On Monday, Executive Vice President of Football Operations met the media on the same day Brian Dawkins announced his retirement.
In addition to the coverage already on DenverBroncos.com, we thought we’d highlight a few more key quotes from Elway’s press session.
On Brian Dawkins’ retirement:
“For a guy like that, it’s always tough to make that final decision, take that final step, but he’s obviously had a great career. He called [Head Coach] John Fox this morning. I did not talk to Brian, but the career that he’s had for 16 years—[three] years here in Denver and [13] in Philadelphia—he had a tremendous career. I’m sure he took the time that he wanted to take since the season was over. In that situation, it always does take that kind of time. I’m sure that he went through it many, many times. It’s always tough to take that final step. He’ll be missed. He did so many tremendous things for the Broncos, not only on the field, but his leadership off the field was something that we’ll always be grateful for.”
“We left it up to him. We were going to let him make that decision. Obviously, we would like to have had him back, but it was going to be his decision, and we told him to take his time, because when you make career decisions like that, they do take that time. He did take his time and, obviously, came with the decision that he felt was best for him and his family.“
On how QB Peyton Manning affects the team’s draft approach
“I think the bottom line is we want to do the best thing to surround him with a team that’s going to give him an opportunity to win. We can go in with an idea of what we would like to do, but that changes as players come off the board. It’s always fluid, so to be able to have a game plan, just like going into a football game and having a game plan, once you get into the game and you see what’s going on, it’s a fluid situation. It will be the same thing with the draft. Obviously, there are guys that we have pinpointed and like, but you never know where they’re going to go and when they’re going to be there. That’s something that’s fluid and changes all the time.”
On how the team predicts who will be available at No. 25
“It all depends. What we try to do is just see when we get to that position, who is left on the board. Then, if there are three or four guys that we like, compare them and see which would have the biggest impact and is going to have the biggest impact for our football team. Those are the things—we’re always going to get to three different guys. We can’t predict who those three or four different guys are going to be by the time we get to No. 25. We just try to do as many mocks as we can to be able to discuss as many different situations and the different players that might be there.”
On whether defensive tackle is the team’s greatest position of need
“We struggled a little bit, losing [DT] Brodrick [Bunkley] in free agency. We wanted to keep him but couldn’t do that. We don’t feel as bad about our tackles as everybody else does. I think that we feel OK there and [DT] Ty Warren will be back coming off an injury and [DT Kevin] Vickerson is coming back and then we have some young guys in there where we feel like we’ll be OK. It’s not nearly the need in our minds that people think it is.”
On whether the team needs to draft a cornerback
“We struggled all last year against anybody that spread us out. That is the thing. Every team has needs. It’s just a matter of the impact of the people you can find to help solve that need. You can never have enough good corners; you can never have enough good pass rushers. There is no question, corner is another spot that is very vital if you’re going to be good on the defensive side because of where the game is going and the amount of spread offense that we’re seeing now you have to be good in the secondary. But, you’re only as good as your pass rush too. You have to combine both of those. Obviously our pass rush is better than it’s been, but we have to get better when people spread us out.”
Tags: Brian Dawkins, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway, Kevin Vickerson, Peyton Manning, Ty Warren
Haha BFE true that
FTR,the cop burnout story was the cherry on top of my point about expressing myself,LMAO!
If bay come’s back full post you will have your hands full! I hope he just pops in time to time and will not experience the type of misunderstanding like you and I had!
Time for bed.
Peace Out
FTR
B&O…Hightower might not be a Bronco,but I hope it is him or Martin RB!
If not the best pure pass rusher we can get!
I like Brockers at #25,but JE dosen’t agree taking a DT at #25,I was wanting Brock in the second round,but if we don’t take a DT in the 1st,I think we have to go after one in the 2nd,just me!
peace out FTR….(OLD MAN)…LOL.
BFE
We should get together and drink my Bro! Fun times would be Had!!
FTR
ROCK ON BRONC’ ON!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m out too,past 1:00 AM here!
BFE
We would have a blast Bronco Bro…great times to be had!!!!!!!
Everyone about Bay…
I have always respected Bay. Thing is, he held himself higher than anyone else on these blogs. I have been on here for about 5 years so I have seen it all. Sure, it was nice to not have to personally go searching through all the sites to get all the new info. But he is just another fan like each and every one of us! Some people treat him as if he is famous or something…let’s just please give it a rest!!
