Sean Payton hopes Broncos’ extended road trip will bring his young team together

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton is hopeful the Denver Broncos’ extended East Coast trip will help them bond the way his old New Orleans Saints teams did when they played an East Coast game before flying across the Atlantic for a game in London.

“I do like being away for a week with the team,” Payton said as he prepared the Broncos (0-2) for a game Sunday at Tampa Bay (2-0).

That will be followed by a week’s stay at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia before the Broncos visit the well-rested New York Jets (2-1) at the Meadowlands in Week 4.

The Broncos asked the league to schedule two of their games in the Eastern Time Zone in consecutive weeks so they could stay out East between them.

“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 — which has three practice fields and a sports performance center that features a weight room and meeting spaces — has been used by the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals during the regular season.

Twice during his 15 seasons in New Orleans, the Saints played a game at Carolina before flying out to London for an international game.

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The first came in 2008 when the Saints lost to the Panthers 30-7 before beating the San Diego Chargers 37-32 at Wembley Stadium.

The benefit of the extended trip was really apparent in 2017 when the Saints followed a 34-13 rout of the Panthers with a 20-0 shutout of the Miami Dolphins in London, the sparks of an eight-game winning streak that carried them to a 12-6 season which ended with the “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.”

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who started an NCAA-record 61 games at quarterback across five seasons at Auburn and Oregon, is a fan of the upcoming long road trip.

“I think going on trips with your teammates and being able to spend a large amount of time that you’re not normally used to spending is always a fun time,” he said. “I’ve never been on a team trip and have been like, ‘Man I didn’t have fun,’ or ‘Man I wish we could go home early.’”

“I’m looking forward to it, just the camaraderie,” added cornerback Patrick Surtain II. “I think we all have a unique opportunity to really get to spend time bonding with each other also off the football field and build those relationships that we already have. I think this week is crucial because we have two tough opponents on the road. Being able to set our sights away from things out here and go to different scenery, a different landscape, will definitely change the mindset, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Another AFC West team is in the midst of an extended Eastern swing. The Los Angeles Chargers (2-0) stayed in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week to prepare for this weekend’s game at Pittsburgh (2-0) after winning 26-3 at Carolina on Sunday.

Notes: Ruled out for Sunday were starting OLB Baron Browning (foot) and safety and special teams ace JL Skinner (ankle).

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