1:15 p.m. MST: We’re 15 minutes away from the start of the press conference, and the media is starting to trickle in.
1:21 p.m. MST: We’ve got some print reporters filing into the team room and more video cameras being set up in the back.
Right now we’re just testing to make sure all the audio/video equipment is working, and pretty soon we’ll be listening to Dawkins.
1:31 p.m. MST: We should be just a few minutes away, as the press conference was scheduled to begin now. There are more reporters and Broncos staff members in the team room now.
1:34 p.m. MST: Members of the Dawkins family have entered the room and sat down up front, so I expect we’ll start any minute.
1:36 p.m. MST: And we will apologize in advance. All the traffic on the site has slowed things down, but I’ll get all the information to you from the press conference as quickly as I can.
Dawkins has entered the room and taken the podium.
1:36 p.m. MST: Head Coach Josh McDaniels is at the podium, introducing Dawkins.
“Brian Dawkins is a special, special person and an even better player.”
“One of the things I realized once free agency opened is he’s exactly what the Denver Broncos are looking for. He’s dedicated and serious about the game,” McDaniels said. “He wants to come to a place where he can win. It’s our priveledge to add him as the newest Denver Bronco. He’s going to provide us with great leadership, great attitude.”
1:39 p.m. MST: Dawkins has taken the podium, and McDaniels has presented him with an orange No. 20 Broncos jersey.
Now Dawkins has made his opening remarks.
“This is an absolute blessing. I’m a blessed man… I’ve been blessed to play for a great organization and to come to another great organization… I was able to meet some of the young guys that I’ll have the priveledge of playing with. I’m kind of jumping around with my words right now because I’m so emotionally excited.”
1:42 p.m. MST: He has started taking questions now and was asked about his level of play.
“This is a day to celebrate. We’ve been blessed to be with this organization. (I will play) as many as he blesses me to play at a high level.”
On what he’ll do to get the defense back on track — “We’re going to get on this right away. The thing about it is you try to gel as quickly as possible. Once you gel, you just do your role. If that’s the mentality and everybody is taking care of their gap, we’re going to be a pretty good defense, creating turnovers along the way.”
1:45 p.m. MST: On the challenge in the secondary — “The challenge for me is to, first of all, I’m not going to think my guys up front can’t get pressure. I’m going to believe they will whoop the guys in front of them. IN those instances that they get blocked or whatever, we’re going to have to do our job in the backfield — give them a second or two to get to the quarterback. If we’re both doing our jobs at the same time, it’s a dominant defense.”
On his leadership — “I only know how to be one thing — I genuinely care for the guys that I play with. That’s the kind of relationship I build with guys. We have conversations about everything, not just football. We get ot know each other on and off the field. The thing that I’ve always believed in a defense is you have 100 percent trust the guy next to you. But not just trust them, you have to respect them. We’re going to have respect for one another… Everyone is going to come in and do their job, but not just do it — be excited about it.”
1:47 p.m. MST: On what it was about McDaniels that enticed him to come to Denver — “I drank the orange kool-aid. It’s all about winning. It’s about his passion and his leadership, and I bought into it right away.”
1:48 p.m. MST: On what was important about a destination where he could end up, in terms of his family — “You see my family here — they mean the world ot me. I want to make sure they’re somewhere they’ll be happy. I want them to flourish and bloom. I was in Philadelphia for 13 years. I could practically drive to work with my eyes closed. From everything I’ve heard of this place and once I got here and saw the beautiful surroundings, I think I’m going to love this place. I wasn’t skeptical — it was just a lot of deep thought.”
1:49 p.m. MST: On playing at INVESCO Field at Mile High — “It didn’t end too well (laughs). When I’m on the road, I’m not paying attention to the fans there. My focus is on the job at hand. I know about the tradition here, the winning tradition. I know about the safeties that have come through here and been flat-out terrors. Hopefully I’ll be able to jump right in there.”
1:50 p.m. MST: On when he first thought of himself as a Denver Bronco — “I think when I first got over here today and saw the orange jersey. I went to Clemson and wore orange, so I’m going to wear orange again with this defense. I’m going to wear it with pride and hold it up high.”
