DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

General

“What I told our players in there was, bottom line, you have to find a way to win.  We found a way to win, obviously.  It was a very tight football game.  I thought offensively we moved the ball very well.  We had a couple of situations where we turned the football over, which we don’t want to do. I thought our special teams were much improved and obviously, defensively, we made some plays that we had to.  We’ve got some work to do, but we’ll go in there and get it done.  We’ll eliminate some of those mistakes we made and get better against a better offensive football team.”

On challenging the TE Tony Scheffler fumble

“I couldn’t really see it, and I thought with a turnover there and a time out, just take a chance.  At least on the screen I couldn’t tell.  I thought they might have another angle and it was worth a chance.”

On the goaline stop before half time

“You have to step up on that third down and two, and fourth and one.  They did a better job than we did in the red zone.  I think they were three-for-four, and I think we were two-for-five.  They moved the heck out of the football and had a chance to put it away, but our defense made a play when they had to.  We’re lucky they missed the field goal.”

On QB Drew Brees’ performance

“He reads coverages very well and has a lot of poise.  [It is] One of the reasons he’s been one of the top quarterbacks over the last couple years.  You can see his demeanor on the field.  The decisions that he made are pretty tough.  He doesn’t make many mistakes.”

On managing a high scoring game

“You try to score.  You’re going to have games like that.  You don’t want to settle for field goals, you want to settle for touchdowns.  We had that freak fumble there at the end, but I thought we moved the ball good and had momentum going.  Unfortunately, it was a fumble and our defense made a play when they had to.”

On improving for week 4

“Obviously we are going to keep working on things we do poorly like we do after every game.  It’s nice to give up 32 points and still win the football game, and that’s the bottom line, to find a way to win.  Some games are going to be low scoring.  Some, we won’t play as well offensively or defensively, but we’ve lost the turnover ratio and still won the game which doesn’t happen very often.”

Was he surprised by New Orleans touchdown attempt before halftime?

“No, I would have done the same thing and I wouldn’t have even thought about it.”

DENVER BRONCO PLAYERS

QB Jay Cutler

General

“We’ve been playing on the edge lately. We’re living on the edge. Offensively, we got the job done, left a lot of points out there. I didn’t play very well. I missed some stuff, but the defense stepped, when they had too.”

On New Orleans defense

“We didn’t know what they were going to do; they brought a lot of pressure, and played a lot of cover-1. That’s how it goes with some of these teams. I definitely didn’t expect it.”

On offensive possessions
“We have to make every possession count for us. We feel like we can score every time, I had a pick and [TE] Tony [Scheffler] had a fumble. And we also had some other miscommunications.”

On the flow of the game

“It’s tough when every possession means so much, whenever their scoring, we have to score just to keep ahead. One little mistake and we’re off the field and we don’t know what’s going to happen. We have to play four quarters, we have a letdown every once in a while. And I missed some passes, which we can’t have.”

On his performance

“I missed some throws out there that I should have made. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I just think we left a lot out there. We had a lot of chances to put 40 or 50 points up on the board and we didn’t.”

On WR Brandon Marshall

“He’s a big target out there, and he makes big plays for us with runs after the catch. If they play cover-1 we are just going to max it up and throw the ball to [WR] Eddie [Royal] and [TE] Tony [Scheffler].”

On quick starts

“Offensively, we have a good plan. We attack them and we put some big plays in early. We make defenses change what they’re doing. We’re running the ball well, and then they change to straight pressure. They changed up and we changed up. We have to start hot like that. We script some plays early and if they change up the defense then we go a different direction.”

On his progress as a QB

“It’s like college, it’s like high school, and it’s like anything else new. It takes time to get comfortable and get adapted. Offensively in the first year you’re learning a different system, because it’s a totally different system than in college. Second year you learn to read defenses and try to put the whole package together. By the third year you should have it.”

WR BRANDON MARSHALL

General

“It was another shoot out and I’m glad that we came out on top of them. I had a couple plays myself where I stepped out of bounds. I have to be more aware of where I was on the field. On that last play where that guy made a shoe string tackle. We definitely left a lot of points out on the field. It’s early on in the season and it’s something we need to grow from.”

On giving TD pass to Rev. Leon Kelly

“I work with Rev. Kelly and I try to get out there every Tuesday and show my face every week to the kids. It’s something that they need and I need myself. I had ten kids out to the game with me today with The Open Door Program. When I scored the touchdown and saw the replay, I didn’t need to wait for the official to make the final call. I spotted him out early in the game and I said if I score I wanted to give it to Rev. Kelly. I’m sure he’s going to give it as a reward to a great student this week.”

