The Denver Broncos are in uncharted waters this offseason. The post-Peyton Manning era will be a new look for a team that saw more success than just about any other franchise in the league over the past four seasons. The national perception is that the orange and blue will fall off dramatically in 2016, but the Denver coaching staff does not see it that way.

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“My expectations are taking a step up every day,” head coach Gary Kubiak said, according to a quote sheet released by the team. “As a coach you know where you want to get to and you’d like to get there as quick as possible. Things take time. I’m more concerned with their work habits right now and staying on them about doing the work, because if they do the work, it’ll get done.”

The Broncos approach is simple; create competition throughout the summer, so that they put the best product on the field this fall. After winning a world championship with one of the grittiest defensive efforts in NFL history, this team feels like they are capable of going toe to toe with anyone in the league.

Obviously the greatest asset of this team is defense, which might also be the most underrated factor in the development of the Denver offense. Each and every day the offense has to matchup with the stout Denver defense, a task that proved difficult for some of the NFL’s most elite, including Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and eventually Cam Newton.

“I tell them that every day,” Kubiak said. “ It’s like I tell our receivers and tight ends, if you can’t beat man coverage, you are going to have a hard time making the Broncos because we play man almost every snap. It’s just so competitive. We are just so hard to throw against because of what we do coverage-wise. That’s what makes us good. I tell them that every day. You couldn’t ask for anything better. If you want to be as good as you can be, you get to work against it every day.”

The environment in Dove Valley is not quite what the Broncos will be experiencing in just a few short weeks and ultimately you can never truly imitate the pressure or speed of an actual NFL game. However, the experience gained by the Broncos offense through matching up with Wade Phillips’ defense on a daily basis is invaluable, especially with the development process of the Denver quarterbacks.

“I think [QB] Trevor [Siemian] and [QB] Mark [Sanchez] are doing really well,” Kubiak said. “I was looking at some numbers last night and they are good. They are consistent in what they are doing. We’ve got to keep going. We are installing [the offense], so it takes us eight days to put our whole offense in. We’ll keep doing what we are doing. I want to see them do things a little faster, but that comes with confidence in what we are doing. Hopefully we’ll get going a little better.”

With just over one month remaining until the Broncos open the NFL season against the Carolina Panthers, the Broncos faithful will be paying close attention to some of these position battles. Until then, enjoy your summer Broncos fans. It’s officially the last Sunday without football in 2016.