Broncos placed three players on Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Denver Broncos were hit with some COVID-19 positives on Monday.

The Denver Broncos placed three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. Linebacker Andre Mintze, defensive linemen Mike Purcell and Jonathan Harris were all placed on the list. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, this is usually how it starts and we’ll need to hold our breath for additional positive tests throughout the week.

Aside from that bit of news, head coach Vic Fangio was also hit with questions about his future on Monday. He obviously said he wasn’t worried about his future, but he understood the importance of a strong finish.

“I don’t, and I know you think that’s a standard answer, but for a lot of reasons I do not worry about it. Those reasons are personal for me, but do I acknowledge that it’s certainly out there and could happen—absolutely. Do I worry about it? I absolutely do not worry about it for many, many reasons.”

He went on to say that he felt he and his staff deserve another shot at things in 2022. Whether that means his entire staff or him and his defensive staff is left up for interpretation. When asked about the offensive struggles, he did kind of call out offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to prove it these final two games.

“Pat [Shurmur] and I—and the offensive staff for that matter— talk a lot,” Fangio said. “We have meetings regularly so yes, we do talk a lot about what we’d like the offense to look like, where we think we can improve on a week-to-week basis, taking a look at what we’ve done in the past few week, what we can change up, [and], etc. Pat [Shurmur] has a long history of being successful in this league, and I’m counting on that happening here these final two weeks.”

His recent history is any indication of future performance, Shumur won’t be up to task. Drew Lock and his league leading turnovers in 2020 was a scapegoat. Under Teddy Bridgewater, turnovers are way down, and yet the red zone offense languishes. The Broncos are averaging 19 points per game in 2021. They averages 20 last season.

It wasn’t the turnovers, Pat. It was you.

Horse Tracks

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