McNuggets: Broncos training camp, Day 4 a.m. quotes

Head Coach Josh McDaniels, cornerback Perrish Cox, wide receiver Matthew Willis, and others address the media after training camp practice Wednesday morning. Transcripts after the jump.

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

On how CB Perrish Cox has progressed throughout camp

“We’re doing – you know ‘Zo’ (CB Alphonso Smith) was in there yesterday a bunch and (CB) Nate Jones has been in there too, so we just put Perrish on the left with that first group, again, to rotate and see what happens. That is a competitive group now. Perrish made a lot of good plays today, but he gave up some too, so you know it was rookie day but they are all competing for that spot behind (CB) Champ (Bailey) and ‘Goody’ (CB André Goodman). We’re trying to move them from right to left too.”

On what he is seeing out of the team’s in-game situational drills

“Well, we’re trying to simulate – you know, a game is going to be three hours long – it’s going to possibly incorporate two two-minute drives which we did today. We went in the red area, short-yardage, third down, blitz drill, you know finished it there in the red area with the two-minute drive. So we’re trying to just get our players into that mindset of playing good football for more than just an hour, more than just 30 or two periods. They responded well to it. Again, when you’re going against each other somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose, but I think we split most of the periods today – very competitive day of practice (and) really good work making a lot of improvements. Again, situations are so important for us, that we have to continue to get better at them.”

On his thoughts on the left tackle position right now

“(OL) Ryan Clady is in there getting better, which we all know and you know we put (OL D’Anthony) Batiste in there some today and (OL Tyler) Polumbus is competing with that spot too. You know, nobody is guaranteed anything. We know that. We tell all our players that, so you’ll see that probably quite frequently during the course of camp.”

On the inside linebacker position

“Wood (LB Wesley Woodyard) – he’s experienced now in our system. He is a little bigger than he has been. Definitely a physical player – (has) great speed and has certainly played a lot in our nickel and dime packages in the years past, but he’s really showing the ability to be able to play in there on that weak side. He is just a guy that deserves what he is getting right now because he’s earning it every day and I think he’s a great example for some of the younger players. (He was) not a highly-touted player in terms of where he was drafted when he came out, but he’s worked his way into a great role for our football team.”

On the play of the quarterbacks in the two-minute drills

“I think we had some good things there and then struggled there in the very last one. (CB) Nate (Jones) made a good play on the interception there, but the two-minute drive before and the middle of practice – both quarterbacks did well. You know, that’s a hard drill, because there’s a lot of communication necessary to make it work, different looks from the defense and you don’t have time to stop in between plays, so they’re getting good at being able to adjust on the fly. The big thing we are looking for there is communication and conditioning because I think seven or eight games last year of ours came down to what happened at the end of the fourth quarter. They’re doing better every day, but I was pleased with most of what they did in those two-minute drills.”

On if the team has enough depth at running back

“Right now, I think we are – I mean the thing is obviously if we go heavy there you know we’re going to go light somewhere else. Right now, we are in a lot of one-back sets, so if we need two then we just – we put (RB) Spencer (Larsen) in there today some. He took some reps there and that gives us five guys that are out here practicing. Again, most of the time there is one of them in there during the course of a play, so you know if we have another guy go down we might have to think about it.”

On if he would bring someone else in at running back because of injury

“Well, if they get hurt, but again there are other spots. I think there’s obviously 10, 12, 14 guys that were out this morning from practice for different reasons. (If) we add another running back we might have to go thin somewhere else we are already thin at. It’s a balance, and right now I think those guys are all fighting it out and they’re getting a lot of good work today and going forward.”

On how close (DL) Jamal Williams is to returning

“He’s getting closer. Hopefully, tomorrow might be D-Day for that. We’re excited about that and I think he is too. I don’t want to put any guarantee on that, but it’s definitely getting closer.”

On (DL) Ben Garland and his service in the U.S. Air Force

“Yep, awesome – you know those are the kind of people that you’re really glad that you met sometime in your life. We were talking about it yesterday. He’s running down on the kickoff team, gets knocked down, gets up, shakes the guy’s hand that knocked him down, and then sprints back to the huddle and does it again. Then, he goes to the next period and he’s doing a lot of those things and doing a lot of dirty work in training camp, but he always does it with a smile on his face. We were talking about it in a staff meeting yesterday. We think this might be kind of easy for him relative to what he’s been through and that’s a tribute to all the hard work and all the training and all the things he’s done in his life to get where he’s at. He’s a special individual and we think he’s got a future as a football player as well, so we’re excited to have him here.”

