Sources to Polumbus: Broncos spat not about offense vs. defense

After a frustrating 16-3 loss at the hands of one of its rivals, the New England Patriots, at home on Sunday, it appears the locker room at Sports Authority Field at Mile High served as a place for the Denver Broncos to air its grievances.

NFL.com columnist Michael Silver reports that frustrations boiled over in the locker room between the end of the game Sunday afternoon and the media’s access period over a postgame speech delivered by veteran tackle Russell Okung.

According to Silver, sources said that Okung — addressing the team after head coach Gary Kubiak offered up the floor to anyone wanting to speak — started to talk when cornerback Aqib Talib “strongly objected,” sparking a shouting match between the offensive linemen and defensive backs.

And as of Silver’s sources said: “Pretty much your classic offense vs. defense divide.”

But former Denver Broncos tackle and 104.3 The Fan analyst Tyler Polumbus told “C.J. and Stokley” on Monday that the spat had little to do with the fact an offensive player was speaking and more with fatigue over just another postgame speech.

“From the guys I spoke to, (Okung) stepped up and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to speak.’ So he started to talk and then (Talib) and crew, it was one of those moments like, ‘Aw, man, another talk? Another speech? Are you kidding me?’” Polumbus said.

“It wasn’t about it being (Okung). It wasn’t about it being an offensive guy. It was just about, ‘Alright, we get it. We’re not living up to expectations right now. No more speeches. Let’s just go do this.’”

Polumbus also wrote in a column Monday that the scuffle is “low on his list of concerns” about the Broncos right now, these “brothers” will work together to move past this incident, and there is not a split in the locker room.

Once the media was allowed into the locker room after the game, Talib said that pointing the blame at any one unit is counterproductive.

“That’s not really going to take us anywhere, though. Just being frustrated and beefing with the offense. That’s not going to get us anywhere,” Talib said. “We’re going to ride. We’re going to stick together, and we’re going to go play Christmas night.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.