Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

General “As I told our football team, it’s very hard to lose a game like that, where you play exceptionally on defense throughout the game. We were in poor field position at times, but you can’t have five turnovers in a football game in the and expect to win. We battled, we fought, but we made too many mistakes.”

On QB “I think he did pretty good for his first game. I’m a little disappointed in myself – I think we put maybe a little too much in the game plan. [Cutler’s first ] was a bad play. We had a keep an [defensive] end came right up field. Instead of keeping the ball and maybe taking a sack or throwing it away, he tried to make a play and it ended up a . You learn by that mistake – all go through that learning process. He battled in there. That’s what’s expected.”

Did he second-guess his decision to start Cutler? “No, I’ve told you all along that you make those decisions and you go on. You make them over a long period of time and it doesn’t happen quickly. Even though at times, especially tonight, it may not appear to be the right decision, I believe it is.”

On K Jason Elam’s rush on the fake field goal “The reason why we ran the field goal fake is because we thought it was a good time to run it. Going into the game, on the left hash, they really over-loaded that side. We thought, even if we didn’t get the touchdown, we would get the first down, and still have a chance to get in.”

On the running game “We were pretty good in the running game. We averaged a lot of yards, but you go back to turnovers – that’s the name of the game. If you run the ball like that every game, we’ll be the top rushing team in the National Football League.”

“I don’t know what we had rushing, but it felt like it was pretty good. We just couldn’t get any rhythm going. We had to be about 25-30% on third downs, and any time you’re in that area, you can’t sustain a lot of drives. I think it was the same thing with Seattle. They couldn’t sustain a lot of drives.”

On Elam’s injury status “He said he could kick. When he kicked that extra point [fourth quarter], it looked like he didn’t have a lot of ‘umph.’ Mentally, he was there, but I’m not sure if he was physically.”

Will the team focus on securing a Wild Card position? “You don’t focus on those things. You just focus on winning each game. All you can do is control the next week, and whatever happens, happens. Obviously, common sense says that your chances for the division title aren’t very good. Common sense says if you win the rest of the games, you could win it, but the chances are it [a playoff berth] will be a Wild Card.”

On whether or not he scaled back the game plan “No, not really. Thinking back, we may have put a little too much in. One of our simpler plays at the end of the game we ran and went for a 70-yard touchdown [fourth quarter 71-yard touchdown to WR ].”

On facing San Diego “They are a great football team. I had a chance to watch them today. They’re very well balanced: offense, defense and special teams. It’s going to take one great effort to win in their backyard.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS

QB JAY CUTLER

General “It’s tough. I knew going into this it wasn’t going to be a perfect game, and it wasn’t. I made some mistakes, and we had a lot of mistakes. I kind of blame myself, though, and those turnovers hurt us. The defense played really well.”

On whether or not he felt nervous before his first start “No, not really. I felt pretty comfortable. They were doing a lot of the stuff we had seen on film. They did a few things we weren’t ready for, but nothing that really confused us.”

On the fourth quarter touchdown pass to WR Brandon Marshall “That’s all Brandon Marshall, I didn’t do anything. I just got him the ball, and he made a big play for us. We have a lot of guys like that, and we need to spread the ball around more.”

On whether Seattle blitzed more on account of facing a rookie quarterback in his first start “No, not really. I didn’t think they’d change their game plan just because I was in there. They played how they have the last four or five games, so it was nothing new.”

Whether or not he was overwhelmed by the game plan “No, not really. It never really overwhelmed me. We had a few miscommunications, but that’s going to happen. We just have to go back to work.”

On the team mood “The team is still confident. We’ve got way too much talent for us to think the season is over. We have a lot of football left and a lot of games to play. Anything can happen. We’ll bounce back and we’ll be ready for San Diego.”

On his first interception “It was just going to be a fake and then a keeper. They blitzed both sides, so there was really nothing we could do. It was just a bad play. I just have to learn to throw the ball away and take a loss there.”

On what Coach Mike Shanahan told him before the game “He said, ‘Have fun, go and play’. That’s what everyone has told me. ‘Just go out there, have fun and make some plays’.”

