Denver Broncos Notes: Prior to Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots

Jan 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno (27) and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) react to the win over the San Diego Chargers during the 2013 AFC divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos are set to take on the New England Patriots Sunday afternoon at Sports Authority Field for the rights to go to the Super Bowl. Here are some notes prior to Sunday’s match-up.

John Fox had nothing but good things to say about recently signed defensive back Marquice Cole after one of the teams practices. Here is what head coach John Fox said via Irv Moss of The Denver Post:

"“He (Cole) has picked up our system fast and has had an excellent week,” Fox said of Cole."

Cole was signed in the wake of Chris Harris‘s ACL injury that ended his season after the win over the San Diego Chargers. It’s yet another injury to this Broncos defense that has already seen their star linebacker Von Miller go down due to the same injury. Other notable injuries on the defense include DE Derek Wolfe (seizure symptoms), Kevin Vickerson (hip), and Rahim Moore (leg). Defensive back Rahim Moore still remains on the injured reserve list after suffering a leg injury that could have potentially ended his NFL career. All signs are pointing to that Moore will not be active against the New England Patriots come Sunday. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was limited at practice due to a calf injury but will be probable for the game.

Here is what head coach John Fox had to say about Harris’s injury on DenverBroncos.com:

"“There’s no doubt that he’s probably one of our better performers on defense throughout this season,” Head Coach John Fox said of Harris Jr. “It’ll be the same – we’ve lost some pretty good performers throughout the season. This team has been resilient. We’ll take a ‘next-man-up’ approach and we’ll keep you posted on that as we go forward.”"

Here is what linebacker Paris Lenon said about the next man up motto via DenverBroncos.com:

"“Everybody on this team is a professional athlete,” Lenon said. “Just because you aren’t necessarily the starter doesn’t mean that you feel any less about your abilities or you prepare any differently. Guys that were backing up, they still prepared like they were going to start games basically. You have to. Because this is a violent sport and at any moment, that guy that is the starter can go down and then it is truly the next man up."

Here is the full injury report for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game for the Denver Broncos:

Mike Adams, S. Probable (thigh)
Joel Dreessen, TE: Probable (knee)
Duke Ihenacho, S. Probable (knee)
Winston Justice, T. Probable (finger)
Chris Kuper, G. Probable (ankle)
Peyton Manning, QB. Probable (ankle)
Demaryius Thomas, WR. Probable (calf)
Kayvon Webster, CB. Probable (thumb)