Coach McD talking to the media today at Combine

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Under video&audio

http://www.denverbroncos.com/

[Denver Native (Carol)]

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14484178

INDIANAPOLIS — Broncos coach Josh McDaniels met with the media here today at his second annual NFL scouting combine press conference.

The question-and-answer session lasted 19 minutes. Some of the topics he addressed:

# Brandon Marshall. The 100-100-100 catch receiver will become a restricted free agent once the Broncos present him with a one-year contract by the tender deadline of 2 p.m. MST Thursday. The Broncos must first tender Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler before they can trade them.

How serious the Broncos are about trading Marshall and Scheffler probably will be apparent from the type of tender they present. If, for instance, they slap the highest tender of a first- and third-round draft pick compensation on Marshall, the Broncos would be sending the message they would only trade their mega-talented, oft-troubled star unless they get a deal they can't refuse.

But if they use the second-level tender of first-round draft pick compensation, the message to other teams may be: Come get him.

"He's a very good football player, there's no question about it," McDaniels said. "We had a great season this year in terms of his production; a Pro Bowl year. I think any time you're dealing with players and contracts, you weigh a lot of things. The fact we did it already once makes you believe you can do it again and again and again. I've said before and I'll say it again: I'm really fond of him. He's a good person and he certainly played a huge role on our team. There's a lot of things that go into that and we're certainly not at any point where we've made a decision."

# McDaniels delivered a vote of confidence for his quarterback, Kyle Orton. In season two in the system, McDaniels believes Orton will be able to spontaneously play without wondering what the coaches want him to do on each play.

"He hasn't even been in our system a year, still," McDaniels said. "It will be April until that first year comes around. His ability to grow in our offense, to understand the offense, to know the nuances of it and have that entire freedom to do whatever he wants with that offense. That's our hope and desire is that our quarterback does whatever's best on that play — he just does it on his own."

*Although owner Pat Bowlen said on Feb. 6 the Broncos hoped to select a quarterback in the upcoming draft, that does not mean the Broncos have given up Tom Brandstater, a sixth-round pick last year who didn't take a snap in his rookie season.

"We have high hopes for Tom," McDaniels said. "The goal is never to take a player and put him as the third-string quarterback and then leave him there. We want him to ascend."

# McDaniels said he has kept up with the Darrent Williams murder trial and is aware of the testimony Marshall and top pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil delivered from the witness stand this week. But McDaniels said he has not yet discussed the trial with his players and didn't think it was appropriate to discuss it during a press-conference setting, either.

# The belief former New England defensive coordinator Dean Pees would succeed Mike Nolan in Denver.

"People seemed to connect the dots but mistakenly," McDaniels said.

McDaniels coached eight seasons in New England before taking the Broncos' top job. Pees was hired as Baltimore's linebackers coach while McDaniels promoted linebackers coach Don "Wink" Martindale to defensive coordinator.

# Following his press conference, McDaniels talked to a few reporters on the side and was asked if he still had plans for running back Peyton Hillis, who has a cult-like following among some Broncos fans.

"Yeah, we do," McDaniels said. "There's a few players that the productivity they had the year before, they didn't match it again last year. We're not happy about that either. Eddie Royal is in the same boat. We want those players to continue to work and get better at what they do. And then we need to try to find a way to integrate them in. Because they are skillful players and we need to try and meet in the middle on that and create a role and find some things we can do more often."

[Carl]

I hope we can find a place for Hillis. He is so talented and its a shame to see that go to waste. And if we cant use him we cant even trade him for anything good cuz hes a FB. It boggles my mind that a coach that does this for a living cant adapt his offense to integrate more of the TALENT that we have on this team.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

I hope we can find a place for Hillis. He is so talented and its a shame to see that go to waste. And if we cant use him we cant even trade him for anything good cuz hes a FB. It boggles my mind that a coach that does this for a living cant adapt his offense to integrate more of the TALENT that we have on this team.

I would also like to see Hillis stay - however, in my opinion, he is the one who needs to adapt to the system, not the system adapting to him - a player either has the talent to play in a particular system, or he does not.

[Ravage!!!]

Hmmm... they need to get better at what they do so we can find a way to integrate them.

This sure seems like a different tune McD was saying about Hillis during the year.

