ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – It’s safe to say the Denver Broncos defense is ready to face their former quarterback.
From linebacker Brandon Marshall saying “we want to kill him” to defensive tackle Sylvester Williams saying he “can’t wait to play him,” there’s no doubt that this game means a little more for the team that Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler walked away from in the offseason.
However, Osweiler himself says it’s just one of 16.
“At the end of the day I am treating this like a normal game,” he said on Thursday during a conference call with Denver media.
Despite comments like Marshall’s from early in the week, Osweiler said he only has positive feelings for his former team and city.
“I don’t feel like a marked man,” he said. “Whether that’s how they feel or not, at the end of the day I have nothing but love and respect for everybody in that organization, especially the players. They were all great teammates for a number of years. If that’s how they feel, I can’t change that.”
After being drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft, the same year that Peyton Manning joined the Broncos, the Arizona State product was merely an afterthought in the shadow of Manning. That was until Week 10 of last season when Osweiler finally got his moment in the sun.
He shined, posting a 5-2 record in his seven starts, but he was benched midway through the final regular-season game against San Diego and never took the field again as a Bronco. The man who had seemingly won over Broncos Country at the time said that while he was frustrated at the moment, the benching didn’t factor into his eventual departure from Denver.
“That had nothing to do with my decision,” he explained. “In the San Diego game, I got replaced by Peyton Manning to make a playoff run with a great football team… Once I got out of [the game] and I had conversations with [head] Coach [Gary] Kubiak, [general manager] John [Elway] and [quarterback’s coach] Coach [Greg] Knapp, it certainly made sense for the playoff run.”
In the offseason, the man many thought would lead the defending Super Bowl champs chose to move on from Denver, signing a lucrative four-year, $72 million contract with the Texans.
“It was the hardest decision of my life,” he expressed. “I have nothing but gratitude, love, respect and appreciation for not only the organization but the fan base and the entire city of Denver. It was a decision made based on what was best off for my family and myself.”
On Monday night, Osweiler returns to Denver for the first time with his new team, and while he says he can block out the crowd, he hopes he doesn’t have to.
“Obviously you hope for a great reception because like I said, I have nothing but love and appreciation for the entire city of Denver,” he said. “Coach once told me, ‘When you’re on the field or in a stadium only focus on your job, keep your focus laser focused.’”
Along with all of the off-field distractions that Osweiler will have to deal with on Monday, he knows first hand how good the Denver defense is. The Texans QB has gone up against the Broncos defense many times as the scout team quarterback throughout the years but didn’t give any indication to whom that will benefit more.
“I think the more you play against somebody, whether it is practice or a game, you certainly will understand and recognize things in their game more often than not,” he explained. “We know that we have a great challenge going against that great defense.”
That very defense may be on another level on Monday night, under the lights, in front of a packed house hoping for a public humiliation and as much as the former Bronco may hope to see it, “Normal” will be long out of sight.
