HEAD COACH JOHN FOX
On postgame discussion about winning the division
“Other than acknowledge it—because it was one of our goals—we still have a lot of improvement to do as a football team. It’s just a starting point for us, really.”
On winning the division being a starting point on season achievements
“Well, there’s different championships. Your division is obviously one, everybody aspires to be in the conference championship but at the end of the day, everybody is looking for that world championship. It’s a great accomplishment, a tribute to the staff and coaches in that locker room. They did a fantastic job. We still have a whole quarter of the season left. We’ll see what happens.”
On winning back-to-back division titles in his first two years coaching the Broncos
“I really don’t have much to say about that. I’ve been blessed, there’s no doubt. This is a great city, great team, and I’m proud to be here.”
QUARTERBACK PEYTON MANNING
On winning the AFC West
“It feels good to get the win. It was the main goal coming in today playing a good team—a team with a lot of momentum. I thought we beat a good team here at home. Winning the division, that was certainly one of our goals. We still want to keep getting better throughout the season. Not a whole lot of time to think about it with a game on Thursday. But it sure feels good to get the win.”
On WR Demaryius Thomas
“Well he’s a good player and I think he has continued to get better through the season. And those were two big touchdowns. What I liked about the second touchdown was Demaryius was seeing the same thing I was seeing, He was kind of looking for something, he had another route and we changed it at the line. We were kind of thinking along the same line. That was good to see—that kind of communication and the growth. On the first one I’m just going to tell you, I threw that ball as early as you can throw a pass. An old coach would call that an ‘anticipatory throw.’ I’m not sure if that is a word or not. But I threw that ball super early and Demaryius came around, kind of came right around the DB and made a heck of a catch. That was really a special play.”
On where winning the AFC West ranks on his list of preseason goals
“Well, that guarantees you a playoff spot. I’ve always believed in that. You have to have goals—they have to start somewhere, and you build from there. I think Coach [John] Fox has preached all along that he wants us to be playing our best football in the month of December and on, so we are guaranteed a playoff spot, and that’s really all that means. But hopefully we can keep getting better. With that Thursday night game (on the road against Oakland) it really is hard to think about anything else with this short week, but it certainly feels good to get the win today and to guarantee a playoff spot, and that’s really all that means.”
CORNERBACK CHAMP BAILEY
On clinching the AFC West
“That is something that you always want to do. It feels good to get that wrapped up but we have to put that behind us and get ready for the Raiders this week.”
On the defensive rhythm
“We did some good things once we got settled but right there at the end, we can’t give up plays like that. We gave them the opportunity to tie the ballgame late so that’s not something that you pride yourself in. We have to be better.”
On having limited preparation time this week against Oakland
“It is a short week. It is what it is; it’s the nature of our job. We have to go out and play when we are called on and that is what we are going to have to do this Thursday. We will be ready to go.”
DEFENSIVE TACKLE MITCH UNREIN
On the decision to run a play designed for him
“I didn’t know about it this week. We had been practicing it for a little while and I caught everything in practice so that had to build some confidence in the coaches minds. It is a lot harder than it looks. Those wide receivers, there is a lot of pressure on you. It feels like that ball is coming really slow, especially for me.”
On the last time he had a touchdown catch
“I have never had a TD catch in my entire life. The last time I scored a touchdown was as a freshman in high school. It feels pretty good; it still is a little surreal. I will do whatever I can to help the team out.”
On the pressure he put on QB Josh Freeman to force an interception
“Actually nobody even blocked me so I had a free run to the quarterback and luckily I got a little pressure on him. I don’t know if that caused him to throw it to [LB] Von [Miller] or not.”
LINEBACKER VON MILLER
On the defense’s performance
“I think we did okay, still have some room for improvement. [RB] Doug [Martin] is a great running back and he does all the things that you ask of a great running back. He is aggressive but patient at the same time. When he hits the hole, he hits it aggressively and he is pretty hard to take down.”
On his pick-six
“It was just a basic zone-drop for us. I was able to drop back and I think [QB] Josh [Freeman] saw me at the last second and I was able to get my hands on it and get it into the end zone – great blocking by my teammates too.”
On not becoming complacent after clinching playoffs
“There is a lot of football out there to be played, a lot of great teams that we have on our schedule. We are going to keep taking it one day at a time – that’s what has been working for us all season and stick to that.”
TIGHT END JACOB TAMME
On if he knew QB Peyton Manning would target him before the game
“Like we said from the beginning of the year, the way that we play tight ends, and the different personnel groupings we have, it’s going to vary game to game. You really don’t have much of an idea. Different games flow different ways. Obviously, with [WR] Brandon [Stokley] being out tonight, guys needed to step up, and we did a pretty good job of that.”
On the third quarter
“It was a good third quarter. We came out and put some drives together that we needed to have, and I guess [LB] Von [Miller]’s pick was in the third quarter too. It was a big third quarter, and that got the game for us. That was good.”
On if getting the lead on offense allows the defense to play more aggressively
“It’s big against this team especially, because they run the ball so well. They’ve got a pretty dynamic offense, so we wanted to get a lead and play with the lead, and it the third quarter we were able to do that.”
Tags: Qutoables, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 13