Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOHN FOX
On injuries ―[G] Chris Kuper looks to have a broken lower leg, and [FB] Spencer Larsen sprained his knee.‖
On making the playoffs ―We‘re AFC West champs. It doesn‘t matter how you do it. Once you get into the dance, they can‘t kick you out, so what we do with it we will be determined here next weekend. We‘re excited about it. The team is excited about it. Obviously we didn‘t want to get into it without winning tonight, and I can answer questions on the game tonight. It was unfortunate. I thought it was a great effort. We just came up a little short.‖
On not attempting a field goal in the first half ―It was kind of a field position deal, and we needed a touchdown.‖
On the offense ―We broke a franchise record in rushing. I think we rushed for 250, which is not bad. We just need some work in the passing game. It‘s something that has plagued us most of the season, and it‘s something that if we‘re going to do anything in the playoffs, we‘re going to need to improve at.‖
On changes to be made to the passing game ―Yes. Complete more of them.‖
On the passing game ―You have to give them credit. They are a very good defense. I think their secondary is very well coached and very good. I wouldn‘t want to take anything away from them, but I think there were times we could have done a better job.‖
On QB Tim Tebow ―Just like the rest of our team, not quite good enough. It wasn‘t bad. It was a 7-3 game, and I‘d say that was pretty much a defensive battle on both sides. I don‘t know with a 7-3 score there are any offensive coordinators running around really excited.‖
On struggles ―Until we watch the tape, it‘s going to be hard for me to nit-pick exactly who‘s fault, but over all we didn‘t execute in that area (pass blocking) as well as we need to.‖
On improving ―It will be a joint effort for us to improve for sure.‖
On if Denver incorporated new plays for QB Kyle Orton ―There wasn‘t anything we invented just for Kyle, no.‖
On LB Von Miller ―We thought that gave us the best chance, and we feel good about his replacement. We wanted to keep him fresh.‖
On RB Dexter McCluster ―They were utilizing some toss-crack runs on the outside, and our coaching staff did a good job adjusting to that. We were able to bottle that up a bit the last three quarters.‖
On confidence in the offense going into the playoffs ―We didn‘t get enough done tonight. I think we need to score more points. I think our running attack has been effective. It was very effective again tonight, and our passing game is something we need to improve at. We‘ve got all next week to do that.‖
On a losing streak going into the playoffs ―We went to a Super Bowl one year and lost three out of the last four.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On the running backs ―I think our running backs have done a tremendous job all year - our offensive line, the whole blocking element whether it be our fullback, tight ends, our offensive line. There have been some pretty good teams around here in the past, and to break a franchise record rushing the football, it has a lot of people‘s signatures on it.‖
DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS
QB Tim Tebow
On his feelings on winning the AFC West ―It‘s, obviously, a little bittersweet right now. We would have loved to have won that game, and [had] a little bit more momentum going into the playoffs, but, I think it‘s still a special thing what we accomplished, to come back to win the AFC West, and I still think that‘s very special.‖
―First and foremost, like every week, I just want to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and thank my teammates for their effort and my coaches for their game plan and their effort the whole day. I‘m very proud because you just saw character for 60 minutes, once again, so that‘s what I‘m most proud of.‖
On his confidence ―The three losses haven‘t shaken my confidence. I‘ve had to go through a lot of ups and downs in my sports career, and so I‘m not going to let a few losses affect my confidence. I‘m still out there playing the game that I love, so I still consider myself very blessed and honored to be playing quarterback for such a great organization.‖
―There have probably been a few plays in there I should have tried to force, to make a play, you know, make something happen. But that‘s just part of the game.‖
On the ‘Tebow Mystique’ ―I don‘t know about any mystique, but I am very grateful that we have another opportunity. It‘s very exciting to win the (AFC) West and to be able to host the Pittsburgh Steelers—at least that‘s what I‘ve heard—is going to be very exciting and a great opportunity and a great challenge as well.‖
