Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
DENVER BRONCOS COACH MIKE SHANAHAN
General “Obviously, we played hard for sixty minutes. We found a way to win. We found a way to get it done when we had to. In the National Football League, you never know how the first half is going to go. In the second half, you never know how the score will be: 13 to 19 or 35 to 38. To come back the way we did and fight the way we did facing the adversity in the third quarter was worth doubting.”
On where he would rank this win in his career “Obviously, you can’t get much more drama than that. It’s going to rank right up there, especially going against San Diego in our own backyard, that’s aghasting. The way they dominated us in the last three games, it’s nice to come back to find a way to win against a good football team.”
On the two point conversion “You just got a gut [feeling] sometimes. I just felt like it was a chance for us to put it away. I didn’t want them to catch us on the coin flip. I wanted to do it then, and obviously, it worked out.”
On QB Jay Cutler’s recovery after the interception in the fourth “He’s a competitor. He was in the red zone, five for six in their area. He played very good against that football team, that doesn’t happen very often. We scored like we did in the red zone and came out with the touchdown instead of a field goal, and that was big. Give them credit in that third quarter. They kept us off the field. They made some big time third downs and kept the ball from us. They stopped our running game in the first half. Obviously, they came back and made some plays. We got a lot of work to do, but it’s sure nice to find a way to win. We started off 2-0 in the AFC West. I believe our football team is smart enough to know that we got a lot of work to do. Obviously we got a lot of pluses out of this game.”
On WR Brandon Marshall’s performance “In his first game of the year, coming back and making those type of plays and Jay making some of those throws and [WR] Eddie Royal making a couple of those good catches, I’m just very pleased with everyone making some big plays.”
On Jay’s sugar level in the second half “I have no idea what his sugar level was to be honest with you. Whatever it was, I want to keep him at that level. To be honest with you, I really don’t know if [Head Trainer Steve] Antonopulous was checking it in between series. He’s done that throughout practices.”
On deciding to go for two “I had a gut. I thought about it back and forth that if we scored at the 1:40 mark, in my mind at about [one minute and] twenty seconds I had a gut to go for it and I’m glad it worked out.”
On the play used in the two point conversion “Pretty much it was the same play [as the touchdown] but we ran it the other way. We ran in the opposite formation and Jay did a great job reading his progressions. I know it’s kind of tough against that defense because it’s the same defense. We played two times in a row [last year] and we have the same receivers. So, we did a good job kind of adjusting and mixing, and obviously making a couple of good catches. Jay kept us poised and stepped up in the pocket, and did what he needed to do.”
On the number of Brandon Marshall catches “I have no idea how many catches he made. [After hearing 18], Eighteen? Not bad for your first game back.”
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
QB JAY CUTLER On if he knew the would be going for two “I was telling the guys that if we had to score again we had to go for two. It’s one of those calls. We didn’t want to go into overtime and I like the call. We haven’t really been stopped, we kind-of stopped ourselves with the pick. So I liked it.”
On coming back after throwing his interception late in the game “It was a key interception and it made me sick the way the offensive line played and the way the offense set up. Going the way we did the whole game, we played a hard third quarter and the way the guys bounced back it made me sick to come back to the sideline. It was just a bad throw. It never should have happened like that. I should’ve just thrown it away and gotten the three and get out. I knew that if we got the ball back we would go back down and score and it really wasn’t a problem it was just a matter of how much time was left for us.”
On the fumble play “I think it was a fumble. It’s one of those plays that just happens. We get some good calls every once in a while, it just slipped out. I haven’t seen the play yet. The call has been made and it is over with.”
On if he heard a whistle on the fumble play “Yeah, I heard it and everyone stopped, it was definitely a whistle. The ball came out, I took two steps and there was a whistle.”
On how much this win means “It’s huge, it’s huge for us. We had a tough one winning this one but there are still some questions out there. There’s going to be some doubts about this team if we can put two weeks together to compete against an elite team in the NFL, especially with the type of defense they had, and their capabilities, we answered a lot of questions. We put up 31 [points] in the first half. The defense played well, we had a rough third quarter. We had to put together four quarters of ball. Now we’re 2-0 in the division, and we’re pretty happy and so we’re moving on.”
