Derek Wolfe Slams Ex-Broncos HC Vic Fangio: 'He was Trying to Kill Us'
Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has not only brought a new offensive system to the Mile High City, but a new practice regiment, too. Some fans and analysts are concerned that the lighter walkthrough practices will cause the Broncos to be underprepared for the intensity and physicality of the regular season.
Is there a reason for concern? Let's take a look.
Over the past three years under Vic Fangio, the Broncos had many injuries, highlighted by Courtland Sutton and KJ Hamler’s ACL tears, Von Miller’s dislocated ankle tendon, and Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson’s torn pectorals. In 2021, Denver had almost a quarter of its salary cap on the injured reserve by the season's end (22.30%).
Many fans are quick to point the finger at Denver's renowned strength and conditioning coach Loren Landow, which is understandable. However, recently retired Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe gave us some insight on the real culprit.
Brandon Perna and Will Keys of Thats Good Broncos interviewed Wolfe about his time in the NFL. While discussing his injury history, Wolfe said something very interesting about his former coach.
“In 2019, I was feeling really good and was having a great season regardless of the kind of stuff Vic Fangio was putting us through as far as practice goes; he was trying to kill us; in practice," Wolfe told Perna and Keys.
After talking about his other former coaches, he circles back to Fangio with some illuminating quotes.
“I remember the first thing he said to us was like, 'I don’t believe in science,' and I was like, 'what?' 'I don’t believe in science. We're gonna work and get calloused,' and I was like, 'Oh great, here we go, he's gonna try and kill us,'” Wolfe said. “I remember San Francisco came to practice with us, and they thought that he, Vic, had double sent the script because there was so much stuff on it, and they were like, we’re not doing all this stuff.
“He didn’t believe in working smarter.”
Fangio’s old-school mentality of overworking his players in practice to ensure they’re game ready should not be the standard in today’s NFL, especially during a 17-game season. This is directly connected to the number of injuries the Broncos suffered over the three seasons in which Fangio presided as head coach, especially in 2021.
Coach Hackett’s 'jog-through' approach to practice allows more time for players to rest their bodies from constant collisions and explosive hits while also enriching their minds. Going through practice at a calmer pace allows the Broncos to further learn and get repetition on concepts they plan to run with minimal risk of injury.
Injuries are inevitable and happen league-wide. It's important to take advantage of the data and science to ensure players are ready to play on Sundays.
If having a lighter workload and taking the pads off every other day means keeping star players healthy, then it's a no-brainer.
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