Denver not surprised Brown plans to play on Monday night
The universal reaction from the Broncos before practice Friday regarding Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s announcement that he expects receiver Antonio Brown to play Monday night: Not surprised.
All heck broke loose at the Raiders’ facility Thursday when news leaked of Brown’s confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock, which some speculated could lead to a suspension. The Broncos did not practice Thursday so Brown’s status didn’t impact their preparation.
When the Broncos started Raiders Week on Monday, Brown was scheduled to play, the same for Wednesday’s practice. And the same for Friday’s practice, after Brown apologized to teammates earlier in the day.
“It hasn’t affected (the game-planning) at all because No. 1, the players weren’t here yesterday when everything happened and we’ve just been assuming he was going to play all along and obviously that’s the way it looks right now,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said.
Said defensive coordinator Ed Donatell: “We were expecting him to play until somebody told us different so it really goes unchanged for us.”
When outside linebacker Von Miller stepped to the podium and a Brown-related question was asked, he said: “I knew that was going to be the first question.”
Miller added: “We always assumed he was playing and that’s the way we attacked it from the very first day (of preparation).”
Brown is expected to see all of the Broncos cornerbacks: Chris Harris in slot and Bryce Callahan and Isaac Yiadom outside.
“He’s a pretty dynamic guy that can get to full speed in an instant,” Donatell said of Brown. “A very good competitor. One of the top guys in our league for sure.”
Davis still out.
Inside linebacker Todd Davis (calf) did not practice and if he can’t play, Fangio said it “will be a bunch of guys in there sharing the duties,” alongside Josey Jewell. One possible scenario is Alexander Johnson on base downs, rookie Justin Hollins in the subpackage or using six defensive backs/ one inside linebacker as the main subpackage grouping.
Cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot), who didn’t play in the preseason, has seen limited practice work this week.
“We’ve been managing his time out there and overall, he’s been doing fine,” Fangio said.
Didn’t watch Bears.
Fangio, formerly Chicago’s defensive coordinator, said he didn’t watch the Bears-Green Bay game on Thursday night.
“I saw a couple of plays, but I purposely didn’t watch them because I didn’t want to be distracted in preparation for this game,” he said.
Adjusting on the fly.
A key component of every Week 1 game is the coaching adjustments because of all the surprises both game plans will have.
And those changes must be made quickly.
“If you’re waiting until halftime to make adjustments, you’re waiting too long,” Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said. “It’s how you communicate in between series (so) that you’re never wasting an opportunity. Possessions are so precious in the NFL, the game goes by so quickly and there are so few plays that you need to be on top of it and it’s our job to see it.
“It’s one of the luxuries of being up in the (coaches’) box versus being on the field — you get to communicate (what you’re seeing) to your assistants and players what the defense is trying to dictate so you can put pressure on them.”
Footnotes.
Fangio on the benefit of receiver Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles) playing last month against San Francisco: “I think it helped. It just eliminates doubt, proves to him that he can go out and do it.” … As the defensive play-caller/head coach, Fangio said he goes “in and out of (the offensive) meetings and talks to Rich intermittently,” about the game plan.