Postgame quotes from Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, Andre Goodman, Kenny Peterson, Andra Davis, Daniel Graham, and Correll Buckhalter, along with a host of Cleveland Browns, after the Denver Broncos‘ 27-6 victory over Cleveland. Enjoy!

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOSH MCDANIELS

On the defensive effort

“We brought these guys here for a reason. We are far from perfect, but we are playing good enough defense right now to give ourselves a chance when we play like that. I thought we were physical up front today. We really did a nice job of containing the running game and make it more of a passing game for them. Any time you can do that, I think you give yourself a great chance to win.”

On if he expected OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil to have an advantage on Cleveland Browns T Joe Thomas

“Not really in terms of that one-on-one matchup. We talked about how we wanted our guys to pass rush their tackles and guards this week. We felt like we could make some plays in the passing game if we could force them to throw the ball enough because a lot of their throws early in the game were quick, and we couldn’t quite get there. As the game wore on, they were holding the ball longer, and our guys did a nice job covering. It wasn’t one thing or one matchup that we were trying to exploit today.”

On if Dumervil has a leverage advantage due to his size

“The biggest thing is he has got longer arms than most of the guys blocking him, and he is much shorter. You are reaching for him, but he can get his hands on you first, and he has got leverage. He can get underneath you and push you back to the quarterback. He is a unique player. He is a unique pass rusher in that his skill set is pretty much alone in this league for a shorter guy with real long arms, and he has got a good burst.”

On QB Kyle Orton’s performance

“He took care of the ball. This is a defensive scheme I am familiar with, very familiar with. It was a defensive scheme where you can’t try to force the (ball) in there right off the bat the first, second quarter. You have got to take what they give you. You have got to be smart. Sometimes, you are going to have to make throwaways. We told our team, ‘Look, we are not making the big mistake.’ That is what we were trying to make happen today. We did not want to give into the temptation of doing anything in the passing game that we shouldn’t have been doing. I thought he did a nice job of managing some of the situations, did a good job of making some critical throws in the second half and he spread the ball around today. No turnovers again, except for the fumble on the kickoff return and did some good things in the passing game.”

On the importance of playing with confidence

“I think any time you have a confident football team or a confident side of the ball, I think they feel good about each other out there, they communicate well and sometimes you play better. Certainly, if you go out there with no confidence, you are going to have a hard time making plays. I think right now we are gaining confidence, and our team believes in itself and believes in what we are trying to do each week. That is all good.”

On when the team developed its confidence

“I think we have had confidence since really we started training camp. We kind of know what kind of players are in that locker room, and we believe in each other and they certainly believe in one another. I think when you win on the road in this league it is tough, and that certainly can help your confidence level. We are not an overconfident football team, and we know we have got a long way to go and a lot of improvements to make. We have to have a great week of practice this week.”

On ILB Andra Davis’ performance

“He seemed to make a lot of plays, some of which were in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. Any time you are playing a team like Cleveland that wants to run the ball in between the tackles a bunch, your middle linebackers are going to play a key role in your run defense. I think Andra showed up a bunch today. I think all of those guys inside, (NT) Ron Fields really stuffed the middle well today. There weren’t that many creases inside. When they went in there, it was tough yards. We talked about making it all week. (Cleveland Browns RB Jamal) Lewis is a really good runner in between the tackles. I thought all of those guys (inside) played well.”

On running three-tight end sets in the second half

“We thought it would secure the line of scrimmage. They brought a couple safety pressures early in the game and early in the third quarter, and they got into the backfield. We felt like if we could go ahead and get big and then go ahead and widen the edge a little bit that we would have a body for them. That is what happened. They really didn’t get any penetration. We felt like we were moving the line of scrimmage well but we kept getting caught from the side or from behind. Once we kind of took care of that, if we did move the line of scrimmage, the backs found it and hit it. We had some success there in the second half.”

DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS

QB KYLE ORTON

On the game

“I thought the game went as we talked about all week. They do quite a bit of stuff on defense, exotic stuff. You want to be aggressive, but you do not want to make mistakes early on in the game. We took care of the ball and kind of figured out what they were going to do. When the plays presented themselves, we made them.”

