Potent Quotables - Ravens 30 - Broncos 7 - Post-Game Thoughts

**Courtesy of the Denver Broncos P.R. Staff(via Baltimore's P.R. Staff)

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

(opening statement) "Let me start by saying Baltimore did a nice job today. [They] deserve a lot of credit. We were out-coached, out-played, basically, in every phase. Coach [John] Harbaugh did a nice job, obviously, of getting their team ready to go. Anytime you go on the road against a good football team and you don't bring your ‘A' game, this is what can happen to you. We've got a lot of work ahead of us here, a lot of improving to do - which we knew we had to do anyway. This is the easiest way to see it come true."

(on if this was the result of any bye week blues) "No. They didn't have any bye week blues. No. That has nothing to do with it, whatsoever."

(on if the first play of the game resulting in a QB Kyle Orton sack hurt their rhythm) "Yeah. We missed a protection. It happened a few times today, I think. We think our protection in general was not as good as it's been so far this year. That was certainly an example of that - miscommunication, missed protection, missed block, whatever it may be. Again, it was not a good way to start any game, with a sack like that."

(on if the Ravens were more aggressive than they had been) "I don't know overall, numbers-wise, but we knew they were a pressure team when they want to do it. They kind of picked their spots, and really they hurt us with some different schemes and pressures throughout the game. I think they started more aggressively than they have, but it really wasn't about the free blitzers in the backfield most of the time. It was more of getting beat here or there. We've got to do a better job of coaching them, and we've got to do a better job of executing."

(on if a loss like this can be beneficial in the long run) "I think anytime you have a game like this it forces you to look in the mirror and really tell yourself where you're at individually and as a football team. We've got eight days now to get ready for the Steelers, and those are going to be eight hard days, good days hopefully. We need to... You can find out just as much about one another and your team and your staff through the adversity of a loss as you can through six wins. We're going to find out how we respond."

(on if he's concerned about special teams) "Yeah, I mean anytime you give up a kick for a score, and there were some other things I'm sure that weren't perfect either in the kicking game. That's obviously a big part of what we do and what we preach and how we try to win. Anytime that you lose that phase in a game, it really hurts your opportunities and chances to win the game as a whole. We need to do better, we need to coach better, and we need to play better."

(on what he thought of P Mitch Berger) "[He had] good hang time, gave our gunners the opportunity to get down there and cover some, create some fair catches. I don't think they had too many opportunities to just catch it and take it back on us. Again, we're worried more about the net than the gross, and I thought he did a decent job of giving us the opportunity to down the punt there before the half. But, that will get better. It will keep getting better."

(on what specifically the Ravens did well in the second half) "They ran the ball. I thought they made a nice adjustment at the beginning of the third quarter, and really ran the ball when they got the ball back there after our score. [They] ran the ball well from some different sets, different personnel groupings, a little bit differently than they had in the first half. And [Joe] Flacco really did a nice job. Give them credit, like I said. [He] did a nice job of hitting some things, and then he bought himself some time. There were chances where we had an opportunity to get him in the pocket, and just didn't get it done. He's a good player, we know that. He creates a lot of plays like that. Again, they executed better than we did, and they deserved to win because of it."

(on the Ravens being mindful of how the Broncos had dominated in the second half) "It doesn't surprise me that they're very aware of that. John does a great job of coaching this team. I'm sure that kickoff return right there really threw some life into them, not that they needed it. But, to really start the second half of the game against a team that had done well in the second half for the most part the whole entire season, that was disappointing on our end. Probably gave them a lot of energy."

(on what he thought of Ravens RB Ray Rice) "The same thing I thought about him before we played him. He's a really good football player, really good back, hard to bring to the ground. We probably missed more tackles against Ray Rice than we've missed in a while. He does that to you with his style of running: He's low to the ground and hard to get down. [We've] got to do a better job of tackling and wrapping him up, because he showed today why he's a great player in this league."

(on if he has any updates on T Ryan Harris' injury) "I do not. I do not have any report in terms of the overall thing. We're going to see how that... We're going to do some tests and all that."

(on if he was preparing himself for a loss that would be coming at some point) "It's hard to go through the season and not lose one. Certainly we don't go into any week thinking that's what's going to happen. It's very disappointing. I'm disappointed in myself, disappointed in the way our team played today. I think we're a better football team than that. But again, you're only as good as you play, and we didn't play very well today."

(on if it concerns him that the breakdowns were everywhere) "Any mistake is concerning, obviously. We've said, and again, this is always one of those things where you face a little adversity with a loss, and then you realize that maybe some of the things that you thought were good enough just aren't good enough. Even the things that you feel like you're doing well after a loss become more glaring, and you really take the time to evaluate what you are good at, and what you're not good at. Some of the things that you think that you're pretty strong in those areas, you need to address those and become stronger. Because, obviously, what matters the most is how you're playing at the end of the season, not in September. We've got a lot of work to do, and we can get better."

