Broncos HEAD COACH JOHN FOX after practice today: On the injury report “[C] J.D. Walton, Chris Kuper on PUP. [T] Ryan Clady was limited today. Lucas Reed, tight end, missed practice due to a right hamstring.” On RB Knowshon Moreno and other veterans seeing time on special teams “I just had that talk with the team at the end there. You know, whether it’s to get on the 53-man roster, or even to get on the 46-man dress squad, special teams plays a very important role. So it’s early, we’re only on the second day of practice. It’s important for everybody, not just Knowshon.” On Moreno being included on the list of those working to get on special teams “Yes, yes [he is one of them]. We have a lot of different phases of it, you know like, ‘Show me a good coach, and I will show you good players.’ It’s no different with special teams. You’ve got to get a good special teams coach and give him some qualified players out there.” On being excited to start practicing in pads tomorrow “No doubt. The thing is, it was January since we’ve been in pads. We’ve spent a lot of the offseason—OTAs, mini camp, all that fun stuff—in underwear. I think it’s a good rule that we’ve got in place now with the league where the first two days are without pads. I think it’s good for the protection of the players and letting them ease back into it. But I think everybody in that building will be excited about being in pads for the first time since January.” On working with depth at the running back position “We’re trying to find the best players that we can find. And obviously we’ve felt very strongly about [RB] Montee’s [Ball] ability and have liked everything we’ve seen up until now. Hopefully the guys we’ve got on the roster will give to us what we need—whether it’s two or three [contributors]. We don’t have any prejudices against good football players.” On RB Jacob Hester’s ability to play running back and fullback “Yeah, he is kind of a ‘tweener.’ He was kind of that guy coming out. I liked him when he came out of LSU and he came in [last year] and did an outstanding job for us. He filled in when we needed him. He understands protection. I mean, he was a quick study. We got him in one week, and I think we got him into the game that week. So he’s obviously got high football character, and we like his temperament.” On what RB Montee Ball must show to get snaps “Like any position, it’s knowing all of your job. It’s not just running the ball. You’ve got to block, you’ve got to protect. But that’s true of every position. Obviously we think everybody out here is talented, otherwise we wouldn’t have them here. But now we’ve got to develop the skills and be able to operate under pressure.” On QB Peyton Manning “I don’t know if anything changed in his approach other than the fact that he was injured. He missed a full season there in Indy and we had the great opportunity and blessing to get him here. But, there was a lot of hard work. That’s a tribute to his work ethic. Injured or not, I think his work ethic is second to none.” On if any “rust” from the offseason has started to wear off “Yeah. As a coach, you kind of know what you’re going to get when you’ve had five weeks off. There wasn’t a lack of effort, they came in in great shape, as I mentioned yesterday. And the effort was there. But this is the ultimate of team games, and it takes a minute to get that coordination.” On the chemistry between Manning and WR Wes Welker “I think it’s outstanding. They’re both players that have a lot of skins on the wall in this league. As expected, it’s very good.” On expecting Welker to have as many receptions as he did in past seasons “Again, we try to sell you on the team concept here. It’s not so much how many touches they get; it’s what is best for the team. We’ll take what defenses give us. So that means—[with] Wes that means a running back getting carries. That means throwing the ball to ‘DT’ (WR Demaryius Thomas) more. A lot of that will be dictated by the defense we’re playing and I think attitude-wise I think the guys get that.” On if Welker gives himself enough credit for his statistics “Most great players aren’t going to put too much [credit] on themselves. They’re going to point to the guys around them, and I don’t think Wes is any different.” On if QB Brock Osweiler seeing more snaps this camp is part of his development “Yeah. We had a change in the coaching at the quarterback position. [Quarterbacks Coach] Greg Knapp is an excellent teacher. He’s done it with famed guys like [former San Francisco 49ers QB] Steve Young, and he’s done it with young guys like he did in Houston [QBs Matt Schaub & T.J. Yates]. So you’re just trying to get everybody on your squad better, and that’s what good coaches do.”
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 22:13:34 +0000
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