Denver ? The Denver Broncos responded a day after Kansas City receiver Eddie Kennison ripped their team and coach Mike Shanahan: So what?

Kennison rarely talks to the media, but he let loose with a tirade Wednesday in which he essentially guaranteed a Chiefs’ win Sunday and called Shanahan a dictator. Whether it was designed to psyche out the Broncos or to fire up his team, Denver wasn’t impressed.

“We just kind of laughed about it today,” Broncos strong safety Kenoy Kennedy said Thursday. “Nobody got fired up about it or going to go to sleep early and get ready for him. We just kind of laughed it off. Whatever gets him fired up, that’s good.”

Kennison became upset after a Denver columnist referred to the Chiefs as frauds. He responded by saying that the Chiefs were the best team in the NFL and that they were going to beat up on the Broncos Sunday.

Kennison also said most players didn’t like playing for Shanahan, who released him in 2001 after he quit the team the night before a game.

Most amusing to the Broncos was Kennison’s comment that John Elway retired in 1999 because he couldn’t stand Shanahan anymore.

“Anytime you’re thirsty, you reach for a straw. And that’s what he did,” linebacker Keith Burns said. “He gave you all (the media) something, and you were the straw. I wouldn’t read anything into it.”