On the possible facemask penalty that wasn’t called in the first half ―He (the referee) didn‘t say anything. He said he didn‘t see it.‖
―I think the refs. do a great job, and I think they did a great job in the game.‖
―My head was turned a little bit, yes, sir. It might have been forced to the right a little bit.‖
On his and the team’s mind-set heading into the playoff week ―I know our coaches will come up with a great game plan, like they always do, in this week, and we just have to go have a great week of practice and execute and come out and find some momentum early in the game and try to get things going.‖
On playing vs. the Steelers’ pass defense ―That will be a great challenge, but I just think we have to be on the same sign, and we have to execute and find a way to get first downs.‖
On the Broncos’ passing struggles today ―Our receivers did a great job, and our offensive line protected very well. We just have to … I just have to get them the ball.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On what he said to WR Matthew Willis late in the fourth quarter ―Matt‘s done such a great job all year, and I‘m so proud of the effort he put forth, and he comes up with a lot of big catches for us.‖
On the loss of OG Chris Kuper (leg injury) ―Kup is a great leader for our offense. Everybody knows he‘s a great player, but just his leadership is huge. [OG] Russ [Hochstein] came in and did a good job, and [OT] Chris Clark came in when he had to and did a good job. That was just something that was very, very sad to see, and I know that we‘ll all be praying for him and his family … very, very disappointing to see.‖
On recapturing the momentum from earlier in the season ―I think you just find a way; you just stay determined and eventually good things are going to happen. We just have to find a way. Players [have] just got to step up, and we‘ve got to make plays. We believe in each other, and we believe that we can get it done.‖
On assessing his own play ―Well, obviously when you lose it‘s just not good enough, and for me it wasn‘t good enough, and I just have to get better and learn from my great coaches and just come out next week and try to be a better quarterback, a better leader and be a better player.‖
―As a quarterback you‘ve just got to find a way to put your team in the end zone. We had a nice drive going, and I fumbled—and that was very disappointing—just trying to fight for extra yards. And we had other opportunities we just couldn‘t take advantage of. We‘ve just got to find a way.‖
On what he can do to improve this week ―I‘ve just got to try to take coaching, listen to my coaches, and try to do what they tell me.‖
On the Broncos’ game plan against the Chiefs ―I think we had a game plan coming in of what we wanted to try to attack, and I think our coaches do a great job game- planning—they have all year—so we just tried to execute that game plan, and, obviously, we just didn‘t do it well enough as players.‖
CB CHAMP BAILEY
On getting into the playoffs on a loss ―It‘s good to get in regardless. We have to get better. We have to prepare better, we have to play better, period, if we want to win this game next weekend.‖
On the final three games of the season ―I‘m in there in the locker room every day, I‘m on that field every day. I know what we‘re capable of. We keep putting that product that we have out there like that, the day is not going to be pretty. We have to find a way to get better. The good thing is that we‘re in it and we have a chance.‖
On today’s game ―The first half, I don‘t think we played great at all. We did what we had to do in the second half to give ourselves a chance. It obviously wasn‘t enough.‖
On Kansas City WR Dwayne Bowe ―I think with [QB Kyle] Orton remembering things from when he was here, I wasn‘t surprised at all. It‘s the way he did it that kind of caught me off guard. Those are two good players, and if Orton is standing straight up, he‘s going to hit him every time.‖
On playing the Steelers ―They are in the tournament every year. They are a good football team. We definitely have to bring our ‗A‘ game. We‘ll look at tape and see what they‘re doing well and what they‘re doing bad and go from there and just prepare our butts off for this game.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On entering the playoffs on a losing streak ―It is still football. I don‘t care about records or anything. Bottom line is that you are what you are. If we go out there and put the performance on like we did the last few weeks, we don‘t stand a chance. We have to get better.‖
On the feeling of the team entering the playoffs ―It‘s good and bad. It‘s a little bittersweet because I know we‘re better than what we‘ve been showing. It‘s just that we haven‘t shown that. To go into the playoffs with losing the last three games, it sucks. But, we‘re in it. We just have to keep preparing, stay positive and move on.‖