On the defense

“I have practiced against them all year. They are a solid group. It is a great scheme, and they have got a lot of guys on the back end that can make plays. The guys up front get pressure and make it real tough on the quarterback. If they get the pressure with the front four, it is going to be a tough day for the other quarterback, for sure.”

On rating the team’s improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 on a 1-to-10 scale

“I thought we were close. I don’t know about a number, but we were close. We ran the ball. The offensive line played great all game. We were physical. We didn’t turn the ball over, and we made plays in the passing game. We are getting close. When you are playing tight games, you can’t throw away probably seven or eight different plays when we have a chance to make them. If we can start hitting those, we will be right on track for sure.”

On wearing a glove on his throwing hand

“I was hoping it would be (off) this week. It is getting better. I am hoping to be playing without it next week. It is not something that I enjoy doing or anything, but I am hoping next week it will be better. It is getting better, though.”

On how much better the offense can become

“A lot better. I think we have got one of the most talented groups in the league. If we get on the same page mentally on every play and everybody does their job on every single play, then we are going to move the ball very consistently and score a lot of points for sure.”

OLB/DE ELVIS DUMERVIL

On his transition to outside linebacker

“It has been tough. There were times when I doubted myself in camp. It was tough. I always had my hand on the ground. A great coaching staff came in. (Head) Coach (Josh) McDaniels, he helped me out in two-a-days. I worked really hard this offseason, especially with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach (Rich) Tuten. I worked on drops and just trying to be a more versatile player. It hasn’t been easy. I still have a lot to learn. I feel like I am going the right direction, though.”

On what allowed him to record four sacks

“I am just blessed. Thank God for the situation I have been put in. Once the offense gets some points and we get a team one dimensional, it really makes my job easy when you have a secondary like we have: (S Brian) Dawkins, (CB André) Goodman, (CB Champ) Bailey and (S) Renaldo (Hill) out there. The quarterback had to hold the ball a little bit, and I was able to make some pressures and make a couple plays.”

On the defense gaining respect

“We still have got a long way to go. We have got a long way to go, but I think we are going the right direction. I think it starts with stopping the run. We did a pretty good job with that. For the most part, I think the guys jelled in pretty much together. We are excited. It was the home opener, and it just feels good to be 2-0. Give Cleveland credit. They came out and played, but today we were just the better team.”

On Cleveland Browns QB Brady Quinn

“He is so athletic. I was kind of nervous rushing him because he can scramble and make plays. Lining up against the tackles, it was kind of just like a chess match. He blocked me a couple times. That is the thing about being a tackle is you can block a guy a couple times, but he gets a couple sacks and it makes it look bad. Give (Cleveland Browns T Joe Thomas) credit. He made some blocks, and I was able to make some plays on my end. I just wanted to make sure when I got back there, I was able to bring Quinn down.”

On Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan

“He just simplified it. He allows you to go out there and make plays. He is very aggressive. A lot of guys are making plays, and he tries to put each person in situation to try to make the best of the talent he has on the team. It has just been great working with Nolan. I couldn’t be happier. Also, my linebacker coach (Don Martindale) has been really helping me as well.”

On the confidence of the defense

“We knew all along since preseason. I think we have done a lot of great things. We had a couple breakdowns on long drives. It was just things where we were hurting ourselves, and I think that is positive. One thing to be great, you have got to know what you are doing wrong. I think we acknowledged that and work hard in practice. It is a grind during the week. Coach McDaniels really challenges us mentally and physically. It is never easy during the week. Sunday is a day that you come out and have fun. It is definitely rewarding.”

CB CHAMP BAILEY

On [OLB/DE] Elvis Dumervil

“He’s not the most imposing player by any means. He’s got long arms and has a low center of gravity. He is a lot stronger than people think. He is one of those pass rushers that people dream about playing with.”

On the play of the defense

“We came out with a dynamic. We played well and limited our mistakes today. It wasn’t perfect today, we want to put together a perfect game soon, and we just have to keep building off of this. The defense is just totally different from what it was last year, and you have to credit Mike Nolan with that. We have a great group of veterans this year.”

