On whether he was happy with the way the team practiced this week
"Yeah, yesterday we had a great tempo - had two great days in pads earlier in the week and really focused hard on the running game and then yesterday and today will be high tempo, no hitting, just focused on the execution and get everything kind of finalized for the game. (I) feel good about where our players are at. (I) feel like we had good week of practice mentally. I think they know what we need to do and let's get the butterflies out of us in the first quarter and play for four quarters."
On whether there was a particular reason for focusing on the run game this week
"No, it's just how we practice every week."
On whether he thinks Jacksonville DE Aaron Kampman will move around during the game
"That's a good question - they've moved him around and kind of had him in a three-technique inside the defensive tackle. They haven't really used him as a stand-up guy - they've used somebody else in that role. I'd imagine he'd be on our left most of the time but it's opening day. We've watched them all and we know they can move him a little bit but I'd imagine that they'd probably play him most of the time where he's been."
On CB Champ Bailey
"It's extremely valuable to have a corner that has the ability that Champ has - he's done it for a long time. I kid him that we've turned him from an off-corner to a press-corner in the last two years. He kind of chuckles about that because he can really do either, he just chose to do more of the other, prior to last year but whenever you feel like you need to put some pressure on the corner to help another part of your defense, I think it's great to have a player like Champ that accepts that challenge. We put that pressure on him off-and-on last year and he really responded to it well. He's had a great camp, he looks fresh and I think he's really ready to go this year."
On the challenges presented by the Jacksonville weather
"We've been hydrating all week - I know (Jacksonville has) practiced in it and played in it and maybe we haven't played in the same type of weather most of the spring and summer but Sunday it will be hot for them too. I think the team that plays the best will probably be affected the least. The team that struggles early - if that's the case - or makes some mental mistakes and then you start to allow those types of things to affect you more. We've just got to focus on trying to do our job early and I think our guys have really done a great job of trying to pound fluids all week and really get ready to go so they're not waiting until Sunday to get an IV 20 minutes before kickoff so that's all we can do. We'll take all the guys, we'll play all the active players that we can to make sure that we're as fresh as we can be for the second half."
On whether a team can succeed on Sunday without practicing well during the week
"That happens maybe once in a while but I think you better practice well in this league in order to play well. I can read our team in terms of how they're going to try to play the game and I think they're going to give great effort - that won't be the problem, and I don't think that will be a problem for any team on opening day. I know our team will be ready to go. I know physically and mentally, they're excited, they're ready to play and execution - that will be the factor that will probably sway the game one way or the other. We know that and I think Jacksonville and every other team on opening day knows that same thing. Everybody is excited, I know they're ready to go and we'll play hard."
On whether he's happy with where the offensive line is at this point
"I hope so - we've addressed some things in terms of trying to get bigger, but I think smart and tough is really the focus of what we're trying to do. If you understand what to do and how to communicate with each other and play together and you're not making mistakes on plays - I think that's really where it starts and then if everybody is doing the right thing and then you play tough and physical, I think you have a great chance to be successful. Any good offense that I've ever been around has really had those two things in common. They've been able to function well together and then they played tough and physical - not always the toughest team in football, maybe not the most physical team in football, but that's the style I think you have to play. I think that style bodes well for you as the season progresses too because you can wear down if you're not playing that style and then all of the sudden you play three (or) four games in November or December against teams that do play that style, it can be difficult. I think we're moving in the right direction. I'm eager to see kind of how we start the game in regards to the running game on both sides. I know it may not be perfect offensively because we've had some guys that haven't been in there as much but that's the hand we're dealt and we're going to play hard and I think we'll get better every week and that's really the goal."
On whether he liked New Orleans' strategy to throw the ball 36 times against Minnesota in last night's NFL opener
"We used that strategy three or four years ago against Minnesota. It's not an easy team to run the ball against - I think we threw it 50-some times and ran it nine or something. You choose your poison and they chose theirs and they were successful with it, ultimately."
On whether he expects Broncos Defensive Coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale to be nervous in his first game as a coordinator on Sunday
"I'm sure I was. It was against the Raiders back in 2005 against "Wink." "Wink" was on the other sideline (laughing). We won the game, we scored 30 points - no I haven't told him that. We scored 30 points and we played well that night but I'm sure I was (nervous). I'm sure I'm nervous in terms of just that first day, anxious - like I said, it's not just the players that you hope get rid of the butterflies on that first series, your mouth will be dry, calling that first play or two. You'll be nervous and anxious and excited all at the same time so I think he's excited and ready to go. I'm sure he'll have a moment or two there on Sunday where he'll pinch himself and (say), ‘Okay, great, I'm calling the defense, let's go, let's play hard and let's coach well.'"
On whether stopping Jaguars QB David Garrard is a key to winning the game
"We've got to play well in a lot of areas to win the game. Garrard - he's a Pro Bowler. He's been in the Pro Bowl before; I've competed against him in the playoffs before. He's done great things for them during the course of his career. He's thrown fewer interceptions in the last four or five years than any quarterback in NFL history over a time span that was the same length. He takes care of the ball; he does what they ask him to do. He makes big plays in the fourth quarter and he's got some different weapons now. He's got two tight ends that really threaten the field vertically. He's got a big Pro Bowl-talented receiver outside (WR Mike Sims-Walker), (WR) Mike Thomas is hard to contain and catch in the open field and they do a lot of good things with him and he's got backs that can catch the ball too. I think this is a team that's really a young team that's talented and really kind of on the rise, certainly. I know they feel that way and they should because they have good football players around (Garrard) and a good player at that position. We're going to try to contain (Jaguars RB) Maurice Jones-Drew - that's sometimes easier to say than it is to do, but we're going to try and we're also going to try to limit Garrard's effectiveness when he throws it."
On Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew
"Every time he touches the ball I'm going to be concerned. He's a threat, no matter what he's doing really. If it's a screen (pass), he's a threat, when he gets the ball in his hands there, when they release him out of the backfield and then you've got to cover him, that's a problem and they're going to hand it to him, I would bet, no less than 30 times. He can touch the ball 30, 35, 40 times (and) if it was up to them, I'm sure he would. We watched last year's opening day and that was the blueprint so I don't think this year's blueprint will be much different. He's a great player and we're going to have to be mindful of him no matter what the situation is and I know he's never going to be very far from the offensive coordinator's mind in terms of, ‘What's the next best play for me to call in this situation?' Because certainly, giving him the ball or throwing it to him is as good of an option as most teams have in the league. (It will be a) great challenge for us, we're looking forward to it and I know he's looking forward to it too. He's a great player and he'll be a great battle on Sunday."