On the defense’s effort vs. Kansas City ―Definitely – in the second half, anyways. I think in the second half we picked it up. We started doing our jobs better. We have a good defense. We just have to correct some things and make sure we‘re perfect out there.‖
On getting into the playoffs with the help of another team ―Sort of – if we won, we‘d be in. Now we had to depend on someone else to do it for us. It‘s not the way you want to go in, but you take it any way you can get it.‖
On whether he’ll thank San Diego QB Philip Rivers ―No, I appreciate what they did today, but no.‖
On whether it matters how they enter the playoffs ―It doesn‘t matter, really. I think what we need to understand is why we‘re backing in and what we need to do to make sure that we don‘t lose in the first round.‖
On playing Orton ―No, everybody tried to make the big deal about Orton. Orton was a well-liked guy around here. Of course we wanted to beat his butt today but he came out here and did what he had to do to win the game. And, that‘s what he did.‖
On QB Tim Tebow’s confidence ―I‘m not the quarterbacks coach, but I‘ll tell you what – stay positive with him. I think he‘ll play better.‖
On the game ―It‘s a little disappointing because we prepare so hard, we‘ve got so much on the line. They‘re playing just for pride and for us to go out there and play the way we did and expect to do anything in the playoffs, it‘s not going to cut it. We‘ve got to get better… find a way to get better.‖
On what needs to get better ―Everything. There is not… when we look at our team, we can‘t say, ‗This is our strength,‘ because everything is mediocre. We‘ve got to get better. If we want to make any kind of fuss in the playoffs, we‘ve got to get better.‖
On his awareness of the San Diego game ―It‘s right there. It‘s obvious that they were probably going to lose this game. The Raiders ain‘t going to win. So we back into that thing. It‘s not the way you want to go in, but we have got another shot.‖
DE ELVIS DUMERVIL
On backing into the playoffs ―We have to get better. When you get to the dance, you‘re there. This is my first time, so I‘m looking forward to the experience.‖
On the past three weeks ―It‘s tough. Give Kansas City credit. It was a tough loss for us. It was only 7-3. We can still build on that. I don‘t know who we play, but we have a lot of work to do.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On the game ―It was conservative playcalling by those guys. They made a couple of big, explosive plays – [RB Dexter McCluster]. It‘s a tough one. But, you have to shake that off. They‘re going home and we‘re in the dance.‖
On playing Pittsburgh ―It‘s kind of bittersweet. The good thing is the crowd was excellent today for us as far as the defense and being loud. They gave us a lot of energy. We just have to do a better job in all three phases and try to get a collective team win.‖
On getting better for the playoffs? ―Why not? We‘re a streaky team. We don‘t want to be streaky, but we have the ability on offense, defense and special teams to get things done. We just never know. As far as the defense, we have to do our job and then hopefully the offense can get going and special teams can get going. If we can do those things and get clicking – we just have to make sure defensively-wise we‘re ready.‖
On whether the loss takes away from being AFC West champs? ―No, because when you go back in the record book, it‘ll say AFC West champs. We‘re proud of that. We did some good things this year to close off the season. Obviously to get to where we want to get to, we have a lot of work to do.‖
On whether back in September, he thought they’d make the playoffs ―Yeah – my expectation personally is to get to the playoffs. I‘ve never done it, so that was a goal coming into the season and we accomplished that. It‘s something to be happy about. Against good teams in the playoffs, sloppy play is not going to get it done.‖
On watching San Diego beat Oakland ―It‘s crazy, man. That‘s just why every game counts. We didn‘t get it done the past three weeks, but we made some good wins early on in the year and it paid off for us. We have to try to get that same push.‖
On playing in the postseason ―I‘m just going to take it all in. You never know what‘s going to happen when you get to the playoffs. That‘s what I was told, so this weekend will be my first experience.‖
On what the team can do in the postseason ―We can do anything we put our focus to. We just have to be focused and detailed and execute the way the coaches want us to execute.‖
On Tebow’s confidence ―He just has to believe in Tim Tebow; he just has to believe in himself. I‘m sure he does. Just have to get better in practice – that‘s how it starts, so when the game comes, it‘s natural.‖