Honestly, I just hope Hillis has a chance to go so that he can find a place to actually play. He's far too good of a football player to simply not have a role as he does in this offense. I loved him as a Bronco, but only as a Bronco that was actually plowing over people... not as a Bronco on the Bench.

[nevcraw]

outside marshall looks like all the O players will "need to get better at what they do so we can find a way to integrate them".
OL play was down. Royal and Stokes had down years. The Running game was down, and the QB play was down. That's a lot of "others" who need to improve their game..

[T.K.O.]

i think it was a very good interview, he basically said everyone is excited about 2010 and everyone but marshall ,bailey and dawk should show significant improvement !sounds good to me.
said the coaching staff is working on ways to get guys like royal more involved.
as for hillis,did everyone forget that shanny kept him on the bench all year until we lost about 3 backs to injury?
maybe the guy has'nt shown he can be the "featured back" that so many seem to want him to be.
i know he has played well in bursts,and i think he's a friggin' freight train at times. but i do know that 2 hc's have not seen enough from him to think he is an every down type of player.and 1 of those coaches has 2 sb rings

[Ravage!!!]

Shanahan didn't keep him on the bench at all. Remember the swing passes early in the year to hillis and throughout the season. Sometimes a player proves what he is once he's on the field. Then you see what a football player he was. Hillis proved that in AR, when a LOT of the fans felt he was the best player in the backfield that had both McFadden and Felix Jones.

Hillis PROVED to be a stud when he played, whether that was when asked to carry the rock on short yardage, or catch the passes from the FB position. THen even more so when asked to be the starter TB, even though he was the FB.

People kept Kurt Warner on the bench becuase he didn't get the reps in practice. Hillis has proved it.

Either way. I would like to see more Hillis. He was better than any RB I saw on the field in our games in 09. If he's not going to play in Denver, let him move on so that he can actually play elsewhere.

[rationalfan]

hillis, royal, scheffler, whatever. i don't care who's playing as long as the team wins. unlike some of you, i'm cheering for victories, not players.

[T.K.O.]

buck had some crazy #s going for a while .....i think he was avg about 11 ypc after 4-5 games. and we have a #12 pick and alot of $$$ invested in moreno so no matter what happens we wont be seeing hillis featured....ain't gonna happen.
but i did like mcD's comments about being willing to add another back if it makes the running game more effective....so who knows

[T.K.O.]

hillis, royal, scheffler, whatever. i don't care who's playing as long as the team wins. unlike some of you, i'm cheering for victories, not players.

c'mon ? that would take alot of the fun out of being a fan if you did'nt have favorite players and did'nt care who was on the field....just whether or not they win ?
i doubt you really feel that way....hell when pat said "this one's for john" are you telling me you would have been just as happy if bubby brister or greise had hoisted that lombardi ?:confused:

[nevcraw]

hillis, royal, scheffler, whatever. i don't care who's playing as long as the team wins. unlike some of you, i'm cheering for victories, not players.

whatever floats your fan boat... maybe you could get yourself a snazzy Pat Bowlen Jersey.. He must of been talking to you when he thanked "his fans" after the 1st SB win..

[JONtheBRONCO]

hillis, royal, scheffler, whatever. i don't care who's playing as long as the team wins. unlike some of you, i'm cheering for victories, not players.

post of the year

[Ravage!!!]

hillis, royal, scheffler, whatever. i don't care who's playing as long as the team wins. unlike some of you, i'm cheering for victories, not players.

That sounds sweet, but honestly, most of the time its one-in-the-same. Also, it seems this is how professional leagues have changed. The younger generation doesn't know what its like to root for players. As Jerry Seinfeld said "You root for jerseys." I personally enjoy getting attached to a player. I like having players I like on the team. I like having PLAYERS that I enjoy watching play. Thats why fans buy jerseys.

So if thats your choice.. great. That doesn't make you more of a fan. It makes you a jersey fan. Thats fine too. But some like to root for the players IN those jerseys. Some of us, actually like to have players that make us go WOW.. and give us pride of our team. Such as the Elway's, the Atwater's, the Sharpe's, the TD's, and the many many others.

Seems now we just look at the guys in the jerseys' as just rentals. Doesn't matter who they are. Thats fine, for you. But don't make it sound as if that puts you better simply because we want to root for the PLAYERS to earn those victories. :salute:

[Lonestar]

Hillis is a Kevin Faulk guy catching out of the backfield, getting the 3rd and shorts, scoring a lot of goalline TD's Not sure that anyone could have done that behind our last years season ending Oline.


Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

[Lonestar]

LEst I remind Y'all again. I know that so many of you still do not believe it.



# McDaniels delivered a vote of confidence for his quarterback, Kyle Orton. In season two in the system, McDaniels believes Orton will be able to spontaneously play without wondering what the coaches want him to do on each play.

"He hasn't even been in our system a year, still," McDaniels said. "It will be April until that first year comes around. His ability to grow in our offense, to understand the offense, to know the nuances of it and have that entire freedom to do whatever he wants with that offense. That's our hope and desire is that our quarterback does whatever's best on that play — he just does it on his own."

I know that so many of you are more knowledgeable than Josh is, but you might want to understand that Josh has very few issues with Kyle or he would not be saying this.


I've seen nothing at all from Josh that makes me think Kyle can't be his QB.

Now maybe someone that lives in DEN and sees his shows has but so far I've not heard about it if he has.

Now that is not to say that we will not draft another QB or bring one in from FA as a back up or a long term project.

This guy has been more than vocal when he sees a problem and has stated so publicly several times and not once has it been on the QB position.

[xzn]

Orton is competent and clearly can be more consistently effective in Josh's system with additional exposure, but even with that said we still need a major upgrade at backup quarterback. This time last year I thought we were okay with Chris Simms, it seemed at that time as if he would be in neck-to-neck competition for the starting spot. Of course the Redskin and Charger game disabused any rational observer of the notion that he has anything left in the league.

Brandstater is a wild card at best. I'll light a candle for him but the odds are that he will never be anything more than Bradley Van Pelt.

Besides depth we also need competition at the position to keep Orton on his toes. While I personally admire Colt Mc Coy I think the guy the staff may have an eye on is Tony Pike. He's a full 1/3 of a foot taller than Colt, and about the same more than Jimmy Clausen. I'll be watching his throws at the combine with some interest and then hoping the draft falls right for us to acquire a sevicable backup who has a more realistic chance to compete for a long-term starting spot.

One interesting dilemma would be presented to us in the unlikely event that Clausen slipped a little out of the top ten. If we had a chance to get a guy who had been tutored by the guy who sharpened our very own HCs teeth we'd have to look hard at it, would we not?

[rcsodak]

Orton is competent and clearly can be more consistently effective in Josh's system with additional exposure, but even with that said we still need a major upgrade at backup quarterback. This time last year I thought we were okay with Chris Simms, it seemed at that time as if he would be in neck-to-neck competition for the starting spot. Of course the Redskin and Charger game disabused any rational observer of the notion that he has anything left in the league.

Brandstater is a wild card at best. I'll light a candle for him but the odds are that he will never be anything more than Bradley Van Pelt.

Besides depth we also need competition at the position to keep Orton on his toes. While I personally admire Colt Mc Coy I think the guy the staff may have an eye on is Tony Pike. He's a full 1/3 of a foot taller than Colt, and about the same more than Jimmy Clausen. I'll be watching his throws at the combine with some interest and then hoping the draft falls right for us to acquire a sevicable backup who has a more realistic chance to compete for a long-term starting spot.

One interesting dilemma would be presented to us in the unlikely event that Clausen slipped a little out of the top ten. If we had a chance to get a guy who had been tutored by the guy who sharpened our very own HCs teeth we'd have to look hard at it, would we not?

Pike's accuracy is erratic at best.

What about the QB from Troy?

[xzn]

Pike's accuracy is erratic at best.

What about the QB from Troy?

What about him? :listen: I don't know anything about him.

As for Pike thank you for your take, I'll be interested in how he throws this weekend and at his Pro Day. My thought is that if Josh likes tall QBs, which I believe I heard he does, then Pike might make more sense than a guy like Colt Mc Coy or even Clausen.

Personally, I love guys like Drew Brees / Jake Plummer / Steve Young / Joe Montana who aren't scraping clouds but can move around and find passing lanes.

We do need to find somebody to replace Simms, compete with Tom B. and challenge down the road for a starting job.

