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Broncos Barrett Has Ambitious Goal This Offseason

By Michael Spencer

Broncos linebacker Shaq Barrett joined CBS4 sports anchor Michael Spencer for Xfinity Monday Live at the ViewHouse Centennial on Monday.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - Shaq Barrett just finished his 3rd season with the Broncos, and seems to be enjoying his time off.

"A lot of unhealthy eating so far," Barrett joked when asked about his offseason.

Chinese food is Barrett's main weakness. "Candy wise, it's Reese's and Snickers."

But the junk food phase wont last long, "now is grind time" said Barrett, who began his offseason training program on Monday with a goal of getting his body fat percentage down to 10 percent.

The big news for the Broncos has been the addition of head coach Vance Joseph.

"I know that our front office guys love him," said Barrett. "If they have enough faith to bring him on the coaching staff, he must be a great guy."

Denver Broncos v New Orleans Saints
Shaquil Barrett of the Denver Broncos celebrates a sack against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Nov. 13, 2016. (credit: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Barrett's numbers took a dip this season. He finished 2016 with 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks, which was down from his 2015 numbers of 50 tackles and 5.5 sacks.

"It was a fall off numbers wise, but when I was on the field I produced, I just wasn't on the field as much as I was last year. I always want to improve my numbers every year, and that didn't happen, but when I was out there I was assignment sound and made some plays. But I want to impact every game, and I didn't do that this year."

Despite finishing in the top 5 in total defense, Barrett says there's room to improve for the Broncos.

"We need to get better at overcoming adversity inside the game instead of on a week-to-week basis," said Barrett. "We played pretty well, but we've got to be better."

Michael Spencer is a Sports Anchor at CBS4. Read his bio or connect with him on Twitter @MichaelCBS4.

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