RB WILLIS McGAHEE
On making the playoffs despite a loss to end the season ―It goes both ways, you know? Like I said earlier, we had to wait for another team to win their game to let us know we were going to be AFC West champs. At the end of the day, we made it; we‘re in it. It‘s over with now, and we‘ve got a big game coming up this weekend.‖
On winning the division despite a loss to close out the season ―I don‘t think it‘s a hard way. It‘s a lesson learned. You don‘t want to come into the playoffs like that, because everybody‘s going to be on their A-game. We‘ve got to be on our A-game, so that‘s the thing that we have to get in everybody‘s head. You‘ve got to be prepared. You‘ve got to study film. You‘ve got to do this; you‘ve got to do that. Those guys, I think it‘s really starting to get to them now.‖
On offensive balance ―That‘s something we‘ve got to work on, but the good thing is we‘re in it and anything can happen. You‘ve got to look at Seattle a year or two ago when they got in and made a lot of noise. That‘s what we plan on doing.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On if he followed the Oakland game ―No. I didn‘t have any idea. I just knew what was going on with us on the football field.‖
On his reaction to finding out Oakland lost ―Happy. We kind of knew San Diego was going to play, just because of what‘s going on over there. So, I knew they weren‘t going to lay down, especially to Oakland.‖
On regrouping for the playoffs ―I think we can. I think we‘re going to make a lot of noise in the playoffs. People didn‘t think we were going to get in. If you weren‘t on our bandwagon earlier, don‘t get on it now.‖
On QB Tim Tebow’s confidence ―It‘s always good to help out with that situation. It is what it is. He‘s not going to have a great game every week, so that‘s our job to give him a pat on the back like, ‗Man don‘t worry about it.‘ That‘s behind us. We‘re in the playoffs. Start fresh come this week.‘‖
On offensive frustration Yeah, it‘s frustrating. The defense played great. They held them to 10 points. The thing is, I feel like we need to step our game up more on the offensive side and just play on their level, because they‘re playing lights out right now.
On fixing problems that have hurt the Broncos of late ―I can‘t fix it. Everybody‘s got to work together to fix it. I think we can do it. There‘s no doubt about it. We‘re a young team. It‘s a learning experience for everybody, but come playoff time, the learning experience is over. You‘ve got to go out there and want it.‖
S DAVID BRUTON
On the defense building off the final three quarters ―We definitely can build on that as a defense, go about the week preparation the same way we did and just kind of continue to ride how we play because the Steelers are a high-powered offense, and the defense plays well. It‘s going to be a defensive struggle. We want to make to make it a defensive battle. Everybody‘s 0-0, and we‘ll see who‘s 1-0.‖
On making the playoffs despite losing the final three games of the season ―I feel like we‘re very blessed, because any given Sunday it could go the other way. The Raiders could have been up, and we would have been here upset. There would probably be guys in tears, frustrated, but we‘re all very happy, very blessed to have the chance to go out there.‖
On finding out that Oakland lost to San Diego ―My mood was like, ‗I don‘t know what the outcome is. We‘ve just got to wait to see how the Raiders go,‘ and then we turned on the TVs and saw that they were losing and were like, ‗Yes. We‘ve still got that route.‘ We‘re still in, but it‘s bitter- sweet.‖
DE Jason Hunter
On the loss ―It‘s tough to lose, but I‘m happy that we‘re in the playoffs and that‘s all I can focus on now. Watching this film on Monday, putting it behind us and getting ready for whoever we‘ve got to play on Saturday.‖
On the strong defense ―It‘s just everybody knowing what they do and how they like to tackle us. They have 22 [RB Dexter] McCluster who‘s fast, and like to use him on his check downs. He‘s a fast back, like a scat back so we knew we had to contain him and keep him bottled up and that‘s what we tried to do. The first half, [our positioning] might have hurt us on that touchdown but then the rest of the game we were focused and did what we were supposed to do.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On getting things back to the way they were ―We‘ve got to focus quick. The playoffs are definitely win or go home. So we‘ve got to digest this quick and everybody‘s got to know what they‘ve got to do and put this behind us and move forward. We are happy that we‘re in the playoffs right now. We‘re going to watch film, like I said, and we‘re going to get better.‖
