As Broncos coach Sean Payton feels more comfortable in Denver, he’s doing more and more of the things he did in New Orleans.
Before Monday night’s game at Buffalo, Payton placed a Bills logo on Denver’s practice field this week.
“I’ve done it for years,” Payton told reporters Saturday. “It was always going to be acclimatization for our players. We used to do that all the time in New Orleans. Our equipment guys did that. It’s all computer generated. If I could get to 48 degrees with a 10-mile-an-hour wind, I would I will do that too…. [W]We’re going on the road. We’ve done it forever. In New Orleans, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before [been] Asked before [media]-Not once. You guys are on top of it. It’s not about the opponent, it’s just about getting into the mindset. This is the slogan, and we in the field are trying to emulate it. We’re starting to do that. When you start building something, everyone wants to help. . . . A lot of it is just getting ready to play on the road. You’ll see that all the time I’m here, any time we play an away game. Then we don’t have to answer any more questions. It will just be the logo.”
So why didn’t that happen earlier this season?
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Payton said. “It’s one of those things. It’s a good question. That’s the question. It’s like, ‘We always used to do this, let’s do it!’ I had forgotten. Anyway, that’s also the truth. We never got there.”
Likewise, Payton had Monday Night Football Theme played during warm-ups at Saturday’s training.
“If I could put us 50 feet below sea level because this stadium in Buffalo is 50 feet below sea level — 1972, $30 million, it’s been named four different times — I would do it,” Payton said. “Every detail matters. If every detail matters on the field, every detail matters all over the field, in the facility, in the locker room, in the parking lot. I’ve become obsessed with preparation. And every once in a while, someone has a good idea.” And we will add it.”
For Payton, there’s something extra special about playing on Monday night.
“I’m 59 years old,” he said. “Monday Night Football Not only was it the game you had to watch, but when you were a kid, your parents wouldn’t let you stay up for the second half unless you – you know, had to take a nap. The other thing is that it was the only time we all saw the highlights. We didn’t really have an understanding of the other games until we had that special two-minute moment at the end of the first half. I can remember managing to stay up for the highlights of the first half and then having to go to sleep. Monday Night Football. That was huge.”
Monday night, a huge game for both teams. The Bills need to show they can beat a lesser team convincingly. The Broncos, who beat the Chiefs the last time they played Denver two weeks ago, need to show they’re not a lesser team.