ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Glenn Martinez received 28 voice messages—and another 30 text messages—after his 80-yard punt return against Tennessee on Monday night.
He’s still working on returning all of them.
Now, Martinez is due for another round of phone calls. Martinez was recently named the AFC special teams player of the week.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Martinez, who didn’t practice Wednesday due to a gimpy ankle. “It’s an honor.”
Martinez had no idea he’d won the award until receiver Brandon Marshall informed him Wednesday morning. At first, Martinez thought Marshall was talking about a team award.
“When he told me it was an award for the whole AFC, I was shocked and excited,” said Martinez, who spent the first three games of the season on the practice squad. “I never thought this would happen.”
Martinez’s punt return in the first quarter went just like it was drawn up. The return unit opened up a seam and Martinez burst through it. His only fear was that the Titans defender in pursuit of him near the end zone was going to catch him.
“I was just hoping he died out before I did,” said Martinez, who’s returned six punts for a 20.5-yard average this season. “I haven’t run that far and that fast in a while. Hopefully, there will be more of those to come.”
Martinez now has a daunting task in front of him—answering all his messages.
“It’s a lot to call back,” he said. “But it’s good to hear from everyone. I still can’t believe it. It’s just a beautiful feeling and something I’ll always treasure.”
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WALKER’S RETURN: Receiver Javon Walker returned to practice Wednesday, a positive sign that his right knee has possibly healed enough to allow him to play Sunday at Chicago.
However, Denver was missing running backs Travis Henry and Selvin Young, who were both held out of practice with knee ailments. Fullback Paul Smith sat out with a calf injury.
Walker has missed the last eight games due to his injured right knee. He had surgery to clean out the knee on Oct. 19 in Houston.
“It’s feeling pretty good,” said Walker, who tore the ACL in his right knee in the 2005 opener while with Green Bay. “It’s not completely healed. But it’s something I can work through.”
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was encouraged by Walker’s presence on the practice field.
“If there are no setbacks, he should be ready to go,” Shanahan said.
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UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIASM: Marshall won’t bottle up his enthusiasm. He’ll say and do whatever is on his mind at the time.
“Nobody can take my joy away from me,” said Marshall, who had a 41-yard touchdown catch against Tennessee. “I’m having fun. It’s the same game we played when we were younger, at halftime drinking Kool-Aid and eating Pop-Tarts. Only now, we’re drinking Gatorade and we have bananas in the locker room.”
So, what was his favorite kind of Pop-Tarts?
“Strawberry,” he said with a grin. “I eat Pop-Tarts before I go to bed. I got a box right beside my bed.”
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PRODUCTIVE GRIESE: One-time Broncos quarterback Brian Griese won’t be starting against his former team.
Chicago coach Lovie Smith went with Rex Grossman over Griese, who’s nursing an injured left shoulder.
Griese was taken by Denver in the third round of the 1998 draft. He played five seasons in Denver, throwing for 11,763 yards and 71 touchdowns.
Griese had a string of five starts for the Bears this season with at least one touchdown pass. He threw for 381 yards and on Oct. 14 against Minnesota.
“He led us to a couple of wins and he has been a good soldier while he’s been here,” Smith said. “We like him being on our football team.”
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FIRST DOWNS:@ Denver will play at Soldier Field for the first time since 1993. … The Broncos have the best record (10-2) in the NFL since 2000 in games played after a Monday night contest. Denver is coming off a 34-20 win over Tennessee on Monday. … K Jason Elam had two field goals against Tennessee, moving him into fifth place in NFL history in career field goals with 384. … Denver has seven takeaways over the past two weeks. OT Matt Lepsis (ankle) and OG Chris Kuper (thigh) practiced Wednesday.