On the opportunity they have now ―An opportunity is here. We‘re in the playoffs, that‘s all we can focus on, we‘ve definitely got to get better and we‘re going to get better in the areas that we [need to improve] upon and we‘re going to be ready for work.‖
MLB Mario Haggan
On today’s events ―I‘d start with saying that we‘ve got an opportunity to play next week. That‘s all you can ask for when you start training camp, to win your division and earn the opportunity to play for a championship. We have that. Obviously, it‘s a bittersweet moment, but we‘ve got to put that behind us fast, get better fast and get ready for next weekend.‖
On the last three weeks ―This is a team. We didn‘t do enough things to win as a team, and that‘s pretty much it. Today is all I can worry about, and we didn‘t do enough today. We‘ve got next week coming up, we‘ve got to get better fast as a team. That‘s the only way we‘ll advance.‖
On Chiefs QB Kyle Orton ―Kyle was Kyle. He made some plays. He made throws that we know he can make. We‘ve just got to play better. Obviously, this game is predicated on mistakes, and they found one or two more mistakes than we did and they capitalized.‖
On how to get better in a week ―Go out there and give it your best shot. That‘s what this is about. That‘s what the tournament is about, giving it your best shot, and hoping that your best shot is enough when the clock strikes zero.‖
On thinking ‘we’re in, now what are we going to do with it?’ ―You‘ve got to have that attitude. Nobody said, ―how you had to get in.‖ They just said, ―what are you going to do with the opportunity when you get there?‖ And we‘ve got one next weekend. We‘ve got a good team coming here and we‘ve just got to go in and get better this week and put our best performance on next weekend.‖
On how to improve in such a short time ―Just focus on winning. That‘s over with now. I know we just lost that one, that‘s over with. We‘ve got a team coming here next week and we‘ve got a big, huge opportunity for this organization, for this city and we‘re going to go with it head first and try to make it happen.‖
On the performance of the defense ―It‘s a team effort and that‘s what you‘ve got to do. Everybody‘s got to play well in order to win games like this, obviously today, though the playoff game for us, and once again, we get another opportunity. That‘s in the past now. We want to get behind that one quick and focus on the task at hand.‖
S David Bruton
On his awareness of the Raiders game ―I didn‘t have a clue at all until I asked a couple of guys inside here and they said the Raiders were losing. I was like ‗We‘ve still got a chance.‘ But you want to win and ride that momentum through.‖
On the feeling of knowing the Raiders lost ―Relief, first of all, because if they won, we were out. It‘s excitement. It‘s the first time I‘ve ever gone in the first three years and I‘m excited to see what the playoffs are like. I hear a lot of stories about how the tempo is a lot faster, the offense is a lot more physical and guys are more in tune. Every game is like live or die. You‘ve got to just live and just ride it through.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On the thought that the Broncos backed into the playoffs ―It doesn‘t matter how we got in because everyone got in; everyone is on an even playing field. Everyone is 0-0. Let‘s see who can go the farthest.‖
On playing against QB Kyle Orton ―It was just like going against him in practice. You‘ve got the same keys, where you learn [where] he looks and how his shoulders [move]. It‘s the same thing we saw in practice, throughout camp and everything.‖
On playing the Steelers ―Everybody‘s got a chance in the playoffs. Anything can happen. We‘re going to bring our best game.‖
WR Eric Decker
On making it into the playoffs ―It‘s bittersweet. We‘re in the tournament, which is a positive thing. Obviously we didn‘t play too great at all [today]. We‘ve got to find a way offensively to move the ball more efficiently and score some touchdowns for this defense.‖
On what the team can improve on this week ―We just need to go back and keep grabbing; keep working. There‘s no miracle thing I can say, or one thing that‘s going to make it better. We‘ve just all together got to get better.‖
On if the offense is getting frustrated ―It‘s tough because you‘ve got a defense that‘s playing so great and you want to be able to score some points and take some pressure off them. I think we all understand it‘s a little frustrating. We want to score touchdowns and we‘re not doing that. We‘ve got to find a way, we‘ve got to get in the film room and get in practice and just get better.‖
