DEN Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Vic Fangio
Ryan O’Halleran, Denver Post: What did you think of Brett Rypien’s performance tonight?
Well, it was up and down. I thought there were some good things. We hit some big plays, which is always important. But, throwing three interceptions, you’re not going to win many times in this league, but we found a way to win tonight in spite of that which I think is a reflection of the fight that we have in this team, and these players and the commitment they have to each other that we overcome minus three and a pick six. (It was) just an overall great performance by the team. I thought (Brandon) McManus had a hell of a night kicking the ball and we did a lot of good things out there.
Ryan O’Halleran, Denver Post: After the game, you directed your team right to the locker room. What about the final sequence bothered you?
Well, there were just a couple of personal fouls there at the end. Our sideline was getting pissed off about it and I just wanted to avoid any confrontation at the end of the game and having it get ugly. I tried to get our guys to leave quickly just to avoid anything happening. I thought it was the prudent thing to do.
Andrew Mason, DNVR Sports: There were a lot of blitzes tonight and a lot of success on that. What did you see on film from (the Jets) that made that look like a winning strategy?
We had a hard time, as you saw on the first drive, getting the quarterback (Sam Darnold) down. He’s a great scrambler. One way to try and help that is to add another guy to the rush. Kudos to our secondary, who gave up some plays, but those guys had him covered a good bit.
Mike Klis, 9News: Can you go back and review why you went with Rypien? You talked about getting the ball out of his hand. He did avoids sacks, even if he made a couple of bad throws. What did you see in him to let him play this game?
Again, I think he’s a good operator of an offense. He handles the operation good from the huddle all the way to the snap directing things. I just thought we needed to settle down a bit and give him a chance to see how he would do.
Brandon Krisztal, KOA Colorado: Are we ready to stop asking if Bradley Chubb is back based on what he did tonight? His knee seems like’s he’s good to go.
He’s been back. He’s not, I don’t think, back to where he was prior to the injury. We can’t forget that this guy is 11 months removed from his ACL surgery. You talk to anybody that has had that and it takes a little longer before you feel 100 percent. Bradley is fighting through that. Some of that is mental too. This guy is a warrior and he’s going to continue to get better and better.
Jeff Legwold, ESPN: Would you give Rypien another start and do you know anything about Noah Fant’s injury?
I don’t know anything about the injuries yet. We have some extra days to think about it, look at the tape and thoroughly analyze it and go with what we think is best.
How did you think De’Vante Bausby and Bryce Callahan played? Some of the guys in your secondary really stepped it up.
I thought Bausby came in and did a good job. I just felt EB (Essang Bassey) got a little winded there at the end of the half. Their best receiver was 82 (Jamison Crowder) who was the slot and because of the way the game went, I wasn’t able to give him a lot of help, so Bryce is our best nickel as everybody knows, so I put Bryce in there and put Bausby at corner and that’s what the way I decided to go with it the whole second half in our nickel stuff.
Woody Paige, The Gazette: How would you analyze Tim Patrick and the way he’s played the last two games? He’s a guy who started out the year as the fifth or sixth receiver and now he’s really turned in a night with a 100-yard performance and a touchdown.
I really like Tim. I think Tim’s a quality NFL receiver. He’s got size. He’s big, tough, competitive at the ball, a good runner with the ball after the catch. I’m not surprised by it with Tim. I think he’s a quality NFL receiver that I’m really glad that we have.
Aric DiLalla, Broncos: What did you think of Jerry Jeudy’s touchdown catch? I know you talk a lot about sequences, is it nice to be on the right end of one of those?
Yea. There were a few of those tonight. We weren’t always on the right end, but we were on the right end just enough. I thought Jeudy’s touchdown was a tremendous play on his part and I think we’re just going to see him grow more and more as the season goes on.
Troy Renck, ABC Denver7: What did you see from your guys’ inability to finish? You got right to the edge again and then Bradley Chubb had that sack, but also Melvin Gordon with the big run. What was different about tonight? What did you see, what did you like that was different in the last few minutes of this game?
That was a tough game to finish. We had to go out there and stop them twice there at the end of the game on defense where they go for it on fourth down. It’s obviously hard to get that in two minutes at the end of the game. You have to go four-and-out against a really good quarterback who is a great runner. I’m really proud of the defense there. It was really just a great individual run by Melvin who I think is a top back and is going to continue getting better and better for us and we love that we have him.
Nick Kosmider, The Athletic: A lot has been made of the MetLife turf. Did you see that in any way attributing to any of the injury issues tonight? Secondly, what was your impression of Josey Jewell’s night?
I don’t know anything about the turf. I’ll leave that to the League and player’s association. I thought Josey played a good game tonight. We blitzed them more than usual. He came through with that and made some plays. We saw him in some good coverage situations. We really played the run extremely well. I’m looking here that there were 18 carries by their running backs for 45 yards. That’s less than two yards a carry. Josey had to have something to do with that as one of our inside linebackers.
Kyle Newman, Denver Post: You obviously mentioned Brandon McManus. He’s looking like he’s kicking with a lot of confidence. What’s your confidence level in him, especially with those long kicks from 50+?
My confidence in Brandon is extremely high. It always has been. I’m thrilled that he’s going to be the kicker for the Broncos for a long time. He’s one of the top kickers in this league.
Ryan O’Halleran, Denver Post: You’re playing a ton of young guys. How much can getting this first win build their confidence and let them take a breath and just play football?
Winning has cured more ills than penicillin. It just makes them feel better. You’re right, it does give them confidence that they can go out there and win a game. Hopefully we can build on it.
Brett Rypien
On the 31-yard completion to Tim Patrick…
Ironically, it was the same coverage that they ran on the pick-six. It looks like two-man to start, but it was two-trap. Obviously, I got fooled on it the first time. I expected they were going to run it again. Luckily, they did and I was able to get Tim up the sideline.
On preparing to start on a short week…
It was busy. It felt like a long week, even thought it was a short week. I’m really proud of the guys fighting through all of the adversity and getting a win.
On if they discussed the Jets penalties…
We didn’t talk about that at all. They did take a couple of late shots. It was to our benefit.
On his block on Melvin Gordon’s 43-yard touchdown run…
I saw it get jammed up then Melvin came out the back side. That’s just me trying to make a play for the team. We needed extra points to seal the game. I don’t know if it was a great block, I was just trying to get in the way.
On if he was nervous before Jerry Jeudy’s 48-yard touchdown reception…
I wouldn’t say I had nerves. That was a big catch by Jerry, he had one-on-one and I tried to give him a shot to make a play.
On Tim Patrick…
He’s just consistent. He comes in every day and works hard. He’s focused and competitive. Anytime, I get a one-on-one with him or in the red-zone I’m confident he will make a play.
On if he focuses on his three interceptions or the win…
We got the win. That was the goal coming in and it feels really good. As far as the mistakes, two of them should not have happened. The one when I rolled out is on me, it that should have never happened. The one over the middle, I think the guy made a good play under cutting it. The other one, they played a trap coverage I’ve never seen before. It was a good call by them and the corner made a good play in the right situation. I’m thinking about the win tonight and I’m feeling good about it.