ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –On Monday, cornerback Marquice Cole was sitting on his couch watching SpongeBob Squarepants cartoons with his son.
On Tuesday, he was watching a different kind of film.
Signed by the Broncos two weeks after being released by the Patriots, Cole now has the opportunity to prepare for a team that he suited up for in 13 games this season.
"Yeah, a little bit," Cole said when asked if it was strange to find himself in the Broncos locker room after playing for the Patriots this year. "But, an opportunity called and my opportunity isn't there anymore and I'm no longer on that team and now I'm on this team, so I move on."
While Cole is behind other Broncos defenders in that he just received Denver's defensive playbook, he's ahead in that he has practiced against the Patriots offense plenty this season.
"Yeah, I believe so," he said when asked if his time practicing against the Patriots wideouts could benefit him if he plays on Sunday. "I believe it would, going against those guys all the time in practices and everything. I know a little bit about how they run their routes and things like that."
As for how much that knowledge about his old teammates could help his new teammates, Cole said that wouldn't provide a major advantage to the Broncos.
"Yeah, I could definitely talk to the DBs and tell them my input on it, but at the end of the day, you've still got to go out there and cover them," Cole said.
"When you have people like Peyton (Manning), I'm pretty sure he knows more about the defense than even I would," he continued. "He is going to do his scouting, which I'm pretty sure he's been doing before I even signed here, so there isn't much I can do to help out."
As for his initial conversations with the quarterback, Cole said the two had only exchanged greetings so far, not dug into the Patriots' defense.
"He said, 'Hey, how are you doing? I'm Peyton Manning. Nice to have you here, Marquice,'" Cole recalled. "That was it."
As for what Cole can contribute on the field, he said that he'll do whatever he can to help the Broncos.
On the season, he has one interception, two pass breakups, eight tackles and one fumble recovery, according to press box statistics.
But all of those stats came for the Patriots. In fact, his fumble recovery came on a Broncos muffed punt in the two teams' Week 12 matchup in New England.
This Sunday, the Broncos are hoping that he can make plays to help reverse the outcome of that Week 12 meeting, which the Patriots won in overtime.
"If I'm on the field, then I'm going to go 110 percent and do what I can to the best of my abilities," Cole said. "So, whatever it is, special teams, defense, offense -- I can catch passes from Peyton."
"I'll be ready for whatever it is."