(on if he split time between CBs Jack Williams and Alphonso Smith because of reps) "We were playing them both. Going into the game, they both practiced at that spot, just moved some guys around. Again, there are some times where the coverage was very good early in the play, and then all of a sudden we'd lose contain in the pass rush, and their guy ends up with the ball, or somebody else's guy ends up with the ball. It looked like the coverage was poor, but we had some breakdowns in our pass rush as well as our coverage. Whenever you have breakdowns in both of those areas, it's not very good."

(on if Ravens QB Joe Flacco is about as good of a second-year quarterback as he's seen) "It's hard to say that in terms of everybody, but I think he's a very good football player. He's a good quarterback. [He] made a lot of tough plays under duress today, you know. He has shown the ability to do that before, it didn't surprise us that he was tough to get down in the pocket. [He] doesn't easily give up on plays. This guy is a lot like the guy we're going to get ready to play this coming week [Ben Roethlisberger] in that there's not much ‘give up' in Joe Flacco. He showed the ability to keep some plays alive, and really hurt us."

(on how much the running game has made Flacco better) "Anytime you have a good running game, that makes life easier on the quarterback, because if you've got to bring an extra guy down there to defend the running game, then I think that opens some things up in the passing game. They've got a good football team all around. We're not talking about a team that's a one-man band, or one of two guys are carrying this team. That's a really good football team over there in the other locker room that played much better than we did today, coached better than we did today, and deserved to win."

QB Kyle Orton

(on the Ravens' defense) "We didn't play our best ball. They're a very good team. They beat us good today on all sides of the ball. We just didn't really do a whole lot."

(on trying to go deep) "Offensively, everybody has to play better, myself included. I'm the leader of this offense, and when it doesn't go right, it's on me, so we'll go back to work and make sure we get things fixed for next week."

(on getting first downs) "We talked all week about winning first down and second down and getting into third-and-manageable, and we had a couple of third-and-short distances, and we didn't execute first down. As the game wore on, we were sitting on second-and-long and third-and-long, and when you're playing that kind of defense, when they dial up all of the blitzes, you're going to be in for a long day."

(on being sacked on the first play of the game) "That's not the way you want to start the game for sure, but we had a number of plays, its not just one play. We had a number of plays we didn't execute and a number of plays where they were just better than us. That's just how it went to bed."

(on the vulnerability of the Ravens' secondary) "They played the safeties pretty deep and we're always looking for things to take our shots. They were playing the safeties pretty deep. We tried to work inside on the linebackers but didn't have too much success doing that. We tried throwing outside and didn't have too much success doing that as well. So really not a good day for us, a good day for them, they were a better team today. We'll come back and play better next week."

(on Tyler Polumbus filling in for Ryan Harris) "He played fine, he came in, did his job. But just all around offensively, we didn't play our game. We didn't execute, we got beat by a better defense today."

(on Coach McDaniels being hard on him in the loss, compared to being hard on the wins) "Well, we're going to find out a lot about our team. And I know the type of guys we have in this locker room, we'll come back to work extremely hard, we'll play better on Monday. It is going to be a grind this week and we'll get back to work. I can't wait to get back on the field and get back at it."

S Brian Dawkins

(on the difference in the game)  "The Ravens did a better job of executing down the stretch. I know Coach Harbs [John Harbaugh] from my time in Philadelphia, and I knew they would be well-prepared.  He does a great job preparing teams. Sometimes, you just have to give the other team credit, and they deserve a lot of credit for the way they played."

(on the way the Ravens converted on third down)  "We were ready for the stuff they like to do. We knew what to expect. They just beat us on execution."

(on exchanging jerseys with Ed Reed) "We agreed to exchange jerseys after the game. I always try to do that when I play against guys that I respect."

(on the way Joe Flacco played)  "He was the quarterback we were expecting to play. He's a big, tough guy, and he won't back down. He has a lot of heart and a lot of courage. There aren't many young quarterbacks who have the composure to take hits and deliver the ball on time. He is always calm, no matter what the situation is. He is someone a team can follow."

(on how the Broncos will react to their first loss)  "You always hear players say, ‘we'll have to look at the film,' but most of us know where we messed up. Now, we just go back to practice and work on correcting our mistakes. I've lost games before. Everyone on this team has lost before. The goal is to learn from this game and move forward."

(on the Broncos' vision for the season) "All I say is that next week we want to be 1-0. That's how you do it in this league. We don't look ahead to anyone. Besides, it would be very foolish to look past Pittsburgh."

