Head Coach John Fox
On the outcome of the game
“I was very proud of them. I thought they accomplished a lot. I thought they came a long ways from a 1-4 start with a football team that had no offseason, no OTAs — really I was as proud of them as any team I’ve ever coached. The New England Patriots had a little bit to do with that. They are a good football team, obviously we played them twice in a month and we’re a work in progress and we’re obviously not up to par to compete with them at this point. Not taking anything away from them – obviously they’re well-coached, they had two weeks to prepare, they were fresh. I think Brady was about as sharp as I’ve seen him. He’s a terrific quarterback anyways, but I thought he had a great night. The fact that we lost a couple safeties didn’t help.”
On bringing pressure
We reached a point there where we didn’t have enough people to match up on their multiple wideout stuff so it limited us to some point as far as playing man coverage. But that’s neither here nor there. I think they were definitely the better team tonight.
On QB Tim Tebow
“Kind of like our football team. I was really proud of where he started and where he brought this team. We are a work in progress. We’ve got a lot of work to do. That hasn’t changed for some time and as I mentioned earlier — with the two matchups we had against the New England Patriots I think it’s evident we have work to do.”
On the offense
“Every year has it’s own personality and we’re officially starting our offseason now and we’ll do whatever it takes to get better. So whether that’s scheme, personnel, all the same things the teams the teams that didn’t make the playoffs are already ahead starting on.”
On the season as a whole
“As I told all the men in that locker room – coaches, players, trainers, equipment men is that I was very proud of them and they worked very hard and I appreciated all their efforts.”
Quarterback Tim Tebow
On changes from Patriots defense
“They had a great scheme. They came out and they played well and they executed well. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit.
I just want to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ and thank my teammates for the effort they put forth not only tonight but the entire season. I also want to thank the Broncos fans for all their support this season and it definitely meant a lot.”
On the media attention he faces
“I haven’t worried to much about that. I think the cool part is the relationship with my teammates. The run was a lot of fun. A lot of ups and downs but we really try to block everything in the outside off and just enjoy the relationships with teammates and coaches and work and try to get better and I feel like we did that all year. We just didn’t put forth a good enough performance tonight . You’ve got to give them a lot of credit, that’s a really good team.”
On the season
“It had a lot of ups and downs. Overall it’s been a very special opportunity for me – something I’m very thankful for and very thankful I have the opportunity to build so many great relationships with teammates and coaches and to be able to overcome a lot of different forms of adversity with my teammates and to win some special games. There’s a lot of things that we’re proud of, it’s hard to see them all right now though.”
On the loss
“It still was a good day because before the game I got to spend time with Zach McCloud and make him smile. Overall when you get to do that it’s still a positive day and a good day. Sometimes it’s just hard to see but it depends what lens you’re looking through. I choose to look through those lenses and I got to make a kid’s day and anytime you do that it’s more important than winning a game, so I’m proud of that.”
On continuing to play hard
“Any time you’re getting beaten like that you just continue to fight. It doesn’t change who you are, how you play, how you go out there – you should be the same at all times. That’s what I wanted to show and it didn’t matter if it was the first play or the last play or if we were down by 42, I was going to be the same player and I was going to still give everything I have because that’s all I have to give. Every time I step on the field I’m going to give my whole heart regardless of the score.”
On his offseason goals
“Just work and improve — fundamentals, understanding defenses, my reads, footwork, everything. This will be a big offseason for me and I’m looking forward to it. Every single game including this one was an opportunity. Even coach McCoy and coach Gase on the sidelines at the end of the game, they were like ‘Just take it all in, learn from it and understand all these things that are going on so when we have an opportunity to get back here we can handle it differently.’ I try to learn from every experience good or bad.”
Cornerback Champ Bailey
On the season as a whole
“There was some good and some bad. Obviously we’re going home right now. Any time you have to wait another year to get a chance at the Super Bowl is disappointing. It is what it is. We just have to go home this offseason and check ourselves and hopefully get better.”
On whether the team is better than they were last year
“Absolutely, but that doesn’t make you good enough.”
On the Denver defense
“We can do some good things, but we have a lot of work to do. If we want to be elite, you have to play like it when you play teams like this. Especially when it’s win or go home.”