1:52 p.m. MST: On the importance of community work — “I’ve been blessed so much with my time in the NFL that that’s a part of who I am. I believe, with my faith, that that’s what it’s about — to give. Once I get out here with my feet on the ground, I’ll be able to step out and see what areas the Lord wants me to go to.”
1:53 p.m. MST: On if he’s excited to play Philadelphia in 2009 — “Do we know who we’re playing in our first game? That’s who I’m excited about playing. That first preseason game, I’m excited about that.”
1:54 p.m. MST: On what made him decide to come here, knowing he wants to win now at this point in his career — ” Just lisetening to Josh and his excitement. They’re reaching out to start something and do something now. You didn’t hear any wavering in what they said. They weren’t searching for words. What they felt is what they told me, and I believed it.”
1:57 p.m. MST: He said he has not yet spoken with any of his new defensive teammates but he looks forward to talking with all of them very soon.
That ends the press conference, and now he’s taking photos with his family. His kids are all wearing Broncos gear, and Dawkins just put on his orange No. 20 jersey.
2:00 p.m. MST: We will have the video online as soon as possible, followed by a one-on-one interview with the newest Bronco.
Tags: 2009, Adam Zinser, Brian Dawkins, Live Blog
I would not take 2 #1 picks for CUTLER. He is going to be one of the Greatest QB’s in History. We had the #2 offense in the NFL last year. We need to concentrate on the bad things not the offense. Come on Xanders.
Everyone Calm Down!!!
Bottom line: Cutler is Staying. Why worry about the “What ifs?”
You know, you are bound to throw a couple of interceptions when your running game sucks. when defenses can put that much more attention on covering receivers it will happen. The fact that Cutler threw as well as he did and was as productive as he was with other teams being able to put more coverage on his targets aought to tell you something. McD needs to remedy this situation quickly. He could ruin any production right there. Hard to be real excited about going into a new season thinking your organization isn’t behind you. Our offense showed a lot of good chemistry last year, and this guy is going to ruin all of it. He’s going to turn it into another Dallas by pissing everyone off and playing a little favorites game. What is going on? This guy can’t be serious.
Everybody calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. OOOOOMMMMMMMM. Better now. OK. Here’s the inbetween the lines on the story. Jay if you ever read this blog, YOU ARE THE BEST! Please don’t let a crappy headline change your opinion, dedication or loyalty. We love you here in Denver!
“The Broncos firmly maintain that they never intended to trade Cutler, that they were approached to make the trades. But, as of Saturday afternoon, Cutler was angry to hear that his name had been floated in any trade conversations.”
Once again…Don’t take this junk headline seriously, any team would be crazy to trade Jay or even entertain the idea.
GO JAY CUTLER, GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WAS A BRONCO FAN BEFORE I WAS EVEN BORN.
Everybody really needs to calm down about this Cutler thing.
This was Schefter’s story, and Lombardi has totally turned it on its head. And *both* Lombardi and Schefter said the Broncos told them they weren’t looking to trade Cutler. So what does Lombardi turn around and do? He submits a headline that we’re actively shopping Cutler. Talk about irresponsible reporting. Why not just cut to the chase, Vic, and say “Xanders is a Liar”?
Think about it, if you’re McD. The phone rings and someone essentially offers you a straight up trade for the guy you’ve got – who you don’t know that well and has had some problems he needs to fix, and in return you get a guy you know really well, with whom you were extremely successful just last season. Hell, Cassel’s a big part of the reason McD became a hot commodity. Are you really telling me you’re not going to give that a moment’s thought? And then he didn’t make the trade anyway.
I really like Cutler, and I understand his reaction, it’s only human. But he does need to get over it, and reporters like Lombardi (who I also liked until now) need to show some integrity and not just make things up as they go for ratings’ sake. It irks me that our hometown media is making things more difficult for our hometown sports teams (and this is only the latest such incident).