On taking advantage of the ‘gift’ of the Raiders loss ―We‘ve got to take advantage of it. Obviously we had a run there for a while: the six [wins] there and seven out of eight. And that‘s a credit to everybody on this team. And now that we did get this so-called gift, if that‘s what you want to call it, to get into the tournament, we‘ve got to make the most of it. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a very solid team and to compete with them we‘ve got to get better.‖
On the confidence of the offense ―It just takes a couple of plays. If we start the game out quick and put some points on the board, we keep executing, I think that‘s when you get your confidence back, when you can score and you understand, ‗Okay, we can do this, we‘ve just got to go out there and do it.‘‖
On what Coach Fox said in the locker room ―He just said ‗AFC West champs, congratulations.‖ We‘ve got another opportunity next week, let‘s go make the most of it. We‘ve got to get better, period.‘‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HEAD COACH ROMEO CRENNEL
General ―Happy New Year to all. That group of young men over there in that lockerroom [Chiefs] they fought it out. It‘s hard to win on the road in the NFL. They hung in there, and we did enough to get it done. I take my hat off to them because this game meant something to them and they played like it meant something to them. When you don‘t have anything to play for sometimes you don‘t play as hard. But they played hard today and I appreciate that about them. [QB] Kyle Orton did a great job. Offensively, we mixed things up and he was able to have a little time to throw the ball and our receivers, they went after it when we threw it, so that worked out pretty good. Defensively we were able to keep them from scoring touchdowns. I think that‘s the difference in the game.
―I want to talk for a second about [C] Casey Wiegmann. He might have played his last game, but he‘s been playing in this league a long time. He has over 11,000 consecutive snaps as an offensive center in this league and that‘s hard to do. Because you are playing against some really big nose tackles, defensive tackles that you are playing against, and to be out there every down for over 11,000 snaps, that‘s pretty good. My hat is off to him as a result of that. Now, he‘s just like other football players; sometimes in the offseason after he‘s had a chance to heal he might want to continue that record, who knows?
―But right now, we‘re going to enjoy the victory and like I told you, it leaves a good taste in your mouth. Winning does that. And at least now we have a good taste in our mouth as we go into the offseason, and we‘ll see what happens after that. [Denver Broncos Head Coach] Coach Fox, he‘s got a good football team. They did a good job and it just worked out our way this time.‖
On QB Kyle Orton’s level of excitement for facing the Broncos ―I think it was just another week for him and I think he tried to approach it like that and treat as another week and treat it as everybody on the team needed to do their job so that the team had the best chance to win.‖
On the defense holding QB Tim Tebow and the Broncos to just one score ―Yes, I think we were able to contain him a little bit and with Tim Tebow, if you don‘t contain him he runs and he makes plays. And so, we were able to contain him and he wasn‘t able to make the plays that he made against us the last time and that‘s what helped us today.‖
On success against the Broncos today versus losing to them earlier in the season ―Well if you go back to the last time, if we don‘t give up the touchdown we get it done the last time. So, we didn‘t give up a touchdown pass today.‖
On Crennel’s aspiration of turning his role as interim head coach of the Chiefs into an official title ―When I got this job I told you I was going to do the best job I can and then let the chips fall where they may, and I think that‘s still the case. The people who are going to make the decisions, they see how I‘ve operated and whatever decision they make they are going to make it. So, I can‘t control what decision they make. All I can control is what I do with the football team. And 2-1 in the three games that we‘ve played, and from a percentage standpoint that‘s not terrible. But, we‘ll see what happens. If I didn‘t want it [the head coach job] I wouldn‘t have taken it the first time.‖
On the injury status of WR Dwayne Bowe ―Well, he got banged up. He came back on the sideline, but they wouldn‘t let him go back into the game. He wanted to come back but he got hit in the head, and in the NFL we are more cautious of those kinds of things. He came back on the sideline. He wanted to go but we‘ll have to test him now to get his baseline back and once he gets his baseline back I think he‘ll be okay.