On the running game “The running game did well. I thought we just had a bad third quarter there and stalled out. We just have to keep moving along, and I’ve got to play better.”

How he feels after the game “I’m disappointed. I was hoping that we’d get the win. To have a game like this, and have two picks and one get housed [returned for a touchdown], it’s tough.”

On whether or not he can lead Denver to the playoffs “Yes, we have a lot of guys in there that are really good football players, so it’s not just on me. I can do my part better, obviously, but we still have a few games left.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS

CB DARRENT WILLIAMS On LB Al Wilson’s injury “My main thing was just to make sure that he’s alright. It doesn’t look good when they bring the cart out. We just wanted to make sure he is alright. But after he left the field, I think we were able to get our focus back on the game. Their defense and special teams forced two turnovers [after the injury to Wilson], and that really turned the game around.”

On Seattle’s final drive to score “It was just a play here or there. It wasn’t that they made a lot of big plays, just enough to get them into field goal range. Their kicker made a 50-yarder. You have to give that kicker credit for doing what not many other kickers in the league can do.”

On slowing down Seattle’s running game “Tackling was the big emphasis this week. We had [Kansas City RB] Larry Johnson in the backfield at least ten times last week, and he ended up breaking those and getting big gains. We tackled better today, when we got to [RB ] we wrapped him up and didn’t let him break loose.”

RB TATUM BELL General “I was glad I was able to get going. We came to play in the first half, as far as the running game. For a rookie in his first start at quarterback you’ll have some bumps and bruises. But, he’ll be alright. We’ll hang in there with him. We just can’t have turnovers. That’s what killed us. We have to dig deep inside and decide what direction we want to go in. Hopefully, it’s in the right direction.”

On Wilson’s injury “You hate to see anyone get injured, especially a team leader like Al. Hopefully, he’s okay.”

On the running game and his performance “I felt good. The second half, they started tightening up on the run defense. We should have kept giving it to them like we did in the first half. It’s a tough loss. As far as my performance, I feel pretty good but it doesn’t matter because we lost.”

WR BRANDON MARSHALL On his 71-yard touchdown catch “That’s the make up of our receiving corps…tough. It just shows the character of our team. That play symbolized what we’re going to do the rest of the season. We still have a chance at the Wild Card. Cincinnati and Kansas City are both 7- 5, so our destiny is in our hands. That’s the character of our team: we won’t give up.”

On making a play “It was definitely a surprising play. It was our first play out of the two-minute package. When I got back to the sidelines, one of our guys said, ‘Where has that been since camp?’ It was a big play, but it really doesn’t matter when you don’t get the victory.”

On QB Jay Cutler’s performance “For what we gave him and what the field position and everything, I think he did really well. It was a good start for him.”

CB DOMONIQUE FOXWORTH General “We have a lot of talent, but sometimes you don’t get the breaks. Sometimes the sun isn’t shining on you. Hopefully it will be shining on us at the right time. We need to win out to earn ourselves a playoff spot, so we really need to turn it up.”

On turnovers “Turnovers play a huge role in every game. You can usually tell who wins or loses based on who wins the turnover battle. We managed to keep it close despite the turnover imbalance. We need to turn the ball over as a defense and we didn’t do that. We had some opportunities, and we couldn’t get it done.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

S JOHN LYNCH On being 7-5 with playoff hopes “It’s hard to believe that we’re in this position, but never the less, this is the situation we find ourselves in. You can point to a lot of teams in the past [who have come back from 7-5], like the Steelers last year; I think they had virtually the same record as us. Obviously, we need to do a lot of things better, but as far as this organization [the ] will always be our goal.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH MIKE HOLMGREN

General “I think it goes without saying that this was a wonderful win for us. To come into Denver and play the Broncos is a tough task. Our defense kept us in the game and got some turnovers for us. We did a nice job moving the ball at the end of the game. That young man they [Denver] have playing quarterback is going to be a great player some day.”

On Playoff Lookout “Lets just take it one game at a time. This team has shown the ability to do that. I really just want to enjoy this win right now and I can do that until about 7am tomorrow morning. We have won a lot of close games and in this league nothing is ever locked up.”

