The Denver Broncos will kick off their regular season opener in just four weeks from today, and while the events that take place this week will influence the direction the team goes for Week 1, linebacker Alex Singleton isn’t focused on looking too far ahead, and that’s the right mentality surrounding this team.
Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton not focused on looking too far ahead
One of the greatest traps NFL teams and players can fall into is listening to their own hype or smelling their own roses. The Denver Broncos are not that type of team. That was on display last season amid the team’s 11-game win streak. Every national outlet was talking them up, and all of us in the local media were also excited in trying to help sell the excitement.
For the players inside the Broncos locker room, their focus is on themselves as a whole, and they truly believe in taking things one day at a time. Training camp is a long and grueling grind for every player and coach — it doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or a rookie, it’s one of the most challenging periods of a season.
That challenge ultimately helps prepare a team for the grind that is a 17-week regular-season schedule, plus, if you’re ambitious enough, hopefully 20 total games.
Whether it be Bo Nix, Patrick Surtain II, or Alex Singleton, players have been consistent with the message that they’re focused on one day at a time and aren’t too concerned with looking so far ahead, because that’s how you get left behind.
“I think it’s just trying to work on something every day,” Singleton said. “It’s not trying to look at the big picture and not focusing on Week 1. Like still focus on the Vikings right now, really try to hone in and take advantage of that. Because looking too far away in this game is so hard. Going up against our team every day sucks. Coming out here, we have Tuesday and Wednesday full pads again. So to just not take advantage of those days mentally, to work on things, fine tune little things, get better at things would be at such a disadvantage for guys right now.”
With one preseason game remaining on Friday, the Broncos’ focus throughout this week is on themselves and their opponent. They have two fully padded practices taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday before they go and play another game.
This mindset is hard to have in a locker room that currently features 90 players, soon to be 53 after the team makes its final cuts after Friday’s preseason finale.
But it’s the mindset that helped carry the Broncos to success last season.
