Saints Week Quotables – Shanny, Cutler and BMarsh

Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan and Quarterback Jay Cutler answer questions during Wednesday’s press conference. I’ve also included Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall‘s teleconference transcript. A lot of interesting nuggets in here – definitely recommend the read.  Enjoy!

HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

On the Saints’ offense compared to what the Broncos have seen this year

“They are a little different form the Raiders. The Raiders were more of a four-man front—four down linemen; mostly an eight-man front. You take a look at the Chargers, a 3-4 team with a variation of coverages. This is a four-man front that uses all of the different coverages that you would see in a season. Thy mix it up pretty well, a lot of two-deep, quarters, man-free, zone blitzes. They keep you pretty much off balance.”

On developing young wide receivers

“I guess if you’re looking for track records, I’m not very good with wide receivers. We won’t get into that, but fortunately the last couple have been pretty good. Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, obviously, we are doing very well with. With the addition of a guy like (WR Brandon) Stokley—he has really helped us.”

On QB Jay Cutler’s evolution from last year to this year

“Normally, you have to have a quarterback that really wants to get better, that enjoys football, that studies the game, that wants to work out in the offseason, that wants to look at film in the offseason, that wants to study film of different quarterbacks on different teams, trying to get better, trying to get to the next level. If you do that, you have a chance in the National Football League. Obviously there are a lot of variables. You have to have a good supporting cast as well. But I think that’s what Jay has done. He has given himself a chance to improve, get better. (He has) a lot of confidence, which goes hand-in-hand with a lot of work.”

On studying other teams’ offenses during the offseason

“It’s constant, not just the offseason. You are studying different players but also working with your players as well. Studying the offense, knowing your offense inside-out where you don’t have to think, you react. You know where all of the players are. We do a lot of different things with formations and different routes and schemes. You have to know very quickly-where everybody is. You can’t think, you have to react. It just takes a lot of hard work.”

On where the offense has a chance of ranking among the greatest offenses he has coached

“We have a chance to be as good as anybody. We have a chance to be the best in the league.”

On Saints RB Reggie Bush

“Since he was in high school and college, everybody can see that when he has the ball in his hands he has a chance to go the distance. He has exceptional balance, he has the ability to make the big play and just like (Chargers RB Darren) Sproles last week: you give him one step and he’s a little bit faster and a little bit quicker than the defenders. All of a sudden what looks like a 10-yard play is a touchdown.”

On Saints QB Drew Brees

“Drew Brees, to me, is kind of one of my heroes to be honest with you. I just watched him grow from a good quarterback to a great quarterback. He’s a guy that really works at it. He is very sharp, very intelligent, he handles himself with the utmost class, but you can just see that he understands the game. If you make too many mistakes or make a mistake here or there he is going to take advantage of it. I’ve seen him since his days in San Diego, going back to Purdue, and just watching him mature. He is playing at a very high level.”

On getting pressure on Brees

“Everybody worries about not getting pressure on this kid. Usually when you get pressure, he can get rid of the football. He has been doing it very consistently and he is probably one of the most productive guys over the last couple of years in New Orleans in what he has been able to do—completions, touchdowns, percentages—all the things you evaluate a quarterback on. He’s good.”

On being able to exploit the Saints’ pass defense

“They had three turnovers, they had a punt return for a touchdown and they were still leading in the fourth quarter (against Washington). They still could have won the game very easily, and they had four of their defensive starters out of the game. So we are not going to get that luxury. All of those defensive starters are going to be back. They feel like it’s a much better team than the teams they have had. I think everybody knew what they did in 2006 in the playoffs and how well they played. They played in the NFC Championship Game. We know what type of team they are capable of being. When you do lose four starters it’s hard to play at a certain level, especially when you have three turnovers and a punt return for a touchdown. We won’t get lulled to sleep by that.”

