Ever heard of athletes being "happy" to get beat? It's happening at Broncos' training camp

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There’s a special moment that many of us can relate to. The moment when you beat your big brother or sister in 1-on-1 for the first time. The first time you top your dad on the ping pong table. For me, it was the first time I beat my grandfather on the golf course.

It’s special because this person who cares a lot about you has done everything they can to help you get better at X, Y or Z, and all of the sudden, you pass them. The grasshopper becomes the sensei, even if it’s just for a moment.

The competitor in them may be a little bit upset, but that feeling is quickly washed away by an overwhelming sense of pride.

At Denver Broncos training camp, the defense—big brother—is having that moment with the offense—little brother.

After two straight years of dominating the offense in laughable fashion, the defense is suddenly being humbled. With the help of some new faces, the offense is finally forging a competition between the white lines at the UC Health Training Center, and the defense—a group with immense pride—actually doesn’t mind it at all.

“There are a couple plays that they get us on each and every day and I’m happy,” safety Will Parks told BSN Denver. “We get to learn from it, and at the same time, they’re building a whole different dynamic of confidence on that side of the ball… That’s what we love. We don’t want them to come out there and be like, ‘Oh, this is the top defense in the league, we can’t do nothin’.’ Their job is to compete and win battles, as well, and that’s what you want from your team.”

When asked if he, too, is pleased with the offense being capable of topping the defense, linebacker Todd Davis flashed his signature big smile.

“Oh, for sure,” he said.

“Sometimes, it surprises me,” Davis added. “It’s third down, and we don’t get off of the field, and I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ They’re making plays, and I’m excited. I feel like once we get in the game, it’s going to turn up to another level. They’ve been amazing all camp.”

It’s an extremely unique dynamic, and to understand it, you have to understand just how one-sided the last two training camps have been. I don’t know if there’s a better way to sum it up then to convey the fact that during both camps, there was a point in which a narrative started to build that the coaching staff should pit the No. 1 offense up against the No. 2 defense in order to salvage their confidence.

Looking back on that now, you can only laugh.

What resulted from the defensive domination, though, had a bully-like feel to it. At times, it seemed as if the ‘D’ was laughing over how dominant they were. Over time, this led to more fights in practice, a lot more trash talking and ultimately, the infamous “divide.”

Now, the perceived divide was certainly overplayed outside of the locker room, but it was also underplayed inside of the locker room. There was an undeniable frustration from the defensive side of things, whispers about this guy and that guy, and questions of, “What more can we do?”

It certainly wasn’t a healthy relationship.

“I can’t say if there was division in the past,” Parks said, harkening back to the old company line before getting to the good stuff. “I can say there is a whole lot more support for each other this year.”

“Sometimes you have dysfunction here or there,” Shane Ray admitted. “I don’t think there’s really any dysfunction in this locker room.”

The divide has now been dissolved, both literally and figuratively. Inside the locker room, there are no sides anymore, players from both units have been peppered in with each other. Shane Ray sits right next to Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Todd Davis sits right in between two offensive linemen and “couldn’t be happier.”

On the field, there’s a mutual respect, which is why Derek Wolfe says fights are down and communication is up.

“If you do beat somebody in a one-on-one or something, they’ll come back, and you’ll coach them up on what they did and what you saw to make you win, what they need to do to make sure you don’t work that move again. It’s creating great competition while helping each other get better at the same time… I think we’re just playing good, clean football. If you beat somebody and they drag you to the ground, you don’t have to fight them now. If somebody blocks you, they block you.”

“That’s how it was in 2015,” Brandon Marshall chimed in, referencing the Broncos’ Super Bowl run.

“Iron sharpens iron,” they’d say back then, but for the last two years, the iron defense had been attempting to sharpen itself against an offense made of tin. Now, the swordsmiths are back at work.

There have been many encouraging signs in training camp from competent quarterback play, to rookie standouts, and strong play in the trenches. But the whole of all of those improvements is much greater than the sum of their parts.

The Denver Broncos are a team again.