On running offense in the first half “It was a lot of guys running free. Once we get in that empty package and motion people around, and we threw a lot at them. And early on there, they were confused. In the third quarter we tried to run the ball a little bit. We got back to what got us a lot of points. We had Tony Scheffler running free, and ‘B’ [Brandon] Marshall running free, and Eddie [Royal] on the outside, DG [Daniel Graham] coming in the middle, and the backs catching and running, too. So, once we get in that formation it’s tough to stop.”
On what he was thinking when he smiled prior to the winning touchdown “Yeah, cause it was fun. That’s was football is about if you’re a quarterback. That’s kind of what you live for. I wish I could take back that pick, the game would be over a little bit easier. But I had the opportunity to go down and score with four minutes to go and win the game and go for two. That’s what it’s all about, and this offense that we got, we’re able to put up a lot of points. We have many weapons. These guys understand the offense so well, we could throw anything at them and they can pick it up.”
DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS
WR BRANDON MARSHALL
On the two-point conversion “Actually, on the first play, Jay came in the huddle and said ‘We have a long drive, but when we score we gotta go for two.’ So, in the back of my mind I was like, what play are we going to call? ”
On returning the game with 18 catches
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
“Like I told you guys when I first got back from my suspension, my goals are still the same, I haven’t changed them. All of my goals are to break all the records. I believe the record was 21 or 22 so I was close, but I’m out there to play for the win, and for me it was personal in this game because it was the San Diego Chargers against this team. ”
On the QB Jay Cutler fumble replay “Actually, I thought it was a fumble. Since the Chargers returned it, I was like, ‘Man, this is game 5’ [referring to a fifth loss to SD]. So this is my first game ever beating the Chargers, and I’m pretty happy.”
On if he got under CB Antonio Cromartie’s skin “You know what, I thought that we were buddies, but first the play he kind of bent my helmet back and I didn’t like that, so, I guess that’s what we get when we play against the Chargers.”
On the potency of the offense “Well, when you have Jay Cutler leading the offense and you have two wideouts who can go the distance anytime, and you have three tight ends who can go the distance, and you have a back field that is tremendous, the sky is the limit for us.”
On his reactions to Cutler’s recovery for the touchdown “The one thing I like about Jay is, if he throws a hundred interceptions, it’s not going to get to him. We believe in him and we know what he’s capable of doing. He just came to the sideline, and was poised, and we all played off of him. Usually we have guys that come out [of the game] after doing something bad and put their head down and give up, but he came back and showed everybody in the National Football League what he is capable of doing.”
On the possibility of more than 18 catches in a game “I believe so [it’s possible] but, it took 18 just to get the win today. We got a bunch of weapons and a bunch of targets, and it just came to me today.”
Have you ever played a game like this before? “That’s what football is about. I was talking to some guys on the sidelines and they were saying that’s what we play this game for, so we worked our tail off for it in the offseason. During OTA’s and mini-camp. And we got this win. Especially against the San Diego Chargers, and now they have to think about this loss until the last game of the season.”
Does this win raise the level of the rivalry? “Absolutely, and for years to come. Not just for the next day, but for years to come. Both the teams are young, and we’re not going to back down.”
WR EDDIE ROYAL
On the win against San Diego “It was just another great day at the office. It’s a great feeling to get two division wins. The last two years they’ve had our number and we needed this victory.”
On his play this week “Hopefully I opened it up for Brandon (Marshall), he had one of those days that you dream about.”
On going for the two-point conversion “It means a lot that the coaches have that much confidence in us to let us go for it.”
CB CHAMP BAILEY
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
On this being the craziest game of his career “I thought that last year in Buffalo was pretty crazy, but to have the guts to go for two a lot of coaches wouldn’t do that.”
On why the coaches decided to go for two “I have no idea, but I like it. It shows the coaches had a lot of confidence in the offense and they came through.”