On Denver’s homefield advantage

“I think talk is cheap sometimes. What you have to do is you have to try to get better today. How do you get better today to make sure you have a chance to be successful on Sunday? I think after a game that you play and you win—especially a tight game when you meet a team like San Diego—the players get a chance to enjoy it for a day. You come back to work and you understand how tough of a business this is. I could go through al lot of the stats with 2-0 teams—Since 2000, how many teams have been in the playoffs, how many teams haven’t. This is a week-by-week business and if you get too carried away with yourselves you can go back very quickly as we proved last year. We have a lot of work to do and I think our guys are mature enough to understand it. We just have to keep getting better as a football team.”

On WR Eddie Royal

“We obviously knew he had a lot of ability. He proved that he was an excellent punt returner, he was an excellent kickoff returner in college and you could see that he had the ability to beat bump coverage—he was by far the best in the draft, just great quickness and ability to make people miss. He only had 34 catches (in his senior season at Virginia Tech), so the big question mark was at the next level could he stay healthy? How quickly could he mature? Could he beat the pro players with bump coverage consistently? You really never know those things until a guy gets in. But he’s extremely bright, he’s extremely strong, as you can see he is very grounded and he acts like he is a 5-to-10-year vet. We were very fortunate to get a guy like that who so early in his career handles himself that way. A lot of people have that type of ability but they don’t have that maturity level, it takes time.”

On signing LB D.J. Williams to an extension

“I’m very excited. D.J. is a heck of a football player; He has everything that you look for. I think that will be his natural position, the low (weakside) linebacker, even though he can play all of them. I’m very happy to have him signed.

“I love the way he plays, he plays hard. We went through a tough time last year and sometimes when you go through a tough year you find out how important football is to somebody. You have guys who play hard throughout the year even when you have some adversity and guys that kind of give it up when you are out of the playoff race. D.J. was a guy that played extremely hard throughout the season and he was rewarded for it.”

QUARTERBACK JAY CUTLER

On the Broncos’ win last week

“We played well. I know a lot of talk has been made of it, controversy and stuff, but those things happen. We played well offensively and did what we had to do defensively getting the stops when we needed to. We are moving on, it is over with.”

On being a running team or a passing team

“You never know. You learn. We were not sure what they were going to do. We want to run the ball and we want to run it every game and that is where everything starts with us. We got some looks we really liked with our passing game and with the way that the offensive line is playing, we can do a little bit of everything out there.”

On the learning curve from last year to this year

“It’s a lot of formations and a lot of the same plays. We are just mixing things up. We started doing it in OTA’s and it has continued since. It is a learning curve, as a quarterback. Anyone who has been through it knows it. It takes a few years to finally get comfortable with everything.”

On the Broncos’ early success

“It is a little bit of everything. I think that feeling comfortable is the biggest key. Not thinking as much, knowing exactly what I want to do play-in and play-out. You have to give a lot of credit to the other guys. I think this group, this offense, has kind of grown together. We kind of learn at the same rate and like I said, the offensive line is playing so well.”

On whether he prefers lining up in shotgun formation or under center

“I would be in shotgun every play. 85 plays or whatever it was (against San Diego), I would be in shotgun.”

On having offensive weapons

“Yeah it makes it easy. My job is getting easier week by week with these guys. With Brandon (Marshall) back and the way that Eddie (Royal) is playing and Tony (Scheffler) and Daniel Graham. We have (Brandon) Stokley coming in there on third downs, the line is playing well and the backs are protecting and getting out when I need them. It is fun and I think (QB Coach) Jeremy Bates is doing a great job so far.”

On coming into the season with confidence

“We were confident, but there was still so many questions with Brandon (Marshall) out, our offensive line that we kind of patched together, and there were questions about me and were my growth was at. You never know. You never know how guys are going to react or how guys are going to turn out. This league is crazy.”

On his confidence

“I was confident, but I am only as good as the offensive line and the rest of those guys out there. The way they are playing right now, they are making me look good.”

On seeing an unfamiliar New Orleans Saints team

“They are a good team. I think they are a little underrated right now and people are overlooking them, but it is two games into the regular season. Missing a few guys defensively, it is a totally different scheme for us. It is a lot of cover-2 a lot of quarters. We are coming off of a strictly man game vs. Oakland and a 3-4 game with the Chargers. It is a totally different scheme for us and we have to prepare and get back to what we were doing in OTA’s against our defense. We are excited for it. We are starting fast right now and we are going to take it one game at a time.”