On players running laps around the field

“We are not putting a chart up and counting them, but you might be right about that. Certainly not something we are looking for. We tell them it’s not a punishment, it’s a reminder of something that will beat us and you know right there at the end we have the ball at the six-yard line and we jump offsides and now we are at the 12 or the 11. You know, you just make it harder on yourself and ultimately we didn’t get it in, so it affects us. Five yards – no matter when it is – can hurt your football team and we just want them to think about it while they’re running the two fields.”

On the tight ends practicing with the offensive linemen

“We always talk about winning the edge in the running game, and whether that’s the outside linebackers and defensive ends working against the tackles and tight ends we think it’s a real critical part of the way we play defense. At the same time, it’s a real critical portion of our run game on offense, so those two players make a lot different calls based on the play and the blocking schemes we have, and it’s real necessary for those two to feel comfortable with each other and make sure they are seeing the blocks the right way. So far in camp I think we’ve gotten off to a good start in that area, but we need to continue to work on it because it’s a difficult part of anybody’s game.”

CORNERBACK PERRISH COX

On the hardest part of transitioning to the NFL

“That’s the exact thing – the information. The playbook’s big. I’ve never seen a playbook that big. Just learning. You’ve got to know your position, that’s hard, but then you’ve got to learn where your help is and everything else. That’s the extra part that’s hard about it. Just stay in your playbook and ask the rest of the vets what’s going on. It all comes down to that.”

On if he sets goals or lets things come his way

“It’s kind of both. Whatever happens is going to happen anyway, but you’ve got to set higher goals for yourself in order to improve you as a player. Just go out with a positive mind, not thinking too much, just going out comfortable.”

On helping with kickoff returns

“That’s something I would love to do. It’s actually fun, going out there, helping out the rest of the returners. That’s kind of one of the biggest things. (WR Eddie Royal) has got to go out and play receiver almost the whole game, and going out and helping him out the best way I can is kind of one of my goals I look forward to also.”

On veterans in the secondary he goes to for help

“Champ, he’s the main one. But also Goody (CB André Goodman) on the other side. Then I go to (S) Renaldo Hill for it too, because he knows everything. He knows the offense, he knows the motions, he knows everything. But then I also go to the few younger safeties that came in. I kind of ask them what they have to go through. Based on what they did and adding on what my mind frame is set to do, it kind of helps out more, too.”

On the best advice he’s gotten and who it was from

“Champ. Everything. The small things to the big things as far as technique, as far as what to look forward to in this formation and that formation, I go to Champ for everything.”

On whether it was intimidating lining up beside guys like Bailey and S Brian Dawkins

“Actually it was when I first came out. Going in with the ones, I was nervous. I didn’t want to make any mistakes, and that was kind of the biggest part. I was thinking so much, it was hurting me on the smaller things as far as where my hips are and everything. Getting a few days under my belt going out with them, it’s kind of put me in a little comfort mode. I’m kind of comfortable and staying in my playbook as much as possible and talking to (Secondary) Coach Ed (Donatell).”

On interceptions building his confidence

“It does. It’s a great feeling. It takes a lot off your back. You don’t have too many people pressuring you. Coach Ed always used to come to me after every play – ‘Technique, technique, technique.’ Today he kind of backed off and gave me a five after making plays. That helped out a lot.”

WIDE RECEIVER ERIC DECKER

On how he felt about today’s practice

“I still had some mistakes today. I feel like with the things I made mistakes on earlier I’m correcting them and not doubling them up. I’ve got to go back, watch film, see what I did wrong and then try to correct it again and get better every day.”

On his first two-minute drill of camp

“It was (tough), yeah. We did it earlier in the practice and then we did it at the end. It definitely tests our endurance and our mental toughness. I‘ve got some things to improve on there, just running your routes crisp when you’re tired and making sure you get down field and make your catches when needed.”

On the quarterbacks

“All three of them have a great skill set and they’re unique in their own way. It’s fun to watch them grow just like every other position. It’s been four days. We’ve had, I think, five practices, and I think each practice I’ve gotten with a different quarterback. They kind of get the feel for you and you see what kind of ball they throw. Tim’s has a different revolution because he’s left-handed, so you’ve got to get used to that but as a receiver you’ve got to catch everything thrown your way.”

