Patrick Smyth, Executive Director of Media Relations ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5536) Rebecca Villanueva, Media Services Manager ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5598) Erich Schubert, Media Relations Coordinator ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5503)
DENVER BRONCOS OTA QUOTES (5/31/12)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JACK DEL RIO
On the benefit of OTAs for the defense “It’s huge for us. [It’s an] opportunity to come together as a staff and go over things, then to be able to get the time with the players on the field, teach and talk—especially for the younger guys. The guys that were most affected by that lockout last year were the young guys that didn’t get this time. Veterans can kind of overcome it. We’re spending a lot of time getting on the same page, making sure that we understand. There are some similarities to what we’re doing; there are some things that are a little bit different. There’s some re‐learning that needs to take place even if you do know it. This is a very valuable time.”
On players being flexible with a new system “I think the guys are excited to make sure they understand so they can be on the same page and we can play fast and do the things we need to do. The experience they had, whether they were with another team or whether they were here with another coordinator, those all play into the overall knowledge you have of the game of football. It helps a little bit. Veterans in the league that have done certain things, even if they weren’t here or they were with another coordinator, they have a little bit of a foundation they can work with. The younger guys are swimming right now. They’re trying to figure out the speed of the game, the athletes and then the volume on top. It’s a lot for them. So this is a good time because prior to camp they will have heard everything. So by the time we get into training camp, it won’t be the first time.”
On DT Derek Wolfe not being in camp because of the University of Cincinnati’s late graduation “I really don’t get frustrated with it. We’re excited to have him and we’ll get our hands on him soon. I know he’s anxious. He really wants to be here, but we’re just abiding by the rules. He’ll get here in short order.”
On what the team is doing to ensure Wolfe will be ready “Just told him to stay in shape, continue to work. We gave him a playbook. There’s only so much that you can do on your own with a playbook.”
On whether the playbook is on an iPad “It’s on the iPad system.”
On whether the team can send video to Wolfe via the iPad “I think we can do those things, but I’m not trying to have him learn by watching other people. Really, he needs to do it. We’ll play catch‐up when we get him here and do the best we can. I know he’s very eager. One of the things that he’s known for is tenacity and the way he approaches every play. I think you’ll see that once he gets here. I know for now he just has to to kind of bide his time, do what he can to be familiar with the concepts that we’re going to be asking him to do and get himself physically ready. Take this time to be mentally as into it as you can when you arrive.”
On whether the defense is similar to the one he coached John Fox in Carolina in 2002 “The game evolves and you’re constantly evolving with it. It’s cyclical at times. Things that were en vogue a couple decades before will come back into the game. It’s been a good experience. The last time around I was fresh off my time in Baltimore and
©2012 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club. got with Coach Fox, really learned a lot from him and tried to apply that and make that ours. Really, it’s been the same approach here. We’ve got a good defensive staff, and with Coach Fox, obviously a lot of experience. Then I have a lot of experience and we’ve pooled that together and made this our defensive system for this year. We’re working hard at installing it and getting it repped and sharpened up right now.”
On whether LB Von Miller compares to DE Julius Peppers “I would say more Peter Boulware. I had Peter Boulware in Baltimore. I think they’re similar in that they played Sam linebacker in base downs and then moved to defensive end in sub downs and rush downs. So Peter Boulware is the guy that comes to mind. Von’s going to be a very productive player for a long time. He had a great start to his career and he’s working hard now at improving and building on what he did last year—going forward, being even stronger.”
On what he expects from S Quinton Carter in his second season “I want to see everybody improve. Certainly a guy that was able to play and get some experience as a rookie, we expect him to build on that and kind of grow from there. We’re making the back end very competitive. With [S] Mike Adams being here and [S] Rahim [Moore] and ‘Q,’ [Carter] those guys are battling right now. We’re going to play the best guys. He’s having a good camp, working hard. He brings a little bit of that physicality that you’d like to have in your strong safety, a guy that can come down there and thump people in the box. So we definitely like that about him.”
On CB Drayton Florence “Drayton is a mature guy. He’s been in the league now for a while. He’s a little bit of a seasoned veteran. He is a physical corner—I’ve had him before in Jacksonville. I know that he’s a guy that takes pride in his physicality at corner. He’s been a nice addition for us. He’s providing competition over there as well with [CB] Tracy Porter battling for the right corner spot right now.”
On Florence giving advice to younger players “I think the group is pretty good. We’ve got a good group of vets that are doing their best to share some of the knowledge that they’ve gathered over the years. I think he does take some time—most of the guys do—but Drayton in particular, [CB] Champ [Bailey], those guys have been really good about giving some insight to some of the younger players, helping them grow.”
On DT Kevin Vickerson adding weight “It should help him. I like big D‐tackles. One of the conversations early that we had was, ‘Hey, what do you want me to weigh?’ I said, ‘Well, the guy I looked at on film last year looked like a defensive end that was moved in there. It was a narrow body. We’d like to see a large rear end in there.’ So he’s made it a little bigger (laughing).”
On big defensive tackles “We want some size in there, we do. We want some size in there. [Vickerson has] added some good weight. We’re trying to make sure it’s good weight he’s adding. He’s working hard in the weight room and getting himself into shape.”
On DT Sealver Siliga “I like him. He’s a young guy. It’s hard to know too much about D‐line play until you get into pads, but he appears to be a stout interior defensive lineman. A guy that can give us a little bit of a presence in there, eat up blocks and give us a little bit of a push in the middle. His demeanor is excellent. He participated in the rookie mini‐camp. Everything we’ve asked of him in terms of weight room, conditioning, studying and then work on the field, I think he’s been really good. Our hope is we can bring a guy along like that, develop him and have him blossom for us. We’re going to grow a few of these players that have been here and help them be better this year. We need that. We need some of these guys to take a step forward. I’m hopeful he can be one of those guys.”
On Siliga taking advantage of added reps with some defensive tackles absent “That’s the way you have to approach it. Anytime somebody professionally has that decision to make and if they choose for whatever reason not to be here, then that opens the door for other guys to get more time and more looks. I know he’s probably taking advantage of that. Hopefully we’ll get [DT] Ty [Warren] back soon.”
©2012 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club.