Tag: Locker Room

Expect the Broncos to continue drafting team captains this year

The Broncos have made an effort to draft high-character players and it’s worked well over the last two years.

The Denver Broncos have drafted 16 players over the last two years. Of those players, 11 were team captains in college. Expect that trend to continue this year.

During his pre-draft Zoom conference call with reporters on Monday, Broncos general manager John Elway explained that the team wasn’t specifically targeting high-character players before 2018.

“We had a couple of misses back there, and I think the misses that we had were people that were character concerns,” Elway said. “I think we’ve kind of focused and turned around a little bit more than we have [in the past].”

Elway explained that in recent seasons, when the team has been losing, some players didn’t set good examples in the locker room. So Denver’s front office made an effort to bring in high-character players to turn around the mentality of the team.

“We have some really good leadership in that locker room now, positive leadership, and guys that want to win football games,” Elway said.

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Take a look inside Texas’ $7 million locker room

Business Insider reminded fans via Twitter this morning just how astounding Texas football’s $7 million locker room actually is.

A few years back, fans were given sneak peeks into Texas’ astounding new $7 million locker room.

Business Insider reminded us just how spectacular the small details actually are via Twitter this morning.

The custom-designed lockers cost roughly $8,700 each. Helmets sit on cooling fans to dry, 37-inch TV’s tower above each locker displaying the athlete’s photos and names, and each player can access their belongings with a pin-pad safe.

The Longhorns run a top-notch program both on and off the field, which is sure to help with recruiting for years to come.

Flu has impacted several Packers players ahead of Seahawks game

The Green Bay Packers have been dealing with a flu outbreak that could affect the team ahead of their game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Green Bay Packers are apparently dealing with a flu outbreak in their locker room that could impact their play against the Seattle Seahawks in their divisional-round playoff matchup Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

Packers cornerback Josh Jackson was added to the list of questionable Green Bay players after Saturday’s practice. Six Packers were noted on Friday’s final injury report with an illness.

Late in the regular season, Seattle was also hit with the flu bug, which quickly spread throughout the locker room.

The Seahawks have also suffered their share of absences in the form of injuries, but this recent development in Green Bay may make the challenge of facing the Packers at Lambeau Field a little easier for Seattle, especially if players like Jackson are ultimately ruled out on gameday.

The inactives list for Sunday’s divisional-round matchup will be released 90 minutes prior to kickoff, which is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. PT.

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WATCH: Bill O’Brien addresses Texans’ locker room after 23-20 win over the Buccaneers

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien had an encouraging message for the team after their 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday.

Winning a division title in the NFL is not easy, even if the Houston Texans captured their fourth AFC South crown in five seasons with their 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

Coach Bill O’Brien addressed the team following the victory and held a newly minted Texans division champs ball cap commemorating the achievement.

“It’s not always easy, right? This league is not easy, and that was the sign of a very resilient team,” O’Brien said. “Defensively, you guys did a hell of a job. Offensively we did what we had to do, and I thought special teams came through big for us today. Congratulations on AFC South champs! Congratulations.

“You guys have earned this. You earned it. You’re a resilient bunch of guys — resilient bunch of guys who have come to work every day. Congratulations on that win right there.”

The Texans will go home to host the Tennessee Titans for Week 17 at NRG Stadium. A win for the Texans would hardly improve their playoff positioning as they are trapped in wild-card weekend, the same entry point they have started from in all five of their previous postseason berths.

Bobby Wagner: Seahawks’ success fueled by locker room chemistry

The Seattle Seahawks’ success in 2019 has been fueled by the culture and chemistry in the team’s locker room according to LB Bobby Wagner.

The Seattle Seahawks are 10-3 and in second place in the NFC West coming off a brutal loss Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. However, they are still hot on the heels of the 49ers for the division lead with three games left to play, culminating in a showdown with San Francisco in Week 17.

Almost nobody expected the Seahawks to start 10-3 in 2019. There are multiple factors that have contributed significantly to the team’s success this season, including the culture in the locker room.

“I just think it shows how close of a group we are,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said last week. “When we go on the road, everybody’s connected, everybody’s together, and I think that’s what makes us a really good road team – the connection, the chemistry, especially on the defensive side because when the offense is up it’s so quiet. We’re able to communicate a lot better, we’re able to talk to one another a lot better. You can only talk to other people if you have a chemistry with them.”

Wagner said he and the other veterans got the younger players involved and mixed the position groups together to make them feel more connected – including while riding on the team bus.

“The one bus thing was just for everybody to be more connected,” Wagner explained. “Instead of separating the groups, having everybody come together, everybody preparing together, everybody coming out together, I feel like it speaks to that closeness. When you’re around the guys so much it makes you learn who you’re playing with and builds that comradery.”

Following their gut-wrenching primetime loss to the Rams, the Seahawks will seek to recover together against the Panthers in their final road game of the season.

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