Head Coach John Fox s1

DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (10/13/14)

HEAD COACH JOHN FOX

On injuries “[LB] Danny Trevathan left the game yesterday and did not return. He has been evaluated. He has a crack in the bone just above the knee on his left leg. It’s the same leg [as his previous injury] but nothing even remotely the same as his last injury. We’ll give you an update as far as any kind of timeline on Wednesday.”

On if doctors think the injury was there before “[No], it was really kind of a movement that caused it but like in a completely different area. It was lower front last time, now it’s high on the side this time.”

On LB Corey Nelson “I think with all young players you’re developing them within your system, whether it’s offense, defense, even in the kicking game. A lot of their live football occurs first on fourth down or in the kicking game. He’s a guy that’s shown promise there and learning our system defensively. It always takes time, much like [LB] Brandon Marshall a year ago. Our guys have a ‘next man up’ mentality. If you’re suited for the game you’re prepared to have to play in the game. Sometimes you get to, sometimes you don’t. In that case, I think it was the second play of the game Danny went out. We played a lot of what we call our sub defense and [Nelson] ended up getting like 36 snaps in the Jets game. It’s invaluable experience. He’s a smart kid that’s willing to learn and study, to do the things necessary to succeed.”

On Marshall’s experience helping him return to the No. 1 role “No doubt. We were without Danny for a long time, and it gave Brandon Marshall an opportunity. It happens all over the place, really every season on every team. In this case, I thought he responded well and went in and did a good job.”

On RB Ronnie Hillman’s 100-yard performance Sunday “I think he prepared very hard. One thing from a long time of doing this is they go hand in hand—how you prepare in practice is usually how you perform, so he had an excellent week. He was the next man up so to speak when [RB] Montee [Ball] went down, and I thought he responded well. A lot of moving parts go into that, but I think he worked and did his part and had a good day.”

On penalties “We turned in a lot of them [to the league office]. I can’t really talk about the specifics. But that’s not absolving any blame for us either. There were some penalties that were non-aggressive penalties—I won’t mention what name I put on them—that we need to get better and clean up.”

On CB Bradley Roby “As I’ve said many times, he’s a very talented guy, but what usually separates guys is how they prepare, the exactness in this league that you have to play at in pass defense, especially the corner position. I think he’s really stood out there. [Secondary Coach] Cory [Undlin] and [Assistant Secondary/Safeties Coach] Sam [Garnes] have done a good job with him. He’s very willing,

©2014 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. he’s a sponge to learn and he’s a smart guy, football-wise. He understands concepts, and he’s not afraid to work. So I think you’ll continue to see that.” On CB Chris Harris Jr. “I think [he has played] really well, considering that he missed the end of last season, some critical times. Understanding how hard it is to come off those injuries, I think he’s done very well.”

On how the secondary has performed on the field versus how it shaped up on paper “Paper doesn’t beat too many people. But they’ve worked real hard. I think it’s just a great group of guys that’s not afraid to work. As I’ve said before, we’re not a finished product by any stretch. I like their attitude, I like the way they go about it. We’ve got another huge obstacle this week at our place against San Francisco, so I’m sure they’ll dig into that after they get this corrected and looked at. They had a good performance yesterday, and they’ll look to build on that this week.”

On TE Julius Thomas’ celebration after his second touchdown “Let’s not forget these guys aren’t at a desk at an accountant’s office. This is a combative game—not knocking accountants. It’s a very combative game, and it is a very emotional game. I think that’s why we’ve instituted a 12-minute cooling off period [after games]. They do operate at high levels. I don’t put much into that [celebration], other than he’s very enthusiastic about his craft and I’m glad he is.”

On Thomas’ growth “Obviously he is a big body, very athletic, has great body control, excellent hands that are required in both basketball and as a tight end. I think the biggest thing is probably confidence. He hadn’t played a whole lot of football before we drafted him. I think maybe some of the time that it took him to mend, I know, was not an easy time for him personally. Watching and learning and observing help. Once he got on the field he had a pretty big impact right away. I think with that he’s gained a lot of confidence. He’s playing good football. ”

On how the defense has performed this season “ There is a lot of football left. We just got into the second quarter [of the season]. I’ve always been a fan of ‘understate, overproduce.’ We lost a lot of guys. Like everybody in the league, you try to improve your team. Let’s not forget there are 31 other teams that tried to do the same thing we did. Right now, we’re 4-1. We’re exactly what our record says, and that’s as a football team. I expect every phase of our team to improve and get better. I just don’t like getting a grade before it’s over. I like where we are, but we have work to do.”

On P Britton Colquitt “I thought those were very timely plus-50 punts late in the game. As you look around a lot is made of this, that and the other, truth be told a lot of these games are won or lost in the fourth quarter. I think those were very timely and he’s an excellent punter. I’m glad he’s on our side.”

On QB Peyton Manning approaching Brett Favre’s career touchdown record “I’m sure Peyton will tell you the same thing, in the opener a year ago in Baltimore there was talk of seven [touchdown] passes. You don’t really keep track of that stuff. You look at the scoreboard—how many you’ve got, how many they got. You go about your business and play the football game. That’s a better question for him. I think obviously it’s a huge record, so we’ll see.”

On the running game “All these take on different personalities. There are different matchups, different things. I think they chose to not let us get big plays in the passing game. That happens a lot. That’s one of our goals every week—[limit]explosive plays. It opened up some other things, lots made about the passing game, the running game, all that. The bottom line is moving the ball and scoring points. The defense has a little say in that—the opponent—so I think our guys adjusted quickly, we did the things necessary because their design was to take some stuff away that we had done pretty well in weeks past. That’s all part of NFL football.”

©2014 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.