Broncos coach John Fox, who was in the middle of a scuffle between his players and the Falcons on Monday night, wouldn't criticize the refs when asked about bad calls made during the game. (AP)

Broncos coach John Fox once again refused to take the bait when asked about the quality of Monday's officiating.

As he did at his press conference after the Broncos' loss to the Falcons, Fox sidestepped questions about the officiating that resulted in the Broncos using both challenges by the second quarter, including one to overturn a Tony Carter pass-interference call when it seemed obvious in real time that the football was tipped by S Mike Adams.

Fox harangued the replacement officials during the game, his face turning a light shade of crimson -- although he insisted it wasn't unusual.

"I get upset with officials any time a call goes against us. That’s not new for me," he said. "It's a competitive game played by competitive people."

And what he shared in that competitive situation wasn't going to be passed on in the confines of a media conference call, where his words were more vague than during his in-game conversations with officials.

"What we report to the league, our comments on that, is in-house material. I can't comment and won't as far as what we did and what we didn't do, what was right and what was not right," Fox said. "That's pretty much [the team's] policy."

Fox's motivation is clear: He doesn't want to get fined, and complaining publicly about the officiating beyond the confines of what cameras capture in a game will do him and his team little good, cathartic though it may be.

Blake to injured reserve: Barring a rash of injuries, it was unlikely that fourth-round G/C Philip Blake was going to see extensive action in his rookie season, so the decision to place the Baylor product on injured reserve because of a thumb injury wasn't a difficult one.

Blake injured his thumb in practice last week. The Broncos first listed him on the injury report Saturday.

To replace Blake, G/C C.J. Davis will be promoted from the practice squad, with G/T Adam Grant brought back to fill the practice-squad vacancy. Davis was on the 53-man roster in Week 1, but was waived and passed through to the practice squad on Sept. 11-12 when QB Caleb Hanie was re-signed.

Grant worked as a second-team OT throughout August before being cut at the end of the preseason.

For up-to-the-minute Broncos updates, follow Andrew Mason on Twitter at @CBSBroncos and @MaseDenver.