―They [team doctors] suspected that he had [a concussion] and so they were being cautious.‖
On the team’s chances for being successful next year ―Well, if they play like they played today, and played like they played like we did against Green Bay then I think we can be competitive. If we played like we did against Oakland, then, not as good. But I think there is some ability on the team.
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
There are some players who will be coming back to the team, which I think will have an impact if they can return healthy. So, you have to look at all those things. If they play like they played today I think they‘ll be competitive.‖
On major changes in the offseason ―Changes always occur in the NFL because there are different guys on the team whose contracts are up. They‘re some restricted free agents and the business of football will start now that the season is over, and, part of the business of football is guys trying to get the best deal they can, and you trying to keep the guys on your team that you want and like but not over-pay and all those things occur. So, there is going to be change, but just who the change will be with we just don‘t know.‖
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS PLAYERS
QB KYLE ORTON
On the game ―It was a fun game. It was fun to see old teammates. I thought we got into a good flow early in the game and got off to a great start. We were able to move the ball and get into a rhythm.‖
On returning to Denver and playing with extra emotion ―It was a little more (than just another game), you can‘t deny that. It looks like they (the Broncos) are in, so congratulations to them.‖
On talking to Denver QB Tim Tebow and head coach John Fox after the game ―I wasn‘t able to. I talked to a lot of people, like I said, I have a lot of friends on that team. I have a best friend in [G] Chris Kuper. It looked like he went down with a serious injury, which is terrible for him; he‘s a great teammate and captain in every sense of the word. I wish him the best.‖
On this being the biggest victory of his career ―No, not at all. It was a good win for us as a team, as individuals and as an organization. To get this year out of the way and to start next year. That‘s how I look at it individually.‖
On looking at the Chiefs as 1-0 in 2012 ―Yeah, you‘ve got to. Anytime you don‘t make the playoffs—that‘s the goal—it‘s a tough year. We didn‘t accomplish it this year. You always have to play for something, and I think we got off to a good start in the new year.‖
On the first-half performance of WR Dwayne Bowe ―Man, he was playing great. He was playing against a great corner in Champ [Bailey]. I have a lot of respect for Champ, but he got him turned around a couple of times and got open. He got off to a good start. It was tough having to see him leave and not return in the second half. It‘s fun when a receiver gets going like that.‖
On having insight to the Broncos’ defense ―No, I don‘t think so. They have a good defense. Their scheme is kind of new to me this year. I studied film like everybody else.‖
On beating his former team ―It was a long year for me. All around, family stuff, career stuff, it was a long year. I thank the Chiefs for giving me a chance and a fresh start. I like the guys we have in this locker room, a lot of solid, good character guys. I appreciate them letting me come in here and be part of the team and finish the season on a strong note.‖
On returning to Kansas City in 2012 ―I don‘t know. I‘m going to take a step away. I know they have a great quarterback in Matt Cassel. Matt‘s a good friend, he‘s a great teammate, he‘s a great quarterback. I look at it as his team, and we‘ll go from there.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On the team’s mindset coming into this game ―That‘s what football is all about. Even if you don‘t have a chance to go to the playoffs, that‘s your goal at the beginning of the year. At some point, you‘re a professional player so when you‘re out on the field, you are a professional. You have to handle it like a professional. You get paid to play and I guess we made our money today.‖
