It’s time to stop freaking out about Broncos practices being boring

Another day. Another uninspiring practice at Broncos training camp.

Thus far, there have been 13 chances for the public to get a glimpse of the 2021 edition of the orange and blue. And after at least half of those practices, the response has been the same – a collective yawn.

Tuesday was no exception.

The team ran drills. They took a couple of water breaks. They worked on special teams. They sounded the horn and called it a day.

Afterward, the media reviews came flying in. Drew Lock won the quarterback battle for the day, edging Teddy Bridgwater. But neither QB shined. There was no separation.

Day after day, it’s the same story. And after a while, it begs a question: What are we missing?

Everyone wants to be entertained. Everyone is hoping to see some “wow” moments. Everyone wants one of the quarterbacks to stand out.

But maybe that’s just not the way practice is designed. Perhaps they’re working on specific things, none of which are set up to have any of those things everyone wants to see happen actually occur.

It feels like those in attendance are on the set of a television commercial shoot. It seems like it should be glamorous. It seems like it should be fun. But in reality, it’s a lot of standing around, watching people set up lights, test microphones and rehearse lines.

Of course, the end result looks great. There’s a 30- or 60-second spot that makes people laugh, cry or get excited, pitching whatever product is being sold.

So far, that’s been the same situation with the Broncos. The practices may be boring, but the end results have been good.

Last Saturday, Denver travelled to Minnesota and absolutely handed it to the Vikings. In their 33-6 victory, the Broncos dominated in every phase of the game.

They returned, with hope reinstated and excitement higher than it’s been in quite some time, only to continue with lackluster, ho-hum practices. And once again, everyone freaked out.

It’s looking more and more like we’re all missing the point. We’re putting way too much stock into things that just don’t matter.

On Tuesday, the Broncos ran through some random in-game situations. They “practiced” a Hail Mary, letting Drew Lock launch one into the end zone from midfield, but didn’t let the defense make a play on the ball. They also had Brett Rypien finish practice by intentionally throwing an interception in the final moments of a game, so the defense could work on taking a knee after causing the turnover.

This has been the norm throughout training camp. Pat Shurmur didn’t misspeak when he said the Broncos were intentionally throwing incompletions one day. That’s exactly what the offensive coordinator had his quarterbacks doing.

More than half of each practice is spent on individual drills, water breaks, special teams periods and other mundane tasks. Very little time is actually devoted to 11-on-11 or even 7-on-7. It’s a smattering of plays each day. And more than half of them are runs, which are hard to evaluate in non-tackling drills.

There’s room for debating whether or not that’s a good idea. Ultimately, how the season unfolds will answer that question.

But one thing is certain. The Broncos practices are boring by design.

That’s why it’s time for everyone to stop freaking out about them. Nothing happened today. Nothing happened yesterday. And nothing will happen tomorrow.

Welcome to training camp in 2021. Times have changed. The way we all view practices has to, as well.

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