Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, OH, October 18, 2015 (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)
Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak and his players spoke to the media after practice Tuesday. Here’s some of what they said:
HEAD COACH GARY KUBIAK
On the depth at running back
“We were very short. We brought [TE] Richard [Gordon] back and made a move with [RB] Kapri [Bibbs], so we had some short lines going on, but they got some good work. It was good. I’d give you guys reports on all of those guys, but I don’t think that I can remember everybody who did and didn’t practice. I’m going to escape from that today.”
On if the team is dismissed for the bye week
“Yeah, we’re done for the week. We did a bunch of reviewing yesterday to review all of our cut-ups, did a bunch of evaluations, had a bunch of meetings throughout the course of the morning and got this workout in here. We’ll be back Monday in our preparation for Green Bay.”
On his message to the team for the week
“Words of wisdom? Be smart. They deserve time, they need time. They’ve been working hard. It will be good for them and just basically told them that I think everybody is smart enough to know what type of game we’re in when we come back. We need to get some guys healthy. We have a lot of guys staying around here that need to be in the training room all week, but just be smart and enjoy your time off.”
On the focus of practice
“The young guys, really. The guys that have not—that don’t have the 400 reps under their belt. That was the focus today, just to go back and correct some simple things that we’ve been making some mistakes on and let the young guys go through it for the most part. Just to get a good workout in more than anything. A good weight workout today and a good running workout.”
On his satisfaction with the development of younger players
“I think that we’ve definitely had some young guys contribute to our football team. I think without injury that we would have some more. We would be sitting here with [T] Ty [Sambrailo] contributing a great deal, but I think that they’re going to be very important to the rest of the season. [OLB] Shane [Ray] is out now, so we have [OLB] Lerentee [McCray] and [OLB Shaquil] Shaq [Barrett]. You know how they contribute. I think that our receivers are going to be extremely important. We have [WR] Cody [Latimer] back now. He played well last week. He didn’t catch a ball, but I think that he’s going to be extremely important.”
On how a healthy offensive line can solve offensive issues
“We improved last week. That’s important. It can be very big. If we can get [G] Evan [Mathis] on the field full-time and [G Louis] Lou [Vasquez] on the field full-time, which we seem to think that we can when we come back. Time will tell. Ty was a participant today in practice. He took team [reps] and did everything, so it looks like we’re heading toward him being back when we do come back. That’d be a nice problem to have. Let’s see what happens, but the key is, right now, getting Ty back to where we need him.”
On what he does during the bye week
“I don’t really ever get away. We’re trying to evaluate right now. What I try to do with the players. We had a bunch of meetings today and had each coach get up and say, like [Special Teams Coordinator] Joe DeCamillis, ‘This is what we do well. This what we’re not doing well. This is what we’re going to do better when we come back.’ We’re trying. It’s about communication today from coaches to players and we want feedback, too. We sat down and watched all of the cut-ups with the players and got a lot of feedback. We need to narrow down. The deeper that you get into the season, I think, the more you narrow down on, hopefully, what you do best.”
On if the offense will focus on what it’s doing well
“Absolutely. That’s everybody. Like I said, we basically gave them a self-evaluation on what we saw. That’s as a group and as players. When they walk out of here today, they kind of know what to expect when they’re coming back.”
On the opponents in November
“I only know who the next one is. I have no idea who we play after that, so don’t tell me. I know that the next team that we play is pretty good. They’re a great football team. We have a lot of big tests coming down the road. It’s interesting to be six weeks in and we have four road games, I don’t want to say out of the way, but we’ve played four of our road games already. We know that we’re going to be playing at home a bunch. That’s exciting to look forward to.”
On who will be getting treatment throughout the week
“If you can’t practice Monday, then you’re here. That’s kind of the rule. It’s amazing, a lot of guys got well really quick. We know who our guys are that are in need of a great deal of treatment that will be here each and every day with [Head Athletic Trainer Steve] Greek [Antonopulos] and his guys. That’s a commitment to the team and we’ll get that done. Hopefully we’ll make up a lot of ground with some of those guys this week.”
On the contributions of S David Bruton Jr.
“It’s been amazing. He’s really played well on defense. If you go back [and look at] his start against Baltimore, how he’s played and the play that he made the other day, he’s still the captain of our special teams. David is another guy that has worked really hard around here, has kind of been a role player and the role has gotten a little bigger. That’s a good thing. He deserves it.”
On if Director of Football Analytics Mitch Tanney plays a role in evaluation
“Mitch evaluates me on timeouts and stuff. He gives me a lot of statistics. Yes, he’s a big part of that all the time. He has, kind of, a running total all of the time on things that we do statistically talking, but his specialty with me is more about game management and those kinds of things.”
On if Tanney had a role in his timeout calls at the end of the game on Sunday
“It’s all Mitch saying, ‘Coach, call the timeout.’ It’s a great comfort zone. What are you going to do? They’re in position to tie and they might beat you, so you have to do everything that you can to find a way to get the ball back. That’s his specialty, helping me in those situations. While I’m involved with the football, he’s able to jump in there and say, ‘Okay, here’s the route that we should go.’ It helps a great deal.”