On what teams he watched film of in the offseason

“New England, Pittsburgh, the Chargers, Dallas. Those teams were in the top five. We looked at the Saints some. They pass the ball a lot. This is a copy-cat league and everyone looks at everyone, everyone takes plays and tweaks them here and there a little bit. We really liked what the Patriots were doing with some of their empty sets. We’ve got similar weapons with our guys, our tight ends and our backs are able to get out. With Tony (Scheffler) and Brandon (Marhsall) and (Brandon) Stokley, we kind of matched up with them and we liked what they were doing so we put thought we would put it in. It is working so far.”

On the NFL becoming more of an offensive league

“It is tough. With as much film study as you are able to do and as creative as some of these younger coaches are getting with formations and drawing up plays, it is getting tough defensively. It is hard to blitz when you get in some of those packages because you have quick guys all over the field. Quarterbacks are getting better. I think (Tom) Brady raised the bar last year, him and Peyton (Manning) have kind of been fighting it out. You have to get better if you want to keep playing.”

WR BRANDON MARSHALL

On if he feels he is making up for lost time

“I’m definitely happy to be back out there and be a part of such an explosive offense. I think the main thing that’s gotten us going is everything that we have in common. We’re a fairly young offense and a fairly young team. Even the older guys on the team, we kind of keep them young with the things that we do, and keep them involved on the field and off the field.”

On his relationship with QB Jay Cutler

“Like I said, I just think getting drafted the same year helps, having a lot in common, being able to not just have chemistry on the field, but off. I think the famous line this offseason was, ‘He’s not my favorite person,’ and that’s just the relationship we have. It’s kind of a brotherly type of relationship, and it has its ups and downs, but in the end we’re family and that’s all that matters.”

On QB Jay Cutler’s comments about him during the offseason

“I wouldn’t say back and forth, because he’s our quarterback, he’s our leader, and when he made those comments he did it for a reason. I wasn’t going to go back and forth with him because he was right. We never even talked about it — we went to dinner and just kind of got over it and moved on from there. It was something he felt needed to be said and I took it in stride and took constructive criticism and now I’m excited about our future as an organization and my future as a person.”

On whether he is looking forward to going against the New Orleans Saints defense

“Yeah. It’s always exciting going against a team on the level of the Saints. I think teams like ourselves and the Saints are teams that are up-and-coming and the teams of the future. It’s kind of weird to see that they gave up so many points and so many yards in the passing game, but when you look at third down, they’re ranked third in the National Football League. In the red zone, I believe they’re top three, too. It’s going to be tough. It’s not easy, and they’ve got a defense that flies to the ball, all 11 men hustling. They hit hard and they’re hungry, so it’s not going to be easy but we’re definitely not backing down.”

On whether he ever dreamt of 18 catches in one day

“It didn’t even seem like that many balls. I didn’t know until I got to the sideline. (Former Broncos wide receiver) Rod Smith was at the game, and when I came to the sideline he said, ‘Hey you little boy, you broke my record.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Catches,’ and I said, ‘What was the record?’ He said, ’14,’ I said, ‘How many did I have?’ He said, ’18,’ I said, ‘Oh’ (laughs). I was so tired, I was just trying to stay focused and stay in the game mentally.”

On how he felt the next day

“Really sore, but being around a guy like (former Broncos wide receiver) Rod Smith, and the (former Broncos safety) John Lynches and the (Broncos cornerback) Champ Baileys, they showed me how to be a pro on my off days as far as getting back right and recovering. Now I’m feeling good and I’m ready for this Sunday.”

On Eddie Royal

I think Eddie took the world by storm and everybody knows what he’s capable of doing.”

On if he lived with QB Jay Cutler while suspended

“When the suspension was shortened, plans changed a little bit, but I definitely stayed in touch with him, and he made sure that I was on top of my game as far as running routes and catching balls every day, and he didn’t let me slack. I wasn’t going to let myself slack, but he definitely stayed on me. I think the guys in the locker room, they did a good job of keeping me in the game mentally and still giving me words of encouragement to feel like I’m still a part of the team while I was out.”