[T.K.O.]

i'm starting to get nervous about why simms has not been released .
i realize its good to have a backup that knows the system....but man.
i just don't see how any of the coaching staff could feel comfortable with him at #2 after his showing last year.:confused:

[spikerman]

i'm starting to get nervous about why simms has not been released .
i realize its good to have a backup that knows the system....but man.
i just don't see how any of the coaching staff could feel comfortable with him at #2 after his showing last year.:confused:

Don't worry! Once he learns the magical "system" he'll automatically become a better player. :D

I kid, I kid.

[atwater27]

I would also like to see Hillis stay - however, in my opinion, he is the one who needs to adapt to the system, not the system adapting to him - a player either has the talent to play in a particular system, or he does not.

Let's see, he can run the ball tough and straight, and can catch very well out of the backfield. What exactly does he have to "adapt" to?

[jrelway]

Shanahan didn't keep him on the bench at all. Remember the swing passes early in the year to hillis and throughout the season. Sometimes a player proves what he is once he's on the field. Then you see what a football player he was. Hillis proved that in AR, when a LOT of the fans felt he was the best player in the backfield that had both McFadden and Felix Jones.

Hillis PROVED to be a stud when he played, whether that was when asked to carry the rock on short yardage, or catch the passes from the FB position. THen even more so when asked to be the starter TB, even though he was the FB.

People kept Kurt Warner on the bench becuase he didn't get the reps in practice. Hillis has proved it.

Either way. I would like to see more Hillis. He was better than any RB I saw on the field in our games in 09. If he's not going to play in Denver, let him move on so that he can actually play elsewhere.

Orton loves the swing passes. Look what he did for Forte when he was in Chicago couple years back. If Mcdaniels likes the short passing game, why not open up the playbook and play Hillis some more. Call the flat patterns. Its a waste of talent. Im wondering if McD caught Hillis in his bedroom boning his wife or something.

[Lonestar]

i'm starting to get nervous about why simms has not been released .
i realize its good to have a backup that knows the system....but man.
i just don't see how any of the coaching staff could feel comfortable with him at #2 after his showing last year.:confused:


At this time it might cost more to release than keep him. I'd guess they will drop him like a bad habit once they have another Qb drafted or signed.

[Lonestar]

Orton loves the swing passes. Look what he did for Forte when he was in Chicago couple years back. If Mcdaniels likes the short passing game, why not open up the playbook and play Hillis some more. Call the flat patterns. Its a waste of talent. Im wondering if McD caught Hillis in his bedroom boning his wife or something.

Iwas thinking the same thing earlier in the year.

But it was said that Bobby T had a HUGE voice in who got reps in practice and thus in game time.

If BT was giving Hillis the bad mouth to Josh, who was to know.

As for opening up the playbook. I'd guess that they already had enough on their plate learning what they did.

Besides the playbook should already had the Kevin Faulk stuff in it from NE. I still think after hearing what I have that Booby was the biggest reason he we not on the filed much, perhaps that fumble of a KO did also.


Maybe josh felt he had a lot riding on the rookie and Bucky also to give Hillis reps also.

It is not like the guy did not contribute on ST's the rest of the year and having a disaster RB is not a bad thing especially, what he is making, money wise.

[broncobryce]

Iwas thinking the same thing earlier in the year.

But it was said that Bobby T had a HUGE voice in who got reps in practice and thus in game time.

If BT was giving Hillis the bad mouth to Josh, who was to know.

As for opening up the playbook. I'd guess that they already had enough on their plate learning what they did.

Besides the playbook should already had the Kevin Faulk stuff in it from NE. I still think after hearing what I have that Booby was the biggest reason he we not on the filed much, perhaps that fumble of a KO did also.


Maybe josh felt he had a lot riding on the rookie and Bucky also to give Hillis reps also.

It is not like the guy did not contribute on ST's the rest of the year and having a disaster RB is not a bad thing especially, what he is making, money wise.

Interesting take. Now that bobby turner is gone we will see.

[Lonestar]

Interesting take. Now that bobby turner is gone we will see.


Hey overtime asked about him Josh has said nothing bad about him, in fact after trying to trade him in the off season last year, after drafting moreno and seeing them both in the OTAs he commented he thought Hillis was much better than he thought or was lead to believe.

I got the impression from that interview/comment he may have made a different choice than Moreno had he known. Perhaps I was reading it wrong.

But I have yet to hear anything not positive about hills from him.