On Brady’s performance
“It doesn’t shock me. The thing is, you have to find a way to match that or exceed that. We didn’t do that.”
On the game plan
“We did (have a good game plan). We just didn’t execute it. You can’t put anything on the coaches. It’s all us. We’re out there. I know there are some calls they probably want to have back, but at the end of the day, it’s all us.”
Running back Willis McGahee
On the season as a whole
“We made it to the playoffs – nobody thought we were going to get this far. You always thought you could still win the game when you’re in the playoffs. This is one of those games…
On the frustration in ending the season this way
“It’s frustrating. It’s one of those games that you don’t want it to end like this. Unfortunately it did and you can’t do anything about it right now.”
On whether the year is a success in his mind
“I think we had a crazy season. It was a good season. You still don’t want to come into the playoffs and end the game like this. I think we could’ve done better. Those guys had a good game plan and they executed well.”
On his personal season
“I had a great year with the Broncos. We haven’t been in the playoffs since ’05. We got back in it, so at the end of the day, I think it was a plus. But, we didn’t win at the end.
“It was cool. I had fun. Everything happens for a reason. I’m just happy to be a part of it. Hopefully we can get back on track next year.”
Running back Lance Ball
On the way the season ended
“We showed a lot of spirit out there. It (is too bad) that we lost, but hold your heads up high, it was a great season.”
On the Broncos season
“It was a long road. It was up and down. We had to face a lot of adversity this year. Guys hung in there and we were able to have a successful season.”
Tight end Daniel Fells
On what he’ll remember most about the season
“I’ll remember the 1-4 start and then 8-8 and making the playoffs. I’ve been around for six years and this is my first year going to the playoffs. I’ll definitely look back and reflect on that.”
On whether the team made a big stride during the season
“Yes. Looking at it from where we started to where we ended – we did take some strides. But, we’re all competitors and we knew what we had here. We expected a lot more out of us. That’s why there’s frustration still.”
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas
On what he’ll remember most about this season
“Everyone doubting us, saying we were going to win two or three games. We won eight games and made the playoffs. When we were down 1-4, we still had doubters. We just came out, worked every day and just got better as we went.”
On if the Broncos are back
“I feel like they are. We just have some small things to work on. Once we work on them, we’ll get better and better as the years go on.”
On the direction of the team
“I like (the way it’s headed). We came in this year, nobody gave us a chance. They were saying we were going to win two games, three games. We came out and was 8-8, won the first round of the playoffs and ended up losing tonight. I feel like we can build on this year and keep going from there.”
Agreed that both the Giants and 49ers have better offenses, but we’re also a younger team, and are technically rebuilding.. Carnage, I know you don’t see it in Tebow, and a lot of people have doubts about him.. I also realize Tebow has his blind followers, who will never see any wrongs in his ways, but it’s not like the kid is going to be our starter for the next 5 years regardless of results… He’s our starter week one b/c of his results, and just like Orton, his job is as safe as the Broncos win/loss record next year.. If we open the season 1-4, let’s talk about a QB change, I’ll be happy to!
Carnage,
What are you talking about Suggs took shots and Tebow and Doomervil went to tweeter really quickly to defend him. They asked willis McGahee on NFL network if he would want Manning on his team (peyton) since he maybe avaialable …a nd while it was a political question … he said I will rid ewith Tebow. Face it carnage, you just hear the parts you wanna hear …and like I said … Thats fine.
EKD92 Elvis Dumervil
Thanks for “God being on our sidelines”(God is always in my heart and on our sidelines)@TimTebow is our QB n we all behind him!WE OUT HERE!!
Guess you just completely missed that … but like I said, continue to pile on … won’t change anything … neither you nor I or anyone on these blogs make the decision.
TRB
The real discussion should be our defense, b/c even if we had Aaron Rodgers, we would have lost to NE.. Let’s not forget we were the worst defense in the league in 2010, and while we’ve made strides to correct it, we’re far from done.. Defense, defense, defense for this draft.. And giving the failure rate, we need to use multiple picks on the position of biggest need.. We need to have an answer for Gronk and Hernandez, otherwise we can forget about what we all really want…
So proud of this team. No locker room drama. No prima donnas. Young players playing so hard. We played more rookies for longer than just about any other team. Tebow stayed focused in spite of incessant media pressure.