On Recent Comeback Victories “I have gone into the last two minutes of other games with a lot more confidence than I had tonight. You really need to give the players a lot of credit, they executed very well at the end. The Kicker [Josh Brown] we have is definitely helps out a lot. We have just been too inconsistent, with too many penalties. The crowd out there was just amazing, just like they are at our stadium. With a crowd like that you really create problems for opposing teams.”

On Cutler’s 4th Quarter Touchdown Pass “I was very disappointed we are not a gambling defense. We missed a few tackles on that play, but is was just a great run by the kid [Brandon Marshall]. If we ended up losing that play would have really haunted us.”

On Seattle Execution Tonight “We didn’t sustain anything early in the game. We didn’t convert any third downs and I am really not happy with our execution early in the game. We beat a good team in a tough place, it is not easy for teams to come into Denver and do that.”

On His Postgame Speech to his Players “I just said ‘God Bless you’ to all of them. I told them at halftime, when we were close, that we were going to find someway to win. I told them I was really proud of them and thank them for their effort.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS PLAYERS

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck General “Turnovers were a big part of this game. My number one goal going into the game was to not turn the ball over today. Our defense and special teams created some turnovers, that was huge for us. I think [Denver] had a pretty good plan and we didn’t execute some of the stuff that we are pretty good at executing. We just hung in there and didn’t make big mistakes. We were watching the games today and knowing what the recipe was for us losing on the road this year, it has been turnovers and shooting ourselves in the foot. Our defense kept us in it, it was 13-7 coming out of halftime and we stuck to the ‘don’t screw it up, don’t turn it over’. They had a young quarterback making his first start and he is going to be a good player. You kind of have a feeling how they were going to play the game. If we didn’t make mistakes we felt we could be in it.”

On Pass Play to set up Alexander’s Touchdown “It was a great play call, I had a slant and go to Deion [Branch] on the left side, I pumped it and its kind of my choice to chose Deion on the left side or Darrell [Jackson] running down the seam on the other side. They were both wide open Deion was probably more wide open. I probably owe him a dinner or something. It was a great catch by Darrell in traffic. I didn’t throw the ball very hard because I thought the safety went with my pump fake, but he didn’t. He had great range and made a nice hit on the play.”

WR Deion Branch On The Importance of Today’s Game “We made it bigger than it was by not executing our plays. We could have made it a whole lot easier on ourselves. Instead we put our backs against the wall. Our defense did a great job of getting us the ball and we had great field position throughout the whole game. Overall, we won the game and that is the only thing that matters.”

LB Lofa Tatupu On Approaching a Rookie Quarterback “They are both fine quarterbacks. They drafted Cutler that early because they have faith and put him in late in the season because they have faith in him. I didn’t see what merited the benching of Jake Plummer, I guess it is just whatever the coaches is feeling. He is tough guy and he hung in there. He took some shots and got back up and kept throwing. On the last interception the ball got tipped and our safety was in the right place. If the ball doesn’t get tipped it might be a completion and you don’t know how far it would have gone. I think he did well for his first start.”

On Second Half Run Defense “We had a couple of gap assignments that we got fixed and I think our energy level was more upbeat in the second half.”

WR D.J Hackett On Returning to Colorado “It is great; it is like a second home for me. I spent a lot my life here; it just feels real familiar and just as cold as it was when I left.”

On Playoff Outlook “It feels great to be where we are. That is our number one goal, to get into the playoffs and really go after that. The main thing is that in this league anybody can win at anytime, so you can’t look past any games.”

LB Julian Peterson On His Return “That is what I used to do, they didn’t believe me. I said, ‘wait until I get my hands on the rock.’ I wanted to show everybody that I can still run a little bit.”

On Darryl Tapp’s Interception Return “He and I had the ball at the same time and it was his first touchdown, so I went ahead and let him have it. I could have been selfish like Ray Lewis on that one, but I am going to go ahead and let my teammate have that one.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

On Importance of Today’s Win “This was big for us. We wanted to win our last six games or at least go five and one. Right now we are headed in the right direction. We have another tough game coming up next weekend and we continue to improve.”

Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes Sunday, December 3, 2006

POSTGAME NOTES:

QUICKLY… Denver drops to 7-5 for the season, as the Broncos have lost three in a row; that’s the first three-game streak since the 2003 season (Oct. 19-26-Nov. 3), and just the fourth time Denver has lost three or more in succession in the Mike Shanahan Era… Denver is now 3-3 at home, its first 3-loss season at home since 2002 (Miami, Oakland, Indianapolis)… The loss snapped Denver’s 12-game home winning streak in December; the last team to come into Denver and beat the Broncos in the year’s 12th month was Kansas City, which left old Mile High Stadium with a 16-10 win on December 5, 1999… The loss ended Denver’s 9-game winning streak against Super Bowl participants from the previous season… All four sacks in the game came on third down plays… Denver ran the ball on its first 10 first down plays, with the first pass on the down being Jay Cutler’s first career interception… the Broncos allowed Seattle just 98 yards on 30 plays once the Seahawks crossed the 50, with 33 coming on one play; Seattle was in Denver territory for 10 of its 15 possessions, but ran more than three plays just twice as those 10 drives ended with three punts, three field goals, two missed field goals, an interception and a touchdown… the 71-yard pass play from Cutler to Brandon Marshall was the third longest play from scrimmage for Denver in 2006; it is believed to be the third longest pass play in Bronco history involving a rookie quarterback; Gary Kubiak (78 yards to Steve Watson in 1983, TD) and Mickey Slaughter (74 yards to receiver to be determined in 1963).

¾ SERIES STUFF. Denver now leads the all-time series by a 33-18 count, including a 20-5 edge in Denver; the Seahawks snapped a six-game losing streak in Denver, where the Broncos have still won 12 of the last 14 games… it was the 14th game in the series decided by three points or less, with the teams all even at 7-7 in those contests.

¾ SCORIING STREAK. Denver extended its scoring streak to 225 consecutive games, with tonight marking the 149th time the Broncos extended the run with a first quarter score, though being just the fourth time in 12 games in 2006 Denver scored in the opening stanza.

¾ FIELD POSITION FLOP. It was a tale of two halves in the field position game; in the first half , Denver started eight possessions on the average at its own 34, while Seattle started seven at its 32 (rebounding from starting its first three at its own 14, 15 and 10, respectively). But in the second half, Denver started seven drives on the average at its own 21, while the Seahawks started eight at its own 40, including three in Denver territory.

¾ PK Jason Elam. Elam registered his first offensive statistic for his career, regular season or postseason, from scrimmage with his 2-yard rush on fourth down; it came after he had 1,065 touches on special teams: 597 PAT attempts, 467 field goal attempts and one punt.

¾ TB Tatum Bell (23-133, 0 TD). It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season and the eighth of his career, the seventh most in the regular season by a Bronco (snapping a tie with Sammy Winder). It marked the ninth straight time against Seattle in Denver that the Broncos had a 100-yard rusher against the Seahawks. That streak started in 1994 when Leonard Russell had 109 on November 13, 1994. He had 112 yards in the first half, the first 100-yard half of his career (old high was 90), and he finished the game with 2,099 yards, as he 10th all-time in rushing yards for Denver.

¾ QB Jay Cutler (21-10-2, 143, 2 TD). His 2 TD passes in his debut tied for the most by a Bronco rookie in a first career start, matching Craig Penrose’s effort against Kansas City on December 5, 1976. Denver rookies are now 5-3 in their first career starts; since 2000, players who have made their first starts as a rookie are 7-24. Drew Henson was the last rookie to win his first start, doing so for Dallas against Chicago on Nov. 24, 2004. Cutler was 6-of-9 passing on third down, at one point completing six straight passes.

¾ DENVER INJURIES. The postgame report: PK Jason Elam (left hamstring strain) RB Cecil Sapp (sprained left ankle) ILB Al Wilson (sprained neck; went to hospital for precautionary reasons)