I have talked to several people on these blogs about whenever he first announced his “retirement” of the blogs. There were several that were very happy because he constantly shot down other peoples opinions. In many cases his opinion was the only one that counted and in his eyes he was ALWAYS right!
I mean the guy comes on the blog and basically brings up old drama about his opinion about Dawk and then someone else’s opinion that just causes chaos and everyone giggles like little girls about the famous “One” gracing us with his presence.
It just comes to show how high he was and how high people held him. He is just another fan just like me and you and no different! He was never above me, you, or anyone else! We are ALL equals here and that is what has been overlooked!
Not trying to bust everyone’s “Bay” bubble but this has gotten WAY out of hand! I get on these blogs to read about the broncos and talk and share my opinions with all of you for our beloved broncos. Not for another fan!
Look we take jerel worthy they double team him and von and doom rush off the edge and the next round mychal kendrick guys a freak of nature
IMO
Jerel Worthy Devon Still Michael Kendricks and Alshon Jeffery = OVERRATED!!!
Worthy Still and Jeffery not worthy of a 1st round choice.
Me thibks,Mike Martin,Alameda Ta’amu,and Derek Wolfe
(me thinks)
Buck I wouldnt mind two of them. I dont feel the need for all three. I prefer Ta’amu and Wolfe.
yea, any two looks ok to me
just got some bad news:
“We don’t feel as bad about our tackles as everybody else does,” said Broncos boss John Elway. “I think that we feel OK there and Ty Warren will be back coming off an injury and (Kevin) Vickerson is coming back and then we have some young guys in there that we feel like we’ll be OK. It’s not nearly the need in our minds that people think it is.”
Hopefully he is just blowing smoke, because that is definitely our weakest position.
Alex have no worries. Im sure we will still pick up a DT or two. Just maybe not one at 25. Also with Elway saying that I think Warren and Vickerson are doing good and looked good. They will have a better insight into them then we do.
Got a kick out of this raiders blog:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oakland-raiders-quarterback-jim-plunkett-vs-denver-broncos-175100988–nfl.html
Author trying to compare Elway and Plunkett. The comments section sets him straight. These are raiders fans, mind you, that are flat out say, “No, Elway was obviously way better.”
Perhaps it is some kind of schadenfreude, but I got a kick out of it.
AB. You’re probably right. I just want a Ngata. Hopeful for warren, as he was a beast in his time, but IDK. Two season ending injuries early in two consecutive seasons doesn’t exactly scream good things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZctkGOXflg&feature=g-all-u&context=G254ed08FAAAAAAAAVAA
SW wherever your at Nick Foles QB camp.
This is for OT, whenever you get a chance to read………..
The Sens were all over the Rangers in the third and just couldn’t put it in the net, except for that last one with only 38 seconds left. Not sure who’ll take game 7, as game 7′s are always so unpredictable.
Are the Broncos really that big on Brock? I dont really want to see a second rd pick on a qb… Its almost here though, cant wait!… A while ago I asked for everyones opinion on possibly trading up in the draft and it was shot down by basically everyone who bothered to reply lol but after reading Elways comments I am really starting to see it happen. Time will tell… bedtime for me… night shift=the worst lol peace out Broncos Country!
kk I am pulling for Ottawa to pull it out by I think it will end up 4-2 Rangers…
Also Jonny Bones Jones is the man! That card was pretty lame but I personally enjoyed the severe beatdown of Evans… No one is beating Jones at 205 he is jus a beast but a move to Heavyweight should be coming soon, he is apparently having troubles cutting to 205 now. Probably end up fighting at around 235-240 Dos Santos style at heavyweight. Next up all heavyweight card… should be decent KO’s at the very least.
Hey scalp………..I hear ya. The sens will be in tough at MSG but they’ve won in there already this series so anything can happen. Both Callahan and Richards seemed to have gotten hurt blocking shots in the third so I don’t know if that’ll be a factor on thursday.
What do you think of Rory MacDonald? I think the kid’s got some major potential to eventually be champ………..he’s a warrior.
Elway knows the situation more than I, so maybe DT isn’t as bad off as I think. I do however think that our pass rush in general is weak. We need to improve that so whether that is a DT, DE, or OLB, I hope we can find an impact player there.
