Kubiak health scare could motivate Broncos on Thursday

According to Mark Schlereth, you’d be hard pressed to find a player who, when you bring up his name, doesn’t say that he loves Gary Kubiak.

So it’s no wonder that the recent health scare that hospitalized the Denver Broncos head coach after Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons could serve as a distraction for a team trying to prepare for Thursday Night Football on the road.

Doctors diagnosed Kubiak with a complex migraine, which will sideline him for at least a week with special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis the interim head coach in the meanwhile.

And on Tuesday, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips called the distraction itself probably the biggest challenge the players and coaching staff will need to deal with.

“I think just the distraction itself. When the head coach isn’t there, it’s a little different,” Phillips said. “I think just making sure it’s not a big distraction, which is not easy to do.”

But “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth said he believes the distraction could actually be a positive thing to motivate the Broncos for a game for which is typically hard to get up.

“It’s hard on Thursday to go play a football game. It’s doubly hard on Thursday to go play a football game on the road,” Schlereth said. “Those are difficult things to do. And your body is beat to a pulp.

Schlereth believes that, coupled with the weight of a hearty defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, a “win one for the Gipper” mentality could serve well for the Broncos.

“Something like this could take your mind off of, ‘Oh I’m the victim,’ and put it on, ‘Man, we’ve got to win one for the Gipper,’ Schlereth said. “And that can be a really good thing. I think it’s a great thing for the Broncos.”

Phillips said Thursday the defense would play for Kubiak Sunday, dedicating its performance to the longtime Denver coach.

“I know he’s going to miss the game, and we’re going to miss him. And we’re going to play for him, I’ll tell you that. I’m going to talk to the defense, and we’re going to dedicate this game to him,” Philips said.

“He’s meant so much to this team and the reason we won a Super Bowl is because of him, so we’re going to do something for him, too, play this game for him.”