On the secondary

“We had great coverage and if the quarterback holds it just a second too long and with our pass rushers, we are going to get him on the ground. There were a couple of times where the secondary didn’t need to hold it because our pass rushers were in the back field quickly.”

On playing with the lead

“It is fun to play with the lead because you get picks like you did in the end when Cleveland had to take their chances.”

S ANDRE GOODMAN

On the defense

“We are a cohesive unit. You don’t see a lot of selfish guys on this side of the ball, you see the defensive unit where we are right now. The front seven has played really well right now and the secondary is doing the same. Overall, we love the personnel that we have. Accountability is a big part of the defense right now.”

On [OLB/DE] Elvis Dumervil

“I am big fan. We tease him all the time about his size, but for a guy like that to finish the game the way he did was big. With how we finished last week, and we know we wanted to play better, this week he set the tone. He has been doing this for a while, and is doing a great job. He works really hard and it shows.”

On playing with the defense

“I wouldn’t trade playing with these guys for anything. If I had to choose a group of guys, I couldn’t have picked a better group. I am really proud of these guys.”

DE KENNY PETERSON

On the defense

“We have played well so far but it is only week two. I am excited with what we have done and accomplished so far this season. We just have to keep pounding at it and fix the things we mess up on both offense and defense.

“It’s a team game and we had the offenses back. We just have to keep grinding and it feels good when the offense is steam-rolling down field and then we get out there and do what we do.”

On [OLB/DE] Elvis Dumervil

“You definitely congratulate him. This is a tough league and he is going to get his tackles, he is just a tough guy that knows how to get to the quarterback. My hat is off to him. He is a small guy and just a monster.”

ILB ANDRA DAVIS

On the defensive effort

“It’s a blessing. We thank God so much. We have to thank God because without him we wouldn’t be able to go out there and do what we do. But it was definitely a blessing; these guys know how much this game meant to me. They went out there and told me all week that they had my back.”

On defensive chemistry

“We’re very, very close. We’ve developed this bond back in OTA’s, through training camp and everything. Everybody’s close, all the guys know their roles. We’re just trying to build on these W’s and that’s the way to go.”

On playing Oakland Raiders next week

“We need to enjoy this tonight and go in tomorrow. We know we made some mistakes out there today, clean those mistakes up.”

TE DANIEL GRAHAM

On offensive improvements throughout the game

“We had a slow start but as an offensive we clicked after we made some adjustments at halftime. We just weren’t satisfied with how we played the first half. We came out and played a good game in the second half.”

On what was stopping the offense in the first half

“We killed ourselves with penalties and leaving positive yards out there. But in the second half we made some adjustments and Coach got us into some good calls and we executed those well.”

On confidence building

“We know we can move on anyone. We know that when we stop ourselves, we kill ourselves. But when we execute our plays, we showed what can happen.”

RB CORRELL BUCKHALTER

On offensive struggles

“It’s very frustrating. I know with Cincinnati it kind of felt the same, being frustrated. As an offense, when you are going out there and not getting it done it makes us frustrated, it makes the defense frustrated. When we’re not getting it done it makes me frustrated for sure.”

On staying positive

“We will never doubt ourselves. We’re just trying to help keep everyone encouraged. It’s a sixty-minute game, so at some point we’re going to get everyone rolling .”

On the offense getting in gear

“I think we have a lot of play makers on this team. Speaking offensively, we have a great group of guys here. It’s important that we come out and start playing and that’s something we’ve been working on each and every weekend. Hopefully against Oakland we’ll come out and start fast and continue to do the things we did against Cleveland.”

CLEVELAND BROWNS HEAD COACH ERIC MANGINI

General

“Obviously, I’m very disappointed about the finish to the game. When some sort of adversity strikes, we have to do a better job to be able to respond to that. We have to come back and create something on special teams and create something on offense. We have to come back on defense and respond. There’s no magic potion. It’s not going to happen from someone outside the room, it will happen from us. You can’t win games giving up big plays, giving up four sacks and not running the ball effectively. I think the most important thing we need to learn from collectively is how to respond when those things happen.”

