Head Coach Jeff Fisher
(Opening Statement)
“Let’s see, I think it was about the third or fourth question I was asked by Mr. Jim Thomas: ‘If we had a chance?’ Was that you?…Well great win. As good a game as we can play in all three areas. Coaches did a great job with the plan. We were able to stick with the plan because the players executed. It’s about winning time of possession, and running the football and getting off the field. And giving him (QB Peyton Manning) an ever-changing look and you can never relax. He’s an outstanding quarterback and everything he’s done, we deserve to have a moment in time here today and we got it.”
(On where it ranks in terms of win for him)
“Well it’s another one, and we have another game this week. And that’s kind of what we told the guys inside is, hey, you know last week was not easy, but the theme last week was to keep doing what we’re doing and that’s what we did. We practiced, we prepared, we had fun, and made plays.”
(On beating 3 of the 4 conference championship teams from last season so far)
“Well I think it tells us that we’re on the right track. We’re building this team, and we’re on the right track and we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve had some disappointing losses, some close losses, and some things have happened, but to be able to line up and play against these teams like we did I think we’ve earned a little respect.”
(On how they were able to hold on the win)
“Well we were able to make plays on defense. They got behind, pretty much had to go one-dimensional on offense. Even when he’s (Manning) one-dimensional he’s excellent, and we made the plays. We had the three fourth-down stops and then the two interceptions and the two sacks. The sacks were huge for us.”
(On if having a win like this)
“Now if you were to ask me that maybe after he asked me that question I probably would have said no I don’t think so, but take it any time.”
(On giving up less points)
“What’s important to us is the way we’re playing now and we’re playing better. I think the younger guys are more familiar with what we’re doing. I think people, (Defensive Coordinator) Gregg (Williams) understands who he’s working with, the game plan is going in. Now I’ll tell you, we blew some coverage out there today and there were some people running free and he didn’t see it. So we dodged some bullets and we’ve got to get those things corrected. But we’re tackling and we’re pressuring the passer and we’ve basically been very efficient in our run defense.”
(On if they are playing faster on defense)
“Well like I said, we’ve been playing better the last month on defense and we just need to continue to do that.”
(On how happy he was with the 12 pass break-ups)
“It was get your hands up if you can’t get there. And we batted some balls down, we knocked some balls down and we did some different things. We did some things that we hadn’t shown and you have to do that against Peyton (Manning).”
(On busted coverage on the WR Emmanuel Sanders touchdown)
“Yeah we had three breaks, he found one of them. We had three coverage issues today, significant coverage issues, and he found one of them.”
(On QB Shaun Hill)
“I’ll tell you what he did. Not only did he find (WR) Kenny (Britt) and make big plays to Kenny, but he extended some drives. Time of possession is so important and to find the bck and find the check down. And then the guys, we didn’t have any drops per se. We just kept drives alive and that helps you in that effort. What is pleasing to this football team right now is that we had a plan and we went out and executed from start to finish. How do you beat Peyton Manning and this outstandingly coached football team and how do you attack this defense that again is ranked again as one of the top five? So we had a plan and it worked.”
(On RB Tre Mason getting his first 100-yard game against a team that is No.1 in run defense)
“That’s how you have to beat this team.”
(On making adjustments after TE Julius Thomas and WR Emmanuel Sanders went out)
“Well we knew for the most part they were going to be in just the one personnel grouping. But they do the same things with different personnel groupings, so we were expecting the same things. I don’t think they were limited other than from Sanders, because he is an outstanding receiver.”
(On Hill standing firm in the pocket)
“The guys did a nice job. We had to give him help at times. We nudged him and blocked our way out with the backs to the tight ends. But I thought the guys up front did a good job not only pass protection against an outstanding pass-rushing defense, but also in the run game.”
(On the Rams batting down the two long passes in the fourth quarter)
“Huge, just huge. And again, it takes those kinds of plays to beat a team like this. That was definitely…gave us some breathing room. It wasn’t until we made the play on the last fourth-down stop that we really could relax.”
(On getting field goals instead of touchdowns in first half)
“Yeah, you need to score touchdowns to beat them, but we also had the approach that field goals were wins for our defense. And fortunately didn’t give up any and they had to go for it on fourth down because the score got a little bit out of whack, but great job of kicking and covering by everybody. (S) Maurice (Alexander) got to cover kicks and had a couple tackles, which is good to see.”
(On having to settle for field goals)
“Yeah they are a good defense, you want touchdowns.”
(On if there is a 36 hour rule and the guys get a few extra hours)
“We’re going on to the Chargers right now.”
(On if he felt nervous at the end of the game)
“Well we were tackling and we didn’t want to give up anything big down the field. I thought the guys did a great job tackling. That was it. Another big deal for us, right before half we didn’t want to give them the ball back because that’s where he’s so good. Over the years he’s scored points with 25 seconds left before, so we were able to run time off of the clock and get it down to where they kneeled on it and went in.”