I can care less what cassel has done for McD Cutler just getting started and hes already one of the best. They should have hung up the phone when the team asked about cutler. Y is the coach so worried about the offense anyways, we had the #3 overall last season
I think the whole Cutler thing is going to be a blessing. Now Cutler nows he is not untouchable. Maybe now he works harder, studies longer, and comes back as the QB we all want him to be. Dawkins addition is AWESOME! He and Champ are going to make some noise next season. Can’t ‘F’ing wait to see the draft. Can you imagine Dawkins and Maualuga leading this team, SCARY!!!!! GO BRONCOS!!
Here’s a question, are there any big legs out there as free agents. We need a strong that can put the ball out of the endzone on kickoffs. I think that would vastly improve out special teams. I mean it kind of hard to have someone run the ball back on you if you put it out of their endzone.
Good point B-Marsh=#1
We had the #2 Offense w/ a crappy run game… meaning Jay gets more chances to throw… witch gives him more chances to mess up… When we get ourselves a good running game (hopefully buckhalter or arrington and do us good) he will SHINE that season and continue to… Sucks because people only remember bad things of players… but last time I checked, Good Ol’ Jay has taken the team on his shoulders the past 2 years and had to physically and mentally work his butt off to help this team game after game since there was no running game… My fav example… is the Browns game… That right there shows you what Jay has had to do…
Jay, I love ya man… my favorite player… I can say this with the entire BRONCO COUNTRY (minus some num-nut morons), that you are the Greates thing to happen to this team since we got John Elway… and you are right up there at his level.
this so awesome we needed this we have a tough schedule next year all we need now is another shut down corner and we will be set its hard to say this but i think mcdaniels was a good move
i’m a bit disappointed with Cutler’s name floating around, but of course, the bottom line is Denver said no. Cutler is still young and he still has some growing to do. it would be disappointing if he was traded because he’s a diamond in the rough in my opinion. but kudos for other teams for realizing that he has the potential to even ask for a trade. so maybe this will motivate him. who knows?
Hey Adam,
When are we gonna see that interview with him you guys got about how much longer?
Vic Lombardi is a joke…. the dude thinks its sunday
Coop has a new blog up about this very thing. It is nice to know other teams have figured out he’s bursting with talent but that’s not what I’m all mad about. Its the fact that our people might actually be considering this… ITS NUTS!!!!! They’ve officially lost it if they want someone else… I’m so mad I’m speechless.
With faith…
GO BRONCOS in ’09!!!!
Oh and my opinion on the cutler thing is I hope he doesn’t take it to bad it’d be a shame to see him and McDaniels have a bad year together because of this so im more worried he wont want to work hard for this coaching staff because he was so upset already to hear Mike and Jim Bates were leaving and now trade rumors I’m praying this doesnt turn into a big deal
I swear some of you fans cry worse than them eagle fans NFL network said we were offered a deal for Cutler which compliments our QB Cutler so stop criticizing your team and coaches and support them they are experienced in organizations we are just fans and I don’t see Bowlen offering any of you jobs any time soon.
Mike T 26 –
The full press conference will be posted online shortly. I’m in the process of uploading the video now.
As for the sit down with Dawkins, that will be posted in a couple days.
And we’ve got another Free Agency Day 2 running blog post going if y’all haven’t noticed yet.
more to the story……………..(JUST ADDED)
CBS4 has also learned tight end Tony Scheffler has also been mentioned in trade talks.
CBS4′s Gary Miller spoke with Broncos GM Brian Xanders Saturday afternoon. Xanders denied any plans to trade Cutler, saying “We are not trying to trade Jay Cutler. We will not trade Jay Cutler. He’s a Pro Bowl Quarterback.” He went on to say, “you can ask Josh McDaniels, and he’ll tell you the same thing.” Miller did approach McDaniels, who said he was not going to answer any questions. However, Cutler confirmed to CBS4 that he is aware that trade talks have taken place.
Let’s hope that the GM isn’t lying to cool down the story and Jay is here to stay..he has his faults but he is progressing…i honestly think this kid has “it”. he has to work on his presentation, etc but what matters is his play…just ask NY fans about Eli.