Our “old” guys provided such great leadership.
Front office showed more transparency as promised. Fox and his foxisms (stay in my lane) kept things even keeled during a season of extreme highs and extreme lows.
The coaching staff changed everything mid season and clawed their way to a playoff win.
Prater! What can be said about him. Sign that man!
The fans here are so classy. I couldn’t understand the uproar over Turtle because it was so mild compared to what takes place on other team sites. But than I realized that it was due to how classy this blog is.
Thanks again to everyone for participating and offering great insights.
*we need to use multiple picks on the positions of biggest need (we have more than one on D).. Lol
For all those comments you posted Carnage, you forgot to mention the win / loss record. Tebows QB rating in all but 2 games was amazing. His QBR from your beloved ESPN was off the charts.
I think you also forgot to mention that Tebow’s attitude changed the teams attitude. They Believed.
Tebow proved he could do it through the air in multiple games, but obviously the standouts were against the Vikings, and the Steelers in the playoffs against the #1 ranked Defense.
Lastly, but not least . . . Tebow would have had a 58% or higher completion percentage this year had it not been for dropped balls. Our recievers were great and awful at times.
That is a lot that you left out when you went on and on Carnage. Just saying.
Well said OT, but then again … 13 teams couldn’t find an answer for Gronk and Hernandez. And I believe they used hernandez as a RB agaisnt us more than anyone else … I gaurantee people will be watching vid to see how to stop hern and gronk … and expect copycats to arise, like the 3-4, NE seems to set some trends (or renew them).
And Brian Schneider, just as thier are extremists on the pro side, they exist on the con side … id personally not like to talk about the same convo we have had all year but some people just can’t let it go even tho its evident no one will change the others mind. Tebow is like politics and religions, everyone has their allegiance and no one wants to compromise their stand. There used to be 2 topics to avoid, apparently now, I think there should be 3 (at least until the convo is relevant)
TRB
orangemnm, thats because carnage has tunnel vision … but im sure he would say the same about the pro Tebow crowd. TRB
One of the other things is I hope we can retain our coaching staff. McCoy and Allen I thought did a decent job and for the sake of continuity I think we need to keep them around.
I could see McCoy getting the Miami job.. They don’t want to give total control, which is why they didn’t get Fisher.. For this same reason, they won’t attract a big name HC, and McCoy wouldn’t ask for total control.. I don’t think it would the worst thing in the world if we lost McCoy, after all he is that last remaing McD’s hire…
Hey Brian,
You won the last contest, you can check all the results, both this last week and overall final standings are all posted on the first page of this very blog.
Denver post says:
“Broncos to go all in with Tebow”
hey
Aww man … now carnage definitely won’t give our ears (eyes) a rest. sigh ….
Glad you got your old handle back bro.
TRB
Sorry, hit submit before I was finished.
I’m not sure what that means.
When people say that Denver will build around tebow, is that about the read option or are they saying the broncos will focus on a running offense? But isn’t fox ball = run?
Carnage, if you were the decision maker, what would you do to acquire the QB able to take the broncos to the championship game?
Hey daddy’s back….
AppleJack please ont ask that question.
I personally believe they haven’t fully commited to a solitary option offense. Building around Tebow is just pretty much as good as saying that they will move forward with him. I find it hard to believe they will fully commit to the zone read, just a package in the playbook. I believe they are still fully commited to makign Tebow a pocket passer. He has everything else they like in a QB. Thats my opinion at least. Lets see how much progress he can make.
TRB
the question i didnt want u to ask was the carnage question.
Thank you all bloggers, I always have a great time reading the blogs from lot of experienced folks in here.
Thanks to Bay who make it very interesting with his prediction contest, i am sure it is lot of work, you do great, please don’t stop. Next year i will be in your points table
Thanks to Broncos for providing an entertaining season. I never thought we will be in playoffs this season and win against Steelers, so they did exceed many expectations, Kudos to the team. Yes, I am so disappointed with the loss, but on the flip side, the film from this game will provide all the gaps and areas that we need to get stronger. I hope the off season prep and the a few good draft picks will help us move forward and be a better team next season.
