Josh McDaniels: “This is another test for us, coming off our first loss as a group together. We needed to respond with a good week and we have…”
November 9, 2009 – 5:00 am by Bunk
We’ll learn a whole lot about the Denver Broncos on Monday night when they take on the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers at home. The Broncos got whooped last Sunday by Baltimore. The offense looked anemic and the defense – while solid at times – did look more susceptible than they had for the first six weeks of the season. Can the Broncos get back on track and take care of business against a Steelers team that has won four straight and is coming off their BYE week? The Broncos are seemingly in good shape at 6-1, but considering San Diego won in dramatic fashion to improve to 5-3 on Sunday, Denver could find themselves in a tight race if they were to lose on Monday against Pittsburgh. Head coach Josh McDaniels isn’t concerned though. He just wants his team to execute better than they did last week. The youngest coach in the league joined 104.3 The Fan in Denver late last week to talk about
On what he would say his offense’s base formation is after having shown so many different looks through the first seven games of the season:
“When we put a game plan together, the only formula we try to use is what gives us the best chance to win that week. And we spend all year in the spring and training camp putting in different packages together, understanding that we won’t use them every week of the season; we certainly won’t. But there’s going to be a week where we need ‘em and we want to make sure our players aren’t so unfamiliar with those things that they can’t execute them after three days of practice. So, there’s been things in each game plan this year that we may have done only in that game, but it was what we felt would give us the best opportunity to be successful, not only on offense, but on defense and in the kicking game. You know, our philosophy is we got to do what we got to do to win and that really shows up in our game plan I think each week.”
On what he’s learned about his team this early in his tenure in Denver:
“Well I think you see leaders emerge on your football team as the season goes on. And sometimes it takes games, and it takes adversity, and it takes things to really bring that out in players. You know, we went through a preseason where people, and in this town – and rightfully so – were questioning some things. And we were trying to make sure we were doing everything we could do to get ready for the regular season. And we really have a strong group in the locker room. We’ve got a lot of veteran players that do a lot of that leading when the coaches aren’t there. And you know what I’m talking about as a former player, and you need that. And that’s something that every good team counts on and we certainly count on that with our group of captains, and group of veterans – to make sure that we practice hard and prepare well every week so that we’re ready to go. And this is another test for us, coming off our first loss as a group together. We needed to respond with a good week and we have. We had a great focus on Wednesday. We let the loss go, we turned it behind us and we’re really focused on our preparation for Pittsburgh.”
On the emotion he exhibits on the sidelines, particularly when his team beat the visiting NewEngland Patriots – McDaniels former team – several weeks ago:
“Well I just think when you play those games on Sunday or Monday, you put so much time and work in to it. And it’s not just you or a small group, it’s a large group that put in an inordinate amount of time to get ready to do something for three hours and hopefully achieve something that they’re all striving to do. And that was a game I knew going in to the week, and I think our team and our staff felt as we were going through the week how difficult it was going to be to play the way we needed to play and beat that team because of how well prepared they are, how well coached they are, and the amount of good players they have. And you know, it was just something that was a natural reaction. I like to share anything I do in my job with my family and I had a lot of family members there. My kids were there, my wife was there, and our crowd – and they’ve, it’s really the way they’ve been every game since I’ve been a part of this organization – they were just exceptional. So, it was just an opportunity for me to share that with my family, and I think you could feel the energy and the passion from the fans, and I just wanted to show them that’s the way I feel about this town, this city and this team, and we’re always going to do everything we can every week to make them proud.”
Listen here to McDaniels with Alfred & D-Mac on 104.3 The Fan in Denver
Tags: AFC West, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, Monday Night Football, Steelers defense, Steelers vs. Broncos
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