On offensive possessions

“We wanted to score every time we touched the ball. That’s our mindset coming into practice and coming into a game. Defense made some plays for us; on the goal line and on third and short in the fourth quarter with two minutes left. We can’t ask for anything else, all we want is a chance. If we’re in the game in the fourth quarter we’ll get the job done.”

On New Orleans defense

“They switched it up on us. We thought they were going to do cover-8 and they did a little cover-6. I’m glad that I have [QB] Jay [Cutler] because he can recognize where he can go with the ball. Teams have to play fair, because we have [WR] Eddie Royal on the other side and [TE] Tony Scheffler running down the middle. We have backs in the backfield that can play. If they want to double me, it’s still going to be the same outcome.”

On his goals

“I’m the kind of guy who sets my goals high; I play with a chip on my shoulder every day, even in practice. I want to be the best and I want our team to be the best. I do whatever it takes to be successful.”

On touchdown

“Those are the plays that if I want to be a part of this team, that’s on track to go to the playoffs, those are the plays that I have to make. I expect to make those plays. You look to the guy on your right and on your left and you play for them, you don’t play for yourself.”

On experience gained from Al Wilson

“My rookie year, a great veteran from the team, Al Wilson, he told me as soon as I stepped foot in Dove Valley after the AFC Championship game where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I asked him what it takes to get to the Super Bowl. He told me it takes a little luck and a healthy team. These past two weeks we definitely had the ball bouncing our way. We’re on track and we just have to stay focused and humble. We can’t get complacent with where we are at.”

WR BRANDON STOKLEY

General

“That’s what it’s all about in this league, no games are easy. We played a full 60 minutes, and a win is a win.”

On the offense

“There is still a lot to clean up. We had to settle for a field goal late in the game, and then we fumbled it in the red zone. We have to get touchdowns every time we are down there.”

On the offense’s goal

“Our job on the offense is to score more points than the other team. If they score 50, we have to score 51. We don’t worry about what is happening on defense, we just have to do our job.”

On playing Kansas City

“It’s always a tough game to play. It’s a division game and we are going to get their best shot.”

LB BOSS BAILEY

On the defense

“We don’t want to give up that many points, but we found a way to win. We came out of the game healthy and we will continue to improve.”

On Playing Kansas City

“We can’t look at records or anything. It’s a huge game for the organization and we have to go in there with our heads on straight.”

TE NATE JACKSON

On the offense

“The more weapons we have the harder it is on the defense. We all want the ball, so we are all going to get open and let [QB] Jay [Cutler] choose his target.”

On playing Kansas City

“Arrowhead is always a tough place to play. They will give us their best shot, so we have to be ready.”

 General

“The game was similar to last week. It was hard on everyone’s heart out there, especially my Mom and Dad’s, but we got the win.”

“We have a lot of young players on our team, these types of games test young players and they stepped up when they needed to.”

On what he was thinking during the Saints last kick

“Shank.”

CB DRE` BLY

General

“You can’t discredit the other side of the ball, because they have play makers. But we went out and got it done. The only thing that matters is winning and we were able to get the win.”

On whether someone is looking over the Broncos

“Whatever it is, I hope that person or angel is still on our side.”

On the defense

“That’s not going to happen all season. When you have an explosive offense and they score quickly, the other team will have time to make adjustments. It wasn’t as we would have liked on defense, but it’s a win.”

LB D.J. WILLIAMS

On stopping New Orleans late in the game

“We knew it was third and one, and we knew they were going to run the ball inside. They have a great offense with a lot of weapons, and a lot of playmakers. [RB] Reggie Bush is one of those guys, he came out and made a lot plays today. He is a tough guy to stop.”

On the defense

“Each game this season we have started fast in the beginning and tapered off later in the game. We have played well in the first half, we just have to work hard, get back to work, and start finishing games. We know what type of talent we have, and we know that if we want to be the best, we have to step up and beat the best.”

CB CHAMP BAILEY

On the Saints

“They played well. They had a lot of players that made plays out there. [RB} Reggie [Bush] is a speedy player that is tough to stop, he is just that good. The defense just has to try to control him and not let him break big plays.”

On the win

“A win is a win, and each win is important down the stretch. We have played two great teams this past two weeks, the San Diego Chargers, and today with the New Orleans Saints. We put them to the test, and in the end, we came out with the win.”

On the defense

“This week we will look at film, and try and figure out what is wrong. We were disappointed, but we got the win, and that is all that matters. This week we will get back to work and hopefully improve our performance next week. We want games that end 32-13, not  like our past two games ending 34-32 and 39-38.”