Will keep reading the blog, thank you all for the wondeful posts / insight, the only good thing that makes my Monday a little better
@baylinorcrush: Haha, I won even being 21 points off on my prediction, not too many times that will happen. Not that it would’ve made a huge difference but my WOS prediction maybe was a mistake. Hey I’m like Tim Tebow…I had the best and worst performances this season. haha
I’m supposed to have the ban lifted off my name today………
Apparently the admin working the live blog said I was “spamming” and “flamming”…….whatever that’s supposed to mean.
I just went back and read throught all my posts from the game and I did nothing of the kind….so I’m guessing he got me mixed up with someone else by mistake. Gray has apologized if it was an error, but it still cheeses me off a little to have my name banned for no apparent reason.
Daddys back with his old handle, cool, and Lander, I`m glad you find out about the situation, good for you.
I think Shannon Sharp said it best. “This game was not about Tebow, but about the defense that did not show up, and the play calling that did not plan on the team being down so quickly.”
When you give up 14 points in the first 97 seconds, you have a defense problem and it just continued to get worse. The game plan did not call for passing and when you are down 21-7 and you don’t pass, you will never catch brady.
Denver election not to throw may have had something to do with three front linemen that were out injured. I did notice that Tebow was getting hit pretty regulary. Either way, Shannon Sharp is right. The defense did not come to play!
I`m looking forward to what Elway, Fox, and Zanders has to say today in closing out this season. It was an all around good year for our Broncos. Looking forward to the 2012 season. I`m proud of our Denver Broncos.
Glad you enjoyed the season dendins … thats what its all about. You should post more.
Later days, TRB
Almost forgot that we are getting our orange jerseys back this year … bringing back the orange crush look …. yea … the defense needs to do those jerseys proud. D heavy draft please. TRB
The good thing is FA starts back as regularly scheduled. Last year it was a flip flop because of no offseason. we`ll see who we sign in FA then we can address the positions that we did not fill in the draft.
Aww man no lockout this season..dang! j/k
Btw, glad to see Rodgers have a bad game.. Sure, he’s a good QB, but it always rubbed me the wrong way that almost all the “experts” calling him the best of all time…. That’s a slap in the face to the all time greats IMO.. Look no further than that Flynn kid coming in and lighting it up.. U didn’t see any Colts QB doing that.. Just saying..
As far as our players we need to re-sign are as follows; Prater, Bunkley, M. Thomas, Woodyard, Mays, and Royal in that order of importance. We need to sign in FA and or draft CB`s, DT`s, RB`s WR`s, TE, S, and DE. As far as depth; QB, OL, and LB.
I agree with that strandoftds.
new blog.
I wonder if that press conference will be streamed live on the website. There is no mention of it on there yet.
Seweatherman,
If they don’t stream live, you can follow DMac (104.3 the fan) or Lindsey (from DP) tweets. They do a good running commentary of pressers.
This season after the blowout by the Lions I took a definitive stand to support TT till the end of the season and then reevaluate. Now that we are there I will continue my support for him going into next season. Our offense is young and needing slight adjustments on play calling and talent. I think we all agree on what needs addressing in the draft and FA. It was an amazing season, We have some young classy players that with some adjusting will give the AFC west fits in years to come. By chance if Dawk retires can we keep him on the staff roster somehow?! Baily…. No way are you done… Still a beast!!!
Go Broncos!!! looking forward to this offseason and next year!!
Straight from the land of HA HA HA, from our Resident Jester Carnage…
“Someone claimed he is a better “leader” than 90 percent of NFL QB. Like that can be measured. What I do know is that he is the ONLY starting QB that is not a captain. And as far as leaders Romo…Brady…Manning…Manning…Brees…Cutler….Rivers….Schaub…Stafford….BIg Ben…Newton…”
Nice Try Carnage… LOL… Don’t strain your pea too hard…
That someone was me, and the ‘he’ that I referred to was Tebow… Newton and Stafford?!? ROMO?!? better leaders than Tebow?!?… Thanks for proving my point and demonstrating your football IQ…
You really think Cutler is a Better LEADER?!?! that in itself is a poor enough statement to disqualify you from any intelligent football conversations in the future… Cutler?!?!? a better leader?!? sorry but that is too much to let slide…