Patrick Smyth, Executive Director of Media Relations ([email protected] / 303-264-5536) Rebecca Villanueva, Media Services Manager ([email protected] / 303-264-5598) Erich Schubert, Media Relations Coordinator ([email protected] / 303-264-5503)
DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (9/8/11)
HEAD COACH JOHN FOX
On naming captains “We did vote for captains. This is voted on by the team. On offense: [QB] Kyle Orton and [G] Chris Kuper; on defense: [S] Brian Dawkins and [CB] Champ Bailey; and on special teams [LB] Wesley Woodyard will be the team captains for the season, and then as a coaching staff we name one per game and this week it will be [DE] Elvis Dumervil.”
On the importance of captains “I think we had a lot of votes for captains which I think is a good start. Obviously the guys that I just mentioned had the most votes, and I think they’re important especially when the team votes for them.”
On his expectations for captains “That they show leadership through good times and bad.”
On opening night nerves “Around the league, and I’ve been through a lot of opening days and nights, each year the team takes on a different personality. Even if I’d been here before, even with teams I had been with the year before, you do have some changes, you have new players, the roster is changing really all around the National Football League, so yes, opening day is always exciting.”
On the first game “I think it’s the start, just like a race. How you come out of the blocks is important. It’s not the end-all of the race, but it is important to have a good start.”
On what people should notice about the Broncos this season “I hope we play smart, tough football, and that’s something we try to incorporate not just myself, but the staff. Hopefully that would be a trademark that we play hard for 60 minutes and play smart, tough football.”
On Oakland [RB] Darren McFadden and [RB] Michael Bush “They’re both outstanding players. I think you just turn on our games from a year ago and you see both of them stick out. No matter what game you look at, those guys are hammering the ball. They have a big offensive line, but both of those are very proven and explosive backs.”
On the Oakland Raiders’ speed “We have to be smart and understand who we are and who they are. That will be incorporated throughout all three phases of our football team.”
On DT Brodrick Bunkley “The medical people cleared him. I haven’t viewed the tape of practice yet, but I like the way he moved around.”
©2011 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 concerns with the Raiders “You’re talking to a guy that’s just watched two games from a year ago, and like I mentioned yesterday, we didn’t get over 250 [total yards] and we didn’t stop them to less than 500 [yards], so I’d say that was a concern.”
On practicing in pads “I think it will vary. We’ll just see. I think we have to use 11 of them in the first 11 weeks. I don’t have a pad answer for you on that at this point.”
On practicing at night for a night game “We don’t do it all week. We just do it Sunday night. We bring them in later, get them used to sitting around throughout the day, which they will have to duplicate on Monday, but we’re not doing it every night.”
On juggling four quarterbacks in practice “Just like you juggle everybody else in practice. You have look teams and you give a shorter number of reps to guys once you get into the regular season, but I’ve been many places where we’ve had four quarterbacks before.”
On Monday Night Football “I think everybody is anticipating it—fans, players, owners, general managers, head coaches, staff. We’ve been in [Sports Authority Field at Mile High] twice during the preseason, and the fans have been great and we expect them to be the same way Monday night.”
©2011 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.