ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There is a new theme to the Broncos this week following their trade of Von Miller.
“Nobody is surrendering here,’’ said head coach Vic Fangio.
Miller, after his sad goodbyes from the Broncos’ locker room Monday, hit the ground running with excitement upon landing Tuesday in Los Angeles. He’s quickly moved on from the Broncos, as he must. Why shouldn’t the Broncos quickly move on from him?
“If people think we’re tanking because of what happened with Von then that’s their prerogative,’’ said safety Justin Simmons, who may now be the face of the Broncos’ franchise. “There’s no way I’m going to change that other than the play on the field.’’
“I never had a thought, I don’t think anybody else had a thought that we were going to come into this after Von gets traded and say, ‘Forget the rest of these games,’’’ said receiver Courtland Sutton. “We got everything right in front of us and we’re going to take it one week at a time as we have been.”
“It’s about opportunity,’’ said quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. “Different guys will get an opportunity now to make plays for this team.’’
It won’t be easy for the Broncos to immediately prove they’ve become properly adjusted without Miller. They travel this weekend to Dallas to play the 6-1 Cowboys who are so good, they just beat a decent Vikings team on the road with backup quarterback Cooper Rush. And now their star quarterback Dak Prescott is expected to return from a calf injury. Prescott returns while Von is gone.
“We have confidence in the players to step in for him,’’ Fangio said. “We have confidence in our team. We still have the ability to prove a lot. And that’s what we’re counting on. There’s no surrender.’’
Bronco Bits
Fangio on words of support he received Tuesday from general manager George Paton: “It didn’t surprise me because George has said that before but I thoroughly enjoy working with George. I think he does a tremendous job. I think if not the best, one of the top assets this franchise has moving forward. He just does a tremendous job. No job is too big, no job is too small. He just gets involves and gets after it. I love working with him.” …
Simmons on Prescott’s remarkable comeback from the compound fractured ankle injury he suffered last season: “As a fan of the game, it’s really cool to see the success that he’s having this year coming back. Obviously, going to limit that success as much as possible on Sunday going down there and playing them, but just as a fan of the game and as a fan of Dak as a player and what he stands for and the preaching that he has over mental health, I just really respect him as a person and I’m really happy to see things going well for him.
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