On the addition of S Darian Stewart to the secondary
“He’s been a big addition to the team. I was with him in Baltimore last year and I was really impressed at the type of pro that he was. When I came here, I knew that we had lost a safety in free agency. I just told [Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager] John [Elway], ‘Hey John, you all evaluate the player, but I’ll tell you the type guy that he is. He’s a leader and will fit with the group.’ He’s done a great job. He’s been a good addition with the guys that have already been here.”
SAFETY DAVID BRUTON JR.
On if he reminds the team that the Broncos were 6-0 before the bye in 2009 and finished the season 8-8
“We know. There are a lot of professionals here that know that the season is not decided in the first six weeks. We’ve been through it. Me and [T] Ryan [Harris], personally, we’ve been through it. I feel like it’s not my job to harp on it. Let the past be the past. It’s a whole new team, whole new era from coaches, players, down. I believe I’m the only one, with Ryan, who has seen that 6-0 start fall apart. We don’t think we’re going to fall apart. We have a bunch of hungry guys, guys who want to make plays, guys who want to get better week-in and week-out. I don’t see that happening.”
On the impact he has had despite only starting one game
“I just get my chances. I’ve been waiting for a year to have chances. I finally got chances toward the end of last year. I feel like I’m playing at a high level and I feel like I can continuously build on that. I feel like when the ball is in the air around me, I can make the play on it or make a big stop that I may need to. I feel like the coaches trust me. It’s my job as a professional not to let them down.”
On if he thinks his two interceptions were game-saving plays
“I just look at it as me going out there to do my job. I’m part of a defense who, we had a great pass rush on the one verses Cleveland and just great communication between me and [CB] Aqib [Talib] in Detroit, me and [S Darian] Stew [Stewart] at the end of Baltimore. It’s just us working together as a team. Nothing is done individually. There are 11 guys out there who could easily make a play to change the game. It so happened to be me for a couple of them.”
CORNERBACK CHRIS HARRIS JR.
On what makes the defense special
“Just the way that we’re causing turnovers. We’ve never really caused this many turnovers off of the jump in the first six games since I’ve been here. Being able to do that and get as many sacks as we have, that’s really what’s changed the game.”
On S David Bruton Jr.
“I was telling them, Brute [Bruton] and [CB Bradley] Roby, they’re starters to me. Roby is coming in playing safety and corner [back]. Brute’s playing dime and safety. They’re very crucial to our defense. Brute is shutting down every tight end. His size and speed make it a tough match-up for these tight ends. To be able to have him do that is huge for us.”
On CB Aqib Talib having more pick-sixes
“It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a race for the most pick-sixes this year.”
On getting takeaways in crunch time
“Our cornerbacks are pressing and saying, ‘I really have to make this play right here. I have to force a play,’ and then they [the opponent] end up making a mistake. That’s what we try to do. Eventually, we know if they get a good catch on us, we just go, ‘Okay, you got us on that play.’ Then we know that we’re going to be able to shut that down for the rest of the game.”
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER VON MILLER
On when he first saw OLB Shaquil Barrett’s potential
“I first saw it last year when he first got here. Just sitting there talking to him, I was just trying to coach up some of the young guys. I was like, ‘Hey, this right here, this is unique. You look like a pass rusher right here.’ He just kept building and building. I was like man, he’s just natural at it. He just started making plays in practice. That’s where it always starts—start making plays in practice, start making sacks in the preseason, and here it is now.”
On if he saw Barrett making plays when he was on practice squad
“Yeah, it’s kind of like the exact same fairy tale story that you’ve got with [CB] Chris [Harris Jr.] and all these other free agent guys. They come in, they work, special teams, preseason and then boom, they’re the guy now.”
On if it bothers him that people say the Broncos’ undefeated record doesn’t mean much
“We’re only six weeks into the season. We just got on our bye week. We really haven’t started yet. We’re just now getting underway with everything. The season, it really hasn’t even started yet. We’re just now getting started. I’m okay with where we are on defense, where we are with everything.”
On what the defense took away from their self-evaluation
“Penalties. Mainly just penalties and then penalties again and then penalties. Penalties—the timing of them is just bad. After a quarterback—to be third down, we get a roughing the passer and then boom, 15 yards, and then they use that momentum to go down and score. That’s really the only way that we’re getting beat right now. If we can knock that down—it sounds easier than what it really is—but if we can knock that down, we should see everything else get a little bit better.”
On if the Packers will be a test for the Broncos to see how good they are
“I look at it as we’re playing another good team. I don’t want to make it bigger than what it really is. I don’t want to minimize the situation, either. It’s a big-time game going against a big-time offense, [Packers QB] Aaron Rodgers on Sunday Night Football. It should be great. It’s going to be a time where we can go out there and show everybody what the Broncos defense is all about. I still don’t think that we’re getting all the love that we should get. [CB] Aqib [Talib] has two pick-sixes and three picks. [OLB] DeMarcus [Ware] has 4.5 sacks and he missed the last [game and the second half at Oakland]. There is just a whole bunch of stuff that we have on this defense. I feel like it’s a lot that everybody is getting to see. [When] we play Green Bay, Sunday Night Football, prime time, we’ll be able to prove our point. It should be good.”
