Sean Payton is anxious to see what he has in the 2023 Broncos

The Denver Broncos will play their first game under new head coach Sean Payton on Sunday and its a big one facing their AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders.

Payton was asked earlier this week if he draws parallels between this 2023 Broncos squad and his 2006 New Orleans Saints squad when he evaluating the team and he admitted to some anxiousness to see what he’s got here with this team.

“It’s not uncommon when the season starts—you’re anxious to see what you have,” Payton said this week. “You haven’t played a full game with your starters. You’ve been in the preseason. There’s a handful of guys that are new here—coaches and players. I would always say, the first quarter of the season, you’re in a sprint to improve and make corrections.”

He went on to talk about the importance of keeping the game fast for players. The balance between making sure they key in on their responsibilities and focus without causing them to play slower.

“We’re trying throughout this week to hit on everything that can come up with the younger players,” Payton continued. “Ball security is different than the colleges they played at. How the ball is attacked defensively here is much more aggressive. We’re trying to hit on some of these things that over time, you’ve seen from experience, so that it’s not a traumatic event that’s forcing us to. It’s a game with mistakes. It’s not without mistakes, but it’s important for us to have a clean plan where guys are playing fast. Those are things that I draw on as you get ready to start a season with a new team.”

The first quarter of the season will likely have a lot of adjustment. Just like last season, when Nathaniel Hackett ended up looking like a bumbling buffoon of a head coach, he was just dealing with the normal first quarter of the season growing pains with a new coaching staff and new players. Sean Payton will face similar issues, but it won’t be magnified as much because he’ll know how to correct or adjust to resolve them.

Crazy how fine of a line there is between success and failure in the NFL.

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