Dre’ Bly used his first press conference as a member of the Broncos to emphatically deny the rumors that spoke of displeasure with his trade to the Broncos, putting him two time zones away from his home in the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia.

“First, let me say nobody ever heard me say anything,” Bly said. “I didn’t come to the media; I didn’t talk. Whenever an individual has a chance to go home, to be near your family, it’s definitely something to look forward to. But I’m grateful to be a Denver Bronco, (to be with a team that) has a lot of success (and) great tradition. Everything is in the past.”

“The last four years have been a struggle, being in Detroit and not winning. Having a chance to come to a playoff-caliber team, it’s something that every player dreams of and wants to be in. I’m glad to be here.”

Sure, the call of home tugs at Bly’s heart, as it would almost any man at some point in his life. But the fact that he signed a multi-year contract showed his willingness to embrace life along the Front Range. So too did the fact that his wife Kristyn spent Monday house-hunting in the Denver area.

“My wife felt good about Denver,” Bly said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come here. Every man would love the opportunity to go home. I told Coach Shanahan you have great tradition here (and it’s a) great opporutnity. My thing was our stability. I’d be able to move my family down here. Every individual. I can’t be without my family, three boys and a daughter. For Dre’ Bly to be the Dre’ Bly he’s been the last eight years, I need my family with me.”

(On a personal note, I love it when players speak of themselves in the third person. It’s oddly entertaining. Makes me think of Jimmy from a sixth-season episode of Seinfeld — “Jimmy’s might have a compound fracture! Jimmy’s going into shock!” — and George Costanza’s unwitting mimickry of him: “It’s the Kung Pao. George likes his chicken spicy.”)

OK, back on track.

You can watch Bly’s press conference in Real or Windows Media.