ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Two days after a holding call on Garett Bolles negated a 45-yard completion to Emmanuel Sanders, Head Coach Vic Fangio offered insight into the play.
"On the play you're particularly talking about, it wasn't his fault there on that," Fangio said Wednesday. "He was supposed to get a chip from the tight end. He set accordingly to get that chip. The tight end didn't chip him, which put Garett in a bad spot and caused that holding penalty. That wasn't Garett at all."
The play in question came in the first quarter of Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers. As DL Damontre Moore came around the left side, Bolles was caught in an awkward spot and held Moore to prevent him from hitting Flacco. The Broncos' quarterback found Sanders for a big gain, but the penalty brought the play back.
Fangio's explanation, though, makes it clear that to the untrained eye, it's hard to determine fault.
Fangio also expressed his faith in Bolles earlier in training camp.
"Right now, Garett's the starter," Fangio said on July 30. "He's the incumbent. Somebody's got to knock him out kind of like a heavy weight championship. So far, he's had a great camp. If we were to play today against Oakland, he'd be the starter hands down, unanimous decision."
BRADLEY CHUBB'S BIG NIGHT
After an impressive Monday night performance from Bradley Chubb, Fangio praised the outside linebacker.
"He played well. Gave us two good pass rushes — there were actually three — that really turned the series around," Fangio said. "A bunch of them were on third downs. He kicked up his game and gave up the kind of production that we expect from him."
Chubb recorded three tackles, a forced fumble and a quarterback pressure that led to an interception.
But the fifth-overall pick said he expects more from his game.
"I think it was pretty good, but there's still a lot of areas I need to improve in," Chubb said Wednesday. "You guys might not see it, but there's a couple things I messed up on and I still have to fix that [to] make sure I'm locked in one hundred percent. Just making sure I get all the calls, everything, [making] sure I'm doing my job to the best of my ability and not try and go rogue and do different things just to make plays and stuff like that. Just try to stay home with the defense and what they're trying to do."
THE PLAN FOR THE STARTERS
After most of the Broncos' starters played a little more than a series against Seattle and a quarter against 49ers, Fangio hasn't decided on how much they'll play against the Rams.
"That's up in the air right now," Fangio said.
He later addressed the Rams' strategy of not playing starters and how it affects who he plays.
"This is our fourth preseason game, not our third," Fangio said. "That's [factoring] into it more than anything else."
Cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who played the first quarter on Monday night, joked about taking a game off.
"Honestly, I don't care for the preseason. No, I don't want to play," Harris said with a laugh. "But I'll play, though. I feel good. I feel great."
IMPROVING CORNERBACK DEPTH
With cornerback Bryce Callahan sidelined with a foot injury, De'Vante Bausby and Isaac Yiadom have taken advantage of the extra reps.
"They've done well," Fangio said. "I think they've both improved tremendously. I had Baus a few years ago. He's much better than he was then. I think Ike's done a good job coming back from his injury and improving every day. I'm pleased with those guys' progress."
