The Denver Broncos opened their 2017 training camp July 24th and have hit the ground running with a new concept: shorter training times.
Head coach Vance Joseph believes the reduced on-field schedule—most practices going from 9:30 to 11 or so—will lower the occurrence of injuries and keep players’ legs fresher as they return to full-blown football activity.
“Just thinking about (injuries), hamstrings going in early on in camp. While we have a chance to build on this thing, that’s the way to go,” Joseph said. “We’re probably going to add more team periods probably next week when the pads go on. It’s on purpose.”
While injuries have still occurred, Shane Ray’s wrist injury being the most notable, the players appear to be happily on board with the new setup.
“I think it’s smart. It gets our legs up under us to avoid injuries and make sure everybody is ready to go for that first game,” cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. “A lot of teams, their approach, they might come out full go and full field with three-hour practices and then they’ll have a lot of injuries. I think it’s smart the approach that we’re taking.”
“We give max effort and then take rests and then max effort and quick rests,” defensive end Derek Wolfe said. “As long as we’re playing hard in between the lines for those plays, we’re getting all the conditioning we need.”
Not only has shortened practice time helped with fatigue, but it has also heightened the level of intensity when players’ cleats finally hit the grass.
“It’s been great,” Joseph said of the intensity. “It’s been really good even among the veteran players like [Demaryius Thomas] and [CB] Chris [Harris Jr.] today. I love that because if those guys can work, everyone else will follow. When you have the best working against each other every day like that, they’re going to get better. We have to improve everyone. D.T., Chris, Aqib [Talib] and Von; we have to all improve. As coaches, we’re all improving every day.”
When Gary Kubiak retired, the resounding message amongst the players was they would miss him for the way he took care of veterans. While Vance Joseph certainly brings his own coaching style to the team, it’s most certainly appreciated that he carried over that aspect.
