Broncos riding out Roby’s rough week
Bradley Roby’s poor play against the Jets and failure to promptly call in sick the next day didn’t cost the struggling Broncos cornerback his starting job.
“Right now, he is the starter, yes,” coach Vance Joseph said Wednesday.
Roby allowed three long touchdowns in the second quarter against the Jets, including a 76-yard catch and a 77-yard run.
“Roby didn’t play his best on Sunday. That’s obvious,” Joseph said. “But he played pretty good the week before. So, we have to get him back and keep coaching him. He’s ours. He’s our guy. So, we’ll get him back to playing good football.”
Asked if Roby faced any discipline for missing meeti ngs Monday without promptly notifying the team he was sick, Joseph said, “That’s already been handled, OK? It’s been discussed in-house. It was more about communication than a total miss. But it’s been fixed and handled.”
The Broncos traded Aqib Talib to the Rams last offseason to clear salary space and room on the field for Roby, whose salary jumped from $1 million to $8.526 million this season in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract.
Calvin Ridley is going through quite an adjustment. During his college days at Alabama, he hardly knew what it was like to lose.
“It was three games, right?” Ridley said. “Three games,” he repeated, shaking his head. “That’s crazy.”
The wide receiver already has tasted more defeat in his rookie season with the Falcons. Eagles (2-3) at Giants (1-4) 8:20 p.m., Fox, NFL Network Eagles by 3 (O/U 44) The Eagles have a solid defense but significant offensive problems that are amplified by the loss of Jay Ajayi. The Giants are backed into a corner and are at home on a short week. Giants 28, Eagles 24
Expected to be one of the NFL’s stronger teams, the Falcons (1-4) are probably the most disappointing through the first five weeks of the season.
“I’m starting to realize this is the NFL — everyone’s good,” Ridley said. “It’s a hard league.”
The Falcons haven’t started 1-5 since 2007, a lost season marred by Michael Vick going to prison for dogfighting and coach Bobby Petrino abandoning the team with three weeks to go.
“We know there’s going to be adversity,” cornerback Robert Alford said. “But we’ve still got a lot of ball ahead of us.”
The Chiefs signed LB Nate Orchard to shore up their pass rush with LBs Justin Houston and Dee Ford hobbled by injuries. Houston could miss several weeks after injuring his hamstring against the Jaguars, and Ford has dealt with a series of minor injuries this season. ... The Jaguars have ruled out RB Leonard Fournette against the Cowboys. It will be the fourth game he has missed this season. ... The Lions acquired CB Lenzy Pipkins via waivers from the Colts and released LB Marquis Flowers.