Josh McDaniels and Kyle Orton speak to press after Wednesday PM practice (8/26)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Head Coach Josh McDaniels and Kyle Orton spoke with the media following the team's afternoon practice session at Dove Valley on Wednesday.
HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS
On being a day closer to the Broncos' first home game
"(I am) getting excited more and more each day. We put our first day of preparation in for the Bears, and we have got a lot to get ready for. There are a lot of things that they cause you problems with. We are hard at work at that, but we are real excited to play at home, finally, in front of our fans and hopefully, have a big advantage here at INVESCO (Field at Mile High)."
On the potential psychological boost after winning a preseason game
"I think any time you win, you feel better than you do when you lose. We are going to do everything we can to win. That is how we are going to approach the (Chicago Bears) game. That is how we approached the last two games, and we are not going to change this week. We are certainly hopeful that we play well enough to do that."
On signing QB Ingle Martin
"He has got good size (and) a decent arm. (He is) a smart kid (and is) just a guy that we felt like he could come in and help us compete right now and see what happens. Under our current situation with only two quarterbacks that could come out and practice with (QB) Chris (Simms)'s situation, (we) felt like it was better for us to do that and make sure we take care of that."
On the hype surrounding Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler's return
"This is another opportunity for us to improve. There are not two people playing out there on Sunday night. Jay is obviously a good player and doing some good things for them right now. He forces you to prepare for a lot of things. We are just into the Bears and what they do on every side of the ball and trying to improve our team and get ready to play a good football game Friday night."
On Cutler's praise of his coaching ability after leaving Denver
"That is nice that people say good things about you. He is a good player. We know that. He is going to present a tremendous challenge for us Sunday night. Hopefully, our team will rise up to that challenge defensively and be able to play well."
On if RB Marcus Thigpen was released in order to sign QB Ingle Martin
"Yes, we released (waived) Marcus Thigpen."
QUARTERBACK KYLE ORTON
On looking forward to Sunday's game against Chicago
"It's really the same. I look forward to every game we play. This is certainly one more chance to face a good defense, no question about it. They've got a great defense over there and they have been for years. It'll be a good chance for us to work against a good team and see if we can get a win."
On whether the Chicago game will feel like a regular season game
"No, I mean this is a great team for us to play. They've been good on defense for a number of years. They don't do a whole lot at all. They just beat people. So this will be a good test for our team, really in all three phases-offensively, defensively, and special teams."
On the reaction he expects from the home crowd in his first home game
"I can't wait to get in front of the home crowd. I hope we can put on a good show for them and get them rocking pretty good."
On what he needs to improve on in his own game
"Really just being a little bit more-really just kind of finishing off drives. As an offense we've gone down there and went on some nice drives-12, 13, 14-play drives-and we got stopped twice now down there, one on the turnover and one on four downs really. So, whatever I've got to do to help our team finish drives."
On whether it becomes mental when not finishing drives in the red zone
"No, I don't think so. We're trying to do a whole lot. I think we threw the ball down there three times the last game. We'll go down there, get in tight and run the ball."
On how he thought he played Saturday against Seattle
"I thought I played well. I was real happy with the way we played on offense, especially in the first half. I think if we finish the drive off at the end of the first half, we have a lot better taste in our mouth than what we do right now. We didn't come out in the second half and play well at all, so that was disappointing to see. But a good part of the way through that first half, we were really rolling pretty well."
On how much he will play against Chicago
"I'll play a good amount of time. I don't really know how much. Just like the last two games, we really haven't known."
On if there's anything special playing against the Bears
"Just seeing old friends and old teammates. We had a good locker room for four years, and I have a lot of respect for those guys, as I'm sure they have a lot of respect for me."
On his future in Denver
"I'd love to be here as long as possible. I'm going to work as hard as I can this year, hopefully win a lot of football games and be here for a long time."
On whether winning will be the deciding factor
"I think that's how you decide the quarterback position, is if you win. I'm sure that will be a good factor."
On getting QB Tom Brandstater ready to be the backup this week
"Yeah, he's got a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, he hasn't had a whole lot of repetitions during camp. Chris Simms and I have gotten most of them. So he's got a lot of work. But he's a smart kid and he's been paying attention all through meetings and making corrections off of what Chris and I have done. So he'll be ready to go."
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Originally Posted by Hobe
To all the armed forces... present, past, and future. 