(on whether the Ravens were desperate for a win) "I don't think that had any effect on the game. If they were 6-0 and we were 3-3, the result may have been the same. That's something that you guys [media] and the fans talk about, but it didn't have any impact on the game."

LB Mario Haggan

(on losing to the Ravens) "To lose like this, it's very hard to take. But the Ravens outplayed us in every phase of the game. They made more plays than we did and they deserved to win. We have to give them credit and move on to our next game."

(on next week's game) "For the first time, we are facing adversity, so we will find out what we're made of. We don't have a lot of time to dwell on this game because we have a huge game coming up against the World Champion Steelers."

(on the way Joe Flacco played)  "We knew he was tough, and we knew he's a hard guy to tackle. He is big and tall and tough, and he moves around well. There were a few times I thought we had him, and he would escape and complete a pass. He made a lot of plays for them, and that's why they won."

ILB Andra Davis

(on the defense) "We have to go back to work. Who said we'd go 16-0? So we have to go back to work tomorrow, watch the tape and learn from our mistakes. We have a huge game next week against Pittsburgh on Monday night at our home so we have to go to work."

(on things to focus on) "Everything. Everything that gave us problems today. We're going to focus on what we did well also. So we have a lot of work to do."

(on the upcoming Monday night game) "Monday, Thursday, Sunday - it doesn't matter. We just have to come back and play better ball."

S Renaldo Hill

 (on the Ravens offensive performance) "They did a good job. They were well-prepared for this ball game and well-coached. They did a good job today. They executed what they needed to do in order to win the game. I tip my hat to them, but we're going to get back to the drawing board and learn from this."

(on what he takes from this loss) "I felt guys continued to play even though they were able to run the ball at the end. Everyone still gave 110 percent. That's one of the things that we'll have to watch the film because I'm sure there are a lot of things to learn from. And I definitely think it will make us a better ball club."

(on the third quarter kickoff return) "It doesn't matter. We know things are going to happen in the game, and we continue to fight. We always find a way to create something on our end. We just didn't create enough on our end today. It definitely helped them out.

DE Elvis Dumervil

(on Ravens' offense) "The offensive line played very well. And [Joe Flacco] had great poise in the pocket. He was able to scramble and keep the play alive. Give them credit, they went out and were the better team today."

(on whether the Ravens were more desperate to win) "I don't call it desperate. I'm sure they wanted to win as much as we wanted to win. They were the better team today and they won. We have to bounce back and get ready for Pittsburgh."

(on the defense being unable to get off the field) "They did a good job of making short third-down distances. So they were able to not be one-dimensional. That was difficult. So we have to do a better job on the early downs."

WR Jabar Gaffney

(on the first loss of the season) "I don't like it. I don't think nobody likes it and that should push us harder, so that we'll never feel like this again."

(on running the 2 minute offense at the end of the game) "We're not going to quit. I mean, there's time on the clock. We still have to play. No matter how far down or up, we still got to play."

(on the offense being one dimensional) "I don't really think we became one dimensional until that last 2 minute drive. We stayed with our offense. They just had a heck of a game plan for us defensively and we just have to go back to work and get better."

(on the Ravens game plan) "I mean the way they got pressure, they did a great job."

(on the offense) "We just didn't execute. We put ourselves in some bad situations, long yardage situations. That's not the way to beat this team. You can't get behind in down and distance."

(on playing Pittsburgh next week) "They're a great team. They're coming off a bye so they'll be well-prepared, and we're coming off a big loss, a very bad loss, and we don't want to feel like this again."

RB Knowshon Moreno

(on his first pro loss) "When you lose, it's not a good feeling. It definitely hurts. They played a really good game, and we have to rebound and come back next week. Play our ‘A' game."

(on the Ravens' defense) "They're a good team. They played a real good game. They made more plays than us and came out with the victory. That's all you can really say about it."

(on the Broncos running game) "They [the Ravens] just played their ‘A' game. We didn't come out and do our part. That's part of the game. We've got to readjust and come back and  play a really good team next week."

RB Correll Buckhalter

(on the Broncos' offense) "We didn't sustain any drives. We didn't put drives together. We didn't play complimentary football today. We just got out and played today. They're a good team and they outplayed us. We have no excuses. We have to regroup and prepare for Pittsburgh."

(on next week playing Pittsburgh) "We have to play complimentary football. The offense has to help out the defense, and the defense has to help out the offense. When you don't play complimentary football, you're going to have days like this. None of us showed up today. We didn't do our job."

(on being 6-1 this season) "Anything can happen. It's a long season. It's important that you take it just one game at a time. Anything can happen. That's the approach we're taking, and we're going to continue to take that approach.