On working with WR Demaryius Thomas

“It’s huge. We kind of lean on each other, so to speak, doing the small things right because that’s what it’s all about at this level is detail. We’ve got to work on the top of our routes, getting off the line of scrimmage, catching everything, looking it in and finishing downfield. Those are things we’re trying to improve on every day and it helps to have someone with you.”

On competition with Thomas

“I think everybody’s a competitor, so it’s a little competitive edge. If you make a catch, it’s like, ‘Hey man, I can do that, too.’ Definitely we push each other that way and in the film room, too, just to make sure we stay on top of our stuff, so when we get out there and get an opportunity, we execute.”

On what he thought he was prepared for but didn’t know about NFL football

“I’d say right now maybe the conditioning level. The tempo of the practices is go, go, go, go. Not being through something like this before, it’s definitely kind of an eye opener. You just have to hang on and do your best and stay mentally strong, because that’s what it’s all about. You get beat down mentally and physically, you’re going to be tired, and you just have to push through it.”

On his personal expectations for training camp and the season

“Well right now my biggest expectations for myself are just to get out there, and when I get an opportunity, to perform and do what is asked of me, eliminate the mistakes, block hard, run great routes, catch the ball when thrown to me, obviously to help on special teams because I feel like that’s going to be a big role for me and just staying healthy. That’s the biggest thing is taking care of your body and understanding that you’ve got to be professional and your body is your investment, so you’ve got to take care of yourself.”

QUARTERBACK KYLE ORTON

On the offensive line

“You know, just like the whole offense – we have a ways to go but we’ve seen improvement every day as a group and as that unit specifically, I think they had their best day out there today, which is good and they need to follow it up with another good practice (later) today.”

On the young WRs

“They’re all coming along at a good pace and learning the playbook pretty well and now for them the less thinking they have to do and just concentrate – they still have to beat (CB) Champ (Bailey) and they still have to beat (CB) André (Goodman)…Now they need to be able to just put it out of their head and focus, ‘How am I going to beat this Pro Bowler on the other side of me?’ It’s a tough task for them but they’re coming along quickly.”

On playing the two-minute drill with players he isn’t familiar with

“Well, that’s what camp is for, you know? There are mistakes that happen in camp and that’s what it’s for – to get those mistakes out and sometimes you certainly don’t want bad plays or turnovers or incomplete passes but sometimes it’s better to come up now so you can talk about it in the film room and come back and make the adjustment and hopefully don’t make it again.”

On WR Matthew Willis

“Well, this dates back to last camp, really. I think everybody has been on him pretty good now coming into this camp but Matt played well for us last preseason and unfortunately just didn’t make it and he’s come back playing better and he’s carried that over to camp this year. He’s a fast kid, really good straight-line speed and you get the ball in his hand on an under route or a five-yard route, he’s one of those guys who can really turn it up the field and do something with his speed as well.”

On WR Eddie Royal

“He’s looking good – he had a nice touchdown today for us on a big play and he’s moving around a little bit and he’s just a versatile player which in this offense is huge. I think that’s one thing with this unit – we have a lot of guys that are versatile that can move around and hopefully put the matchups in our favor.”

On his expectations for the offense

“I expect a bounce-back season from our whole group, to be honest with you. I think everybody is more comfortable with each other and we’re just moving along at a nice pace right now. We’ve got to find a way to string 10-12-play drives together. I think last year we were able to have a couple, 3-4 good plays, but the tough thing in this league is to put 10 of them together and that’s what you’ve got to do to go 80 yards against good defenses and that’s really our goal as a whole unit.”

On the depth of the WRs

“That’s certainly where the versatility is going to come into play. Hopefully we have a lot of guys catching balls; hopefully we have backs catching 40-50 balls out of the backfield, our tight ends getting involved. We still have 6-7 wide receivers who can really play at a high level so we’ll have plenty of guys to throw the ball to.”

On the tight ends

“Well, certainly with a guy like (TE) Daniel Graham, he starts out really helping us out in the run game, no question, and controlling the edge – he does a great job with that. (He has) a real physical presence on the outside and then you’ve got Richard Quinn – he’s a big physical guy, a little bit like Daniel and Marquez (Branson) who is kind of a changeup for us and a guy that you can split out and that has some wide receiver tendencies and can really play inside as well.”

WIDE RECEIVER EDDIE ROYAL

On training camp

“You’re learning on the run – each day I’m learning out here. Working on that timing with (QB) Kyle (Orton) and in the slot it’s a lot of little things that have to go right. You and the quarterback have to be on the same page pretty much on everything for it to click the right way so each day we’re getting better out here and working towards that communication and being on the same page.”

