Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes & Notes Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders • INVESCO Field at Mile High • Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005 DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN Opening statement “It was sure nice to get a Christmas present like that…that’s for sure. Obviously we took care of business and things worked out pretty good for us and I was really pleased with the effort of our football team today. You have to take advantage of your opportunities and hopefully we keep on playing accordingly. On how the win changes the strategy for next week “Well I’m not going to talk about strategies right in now, I’m just going to enjoy the win. Obviously everybody knows the situation that we are in….we’ll talk about it next week when we decide what direction we are going to go. The great part about it is knowing that we have a week off before we play our game and that’s always nice to at least have the mindset that we have a week to heal up. It looked like we were a little bit banged up today in two different areas but hopefully everybody will be healthy and ready to go…we’ll just have to wait and see.” On when he found out about Cincinnati’s loss “We saw it in the locker room before our game started but I don’t believe the players knew until maybe it was announced during the game. Obviously at the start of the game I think everybody knew. On the team’s performance “I was pleased because Oakland’s defense had only given up one 300-yd game since we played them last. They’ve been pretty stingy and playing very sound defense. They have a very talented group of players on that side of the ball so to find a way to win it here in our last regular season home game was pretty special for our football team. On how long you enjoy this game “We’ll definitely enjoy it tonight and we’ll get started tomorrow early on San Diego getting our game-plan ready. This definitely a time of the year that is tough on players and coaches because you do have Christmas and you arte spending time with the family. It’s a time for celebration but at the same time it’s a time for business…we have a job to do. Our fans were a big part today the crowd noise was a big factor for us at the start of the game. More on Performance “We had a lot at stake, and we worked extremely hard to get to this point. We had a chance to win the AFC West today, but we didn’t know going into the game we had a chance to be in the situation we are in. Right before the game the players did know and played accordingly. We had a lot on the line. You go through your off season programs and pre season games and everything you do for this type of opportunity. I was pleased to see they played well.” On Quarterback Jake Plummer’s performance “Jake played extremely well. He made a bunch of big plays. They had a lot of pressure on him and they had a very talented defensive front, you can see why 56 (Derrick Burgess) has been so good rushing the quarterback. He made us look inept at times with his ability, but I thought Jake did a great job stepping up and making some big plays. I thought George (Foster) found out how good some of those pass rushers are sometimes. It is a learning experience for him (Jake Plummer). We will get better and we did the things we needed to do to win.” On the importance of the first round bye “I think everybody knows what a bye is worth. If you do have a bye and you win two games you are in the Superbowl. It is pretty basic math. To have the opportunity we have is a great one. Now we have to go back to work so we can take advantage of that opportunity.” On Mike Anderson reaching 1,000 yards “It didn’t surprise me and I knew being our starting running back he had a good chance of going over 1,000 yards. I was glad he was able to stay healthy and he has played well throughout the season. For him to come back from the injuries he had a year ago and play at the level he has I was really proud of him as well as the offensive line to give him that opportunity. Mike Anderson is a warrior. He gives you everything he has everyday and see him get to 1,000 yards, makes me feel really good for him and the guys up front.” On wide receiver Ashley Lelie’s performance “Ashley started out a little bit slow, but has really picked up his game. He made a bunch of big plays today and that’s what we have to do….we have to play our best football this time of year. I thought we played well and we have to continue to play at that level especially against some of the teams we will be facing here in the near future.” Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes & Notes Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders • INVESCO Field at Mile High • Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005 DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS QUARTERBACK JAKE PLUMMER General “We knew we had to take care of business and get a win. The beauty of our situation is that we controlled our own destiny. It helped (that Cincinnati lost), but we didn’t pay attention to that. We just wanted to get a “W” against the Raiders.” On next week’s game “I don’t know (if I’ll play next week). I am going to enjoy Christmas Eve tonight and enjoy Christmas tomorrow and then I’ll see what happens next week.” On Winning the AFC West “It means nothing unless we go deep in the playoffs and hopefully go all the way. “ FULLBACK KYLE JOHNSON On winning the AFC West “No one is sticking their chest out. We are happy, a little sore, but we put ourselves in a position today to get that bye week. We have to take advantage of that week and be as fresh as possible. This team has the attitude of ‘maybe this isn’t the most celebratory situation’ lets enjoy the holiday as opposed to enjoying the victory.” On Tatum Bell opportunity to achieve 1,000 yards next week “How close is he? (Reporters reply) Now I have inspiration, now I have my own Christmas wish list. Well, I am not going to say that because San Diego has an unbelievable defense and have been playing great ball. But I didn’t know he was so close.” QUARTERBACK BRADLEE VAN PELT On anticipated play time for next week’s game “I think I will play, to the extent of how much, I don’t know. I am going to enjoy Christmas with my family. I will come in next week and I am sure the coaches will tell the whole team what is going to happen. I am sure they are going to give a lot of key guys rest to avoid injuries. Then again we do have a bye week, so I don’t think you can give the starters too much time. I am going to prepare like I do every week and maybe this week I will actually play.” DEFENSIVE END TREVOR PRYCE On winning division and bye week “The bye week is the biggest thing. That is the most important thing because you get to watch every team in the first round. That is what I am more excited for.” On playing time next week “You do get rusty. You can’t go into the playoffs without playing, so I am sure we will all play the entire game. You don’t want to limp into the playoffs and be rusty. You want everything to be clicking.” RUNNING BACK MIKE ANDERSON On 1,000 yards “It is a good feeling. I haven’t been able to do that since my rookie year and maybe then I didn’t realize how important it was. I would like to be able to see Tatum (Bell) do it next week.” On his ankle injury “It kind of got rolled, kind of tweaked. We will give it a couple days off and see how it looks. Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes & Notes Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders • INVESCO Field at Mile High • Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005 OAKLAND RAIDERS HEAD COACH NORV TURNER General “Denver is an outstanding football team. They are a very good offensive football team and they are outstanding on defense. I think they are a complete football team. Obviously they deserve to win this division in terms of how they preformed. I felt our guys came in here and fought and competed. We just weren’t able to match the things they were able to do.” On Denver’s Success with Crossing Routes “There was a combination of things. They hit a couple of those early when we were in blitz coverage. We tried to back off and play zone. They are good at what they do and they found seems. (Jake) Plummer obviously was very hot in the first half.” On Play of OB Kerry Collins “Early we did some good things from a protection standpoint. We got the ball out quick and we did have some drops early which we have not had a great deal of.