players. Some coaches will call out their players. Payton - at least during his local news conferences - has yet to rip a player. He may be more direct with his players behind closed doors but since the start of training camp, he’s said nothing but positive words from Russell Wilson on through Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
“When we play a game and finish it, the first thing we have to do as teachers and coaches is look inward,’’ Payton said. “The game unfolded, for instance Las Vegas, a little differently with some long drives -- they did, too -- so it went fairly quickly. I think there were only six drives per team. We’ve always got to start with ourselves (as coaches), first, and clearly as a play caller there’s things that, man, I’d love to have back.
“And if we’re going to ask that of our players when we’re making the corrections on Monday, we’ve got to do the same thing. That’s just our role as teachers. Yeah, we try to be direct, we talk about Mondays being, ‘Hey, let’s come in with the right frame of mind and improve.”
The race is to improve enough by this Sunday to beat Washington, which rallied late to defeat the Arizona Cardinals in its opener Sunday. The primary challenge Washington presents is with their defensive front, anchored by Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne while former No. 2 overall draft pick Chase Young also returns this week from injury.
“Yeah, it’s a real good challenge,’’ Payton said. “They’ve got a lot invested there and they’ve done a good job – you can say they’ve got a lot of first-round picks, but first-round picks that have panned out and are playing exceptionally well. Those guys are active. They’re a penetrating front. When you watch the (film) cut-ups you see a lot of penetration, a lot of minus plays. Not just sacks, minus runs.
“So I think early down efficiency is important. These guys do a good job of playing in your backfield and I think they present a challenge.”
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