CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Broncos began OTAs on Tuesday, doing so without the prying eyes of any outside interlopers observing. It won’t be until Thursday when observations of the on-field doings begin hitting social media.
But at this time of the year, it’s as much about setting a tone and establishing a philosophy as installing the offense and defense. And to that end, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph had a point that he wanted to make to his players — something that Pat Surtain II shared a few hours later.
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The message? Last year is irrelevant.
“There’s a good saying from VJ earlier today. Basically saying, ‘It’s a new year. You know, whatever you did last year, doesn’t matter now. it’s a new slate,'” Surtain shared.
“‘Teams are getting better and better, but we got to find a way, to find a way to get better than where we was last year.’ And, obviously, we fell a little short last year, so we definitely got high hopes and aspirations coming up.”
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BUT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT CARRIES OVER FROM LAST YEAR FOR THE BRONCOS
It’s a new year, but aside from the acquisition of Jaylen Waddle and the arrival of draft picks to develop, the roster is mostly the same. Among the team’s defensive starters for much of the season, only John Franklin-Myers and Dre Greenlaw don’t return, and Greenlaw split his inside-linebacker snaps with Justin Strnad during the playoffs. When the Broncos chose to re-sign Strnad, the die was cast to move on from Greenlaw.
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But that’s the exception. Surtain looks around the locker room and sees plenty of familiar faces, with an unusual amount of continuity for this era of the NFL. The starting offensive line is about to begin its third season together. All of the running backs who carried the football last year returned. And of the 388 receptions amassed by Broncos pass-catchers last year, returning players account for all but three of them.
“It’s a special group, man. I feel like if you take it all away, man, that’s what makes it less special,” Surtain said.
“I feel like we got a special group all around as a team, every unit. Our bond and chemistry, our camaraderie, cohesiveness is top-notch. So that’s something that I wouldn’t want to take away.”
So, indeed, there IS something that carries over. But that’s all.