On their strategy vs. QB Tim Tebow ―You try to get him to beat you with his arm. We definitely played more of a ‗bend but don‘t break‘ defense. By the time they got past the fifty yard (line) we kind of shut them out a little bit. My hats off to the defense, for them to just score three points, that‘s all you can ask for.‖
On the outlook for next season ―Well we are 1-0 in 2012. That‘s a great mindset going into our offseason, knowing that we can win the AFC West. I just hate that we look back and let one go last week, but that‘s what football is all about. You‘ve got to seize the moment and we‘ll learn from this for sure.‖
On the possibility of Romeo Crennel being the head coach next year ―If coach Romeo Crennel is the guy, I‘m all in. He‘s a guy that we all love and we respect. That is not our decision, but if it does occur and he is the head coach, we‘ll be happy for sure.‖
C CASEY WIEGMANN
On if he expected a defensive struggle ―Yeah, that‘s kind of what it was last time. They run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. They held us to minimal points last time. I wasn‘t expecting what it was, but the way our defense played, you have to give them a bunch of credit. It‘s not an easy offense to defend.‖
On coming full circle possibly finishing his career in Denver ―Finishing it here in Denver where I spent two good years. Like I told you guys before, this is my ninth year with the Chiefs and this is the first time I‘ve won in this stadium as a Chief. It feels pretty good. This is a good way to finish.‖
S KENDRICK LEWIS
On the defense’s strategy today ―We feel real comfortable with our defensive backfield, to match up with their receivers. Our plan was to come in, stack the box and let him beat us passing if he does.‖
On the team’s mentality today ―We don‘t have any more games left. We took a step forward as a whole. We came out of this locker room as one and that‘s how we came back in, as one. And we got a ‗W‘.‖
RB DEXTER MCCLUSTER
On the win ―The feeling is great. You couldn‘t ask for a better end than this, going out with a win at the end of the season, bringing in a new year, and building for next year. ‗R.A.C.‘ [Head Coach Romeo Crennel] is a great guy, so we‘re pulling for him.‖
On his touchdown run ―I just wanted to run hard, take care of the ball. With the call, the cutback lane was right there, everybody stuck on their man, and it was off to the races from there.‖
On whether his touchdown run was a designed cutback run ―It‘s either/or; we can cut it back or keep it front side. The Broncos had a heavy flow to the left so it left the cutback lane for me.‖
Denver Broncos Post Game Quotes vs. Kansas City – Sunday, January 1, 2012
On what he was thinking during his touchdown run ―My eyes lit up. I wanted to see where the defender was chasing me and I knew I could shut it down a little bit and get to the end zone.‖
CB BRANDON FLOWERS
On whether the Chiefs followed a blueprint to stop the Broncos based on Denver’s past two games ―I don‘t know; I haven‘t been watching other teams. I know Romeo Crennel knows what he wanted this defense to get done in training camp and we‘re starting to perfect it. Everybody‘s chemistry is getting down. It‘s becoming a beautiful thing for our defense.‖
On whether the Chiefs were motivated by the hype surrounding QB Tim Tebow ―To be honest, I don‘t get into that. If it were that way, I would have been extra hyped going against [Green Bay QB] Aaron Rodgers. I just try to perfect my game, try to play fundamental football out there, and just try to get a win for this ball club.‖
On wanting to win for Head Coach Romeo Crennel ―Oh man, we wanted to win for this guy so bad. Having him as a defensive coordinator is one thing, but when the whole team can feed off his spirit and energy is definitely a positive. I hope this guy can stay around, but the upper management has some decisions to make.‖