When the Broncos started minicamp earlier this week, new coach Vic Fangio had them wear game jerseys instead of practice jerseys. His reasoning was simple: players grab onto loose practice jerseys.
“The whole reason we do that is to cut down on the grabbing,” Fangio explained on April 16. “When you wear the loose shirts, it’s very easy — almost unavoidable — for the players to grab each other when they’re going against each other.
“Whether it be wideouts, DBs, the interior linemen, it’s just so easy to grab those loose jerseys. It’s not easy to grab in the game because they’re tight. So we want to make it game-like as much as we can. That’s why we practice with them.”
Fangio suggested the idea during his time at as defensive coordinator with other teams but was shot down. Now that he’s a head coach, though, he gets to call the shots. On Thursday, Fangio gave a shout out to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh (who used to coach the San Francisco 49ers) for the idea.
“We did it in San Francisco, so I have to give Jim Harbaugh the footnote credit there a little bit,” Fangio said.