On the Chargers offense “I have to give them credit; they made some huge plays today. QB Philip Rivers is playing as well as anybody in the NFL.”
“Every game is extremely important. You only get 16 tries during the season and we’re 2-0.”
On WR Brandon Marshall “That’s B-Marsh. I expect that every week. He’s a special talent and I’m glad that he’s on my team.”
LB BOSS BAILEY
On the Broncos defense “There are a lot of things that we have to work out. We took them on the chin, but we made plays when we had to and we are 2-0.”
On the Chargers offense “That little 43 (RB Darren Sproles) I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a warrior for them.”
On his motion after the game “The thing that got me with emotion after the game is that we never give up as a team. I’m just happy to be a Denver Bronco.”
S MARLON McCREE
On QB Jay Cutler “To respond like he did, my hats off to him. I’m glad I have him on my team.”
On the Denver Broncos defense “A win is a win. I’ve been in games like this before and sometimes it just goes like that. We have the capability of scoring a lot of points on offense, and shutting down opponents on defense.”
“There is going to be a lot of good learning from this tape and we will be ready next week.”
On facing adversity “Later on when things don’t go your way it helps if you are able to keep your composure under adversity. We were able to keep our wits about us, and win a game.”
TE TONY SCHEFFLER
On the overall game “It’s been great. It starts with the coaching staff and they got us the matches we wanted, we took advantage of it and got the win. It meant a lot to get the win today, because it’s the first win of the ’06 draft class against San Diego.”
On the scoring efforts
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
“The coaches got us into the right position and we made the adjustments to get into position to put up points. We came out a little slow in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter we came around and we fought to the end”
On prior emotions of today’s game “We came out with the attitude that we were not going to loose the game. We worked hard all week in practice preparing for San Diego and the hard work and preparation paid off.”
RB SELVIN YOUNG
On the game “I was thinking two points before we even touched the field. I had it in my head that we were going to go for two and walk out of here with a win, and we did. Tomorrow we will go over film, get back to work and get the job done. I think people saw that we had some fire today. We all wanted to let people know that we were here today to play for four quarters. Jay showed poise and we fought together and stayed together. The fans were great today, they came out and supported us throughout the game, they made some noise and were a big help to our win.”
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS HEAD COACH NORV TURNER
On the final possession “Here is what I am going to tell you. On the last play it was clearly a fumble. It was a fumble, clear to everyone on our sideline, and I’m sure al the fans. Ed, came over to me, the official, and said he blew it, and that is not to me acceptable. This is a high level performance game, and it is not acceptable to have a game decided on that play. Our guys fought hard to come back, and competed in all phases, it was just disappointing to have that kind of performance spoiled by that call.”
General “Obviously Denver is a very good football team. They are an explosive offensive team, and use their weapons well. We came in here knowing they were going to make some plays. We didn’t get done what we wanted to get done in the first half. We found a way to stay in the game, so in the second half we got a lot of the things done that we needed to. We had a lot of guys performing at a really high level, in all three phases of the game. We are playing a lot of young players and they are improving. We are giving up plays that we shouldn’t be. I can’t say enough about the way Philip (Rivers) played with the crowd noise. There are a lot of positives to be taken from this game.”
On adjustments “There are always adjustments being made, even in the first half. What it comes down to is some of these guys we are playing in our spread defense, understanding their assignments, and what play is being called. Sometimes it looks like an adjustment is being made, but we are just playing the same calls better. Some of the time it is an adjustment. When you are playing a team that spreads it out like they did, they are going to make plays. We just have to get to where we can contain them.”
On the team “This group of guys is as strong and committed group as I have ever been around. There is a lot of football in front of us. They would not allow a disappointing circumstance affect them like that. We have a lot of things to build on, and we are going to win a lot of football games.”
On RB Darren Sproles “He is a special guy, and he rises to the occasion. Obviously LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) was not full speed and Darren is the kind of guy who is always going to be in the mix. We need to get LT back to full speed, but we have a lot more playmakers than we did last year. Mike Tolbert gives us a lot of dimension inside, and our receivers played at a high level.”
