ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As several Broncos players took to social media to complain about losing their bye week, Vic Fangio through his Zoom media conference call sent them a message:
Stop.
The Broncos lost their week 8 bye after their game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. that was scheduled for Monday was postponed until next Sunday, Oct. 18.
The Broncos had been scheduled to play at home against the Miami Dolphins next Sunday but that game will be moved. It is known the Broncos will have one of their games rescheduled to be played during their week 8 bye.
“In a weird way, I’m kind of happy to see some of this stuff happen because you see who the whiners are, who the bitchers are, and who can’t handle adversity,’’ Fangio said. “I’m going to try hard that the Denver Broncos don’t fall into any of those categories.”
Some Broncos players expressed their disappointments before he could send his message.
Broncos running back Melvin Gordon tweeted: “No way we practiced all week and they canceled our game.”
He was retweeted by safety Justin Simmons, who added: “Injuries at an all-time high and our bye week was burned with practices.”
Defensive lineman Shelby Harris, who was outspoken earlier in the week while pointing out the Broncos were the team punished even though it was Patriots who tested positive, added Sunday morning: “This whole, practice (during) bye week thing is not ideal for a non-OTA. Injury at an all-time high (this) season.”
Fangio did give his players Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off in light of losing their bye. So stop complaining.
“It’s just part of the COVID season here,’’ Fangio said. “There’s going to be adjustments that have to be made. They’re going to happen late, they’re going to happen when you might not be prepared. I was prepared for this. We’re just going to roll with the punches and adjust.’’
The NFL had rescheduling scenarios in place, but another positive virus test here and there would throw all the alternative plans in a lurch. 9NEWS learned of one preliminary plan early Sunday morning – and again this is very preliminary -- that would move the Broncos-Dolphins game from next Sunday to week 11, Nov. 22, which is when the Dolphins are on a bye.
But the Broncos are supposed to host the Los Angeles Chargers that week. Another possibility would be to move that game to week 8, the Broncos’ original bye week, but that's when the Chargers are scheduled to host Jacksonville. Which would cause more changes. The NFL has yet to announce any schedule changes as the situation remains fluid.
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