Wow, you think mentioning TT brings drama … mentioning Bay brings about as equal drama. Bay is no celebrity but I feel like most celebrities, people find it more compelling to point out his flaws, and ignore the good. Almost every real celebrity we hear of its always something bad to the point that you think they don’t do any good. They do good. Alot of it. Thats the only Celebrity to Bay reference I can see. Other than that, if u gonna bash the man, at least give credit for what he brought. (This isn’t directed at anyone). Like everyone on this blog, he is a fan, with opinions and has great attributes AND Flaws as well. We all got em. Some might hold bay to a high standard or nickname him the blog father but he never asked for it, he just enjoyed bringing us all the info from other sites to one centralized area. Sure he was condescending but he is not the only condescending one on these blogs. Best believe if somebody lambasted me for being wrong about something I said, when proven right, I will definitely not hesitate to remind them. Posting the exact post was a definitely extreme but it leaves room for no denial. What else do u expect from the “copy and paste expert”. People talk about him being above everyone else and etc, he is what u make of him. Never considered him above me and when he left, after a while, people started asking stuff like “so tide, what do you think about etc” or “so AB what do you think about etc” or “Hey greatness what do you think about etc” … it will always happen as long as there is someone that posts alot, especially if they had good insight and seem to be in the know with breaking news.
BFE, I read through like 20 of your post before i realized that your name was now BFE instead of Beastfromtheeast. Shows how much acronyms have stuck that i didn’t even notice lol. Definitely love Darcel Mcbath bro and I would welcome him back. Got potential. Just injury prone. He stands a great chance of coming back. Remember, after we cut him, The jags signed him and now the Jags HC is our DC. Very Possible.
Later days, TRB out…
Well said TRB bro……….well said.
Good Post TRB. I was thinking along the same line only could not write it up.
FTR
I’ve got nothing against anyone on this blog. But to consider us all “equal” is a pipedream, not only on this blog but in reality as well. Equality is a dream that a man named Martin Luther King Jr. had and while it wasn’t a bad dream it was just an incomplete dream. While the theory of equality is great, the realism of it is that for there to be true equality, there must not be equality. You want to have certain rights, certain ways of life, social rights etc. well someone has to do all that, someone has to be the workhorse, someone has to do the leg work, someone puts it all together. Then you look at those people with disgust and think you’re better than them. It’s human nature, always was always will be.
Don’t think for second that we’re all equal on this blog. If you post 30 comments daily versus one person who posts 1 comment a day, week, month, year, no one recognizes them unless they have something that doesn’t jive on the blog..then they’re attacked. That’s not equality..it just doesn’t exist.
I think we all got a football scratch that needs itching and after the draft we will all have more to talk about!!! Like Training Camp then preseason and Then——The Manning chapter of the Broncos!! This site used to be dead during off season. And not because eveybody was killing each other. LOL.
Just me.
Go Broncos!!!!
FTR
I think you’re right FTR……..
This is my first off-season on the blog………..I would usually stop til pre-season but decided this year to stick with it all year.
It’s been interesting reading debates about draft players as I don’t follow college ball and have no idea who these guys are………so it’s insightful for me.
But the overall lull has been painful at times and like you said, we’re all just itching for football season to be here already………
Thx guys.
Indeed schneider, which was why i said after he left, people just ask other people that post alot. Its a knowledge thing, or perception of knowledge on a certain topic but shouldn’t affect the equality of an opinion. Just cuz I value your opinion enough to ask it doesn’t mean i raise yours above mines, just means based on your knowledge of a certain topic, i believe u can give good insight. At least thats the way i look at it.
FTR, Can’t wait for draft and with no lockout there should be pics and articles of camp to keep us entertained instead of lashing out at each other lol
TRB
I’ll be the first to admit, that I take a hard look at everyone’s mock and draft predictions, and hold them above my own. I don’t watch too much college football, so I don’t know a whole lot of the lesser known players. Hearing and finding out about other guys that I haven’t heard of is most beneficial.
One thing’s for sure……….we’ve got a helluva lot of different personalities on the blog these days…………there’s bound to be clashes every once and a while, but it seems to happen more often than not lately.
We’re just on a little on edge with the draft and expectations of the upcoming season approaching.
TRB,I agree 100% with your 7:12 post bro!
bf30,
Just so you know, I don’t miss bay because I worship him and think everything he said was the holy truth…. give me a break SON!
I think you are completely missing the point.
Bay earned our respect, friendship and love over the years through intellectual reasoning and debating his Bronco opines and listening to ours.
We got to know him and he became part of a family, and he is missed.
Don’t you have some family somewhere that misses you? lol
look overall were drafting DT jerel worthy becuase not only does he run stop but improved a whole lot and his pass rush like come on thats excatly what the broncos need and mychal kendrick overated u said dumm slapp urself either him or bobby wagner