Patrick Smyth, Executive Director of Media Relations (patrick.smyth@broncos.nfl.net / 303-264-5536)
Rebecca Villanueva, Media Services Manager (rebecca.villanueva@broncos.nfl.net / 303-264-5598)
Erich Schubert, Media Relations Coordinator (erich.schubert@broncos.nfl.net / 303-264-5503)
DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (10/3/12)
QUARTERBACK PEYTON MANNING
On playing against New England QB Tom Brady throughout his career
“Well, I’ve always looked at is as Colts vs. Patriots games throughout those years and there were some great games, don’t get
me wrong. I know people will often label it as a game between two quarterbacks but we all know it’s a team game. Those are
some great players in a number of those games. Great coaches. Not many players left from those games. I think Tom and I are
the only ones who’ve played in all of those games. They’ve had a number of players have changed and of course my
circumstances are different. It’s well-documented, my thoughts on Tom Brady and the type of player that he is but this game—I
know it’s a boring, boring answer for you all—but this is Broncos vs. the Patriots. It’s two 2-2 teams. A pivotal game at a pivotal
time in the season. It’s our second road test. We’ve had three games at home. It’s a tougher test for us because we’ve got to go
on the road to their place and it’s a conference game.”
On the fraternity of quarterbacks and feeling a kinship with Brady
“Certainly, Tom’s a quarterback that’s been around the longest during my time. A lot of the guys that I started out playing [with],
those older guys, the [former Miami QB Dan] Marinos and those guys, [former Denver QB] John [Elway], [former Dallas QB] Troy
[Aikman], those guys are out of the league so I guess Tom and I have kind of become the elder statesmen, if you will. For so long,
Indianapolis, of course the first year Tom started playing they were in our division; we played them twice a year. But then we
played them three times a year in the playoffs. It almost was like a division game. We played them every year, mostly because
we both won the division; we also played them in the playoffs. Big familiarity between two teams. He’s a great player. He works
at it. I know how hard he works at it and I’ve always had an appreciation for guys that put that much time into it.”
On the term ‘elder statesman’
“Tom’s in his 11th? 12th? You all know. You all study. Twelfth year. I’m in my 15th so that’s a long time to play at the
quarterback [position] and Tom’s played at a high level for that long period so it’s always been impressive to me.”
On what he admires the most about New England QB Tom Brady
“I think it’s probably a better question for a defensive player—guys that really play against him and see him. I guess what I’ve
always known playing against offenses like the one that he leads is that you better be on your job. You better be prepared to
score touchdowns in the red zone, convert on third down, because they’re capable of scoring points. You don’t want to give
them short fields. So it’s a challenge to our offense. Our defense, we know what kind of test they have going against their highpowered offense with their weapons and our offense has a challenge because New England’s defense has caused a lot of
turnovers. They’ve forced some big plays their way so our offense has to be on top of it.”
On the game vs. New England motivating the team
“This game is enough to get everybody motivated, everybody focused. Like I said, we’re 2-2; this is a big road game. We didn’t
play like we wanted to play in our first road game. It’s a conference game. That’s really all everybody needs to be motivated—
myself, our entire team. I know the Broncos played them twice last year. I can’t speak to those games but I do know it’s a tough
place to play. I know that we need to play better on the road than we did that first game and have some consistency. It was a
good game against Oakland. It was a good win. But we’ve got to do it each and every week and we’ve got to practice that way
©2012 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other
fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a
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too. Everybody’s got to have that sense of urgency, that sense of purpose, every day. That’s what you have to be, is a consistent
team.”
On how he feels about his weapons this time around compared to when he was in Indianapolis
“I can’t really speak to the comparison. Offensively, all I know is that we did a good job last week on third down; we did a good
job in the red zone. Those are key areas, situational football, we call it, that we have to be good at against New England.
Especially at their place.”
On how the team has improved
“I’m not really into giving progress reports. You’re looking for some consistency. We need to build off last week’s win in all
phases of the game. I do think the one thing we did well last week is played well as a unit, fed off one another. Special teams
caused a turnover; offense took it in and got a touchdown. That kind of thing. All three phases need to play well when you’re
playing against the Patriots and it’s got to be a 60-minute game. That’s something they’ve always done a good job of. They won a
lot of games there late and so we need to be well at that aspect as well.”
On getting better against New England Head Coach Bill Belichick over the course of his career
“I probably wouldn’t agree with either of your previous statements. They have excellent players. It’s different players from the
games that I have played in the past. They have some younger players. They have had different defensive coordinators that have
all had a little bit of something different and unique. I don’t know this team necessarily all that well. I’m getting to know them
during the week right now. I’ll get to know them on the game on Sunday. I think it’s well-documented the respect that I have for
Coach Belichick and the way his teams always play, all sides of the ball. This is a new team that I’m playing with so I think
sometimes getting into the comparisons and going back to years past, I don’t know how valuable a time that is to discuss that.
This is an important week of practice for us. Coming off a win, I thought we played with a sense of urgency last week coming
after a loss; we need to do it again coming after a win. I think that’s important this week.”
On the New England defense
“They did an excellent job. I thought their defense sort of started that comeback. [Down] 21-7 in Buffalo, not ideal. Their defense
came up with some huge plays—turnovers—got Tom [Brady] and their offense a short field, which that’s not what you want to
do. They will get it in the end zone. I thought their veteran guys made some big plays. [New England DT Vince] Wilfork tipped a
ball, [LB Jerod] Mayo gets a pick, secondary creating some turnovers. That’s something that we have to protect the ball better.
We did not protect the ball well on the road last time. We need to a better job of that than we did last time.”
On what he remembers about the last time he played New England and the last time he was there
“I haven’t really put a lot of thought into that. I’m glad to be playing this time around. I didn’t get to play last time around there.
I’m really focused on practicing well this week and trying to do my job, trying to do better than I did on the road last time. That’s
plenty to prepare for and plenty to think about.”
On C Dan Koppen
“As I said Sunday, I’m sick about [C] J.D. Walton’s injury. I know it’s part of football, but sometimes it just shows up on you all’s
ticker as ‘J.D. Walton out for the season,’ and it’s more than that. I know how hard he’s worked this offseason. He and I spent a
great amount of time together. That was really the first thing I did when I got here was get with him on snaps. Taking snaps, I
know a lot of people talk about the throwing, but he was at all of those sessions taking snaps. I know how much time he put in
the weight room. So I’m sick about that, and I know he’ll rehab hard. We will miss him. Rarely, when you lose a three-year starter
at every game, a center like J.D., can you have a guy as experienced as Dan to replace him. It’s always nice to have guys on your
team that have been around winning their entire careers. Coming from New England, Dan has played in every game situation
that you can think of. There’s probably nothing he hasn’t seen on defense except the team he’s playing against this Sunday, in a
real game. But he’s seen them every day in practice. His veteran experience does show in practice. Thankfully, he’s on our team.
As [Head] Coach [John] Fox says, ‘Next man up.’ I just think you have to take the time to reflect that J.D. was a really good player
for us and we’ll miss him but I know Dan will do a heck of a job as well.”
©2012 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other
fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a
fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club.