On comparisons to New England WR Wes Welker

“(Laughing) I want to be myself. You can always watch film and learn from somebody else. Welker is a different type of player – he’s one of the best receivers in the game and I’m watching film on him and learning from him but we have got a long way to go before we get to that stage.”

On what he’s learned from watching film on Welker

“Just how to get open, how to be patient. In the slot sometimes it’s not always about being the fastest guy; it’s about being patient and knowing how to set up routes and knowing the entire offense. As the slot (receiver), you have to know what the guy on the outside is doing because you might be setting him up to get open so it’s a lot of different wrinkles that you have to learn.”

On WR Demaryius Thomas

“I don’t like comparing guys at all because everybody is different. Demaryius is out here trying to get better each day. He’s a big guy who can run with good hands and that’s what you want out of a receiver. He’s just got to get out here and learn each day. As a rookie, your head is spinning just trying to learn the playbook, let alone get out here and get open on (CB) Champ Bailey. It’s tough on him but he’s doing a good job.”

On WR Brandon Lloyd

“(Laughing) Oh man, he keeps us laughing – whether it’s in the locker room or on the field. In camp, you can be uptight but he keeps everybody loose and laughing. I’ve never seen a louder laugh ever so anytime he laughs, I don’t even have to know the joke – his laugh alone makes me laugh.”

On Lloyd as a deep threat

“I like him doing everything. He’s a good route runner; he can go up and get the ball as you guys have seen. He’s got an all-around good game.”

On anything Royal did differently last season

“Oh it’s a different offense. You’re running completely different routes, different scheme, different quarterbacks – everything was completely different so it was hard to even compare the two. We’re on a new page, a new start and we’re ready to get going.”

On Orton’s high expectations for him

“It sounds great to hear your quarterback say that (laughing) but you still have to go out and do it. You have to put in the hard work each day out here in training camp – fan out the little things and get better and get on the same page.”

WIDE RECEIVER MATTHEW WILLIS

On the underdog role

“Whether I like it or not, that’s kind of where I’ve been my whole life. We talked the other day – I was small coming into high school, wasn’t a football recruit – I didn’t even play football. I wasn’t a recruit, so I’ve always been an underdog and that’s just the role I’ve accepted and you just work from there. You don’t even think about it, you just work hard – put your head down and work hard.”

On the importance of special teams to him

“Oh, that’s huge. You have two young receivers that were drafted, (WR) Eddie (Royal) (WR Jabar) “Gaff” (Gaffney), all those guys so as the fourth, fifth, sixth receiver, you have to play special teams so I have to be on every special team.”

On whether he played on special teams in college

“No, I returned a couple of kicks but that was the extent of my special teams so it’s been a learning process these years I’ve been in the NFL.”

On whether he likes making tackles on special teams

“Oh yeah, you get the opportunity to hit somebody, being on the other side of the coin, it feels good.”

On the attention he’s received thus far in camp

“I haven’t really paid too much attention to it. I don’t want it to be something that I’m thinking about. I just go play and I do what I have to do out on the field every day and hopefully that’s making plays and I hope people notice, I hope the coaches notice. It’s not something that I think about.”

On his work during the offseason

“The offseason is to get you ready for camp physically, mentally, emotionally – you have to prepare in every aspect of your life to come into camp because it’s rough, you get tired, you get worn out and you just have to fight through it.”

On his high school football career

“I played my freshman and sophomore year. Freshman year I wasn’t going to play, ended up coming in after they did camp when school started and then I played my sophomore year and gave it up because I wanted to run track in college and didn’t want to risk being injured and not being able to run in college.”

On his college athletics career

“I ran (track) two years at UCLA and then my third year, about halfway through I started talking to the head (football) coach. I was just looking for an opportunity to walk on and tryout, whatever, and I got one and I gave up track and took a shot.”

On whether he’s happy with his decision to give up track

“Yeah, even if I wasn’t here (playing for the Broncos), I knew it was something that later on in life I’d regret if I didn’t jump on the opportunity.”

On whether the football coaches tried to convince him to join the team at UCLA

“No, it was the complete opposite – nobody was watching me, I approached them.”

On the difficulty of getting to the NFL since he didn’t play much college football

“It’s hard, especially because I played two years (in college) – that first year I was that guy that the game is blown out or we’re winning, go in and do some blocks and finally my senior year I got a chance to play, started a few games and got undrafted to Baltimore and you just go from there.”