NFL

Fox’s Broncos passing on celebration, focus on Seahawks

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — No hints of the euphoria that engulfed Sports Authority Field on Sunday night following the Broncos’ AFC Championship game triumph over the Patriots were evident when the players and coaches reconvened on Monday morning at the team’s training facility.

The blizzard of blue and orange confetti that stormed the field marking the celebration of Broncos 26, Patriots 16 was in the rearview mirror of the coaches and players as they focused on the next task at hand: Super Bowl XVLIII against the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2.

Other than the overflowing parking lot and standing-room-only press room, you would have had no idea anything special had taken place only 18 hours earlier.

Based on the tone of Broncos head coach John Fox’s voice and the matter-of-fact demeanor of the two players the Broncos made available to reporters, tight end Julius Thomas and linebacker Danny Trevathan, Monday — the day after Denver advanced to its first Super Bowl in 15 years — might as well have been a midweek workday in October.

The vibe in the building was business as usual.

Fox has experienced the Super Bowl hype machine before, as have some of his players — most notably quarterback Peyton Manning, who is trying to become the first quarterback in NFL history to lead two different teams to Super Bowl titles.

So Fox, the former Giants defensive coordinator who took the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and lost to New England, was busy at work Monday setting up a schedule for his team and hammering out logistics so his players can concentrate solely on football when they return to the practice field on Thursday.

“There is a lot of noise on the outside — you try to just stay focused on what we’re doing in preparation on the inside,’’ Fox said. “There is no doubt this is the noisiest [Super Bowl]. I know from my experience [with the Giants]. Just staying focused on the job at hand and instead of the noise on the outside, focus on the preparation on the inside.”

Fox said he liked the tenor of his winning locker room on Sunday evening.

“I think we were pretty good in the locker room after the game,’’ he said. “I think this group has been pretty focused. They’ve responded well and I don’t anticipate that changing moving forward.’’

Fox said he and the veteran players will “address’’ the younger Broncos players experiencing this for the first time.

“I think there are enough young players in that locker room that can get some information from guys that have been through it before,’’ he said. “There are a lot of things you deal with during these two weeks. We’ll try to educate our guys to the best of our know-how.”

Thomas, the prominent tight end, is one of those young players experiencing the Super Bowl for the first time.

“A lot of hard work goes into getting to this position,’’ Thomas said. “Some people think it starts in September, but for us it starts way back in April. To know that you’re one of the last two teams left in this tournament is a great feeling.

“It’s the Super Bowl, so it’s going to be tough. Nothing is going to come easy.’’

Asked if he has a plan formulated, perhaps through his previous Super Bowl experience, Fox was sly and said, “Yeah, we’ve got a good plan,” politely declining to elaborate.

“You prepare for most everything,’’ he said. “I spent most of my morning going through logistics in New York and the practice schedule this week, our practice schedule for next week. There is a lot of planning that is involved. It has to sink in pretty fast because you have to make a lot of plans.”

Fox had the players in Monday morning to lift weights and participate in an afternoon logistics meeting. The players will be off Tuesday and Wednesday. In between, Fox also said there would be a “spouse meeting’’ on Tuesday.

Asked what a “spouse meeting’’ entails, Fox said, “I’m not going to go into too much detail, but it’s an important meeting.’’

Aren’t they all?