MC DANIELS better be on the phone right f__kin now with cutler straighting this out. i understand if they didnt make the call but when rumors get started like this they need to be cleared up this is not the way to start off a new coach and qb relationship. as far as cassell goes he sucks and if you watched him he never threw the ball farther then 10 yards down field. he just had receivers like moss and welker make plays for him. there is a reason why he didnt play in college and im glad kc got him now we have another 10 years of kicking there butts.
Mike T 26 , that is exactly what I’m worried about. This whole ordeal with the coaching changes and bringing in a new offensive scheme have to weigh pretty heavily upon these young players. We want Cutler to go into learning all of these new plays and layouts with confidence and intensity. It would be pretty hard to do all that when in the back of your mind you’re worried about your future with the club. I sure hope he’s sending Cutler some chocolates or a stripper or something. McD needs to be Cutlers biggest fan
Other teams probly offered a ton for Cutler.
Our staff (like any staff would) looked at it and said “eh… no”.
If Cutler is gonna be all pissy about that, he needs to grow up.
He is a business assett and this is a business.
I would hope they wouldn’t trade Cutler. It doesn’t make any sense to me.
But Jay needs to just shut up and play. This year he has to prove he can lead a playoff team. No excuses.
If he takes things too personal, he’ll screw up his career and this season.
The Broncos signing Dawkins is a major plus fot the defense, or is it? Consider recent Bronco history. Shanny brought in Lych as a gap filler. While he did an excellent job, is was very brief. Lynch left and the Broncos were where they were before Lynch was signed, no experience, no depth, no talent at the safety position. What if, instead of signing Lynch, Shanny had brought in anybody who even knew how to spell safety? What are the odds that he’d have stumbled onto a diamiond in the rough. I’d say, very high. McDaniel is placing us in exactly the same position again. Dawkins is good for 1-3 years. What good does that do a club trying to build a solid base of young talented players that will dominate their position for 5-10 years?
So the Broncos were approached about trading Culter. Big whooping deal. While I’m sure McDaniel didn’t give trading Culter very serious consideration, what if he was made an offer that he couldn’t refuse? Also, remember, no Bronco has ever been so valuable that there’s no way the Broncos would trade him. Before all of you blow a gasket and say the there’s no way the Broncos would have ever considered trading Elway, remember the facts of history. Dan Reeves initaited talks with the Washington Redskins trying to work a trade for Elway!!! The bottom line is that this is a business and there’s a price on everyones head.
this just in….ESPN’s John clayton just reported on Sportscenter that Jay Cutler requested a trade after hearing he was on the block and that the broncos are attempting to fix this situation and will not trade him. This is not how i wanted the Jay-McD working relationship to start? I hope Pat Bowlen is happy…..
we cant trade jay dogg he is the offense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cutler?!!@#$%^&*()
ok i gota jump in here, but if you don’t like what i have to say don’t read it.
i like cutler don’t get me wrong, he has plenty of things that could be improvred upon, and he has bad things as well…that have to get better.
and yes we are #2 in offence but we just can’t score. now who is to blame? that was answered by pat bowlen in dec. now my point is why are we so concerned about cutlers fealings and relationship with all of his coaches? if he is a pro than he needs to act like one. with his money he can buy good times after he retires from the broncos. have you ever heard of a coach changing his ways becouse his player(s) were sad or pissed off. terry bradshaw and chuck noll were not friends look what they did. come on, JAY has to give the head coach his respect. and visaversa. spelling. they only have to be pros not chums.
07elway, they were rumors about cutler being traded. After Cutler found out though there are rumors of him asking to be traded.
SHARPER TO DENVER SS
Minnesota safety Darren Sharper is taking a free-agent visit Monday with New Orleans, Sirius NFL Radio reported.
