Perrish Cox did his best Champ Bailey impersonation in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s home opener against the Seahawks.
Bailey picked off a Matt Hasselbeck pass in the red zone on the Seahawks’ first drive of the game, prohibiting a Seattle score and shifting the momentum of the game to his team. Cox intercepted Hasselbeck with less than two minutes remaining in the game, allowing Kyle Orton to kneel the ball three straight times to finish the fourth quarter.
“Getting an interception in the second game of the season — that’s a great feeling,” Cox said. “It takes a lot off your back and you can play more comfortably.”
The rookie wasn’t quite as comfortable when Andre’ Goodman came out of the game and Cox heard the coaches calling for him to get on the field.
“They kind of threw me out there,” he said. “I grabbed my helmet, and (Seattle) went at me on the first play.”
Mike Williams caught a 7-yard pass, and Cox brought him down for his only tackle of the game. Thinking back on the play, Cox isn’t surprised Hasselbeck went right at him.
“You see somebody — a nine-year veteran — run off the field and you see a first-year come in, of course they’re coming,” he said.
The rookie cornerback’s ability to adapt to the speed of the game resulted in his first NFL pick in the second game of his career.
The team has been grooming Cox for a regular-season role since OTA’s, when they first mixed the fifth-round pick in with the starting defense – something the rookie said “helped a lot.”
Whenever he ran with the ones, Cox knew he had a mentor either in the huddle or on the sideline to help him out. Bailey served as the young cornerback’s safety net whenever he needed help understanding the scheme.
“I ask him a lot of the small things that people don’t see on the field,” Cox said.
Having Bailey reassuring his knowledge of the defense amplifies Cox’s confidence, so playing up to the big stage isn’t an issue.
“You’re not nervous,” Cox said. “You know the defense, you know all the calls, you kind of know the schemes of the offense, you know what they’re running, so you can go in with a lot of confidence. At the same time, in front of 70-something thousand people, you get that adrenaline rush, so that’s one of the things that helps me out a lot.”
He might have a larger role than last week if Bailey and Goodman don’t recover from injuries suffered on Sunday in time for this week’s game against the Colts. Head Coach Josh McDaniels said the jury is still out on his starting corners.
“Nothing is broken,” McDaniels said. “I don’t know if they’re going to be (ready) or not, but we’re hopeful that both of them will have an opportunity to play.”
Cox is confident he’ll have a chance to square off against Peyton Manning, whom he said he watched growing up, no matter how much the veteran corners figure into the game plan.
“If they’re playing or not, I think I’m about to fit in big time,” Cox said. “I’m prepared for it. I’m ready. I’ve still got a lot of coaching coming forward for this week, so I just have to take it all in.”
LEAVE IT IN THE LOCKER ROOM
If you’re a NFL player or coach, a regular season victory is certainly a reason to celebrate. You spend all week dissecting an opponent on film and preparing a game plan. Executing that plan and outpunching the other team isn’t easy.
But it’s best not to break out the champagne. You might only have time to sip half a glass.
“The Woo-Hoo party time ends as soon as you leave the locker room,” Brandon Lloyd said.
“It’s not really so much thinking about a celebration as in relishing in what you did right. It’s more so just the confidence of, Hey, we won, we did a lot of things really well and we want to build on top of that. And then we did bad things and we want to learn from that, make the corrections and then apply them to next week.”
In Lloyd’s mind, it’s more pertinent to examine the team’s highlights after a loss, when maintaining confidence is a high priority.
“In a loss you definitely want to focus on what you did right,” he said. “The negatives are glaring and everybody knows what’s wrong, so those are easy to point out and easy to fix.”
There isn’t time to bask in success when you’re preparing to face a team that doesn’t care what you did last week.
“You can’t celebrate too long or you’ll get a beating the next week. We know that,” Robert Ayers said. “We still made mistakes, even though we won. We’re going to correct those mistakes and we’re going to try to win again next week.”
Following the Broncos’ 31-14 win over the Seahawks, the team had a chance to catch the Sunday night game featuring the Giants against the Colts — whom Denver will play at home this Sunday. The euphoria of victory fades a little faster when you watch the Colts jump out to a 24-0 halftime lead.
“I did get home and watch the game — and celebrated the victory all the way until the second quarter,” McDaniels laughed.
No matter the opponent, Ayers knows the Broncos won’t let last week’s outcome affect their performance.
“We’re going to take that mindset regardless of who we’re about to play,” Ayers said. “It’s just going to be a big task for us. We’re going to come out and get ready this week and we’re going to try to win.”
Tags: 2010, Andre' Goodman, Brandon Lloyd, Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Perrish Cox, Robert Ayers
Kenny McKinley was found dead today, very sad.
WHAT?????????
Is on DenverPost.com.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports
wow…Thats terrible…
I know, is very sad indeed.
I was getting ready to post how we would be ready to go with some of our back up DB’s When this news hit. I don’t know what to say! Get’s me real sad. My best goe’s out to his family!
FTR
Post Later! God Bless Kenny!
23 yr old young man, my condoleances to his family, friends and the entire team, what a terrible tragedy, must of been some real deep issues with him, very surprising that none of them popped up while on this team, McD just said how likeable he was and how he could lit up a room whenever he came in, we will find out more I hope, terrible bad misfortune for the Broncos.
That’s unfortunate and sad.
Get Healthy, yet again, GO BRONCOS 2K10!
RIP Kenny McKinley. I could hardly believe the news when I saw it. I was looking forward to watching him develop into a great receiver.
Yeah, I can remember the game in last year’s pre-season when he caught all those long balls and made a real impact, that will now be known as the one time he really shone with us, just very hard to grasp stuff like that.
