Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is sweating on the health of key players as his team prepares for a Week 2 encounter at Jacksonville.
No different to yesterday, guard Graham Glasgow did not practice due to illness and seems more than likely to be an out. There are concerns on the other side of the ball too. Stud outside linebacker Bradley Chubb was again limited in practice, so too were defensive linemen Shamar Stephen and Shelby Harris.
Chubb Unlikely For Jacksonville
Fangio commented on Chubb’s movement in yesterday’s practice before revealing how likely he is to be playing at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday, September 19.
“He came out good,” Fangio said on September 16, via Broncos.com. “I’d say he got about somewhere between 12 and 15 plays. He did the individual work. Hope to do a little more with him today and see where he’s at.
“I think last week this time I was still optimistic, but I think about the same.”
Fangio would be right to be equally hopeful about the Broncos’ defensive ability without Chubb. In a suffocating Week 1 performance, Denver’s front showed the value of youth and experience. Dre’Mont Jones proved a worthy colleague of the vaunted Von Miller who dominated the line of scrimmage, earning praise from his head coach.
“He had several good rushes that didn’t result in a sack,” Fangio said. “I think he consistently rushed good the entire game for the most part. That’s good to see.”
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Miller and Jones = Shaq and Kobe?
Defensive end Dre’Mont Jones echoed his coach’s sentiment during his time at the podium. “It was good to have Von Miller back,” Jones said via Broncos.com. “I love having Von. It’s always amazing to have a Hall of Famer play right next to you. It’s a gift and a curse because the first sack he got this year, he stole it from me (laughs). It’s all good though.”
Miller later responded to the assertion he stole a sack right from Jones’ clutches.
“It’s just one of those things—you don’t want to stress and strain a friendship.,” Miller said with a laugh, via Broncos.com. “You don’t want to strain the friendship with sacks. Dre’Mont—I need him, so I want him to get sacks. I want him to get sacks, I want him to be happy in there. I want to get sacks. I want to be happy as well.”
Miller admitted he has been beaten to sacks many times throughout his career and felt equally frustrated to be so close yet so far. The eight-time All-Pro understands there’s a need to be somewhat selfish to be great before comparing the mindset of he and Jones to that of a legendary NBA duo.
“You can tell right after the play [when] everybody is supposed to be celebrating—you see Dre’Mont just looking at me [saying] ‘dang’ and walks off,” Miller told reporters.
“I totally understand that. I have games and I have stuff that’s called to help get Dre’Mont free as well. It’s just like basketball—the big man, he has to eat. Kobe [Bryant] and ‘Shaq’ (Shaquille O’Neal)—Shaq is not going to be happy if he’s not scoring points. Kobe is not going to be happy unless he’s scoring points as well.
“We’re already developing a relationship where we both can eat, and I feel confident. I believe that we both can be able to get sacks, and we both can do things to make this team win and get sacks and do all the wonderful things that we do.”
Broncos Country will be living heaven on earth if Miller’s trophy case can compare to Bryant and O’Neal’s in the coming seasons.
Follow Patrick Djordjevic on Twitter: @Patdjordjevic
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Von Miller Compares Himself, Teammate to Kobe and Shaq