Sharper, 33, has reached four Pro Bowls in 12 seasons with Green Bay (1997 to 2004) and Minnesota (2005 to 2008).
old south, like the way you put it about shanny and his mistakes. but we have a few younger players now. shanny just never played his when the game wasin hand to give them experance.
as far as trading cutler, that would be a bad thing.
yesterday and earler everyone was praising McD and x-man, now becouse of rumors we want to hang them, we need to make up our mind witch side of the fence we stand on.
guys, come on, everyone around the league knows that Jay Cutler is a talented young Quarterback, even if he isn’t the smartest player at his position. The fact that he’s so young and already so good is a threat to anyone that doesn’t have him, and that’s gonna make GM’s around the league want him that much more. simply because there’s a rumor of a proposed trade doesn’t mean that we have to start checking out a new QB for next year. Brain Dawkins is getting older. I’m sure his primary goal in his career right now isn’t to make the Denver defense better for the fans, but for him; he’s probably thinking about some championships. The last big FA out of Philly went to the Packers because he was impressed by the Young-Gun Quarterback and knew there would be some Lombardi’s heading his way. Today, we all know that Young-Gun as the guy who’s too old to still be playing, and the biggest comparison that anyone can make is between Jay and Brett Favre. What I’m getting at is that McDaniels isn’t stupid. He and Xanders wouldn’t sign Brian Dawkins-who’s looking for a winning team- and get rid of their biggest Offensive Asset. You gotta be strong on both sides of the ball, and now they’re heading in the right direction…finally.
I thought Denver fans were more savvy than some of you appear to be. It is no good commenting on rumours. None of you know what Jay Cutler thinks and nor does that jumped up NFL preener AS.
Jay knows its a business and knows that any enquiries are due to the fact he has great potential. I am certain Coach Mac is well aware of Jay’s capabilities and Cassell’s, and if the rumours are true then he has shown faith in Jay by picking him in front of Cassell.
So let us concentrate on the facts and be happy that we are now blessed with a very special player, Mr Dawkins.
We should take a leaf out of his book and show respect and trust in Coach Mac. I for one am with Mr Dawkins in that I am very excited about the Broncos future and I trust in Coach McDaniels.
ADDITIONS (8)
RB J.J. Arrington (FA, ARZ)
RB Correll Buckhalter (FA, PHI)
WR Jabar Gaffney (FA, NE)
FS Renaldo Hill (FA, MIA)
G Matt McChesney (waivers, MIA)
LS Lonie Paxton (FA, NE)
DT Darrell Reid (FA, IND)
S Brian Dawkins (FA, PHI) RB Anthony Aldridge (waivers, WSH)
SUBTRACTIONS (15)
CB Dré Bly (cut)
DE John Engelberger (cut)
CB Dominique Foxworth (FA, BAL)
RB Alex Haynes (cut)
TE Nate Jackson (cut)
LB Niko Koutouvides (cut)
S John Lynch (retired)
S Marquand Manuel (cut)
TE Chad Mustard (cut)
RB P.J. Pope (cut)
DT Dewayne Robertson (cut)
WR Cliff Russell (cut)
DT John Shaw (cut)
LB Jamie Winborn (cut)
RE-SIGNED (0)
I’ve been hearing rumors now the McDaniels was going to trade Jay Cutler for Matt Cassell, but what im saying is i think Jay Cutler is a better fit and maybe Cassell going to Kansas is a good thing for use and with the additions to our secondary Cassell is probly not gana have a good game agaisnt us anyway.
Exo2045:
You forgot one addition:
ILB Andra Davis (FA, CLE)
With Rivers in this division and now Cassel, I really hope Jay starts showing some of those things that a 4-year QB should know-like looking off coverage. I say with total faith that Jay Cutler will be wearing the Orange and Blue next season. After all, where else can he go to boast about being better than the last great Quarterback?!
(Not that he is. Elway always will be the greatest. I love you John!!)
If this B.S. about trading Cutler is true, I take back every good thing I have said about McDaniels. If it is true, he is a fool.
its all speculations. Just rumors blown out of proportions.
I like how bleedinorange+blue put it, “Coach and Xanders wouldnt bring in Dawkins promising a winning team and get rid of its prized offensive asset.”
well said.
Definitely like the Dawkins pick up. Also heard we got ILB Andra Davis.
Cutler is upset, and I can’t blame him. Without him this team would have been near the level of Detroit last year. Jay saved us when the defense could do nothing. I still think he has room to grow, but it was only his 2nd full season as a starter. Give him a break. You can’t blame him for a lot of those interceptions because we were so bad on defense that we had to put points up. I want to know what Bolen is thinking. You invest so much in Jay over 3 years, and then you consider this crap. It’s crazy. He is coming into his prime.