WOW WHAT?!?!? Kenny dead? That has to be the shocker of the day for me. last thing i would think. Im hoping this wasnt related to his football careers, cuz athletes can get down on them selves quick. nothing saddens me more than suicide. prayers go out to his family and his son.
im with you FTR i was just about to comment about cox and stuff when this blindsighted me. gonna need some time for it to sink in. it is just so random and unexpected.
We are reminded once again how life is so much bigger than football, this day of celebration was so short lived, this week will be very hard on the whole team and the weekly schedule, all of a sudden the Colts game has taken a backseat and it is only natural, this of course completely blindsided everybody.
RIP Kenny………… ill comment on the game another day…..
No NFL team has been hit harder than Denver. Darrent Williams. Damien Nash. Kenny McKinley. RIP.
RIP Kenny Mckinley
rip Kenny my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family
Sad news for sure. And as Bay said, no NFL team has been hit harder. Our thoughts are with you and your family…
I remember couch Spurrier saying he was the best receiver he had ever couched.
I am in complete shock and misery right now!! This is so terrible!
I didn’t even know anything and saw that I had a voicemail on my phone and checked it and it was my mother asking what Bronco had committed suicide and that it was a second year player! My heart just stopped then and I got on the internet asap and checked and couldn’t believe it!!
May God bless our Broncos and everyone!!
I pray that his family can get through this without too much pain but yet again, how do you get through something like that!!!
I say we all honor his name and kill the Colts on Sunday at home and wear his number!
He will be soo greatly missed!!!!!
man I didn’t know it was a suicide…so sad one of my best friends who was a huge broncos fan killed himself so I understand how that feels
sometimes people are very depressed when no one can understand why
i will continue to pray for his family and friends
1nOnlyTRB and the rest of Broncos Country thanks for taking a moment for respect!
FTR
So true Baylin.
Rest in Peace Kenny you will be missed,
To the family of this young man our prayers are with you I am sorry for your loss.
All of Broncos Country please pour out a little liquor in memory of this very talented very loved young man,
Very sad to hear about this!:(
Best wishes to his family! Prayers for all!
My heartfelt condolences go out to Kenny Mckinley’s family.
Also to all his teammates at South Carolina and the Broncos organization.
Great memories of him running back kickoffs last season and was hopeful he would have a great future in the NFL.
23 yrs of age….just beginning life really.
RIP #11
How sad. Gud kid bad ending. Our toughts & prayers to his family. Will be a blow to the whole team. RIP
RIP Kenny. My deepest condolences go out to your family and friends. Very sad. He obviously had some issues and it is a tradgedy that he couldnt get the proper help he needed before he felt like he had to end his life. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Condolences to Kenny’s family and teamates,and especially his kid,sorry to hear the bad news.I watched him play at South Carolina(broke all kinds of records) and was expecting him to turn into a great NFL WR,what a shame…R.I.P. Kenny McKinley.
BFE
RIP Kenny. May God be with all those deeply hurt by this tragedy. This really puts things in perspective. A talented young man with his whole life ahead of him. My prayers go out to his family.
I was just finishing the Saints Vs 49ers game, and as always i was checking my denver broncos page.. then i froze ;S.. my thoughts & condolences go out to his family and friends.. RIP..
What terrible news!
I am completely floored by this. Kenny had such a future ahead of him. Im just in shock right now. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family……
Come on Broncos! Lets win this one for Kenny!
RIP KENNY MCKINLEY!!!!
What a sad day!!! The broncos and there families have suffered through way too many deaths of talented young men over the past few years.
And suicide too, there is nothing you can say about that?????
So sad when people can’t understtand how precious life is and they take there own.
And he has children cruel.
My dad comited suicide when I was twenty one and it affects all the family members.
Hope all the Broncos players understand that god is with them all and not to take it too hard. I feel so bad for his family though.
God Bless
How awful… My thoughts are with Kenny’s family and friends. Things like football just don’t seem to matter when something like this happens to such a young man. Rest peacefully Kenny.
I’m stunned at this news. Just turned my laptop on and here this news is sitting on my homepage. I thought I was seeing things. Its one thing for someone to pass away but to go like that… hard to think someone could really go through with it. My prayers go out to his family. God rest his soul. Rest in peace man. Sad to think though his kid will have to grow up without a father… been there, done that, it sucks. Lord have mercy.
At least our next game is at home and we can give him a proper Mile High salute to him and his life on Sunday. He will be truly missed.
big hit to Denver…
My prayers go out to the Mckinley family…God Bless.
This is so sad and I’m still in shock even after a night of sleep. I continue to send prayers and good vibes to Kenny’s Family, Friends, Teammates, and the entire Broncos Nation. We have to continue to stick together and be there for each other.
benbronco9 – I know how you fell bc my Dad shot himself when I was young. This hits real close to home for me bc just last year around this time my 23 year old cousin killed himself and left behind 2 beautiful girls.
I have never met any of you in person, but to me you all are Family and I’m proud to be apart of the Orange and Blue magic!
KENNY MCKINLEY what a great talent to see pass away at so young of an age. he wasnt even at his full potential yet. he was someone i could see doing great things for the broncos in the near future.
my thoughts and prayers goes out to all his family and friends. i couldn’t imagine the pain and hurt they all feel. just like Mcdaniels said, he lights up the room when he walks in it. so i know he was a great loving, and caring person. May GOD BLESS you MCKINLEY and may you rest heavenly in peace.
R.I.P. Kenny McKinley. Thoughts and prays out to the family and team.
Very Sad…my deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.