Payton discusses Saints approach to rare high altitude test for Saints in Denver

It is a rare matchup in rare air.

The New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos have only met 11 times in the previous 53 years of the New Orleans franchise.

Number 14 in the trilogy arrives on Sunday when the Saints play the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High at 3:05 p.m.

The Saints last faced the Broncos in 2015, losing 25-23 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

New Orleans last played at Denver in 2012, falling 34-14 to the Broncos.

Denver has dominated the series, winning nine of 11 games.

The last victory for the Saints over the Broncos was in 1994 at Denver when the Saints won 30-28 under Jim Mora. That was the lone win in six tries at Denver for the Saints all-time.

How difficult is it playing in the rare air of the highest altitude destination in the NFL for a team that simply does not do so very often?

“For years, you try to figure out when you travel to altitude,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I think all the research and science suggests you go about as late as possible. If you were going to early and get acclimated, you need to go 10 days prior. Obviously, that’s not happening so I think that there’s a big focus on hydration during the week and then traveling on Saturday, rather than Friday.”

New Orleans has been outstanding against the run again this year, as has been the case for several years now. Payton feels controlling the Broncos rushing attack is crucial to emerging victorious.

“When they’re able to get that going like they did last week, then, that quarterback (Drew Lock) becomes dangerous relative to play-action, balance and so I think it starts with their running game and they’ve got two really good backs in (Phillip) Lindsay and (Melvin) Gordon.”

The Saints added veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian this past weekend with Drew Brees injured.

The four-year veteran spent three years with the Broncos (2015-17), starting 24 games before spending the 2019 season as a reserve with the Jets.

“We didn’t bring him in because of this game,” Payton said. “Today will be his first day. It will give us a chance to see him for the first time. With everything that’s going on right now, the ability for us to have a third quarterback trained and ready in the event someone got COVID or something else happened, we just felt strongly that that was something we needed to do.”

With Brees out and Taysom Hill starting this past week, how does the team leadership differ?

“Guys lead differently, Payton said. “I think we’ve got outstanding leadership at that position and yet how Drew leads and how Taysom leads or even how Jameis leads are entirely different. Some are more vocal. I think the first thing that you have in common with all of them is there winners, they work hard at their craft.”

Part of that leadership involved arriving early and leaving the facility late on a daily basis.

“Players see them in the morning, players see them late at night,” Payton said. “There’s no early departures and I think some of those things have been developed before they even arrived here, but yet the leadership element of it starts with the respect and then the production.”

How much does the offense differ in approach with Hill than with Brees and how good is Hill’s footwork?

“He’s played more (shot)gun then under center,” Payton said. “Some of that is a change. He’s (Hill) got good feet. He’s got strong legs, strong lower body. He sets himself well. Quite honestly, it’s something that you’re constantly working on, all of them with. It’s no different than pitching or any sport where generally speaking, if there’s an error in location, a lot of times, those guys would tell you its foot-related.”

Payton also praised the play of Janoris Jenkins, saying he has good instincts and a knack for finding the football.