Cassel had success in New England. Everyone has success in New England because they always have a complete team. I’m sure it didn’t hurt having 2 pro bowl receivers in Randy Moss and Welker. I’m sure that great O-line didn’t hurt either and that good defense. Cassel could be good, but I think people need to remember where he had success.
the thing everyone’s gotta know is that Coach was approached by Tampa and New England. No one’s giving him and Xanders enough credit here. Just because McD came from New England and so did Cassel people think that they just can’t stand being away from each other, but I think that McD is probably glad to be out of New England and out of Belichick’s shadow.
give the Cutler rumor a break already you all sound like a bunch of gossiping women be a loyal BRONCO fan and support our team and coaches and stop being so negative.BRONCO NATION2009!!!!!!p.s. we got Derrick Ward coming for a visit tomorrow I love it go BRONCOS!
Champ24 I agree and disagree. Fans pointing out that this is a problem its true. Like I said earlier when your QB makes a valid request you should honor it. When Cut asked to keep his QB coach that shows me that he feels he is progressing with him and for the staff not to honor that, thats a problem to me and yes we dont want the negative vibes but. But for most of us we dont like anything that has to deal with New England.
Can anyone name me a New England coach under Beli that has been successsful. Beli dont produce them.
find out the facts before you cry we turned down all offers for Cutler a true fan would support his team and coaches go to Philly with all them negative fans the true BRONCO NATION knows we will prevail.
Here’s cutler’s actual word’s to the hole situation… If Cutler is not traded, and he stays with the Broncos, can his situation be mended? Cutler took a long pause before answering.
“Anything can be mended,” he said. “I’ll always play with the guys we’ve got. I love playing for those guys. Obviously, Josh and I’s relationship has taken a few steps backward. I don’t play for the coaches anyway, I play for teammates. As long as we keep the guys we’ve got I’ll go out there and play. I love those guys.”
Cutler said he had spoken with teammates Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Tony Scheffler and Casey Wiegmann, among others, about his trade.
“I know they love playing for me and I love playing for them,” Cutler said. “There’s going to be a lot of problems if they try to trade me. Well, they’ve already tried to trade me, but if they trade me for sure.” All i have to say is Cutler needs to grow up & stop acting like a 5 year old
Why so many strong hate emotions towards our new coaches over what happens every year in this business? I’m new to this blog/forum but I’m surprised at how many people on here just go ape $h!7 over nothing. I know the world is tough and we all need an outlet for all of the pent up frustration and I know that football and sports in general can be that outlet but, seriously folks. This kind of thing goes on all the time. We just got the heart and soul from another team today in B-Dawk, and Cutler is a big boy, so is McD, and they are professionals, not High School kids. LOL. So let’s chill and take a deep breath. Ahhhh…
I would like to see more positive support for the new coaches and realize how lucky we are to have them.
Peace
Come on people. Would you give up the Cutler news.. STOP CRYING.. People talk all the time, but the Broncos have firmly held the stand that they are not and were not going to trade Cutler.. So give it up.. Let the rumors fly, but know that until something is done DONT CRY……
Dude you need to calm down Cutler is just a little pi$$y because he probaly doesn’t know all the facts. Broncosmaniac7 when yo feel better hit me up I’m on B.C. right now.
i would no longer be a fan if culter got traded…that would be the biggest mistake…i love the changes so far keep up the good work…our defense should be good!!! i love u culter
Seriously, everyone needs to just breath. If Jay said he wants to be traded that he obviously needs to grow up. I live down here in San Diego with cry baby rivers but its said to hear my QB is turning into a crybaby too. You play to win period. Not for Brandon, not for Tony but to win. Give me a freakin break. If he really said that I would send his #$$ packing.
I just thought I would take a break from all the negative comments and give a positive one keep the free agents coming McD I like it BRONCO AFC champions once again kings of the west with our gunslinger Cutler.BRONCO NATION2009!!!!!!!