As Broncos coach Sean Payton becomes more comfortable in Denver, he’s doing more of the things he did in New Orleans.
Ahead of Monday night’s game in Buffalo, Payton installed the Bills’ logo on the practice field in Denver this week.
“I’ve been doing this for years,” Payton told reporters on Saturday. “It was always about acclimatizing our players. We always did that in New Orleans. Our equipment people had everything under control. It’s all computer generated. If I could have made it to 48 degrees in a 10 mph wind, I would have done that too. . . . [W]We take to the streets. We’ve been doing this forever. I don’t think I ever did that in New Orleans [been] asked by [media]-not even. You’re on top of it. It has nothing to do with the opponent, but rather with us getting into the right mindset. This is the logo and we are on the field trying to simulate it. We started with that. When you start building something, everyone wants to help. . . . A lot of it has to do with preparing to play on the go. You notice that the whole time I’m here and every time we play an away game. Then we don’t have to answer any more questions. It will just be the logo.”
So why hadn’t it happened earlier this season?
“I hadn’t done it yet,” Payton said. “It’s one of those things. That’s a good question. That is the question. It’s like, “We used to do this all the time, let’s do it!” I had forgotten. Anyway, that’s also the truth. We just never got around to it.”
Similarly, Payton played the Monday Night Football theme during warmups at practice on Saturday.
“If I could put us 50 feet below sea level, because the stadium in Buffalo is 50 feet below sea level – 1972, $30 million, it’s been named four times – I would do it,” Payton said. “Every detail counts. If every detail counts on the field, then every detail counts on the field, in the facility, in the locker room and in the parking lot. You just go crazy preparing. Every now and then someone has a good idea and we just add it.”
For Payton, playing on Monday night is very special.
“I’m 59,” he said. “Monday Night Football wasn’t just the game you could watch, but as a kid your parents wouldn’t let you stay up for the second half unless – you know, I needed to take a nap. The other thing is that it was the only time we saw all the highlights. We only really understood the other games when we experienced that two-minute highlight at halftime. I remember watching the half-time highlights and then having to go to bed. Monday Night Football. That was huge.”
Monday night’s game is a huge one for both teams. The Bills need to show that they can convincingly beat a weaker team. The Broncos, who beat the Chiefs two weeks ago last time Denver played, need to show they are not a weaker team.