Sean Payton is optimistic that the Denver Broncos’ long trip to the East Coast will help the team bond, similar to how his former New Orleans Saints teams did when they traveled for an East Coast game before heading to London.
“I do like being away for a week with the team,” Payton said as he got the Broncos (0-2) ready for a game on Sunday against Tampa Bay (2-0).
After that game, the team will spend a week at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia before facing the well-rested New York Jets (2-1) at the Meadowlands in Week 4.
The Broncos requested that the league schedule two of their games in the Eastern Time Zone back-to-back so they could stay out East in between.
“The reason we put the request in is just to stay in that time zone, practice and then be more acclimated relative to back-and-forth four different times,” Payton said.
The Greenbrier has three practice fields and a sports performance center that includes a weight room and meeting areas. It has also been used by the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals during the regular season.
During his 15 seasons in New Orleans, the Saints played at Carolina twice before heading to London for international games.
The first instance was in 2008 when the Saints lost to the Panthers 30-7 but then won against the San Diego Chargers 37-32 at Wembley Stadium.
The advantage of an extended trip was clear in 2017 when the Saints followed a 34-13 victory over the Panthers with a 20-0 shutout against the Miami Dolphins in London.
This success sparked an eight-game winning streak that led them to a 12-6 season, ending with the famous “Minneapolis Miracle” in the second round of the NFC playoffs.
“When we traveled to London, those are times that you get a little bit better focus I think and you can grow as a team,” Payton said. “Each game will have different challenges. I just finished talking about the entirety of the travel, but the focus obviously starts with the first trip and then we go from there.”
