Denver Broncos Ota Quotes (5/28/15)

DENVER BRONCOS OTA QUOTES (5/28/15)

GUARD LOUIS VASQUEZ

On his reaction to T Ryan Clady’s injury and if he knew the extent of the injury yesterday “Yesterday we thought it was minor. That was kind of the feel we were getting, and then the news we got today is obviously unfortunate. As a group up front, our prayers are going out to him. He’s still part of this family. This is going to give us a chance to see what these young guys are about.”

On if he’s had a chance to speak with Clady “Not as of yet. When we were done, he was out of the building. I’ll reach out to him after.”

On if Clady’s stability at the left tackle position makes his loss even worse “No, because we’ve still got a good leader in [T] Chris Clark, who’s obviously been in the league a number of years and he’s got a tremendous amount of snaps under his belt. I’ll pull him alongside with me and have him help me tow the group where we need to go.”

On his impressions of C Gino Gradkowski “So far that I’ve worked with Gino, he’s quick, he’s smart and he’s obviously been in the scheme. I like his style of play. So far, we’ve meshed well. It’s easy to play alongside a guy like that when it just comes naturally.”

On if he feels QB Peyton Manning will allow the offensive line time to get cohesion “It’s just our nature up front. We don’t look to get any slack. It’s our time to protect Peyton. If we’re not obviously doing our job, he can’t do his. There is no room for error up front.”

On what he’s seen from T Ty Sambrailo “I haven’t seen today—there is still some film I have to look at. As far as I’ve seen in the huddle, he kept his composure. He’s got to grow quick. Just from being in the huddle today and a little bit of yesterday, he held his composure pretty well.”

On what he wants to see from the young offensive linemen “Not to get flustered. If you have a bad play, leave it behind. If you let it drag on to the next play, it’s just going to be a bad series and then we’re not going to get the production that we need. For a guy to have a bad play and let it go and continue to be productive, that’s first and foremost. If he can keep his exposure, especially when things begin to heat up and the game moves a lot faster to him, slow it down for himself and not panic.” ©2015 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. On if Clady’s injury puts more pressure on him to be a leader “I’ve been doing that (working with younger players) since I’ve come back because we have a lot more young guys. I’ve been doing that now since we started. With Ryan down, there is a little more sense of leadership out of me. I’m not really feeling it from the coaches, but I put it upon myself. I’m kind of the old man left standing that’s been on this line the last three years. With a leader like that—Clady going down—I put it upon myself to kind of carry the group and be their anchor.”

On how tough it is to be a team leader on the offensive line “At the end of the day, I can only do so much. They’ve got to produce. I’m going to help them as much as I can whenever I can to get them ready to play. But it’s up to them to pick up the slack that’s there and to not have that drop off in production.”

On his early impressions of the new offensive scheme “For a lineman, we love it. It gives us a chance to beat up on people upfront and move them around. It takes pressure off of the quarterback. Obviously we’re a run-heavy team. If they’re playing the run, it frees up all other aspects of the game.”

On if there was any talk at all of him moving to tackle “Not as of yet. Once we left the field, I went to go lift and all that. As of yet, I haven’t gotten word. I’m not really sure that I will. I’m pretty sure I’ll stay where I’m at.”

On if the chemistry along the offensive line can come in OTAs “It can come. It starts now, and then training camp we’ll put the pads on and it gets to be a little bit more. That’s where we really start to become one as a unit. Obviously as the season goes on, preseason and regular season, there are still things we need to work on. We’re not perfect at the end of the season, but the thing up front has to get better each and every week. At the end we might appear perfect, but up front there is always work to do.”

On what it is like for a young player to play tackle “I can’t speak about it anymore. I’m not a young guy anymore. For me being out there, it’s no different for me than being at guard or any other position. Our job is to protect the quarterback at all costs. You’re out on an island more, but still the last thing you want to do is get beat and get the quarterback hit.”

On what he’s seen out of G/C Max Garcia “He’s still a young guy. He’s still developing and working. I’m working with the young guys as much as I can to get them ready to roll into training camp and start developing as a player and leave college behind.”

On the progress he’s seen from G Ben Garland “He’s smart. This early in OTAs, everybody including myself, we all have things that we need to work on. But Ben’s been a [heck] of a player so far and he’s real smart and has picked up the offense pretty well. We’re still taking it a step at a time.”

On if he’s ever been in a place where there has been this much competition along the offensive line “This is my first time being a part of such a young offensive line. It is a little different knowing there is competition. The people I start out with now could change come August or could even change at the end of OTAs. It is a little different. Right now, I just try to work on things that I need to work on. We’ll continue to get that cohesiveness with the guys that are alongside me.”

©2015 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.