Denver Broncos Preseason Week 3 – Jay Cutler Quotes

On the third preseason game against Green Bay:
“I guess we (the starters) are going to play the most we have played in the preseason. I thought last game (against Dallas) our intensity and our tempo was there, so hopefully we can carry that over into this game.”

On his relationship with Quarterbacks Coach Jeremy Bates:
“It’s been great. He’s an intense guy, he’s fiery, he has an intense passion for the game and it shows in the meeting room and on the field. We bump heads a little bit, but that is to be expected. A couple hours later or the next day, we are back in the grind. I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been great. I’ve been loving his play-calling, loving what we are doing in practice and the way we are conducting the offense. It’s been fun.

“He’s mastered the gameplan. He has a great feel for defenses. He’s been with a lot of different systems, so he has a good feel of what we are trying to do. He has a good feel for just gameplans in general. He is flexible, and that’s what I like most about him. If I have an idea I ask him about it and talk to him about it. And if he likes it and we can agree on it we will put it in. It has been give-and-take, and I have enjoyed it so far.”

On being the ‘face of the franchise’:
“Any quarterback is going to be kind of the face of the community, the face of the program. There is a lot of pressure on you. You’re pulling the trigger and you’re making things happen, so that’s why they pay you a lot of money. It’s a lot of pressure but I enjoy it, and obviously things are going well right now.”

On how fast the offense is learning the scheme:
“You have to be a little bit surprised. You have the little guy (WR) Eddie Royal out there and he’s playing well, picking up the offense. (WR) Brandon (Marshall) is doing great things. The offensive line—we have all new guys up there. We have Tommy (C Tom Nalen) out, (C) Casey (Wiegmann) in. We have two guys on the outside, the tackles (T Ryan Clady and T Ryan Harris), playing at a high level. Running backs — anybody we are putting in there is rushing the ball well. Just the volume of plays and the formations we are throwing at them — it’s been incredible how everyone has picked it up.”

On if the receivers other than WR Brandon Marshall are fitting well into the system:
“Yeah, Eddie (Royal) is falling right into place, he listens. If I tell him something, he is going to do it. Right after the play, if I want to tweak it or if I want to back shoulder him, I just talk to him about it and the next play he does it. It is going well. When Brandon gets out of his suspension, we are going to need him and we are going to need a couple other guys to step up because it is going to be hard to replace what Brandon does for us on the field.”

On Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers’ situation regarding former Packers QB Brett Favre:
“I have been talking to Aaron since the whole thing has blown up. I met him in Tahoe when things started getting crazy for him. I think he is handling it great. He is a down-to-earth guy, he understands the situation and he is playing well right now. I wish him the best of luck and I am excited to see him play.”

On stepping in following former Broncos QB Jake Plummer’s retirement:
“Jake, we obviously didn’t make as big of a deal (of retirement) as Brett (Favre) did. He kind of went quietly and that is the type of guy Jake is, a first-class guy. He understood what was going on and he kind of wanted out anyway. I can’t imagine being in that situation, having a guy like Brett Favre, with what he has done on the field and all of his accomplishments, taking over for him. It is a tough situation. It is like the guys that had to take over for (John) Elway and (Dan) Marino. It is tough. They are always going to be there and you are always going to hear about Brett Favre as long as he is in a uniform.”

More on Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers:
“I met him a few times when we played and when I was down in Tahoe. He is a good guy, he is cool. We talk every once in awhile, a couple times a week just to see how things are going. If he throws a pick, I give him some trouble and if I throw a pick, vice-versa, he will probably send me a couple text messages.”

On the Broncos’ offense evolving into a passing offense:
“That is not necessarily true. If you go back and watch a lot of clips from three, four or five years ago you’ll see a lot of empty sets. They were throwing the ball all over the place, especially with (John) Elway. They threw their fair share of deep balls in empty sets. Right now, with our running game, when we get in those sets, you are going to see limited amounts of defenses. They have to prepare for our run and that kind of limits their blitz and what they can do—if we go empty—with their checks and stuff. As long as we are running the ball we are going to be able to do things like that.”

On WR Brandon Stokley:
“I don’t know if Brandon has ever been covered. On third downs, if we ever go into a three-receiver set and he gets in there, he is the guy that they have to cover and that is not an easy task for any nickel guy. He understands what we are trying to get done and he understands the defenses and where the openings are at. It’s fun having him out there, especially for a guy like Eddie (Royal) and even for a guy like Brandon (Marshall) because he has been around the league and he has been around some great offenses.”

On if there is concern in the running game:
“Not in my mind. If we run the ball like that against Dallas, I can’t see why we can’t run against anybody.”