Tned
08-07-2009, 06:41 PM
Broncos Coach McDaniels and OC Mike McCoy press conference 8/7 PM practice
Josh McDaniels
On reevaluating QB Kyle Orton’s Thursday performance after watching the film
“Kyle did fine yesterday. There are a couple plays, obviously, we could have had back, but he made no more mistakes, certainly, than anybody else did. The one deep ball, (it) was just a little underthrown, and (CB) André (Goodman) made a good play on it. The other ones, we had some other issues on the play.
“He made a lot of good decisions and a lot of good throws. We scored in both of the two-minute situations. We got the ball where we needed to get it and put it in the end zone in the one when we were down by eight. (We) played the situations out, for the most part, the way we wanted to. I am not disappointed in anybody’s performance. All of them can get better, and Kyle is certainly in that group.”
On if the Broncos’ grasp of the offense is where he expected it to be at this point
“Sure, I think we are about where we could be based on the fact that we started in March and April really teaching them what we are doing, really on both sides of the ball and the kicking game. We have pushed as hard as we could push in the spring, and we are pushing them as hard as we can push in training camp to get as far as we can. Everybody understands what we are trying to do and get done, and there is plenty of good. There are plenty of plays where we are close to doing what we want to do and doing what we want to get done. It is encouraging to see that kind of a practice last night where there are a bunch of mistakes but you see how close you are to doing the right thing.”
On if he is pleased with the coaches’ locations during the game
“We might play around with it a little bit during the preseason. Right now, I think we feel pretty comfortable. I know (Defensive Coordinator) Mike (Nolan) feels pretty comfortable upstairs, and the guys on defense handled the sidelines pretty well. Our communication offensively was good. I think, if anything, there might be a swap or something like that during the preseason just to see how it goes, but I don’t expect to change too much relative to the sideline and the booth.”
On not having a full-pad practice on Friday
“(The players) have been going hard here for 12 practices. After banging around for most of this week, (we are) just kind of giving them a little bit of a mental day here. We basically went through most of what we went through last night over again, got it right on both sides of the ball and tried to make sure that we understand the mistakes that were made and what to try to do different. We’ll see if they can make those adjustments the next time around on the field and go forward.”
On his message to RB Knowshon Moreno when he signs
“He has got some work to do to catch up. Certainly, I understand how this (contract) game works. His representatives are doing what they feel is best for him, and we are trying to make—we are both trying to do what is best for Knowshon and get him here as fast as we can. Hopefully, that will be sooner rather than later. Once he is here, we will look forward to working with him, working him in and trying to get him as up to speed as we can get him before the first preseason game or the second preseason game or whenever that may be.”
On if Moreno still has a shot to start Game One of the season
“I think everybody is competing. He has missed 12 practices. His performance after he gets here will put him in a place—he will learn his role after he gets here. That is the way to say it. Whatever he does with the opportunities he has once he gets here, that will tell us where to play him and how much to play him. That really goes for everybody.”
On WR Brandon Stokley
“Brandon Stokley is one of the toughest slot receivers that I have coached against. He is everything that I thought he was when I came here. (He is) smart, tough, physical, quick (and) just has a knack of how to get open. That is an invaluable receiver to have, particularly on third down. He makes a lot of plays on third down. He did a lot last year, and hopefully, he’ll do the same for us this year. We will play Brandon probably more than (the Broncos) did last year because of the way we are going to be in three-receiver offense as much as we may end up being in it. Brandon has got a great role, (is) a great teammate, (has) a great attitude and a great work ethic, and (we) love having him out here.”
On how CB André Goodman’s coverage compares to his expectations
“They are exactly what we thought he would be. André was one of the league leaders last year in passes defensed. He had five interceptions. We had a hard time in New England getting open against him in some man-coverage situations. André Goodman has been a good player for a while. He has had a couple injuries in the past that have hampered him in terms of maybe overall production in years past, but the last few years playing against him, it was a pain in the butt. He is really physical and has got good ball skills. That showed up a little bit last night. He is a just a very instinctive player, a very veteran player, a pro all the way and a great teammate.”
OC/QB Coach Mike McCoy
On if the receivers are on the same page with the offense
“I think every day they get more and more comfortable. The more and more reps they get, the more comfortable they are going to be, but I think they are fine.”
On if he will have to spend extra time with RB Knowshon Moreno when he arrives
“When he gets here, we will start dealing with it. (Running Backs) Coach (Bobby) Turner will spend some time with it, but when he gets here, we will start working and getting it going.”
On what brought him to Denver
“I think it was a great opportunity for me. I came from Carolina, obviously, a great organization. I always said when I got in this business, I wasn’t going to move just to move, but when (Head) Coach (Josh) McDaniels called me and gave me the opportunity, I couldn’t pass it up. It was a move that I wanted to make at some time, and it was the right time. I thought when Coach called me, it was a great opportunity to go on and come to a great organization with (Owner) Mr. (Pat) Bowlen and the Denver Broncos. Coming back out west, I am from California, so it is great to get back this way. It was a very easy decision for me to make coming to a great organization here.”