On the struggles of the Browns offense

“It’s a combination of things. We have to run the ball better than we ran it. There were times last week and there were times today where we did run it very effectively. That helps sustain drives and manage the third down situation so you’re not in third and longs. You get enough third and longs in a game and your third down conversion rate is going to be small. We have to learn to take advantage of opportunities so when the receiver’s open to get the ball to him. I don’t think it’s one specific area but being able to sustain drives would help us as an offense and as a team.”

On QB Brady Quinn

“There were definitely some opportunities for him to get the ball to receivers that were open. There were some plays where I thought he did have some nice throws, but it’s consistency, it’s consistency, it’s consistency – first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter.”

On red zone offense

“In the red area you want to be able to punch it in each time you get that chance. We had a chance after our first play but didn’t get to where we wanted to go. That was a great opportunity to start the game in a very positive way. Special teams got us the ball and we had good field position. We were able to come down and convert and that’s a nice way to start the game.”

On quarterback controversy

“I’m looking to play better across the board. Our offense had nothing to do with the two long defensive plays, which is a risk you take when you blitz.”

On OL Alex Mack’s fumbled snap

“That snap was a little low, as opposed to the issue we corrected last week which was the snap being a little high. That’s another thing – that’s the most basic play in football; the quarterback-center exchange. You put the ball on the ground any time and it’s a problem. You put the ball on the ground at the 9 yard line and it’s a big problem.”

On the Browns talent level

“We have plenty of players that we can win with. We need to adjust the problems that we have. It’s not a big mystery. There are things that are correctable and controllable, and we need to get in control of them.”

On the Broncos defense

“I think they did a good job defensively. They have a good group of guys that work well together, they communicate well together. They’ve added a lot of parts and they’ve done nice things in terms of how they attack an offense. Just looking at their defense this year, there have been a lot of positive things.”

CLEVELAND BROWNS PLAYERS

DB BRANDON MCDONALD

On defensive performance

“We just made too many minor mistakes. We can’t allow teams to get big plays on us. When Denver did they were able to capitalize and that gave them momentum which was big in today’s game.”

On Denver’s offense

“They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. They did exactly what we practiced all week. They have various tendencies and we didn’t execute. We need to put this week behind us, improve, and move on.”

OL HANK FRALEY

On getting a chance to play today

“You never know when your number is going to get called. [OL Floyd] Womack went down and I was called upon. I kind of went down to my rookie year jitters on the first play but after that I was okay.”

On offensive performance

“It’s just executing plays. We got into a lot of third and longs and those are harder to execute upon. On first and second down we weren’t very successful which made third downs more difficult to be successful on.”

OL JOHN ST. CLAIR

On offensive performance

“We have to take it one play at a time and execute every time. We kind of have to go back to the drawing board because that’s all you can do.”

WR JOSHUA CRIBBS

On his fumble

“I tried to do a little too much. I caught a few earlier and didn’t get enough for the first down, so that time I tried to extend for the first down and just got away from taking care of what you can do. I just tried to do too much.”

On offensive performance

“We have to start capitalizing, that’s evident. I hate to say it but we have to do better next week. I’m a little embarrassed on how we played today and how I played today.”

LB KAMERION WIMBLEY

On stopping the run

“When they’re up they’re going to run more. We know that and we have to do a better job of stopping it. We didn’t do that today.”

On third down defense

“They converted a lot of third downs. That kept us out on the field longer than we wanted. We have to start getting off the field in those situations. We just have some little things to fix and we need to do that for next week.”

FB LAWRENCE VICKERS

On returning to Colorado

“I loved it. It made me want to come back and stay for good. The fans were really great to me; that kind of surprised me. It was a good feeling and it brought back a lot of memories.”

On offensive performance

“We didn’t execute. We had a couple mistakes here and there and that really cost us. I feel like the effort was great and you always like to see that. We just didn’t execute like we needed to. Against a good team like Denver you have to play good football and we made too many mistakes to win today.”