On QB Jay Cutler’s progression

“The biggest difference in Jay from our first year to this year, I would have to say is his presence in the pocket. This guy is doing amazing things as far as how he controls the safeties with his shoulders and his eyes, and being able to read coverages. Sometimes you get a lot of talent in the league, guys who can make big plays and run fast and throw hard, but very seldom can you get a package of a guy who can do all that and read coverages and tell everyone what they’ve got on every single play, even the defense. I think he’s a special guy and I think he’s our guy forever.”

On the decision to go for two against San Diego

“I think what helped was making the decision early. (QB) Jay (Cutler) came in and said, ‘Hey guys, we’ve got a long way to go, but once we score we’re going for two.’ I just think it shows what we’re capable of doing and shows the whole NFL that we come to win every game. It was one of those games where our backs were against the wall and we didn’t want to go into overtime, we just wanted to get it over with.”

On the amount of offensive plays against San Diego

“As far as the offense goes, we had 80 reps and I had 74 myself, and that’s one busy day. That helped a lot, being able to end the game when we did. All we can do now is just forget about Weeks 1 and 2 and get ready for Week 3 and prepare like we did the past two weeks.”

On if he expects Head Coach Mike Shanahan to be a riverboat gambler every week

“Every situation is different, but that was definitely a great call by Coach and a call that everyone will remember.”

On how QB Jay Cutler has handled being in the ‘shadow of John Elway’

“Jay is a guy who just plays for the team. He’s not a selfish person, and this guy can be all over the place as far as commercials, the typical Hollywood type of guy, the quarterback. But he’s a guy who’s not selfish and does everything that’s best for the team. Even if it’s taking away from himself and what he wants to do, and I think that helps a lot. It really doesn’t come down to the numbers with him. It just comes down to the win and loss columns. That’s why we love him and that’s why he’s our guy and that’s why he’s going to be the best.”

On QB Jay Cutler’s arm strength and if he’s broken any fingers

“No, knock on wood. I have this little joke where we have some off time in practice and he wants to go to the side and get some more reps and throw the ball. I try to run away and he’s like, ‘Where are you going?’ and I’m like, ‘You throw too hard, man!’ I only want to catch the balls when I have to. So to answer your question, he throws a hard ball.”

On how whether his suspension was humbling

“Like I’ve said before, that’s my past and I want to move on, but to answer your question, the main thing it showed me is that this game is going to be played with or without me. Everybody’s replaceable. You’ve got a guy like Eddie Royal come in and he does what he did, and it’s amazing to see that this game is bigger than me and it’s going to be here now and after I retire and when I’m long gone. So that was the biggest thing for me. I’m a guy that’s usually humble anyway, but it just opened my eyes a little bit wider.”

On if he has any regrets

“You know what? Like I said I’m the same person. If anyone asks me what I’m doing differently, I’m still doing the same things. I just had to change some things in my life, some people I was dealing with, and I think the whole world knows what I’m talking about. It’s just one of those things where I’m a nice guy and I’m going to continue to be me. I’m going to continue to do the work I’ve done in the community, and I have no regrets at all. Because if I didn’t go through what I went through, I wouldn’t be the man I am today and the man I’m going to be in the future. We make mistakes and all you’ve got to do is learn from them and grow, and sometimes those mistakes make you a stronger person. That’s exactly what it’s made me — much wiser.”

On if the Denver Broncos snuck up on some people

“I guess it’s one of those things where the so-called experts have their picks, and we just stay humble as an organization. It’s fine with us to be under the radar, but if you look at the past 10-13 years it’s been an organization that’s competed every year and been in the playoffs. We just had two down years and we’re not going to stay down for long. That’s something we have to do now, just prove to the National Football League and the fans and everybody watching that we’re a team that’s going to come play every Sunday, and we’re going to compete, whether it’s the New England Patriots or the New York Giants.”