On if he wants to call plays at some point in his coaching career
“Definitely, I do, but we all know what Coach McDaniels, is going to do, and I will do that at some time down the road. Some day in my career I will do that.”
On how his offensive style fits with McDaniels’
“I think we come from a very similar background (with) him coming from New England and me coming from Carolina. He was with Charlie Weiss for awhile, and I was with Dan Henning. Years back, they were together. Their systems were almost the exact team. Every team has their own little wrinkles they are going to use. The terminology was very similar, so it was a very easy transition for us to make.”
On what the passing offense will look like
“Well, come the first game, you guys will find out. Our job is to do what our guys do best. That is what training camp is for. You guys talked earlier about the timing of the receivers and quarterbacks, so we have got a couple weeks to get going here. We will find out the first preseason game and just kind of build each week and see what our guys do best, see what the quarterbacks like best and what the receivers can do. The coaching staff will determine what we feel will give us the best chance to win.”
On the number of mental miscues during last night’s practice
“There were a few. I don’t have an exact number for you ... There are certain things that came up last night that you may see on the outside not watching the film today, where you might see someone slip or you might see the quarterback make the wrong point. (These) are just little things. That is every day in practice. I am not going to put a number on yesterday’s practice versus today’s. We are always going to be making corrections. Some things that you think are right may be completely wrong to us (like) a wrong progression by a quarterback. We are going to do the best we can to really minimize those small mistakes that become big mistakes.”
On how well the players are learning the offensive system
“I think they are very comfortable with what they are doing, starting with the very first day that they were out here. They have done a great job of picking up the system, working, spending the extra time learning it. There are going to be some days that it isn’t going to look so good, but like I mentioned, there is give and take every day. We are very comfortable to where we are at, but we are not satisfied at all. We have got a long ways still to go and that is what we are in training camp for, to really clean up those little details that can make you a very good offense instead of just being average.”
On QB Kyle Orton’s performance
“He has done a good job. He went in(to camp) the starter. He took over, and he has been progressing every day. He is someone that works extremely hard. He takes great notes in the meetings, and very rarely does he make the same mistake twice. That is what you ask in a quarterback, just to do what you are asking him to do. He is going to make some mistakes. I know that. As long as he learns from them and doesn’t make them again, he will be okay.”
On if he is excited about returning home to San Francisco
“It is always nice to go back there. I was in Carolina, (and) there are limited trips going back out west. The great thing is now being much closer, my mom was here for 10 days the last couple weeks, so it has been nice. It is always good to go back to the bay area.”
Josh McDaniels
On reevaluating QB Kyle Orton’s Thursday performance after watching the film
“Kyle did fine yesterday. There are a couple plays, obviously, we could have had back, but he made no more mistakes, certainly, than anybody else did. The one deep ball, (it) was just a little underthrown, and (CB) André (Goodman) made a good play on it. The other ones, we had some other issues on the play.
“He made a lot of good decisions and a lot of good throws. We scored in both of the two-minute situations. We got the ball where we needed to get it and put it in the end zone in the one when we were down by eight. (We) played the situations out, for the most part, the way we wanted to. I am not disappointed in anybody’s performance. All of them can get better, and Kyle is certainly in that group.”
On if the Broncos’ grasp of the offense is where he expected it to be at this point
“Sure, I think we are about where we could be based on the fact that we started in March and April really teaching them what we are doing, really on both sides of the ball and the kicking game. We have pushed as hard as we could push in the spring, and we are pushing them as hard as we can push in training camp to get as far as we can. Everybody understands what we are trying to do and get done, and there is plenty of good. There are plenty of plays where we are close to doing what we want to do and doing what we want to get done. It is encouraging to see that kind of a practice last night where there are a bunch of mistakes but you see how close you are to doing the right thing.”
On if he is pleased with the coaches’ locations during the game
“We might play around with it a little bit during the preseason. Right now, I think we feel pretty comfortable. I know (Defensive Coordinator) Mike (Nolan) feels pretty comfortable upstairs, and the guys on defense handled the sidelines pretty well. Our communication offensively was good. I think, if anything, there might be a swap or something like that during the preseason just to see how it goes, but I don’t expect to change too much relative to the sideline and the booth.”
On not having a full-pad practice on Friday
“(The players) have been going hard here for 12 practices. After banging around for most of this week, (we are) just kind of giving them a little bit of a mental day here. We basically went through most of what we went through last night over again, got it right on both sides of the ball and tried to make sure that we understand the mistakes that were made and what to try to do different. We’ll see if they can make those adjustments the next time around on the field and go forward.”
On his message to RB Knowshon Moreno when he signs
“He has got some work to do to catch up. Certainly, I understand how this (contract) game works. His representatives are doing what they feel is best for him, and we are trying to make—we are both trying to do what is best for Knowshon and get him here as fast as we can. Hopefully, that will be sooner rather than later. Once he is here, we will look forward to working with him, working him in and trying to get him as up to speed as we can get him before the first preseason game or the second preseason game or whenever that may be.”