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
QB PHILIP RIVERS
On controversial calls “You feel that way (when you have calls go against you). We as players can’t let it come down to a couple of calls, we have to win the game regardless.”
“As mush as we can complain about it, we are 0-2, and they are 2-0 and in the driver’s seat. It is still early in the season, so you can’t react, but we feel like we let one get away today.”
On the Broncos potentially being a different team this year “No, I don’t think so. They are a similar team to the one they were last year. They changed their scheme a little bit, but really we didn’t do enough to win. Offensively we put up 38 points, but in the red zone we weren’t that great. I’m kicking myself because I missed two throws in the red zone that would have been touchdowns, but ended up being field goals. I have always said that our role as an offense is to put up more points than the other team. If they put op 39, we should be put up 40.”
On San Diego Chargers RB Darren Sproles performance “We see that from him every day in practice. It is unfortunate that LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) couldn’t go like he wants to, but Sproles did a great job stepping in for him. The offensive line was amazing today, I hardly got touched all game, and opened up holed in the running game.”
LB MATT WILHELM
On controversial calls “It’s the National Football League and I’m sure the Broncos hope to be at their best just like we hope to be at our best in every game. I hope the NFL wants to be at its best at every game. You can’t really blame the loss on the calls because we just didn’t do what we needed to do to earn the win.”
On being 0-2 “The only good thing is that it’s happening early in the season. If it was Week 15 or 16 and this was happening and it was costing us a playoff spot or home field advantage we might be a little down, but with it being Week 1 and 2 we know we still have a long season ahead of us.”
S CLINTON HART
On San Diego Chargers Darren Sproles’ performance “He’s our little sparkplug. Darren did a great job. (The defense) put us in a big hole early and the offense almost dug us out.”
On the Broncos going for two “I was surprised that they would go for two. I think it was a little cocky, but they got it. This is two weeks in a row that we’ve allowed a team to score at the end of the game and we can’t do that.”
LB SHAUN PHILLIPS
On halftime defensive adjusments “Just playing harder. We were a little out of sync in the first half, just like we were in the first game. We have to learn how to put four quarters together, and not just two like we are doing.”
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. San Diego – Sunday, September 14, 2008
On staying optimistic “We have a lot of leaders on our team. We may be 0-2 with our backs against the wall, but we will come out fighting and turn this around.”
On the Broncos’ offense “Those guys are good. We hold ourselves accountable because we gave up 39 points and that is unacceptable. We have to get back to work starting tomorrow.”
WR CHRIS CHAMBERS
On team morale “We definitely are keeping the faith. We may be 0-2, but there is plenty of football left in the season. We have a nationally televised game next Monday, and we have a week to get ready for that. We will be ready to go against a very good New York Jets team.”
General “We had a chance to win the game. We had a rough start but we fought back. If we had 20 more seconds I feel like we could have put some more points on the board, and come away with the win.”
On Denver’s defensive game plan “They challenged us today. Their game plan was to make the tight ends and wide receivers make plays, and we started to do that, we just didn’t make enough.”
RB LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON
On losing a game like this “It is one tough way to lose. You give your heart out there, and those guys played their butts off You expect more from the NFL. The NFL holds the players accountable for everything and I think it’s time to hold the refs to be held accountable too. We are not going to sit over here and blame the loss on the refs. There were some calls we don’t agree with, but we still could have won the game.”
On his injury “It was pretty tough. It is something I am willing to fight through. Having Darren (Sproles) back there helps and I have it my best today.”
“I think I will be good to go. One thing I am happy about is that it didn’t get any worse. It doesn’t feel any worse than it did last week after the game, which shows that it is improving and healing.”
On San Diego Chargers RB Darren Sproles’ performance “He made some huge plays for us, both offensively and on special teams. His kickoff return for a touchdown really got us going, and that screen pass he took for a touchdown, which gave us our first lead.”
On team morale “It is really important because it is a long season, and we all know that. It is hard on everybody when you start 0-2. It will test the character of our team, but I don’t think that we have any quitters, so I we’ll bounce back next week.”