On if Moreno still has a shot to start Game One of the season
“I think everybody is competing. He has missed 12 practices. His performance after he gets here will put him in a place—he will learn his role after he gets here. That is the way to say it. Whatever he does with the opportunities he has once he gets here, that will tell us where to play him and how much to play him. That really goes for everybody.”
On WR Brandon Stokley
“Brandon Stokley is one of the toughest slot receivers that I have coached against. He is everything that I thought he was when I came here. (He is) smart, tough, physical, quick (and) just has a knack of how to get open. That is an invaluable receiver to have, particularly on third down. He makes a lot of plays on third down. He did a lot last year, and hopefully, he’ll do the same for us this year. We will play Brandon probably more than (the Broncos) did last year because of the way we are going to be in three-receiver offense as much as we may end up being in it. Brandon has got a great role, (is) a great teammate, (has) a great attitude and a great work ethic, and (we) love having him out here.”
On how CB André Goodman’s coverage compares to his expectations
“They are exactly what we thought he would be. André was one of the league leaders last year in passes defensed. He had five interceptions. We had a hard time in New England getting open against him in some man-coverage situations. André Goodman has been a good player for a while. He has had a couple injuries in the past that have hampered him in terms of maybe overall production in years past, but the last few years playing against him, it was a pain in the butt. He is really physical and has got good ball skills. That showed up a little bit last night. He is a just a very instinctive player, a very veteran player, a pro all the way and a great teammate.”
OC/QB Coach Mike McCoy
On if the receivers are on the same page with the offense
“I think every day they get more and more comfortable. The more and more reps they get, the more comfortable they are going to be, but I think they are fine.”
On if he will have to spend extra time with RB Knowshon Moreno when he arrives
“When he gets here, we will start dealing with it. (Running Backs) Coach (Bobby) Turner will spend some time with it, but when he gets here, we will start working and getting it going.”
On what brought him to Denver
“I think it was a great opportunity for me. I came from Carolina, obviously, a great organization. I always said when I got in this business, I wasn’t going to move just to move, but when (Head) Coach (Josh) McDaniels called me and gave me the opportunity, I couldn’t pass it up. It was a move that I wanted to make at some time, and it was the right time. I thought when Coach called me, it was a great opportunity to go on and come to a great organization with (Owner) Mr. (Pat) Bowlen and the Denver Broncos. Coming back out west, I am from California, so it is great to get back this way. It was a very easy decision for me to make coming to a great organization here.”
On if he wants to call plays at some point in his coaching career
“Definitely, I do, but we all know what Coach McDaniels, is going to do, and I will do that at some time down the road. Some day in my career I will do that.”
On how his offensive style fits with McDaniels’
“I think we come from a very similar background (with) him coming from New England and me coming from Carolina. He was with Charlie Weiss for awhile, and I was with Dan Henning. Years back, they were together. Their systems were almost the exact team. Every team has their own little wrinkles they are going to use. The terminology was very similar, so it was a very easy transition for us to make.”
On what the passing offense will look like
“Well, come the first game, you guys will find out. Our job is to do what our guys do best. That is what training camp is for. You guys talked earlier about the timing of the receivers and quarterbacks, so we have got a couple weeks to get going here. We will find out the first preseason game and just kind of build each week and see what our guys do best, see what the quarterbacks like best and what the receivers can do. The coaching staff will determine what we feel will give us the best chance to win.”
On the number of mental miscues during last night’s practice
“There were a few. I don’t have an exact number for you ... There are certain things that came up last night that you may see on the outside not watching the film today, where you might see someone slip or you might see the quarterback make the wrong point. (These) are just little things. That is every day in practice. I am not going to put a number on yesterday’s practice versus today’s. We are always going to be making corrections. Some things that you think are right may be completely wrong to us (like) a wrong progression by a quarterback. We are going to do the best we can to really minimize those small mistakes that become big mistakes.”
On how well the players are learning the offensive system
“I think they are very comfortable with what they are doing, starting with the very first day that they were out here. They have done a great job of picking up the system, working, spending the extra time learning it. There are going to be some days that it isn’t going to look so good, but like I mentioned, there is give and take every day. We are very comfortable to where we are at, but we are not satisfied at all. We have got a long ways still to go and that is what we are in training camp for, to really clean up those little details that can make you a very good offense instead of just being average.”
On QB Kyle Orton’s performance
“He has done a good job. He went in(to camp) the starter. He took over, and he has been progressing every day. He is someone that works extremely hard. He takes great notes in the meetings, and very rarely does he make the same mistake twice. That is what you ask in a quarterback, just to do what you are asking him to do. He is going to make some mistakes. I know that. As long as he learns from them and doesn’t make them again, he will be okay.”
On if he is excited about returning home to San Francisco
“It is always nice to go back there. I was in Carolina, (and) there are limited trips going back out west. The great thing is now being much closer, my mom was here for 10 days the last couple weeks, so it has been nice. It is always good to go back to the bay area.”