Rams QB Shaun Hill
(On his performance)
“Obviously, we were facing one of the best teams in the league, so we knew we were going to have to play well in order to win and that goes for all phases. Everybody stepped up for sure.”
(On receiving the game ball from Head Coach Jeff Fisher)
“That is nice. It’s certainly a nice gesture, but I think the more telling thing is that Coach Fisher give everybody on the team a game ball, really because it was a complete team victory for sure.”
(On getting the start)
“I was very excited about it coming in. Certainly had the butterflies going and everything like that. It was a lot of fun to get back out there.”
(On his play despite not appearing rusty, considering he hasn’t played)
“I think it goes back just to the way I prepare as a back-up. Just when I’m doing the show team for our defense I try to make those plays matchup to our plays as much as possible, so that’s a live rep for us. Also, just getting work with guys. It’s a constant process to stay up especially as a back-up, it’s tough, but it’s something you’ve got to do. That’s kind of what I’ve always tried to do.”
(On connecting with WR Kenny Britt for big plays in the first half especially the 63-yard touchdown pass)
“Obviously, Kenny’s got a great skill set for us. Had an opportunity to use (WR) Tavon (Austin) as a decoy and kind of get Kenny open down the field. He made a great play going to get it and scored.”
(On if Austin was getting extra attention from the Broncos’ defense)
“Yeah, certainly at times. You try to get him the ball because he’s magical with the ball in his hands, but …the defense knows that, too. So, sometimes using him as a decoy is just as affective.”
(On what he saw on the 63-yard touchdown pass to Britt)
“I just the safety come right, driving on Tavon. Saw Kenny’s angle and launched it. He ran right under it and scored.”
(On if it’s true that he has been lifting weights to help his arm strength)
“I have been, but so has everybody else. They don’t let us slide by on that. They still makes us lift.”
(On if he feels like his arm is stronger)
“No, I don’t. Compared to most guys in the NFL it’s certainly nowhere close to strong. So, it’s just kind of funny to hear that. That might be the first time I’ve ever heard that question (laughs).”
(On the importance of converting third downs)
“Very important. The other thing that was really important that we didn’t do as well, was we wanted to score touchdowns in the red zone. They’re very, very good in the red zone on defense. We felt like when we got down there we needed to come away with sevens, but (K) Greg (Zuerlein) stepped up and made some huge kicks for us and our defense stepped up. Luckily we didn’t need those touchdowns the field goals were enough. Yeah, that was very important to sustain drives. Even if a drive doesn’t turn into points you certainly don’t want to give (Broncos QB) Peyton Manning a short field. Obviously, (P Johnny) Hekker did a great job backing them up and making them go the long field.”
(On if he was concerned that they weren’t scoring touchdowns in the red zone)
“Obviously, every game you want to score touchdowns when you get down into the red zone, but this one with that guy across from us, who’s probably the best one of our era. Yeah, you feel like when you get a chance to score you want sevens not threes.”
(On if this is a win he will tell his kids and grandkids about)
“I might someday, to be honest with you. That might happen. My son was at the game. This is the first game he’s been to that I’ve started and finished. That was kind of important to for me when I just thinking about coming into this season. I was like, ‘Man, he’s nine months old I’d really like for me to have some pictures of myself and him in this job. I don’t know how long I’ll be playing. It was important for me to come back and be able to do it some during his life.”
(On his son’s age)
“He’s nine months old.”
(On his son’s name)
“Theo, Theodore, named after my father. Coincidentally, this is the first win I’ve had since the last game he was alive, my father. A lot of emotions went into this one for sure.”
(On when his father passed away)
“He passed in January of ’11.”
(On what this win says about the team)
“We’ve faced some really tough opponents all year and been in a lot of those games right up until the end. Had the lead on a lot of teams going into the fourth quarter. So, I think it’s something that’s certainly learned to play 60 minutes for 16 weeks in the NFL. A lot of guys when you come from college there’s a handful of games that you have to show up and play the whole game. Some of them you just roll your hat out there and you win. Some of them you can play your very best and not beat the opponent. Not in the NFL it takes 60 minutes for 16 weeks. That’s something that I think we’re learning. This is obviously a step in the right direction.”
(On if it’s true that when Britt dropped a deep ball in practice he said he make up for it today)
“Yeah, he did. I kind of chuckled with him. I told him, ‘It’s Friday you drop a pass it’s OK, but if you do it on Sunday I’m going to kick your tail (laughs).’ Obviously, I was just joking and he stepped up and made a great play.”
(On if this was the first time he’s faced Manning)
“As a starter, yeah.”
(On if he recorded his first ever NFL reception today)
“Yeah, well I wanted to get out and get a good start and get myself a completion and reception, start fast. Yeah that was my first reception. I told them to paint the ball up for me (laughs).”
Rams Linebacker James Laurinaitis
(On how the defense played so well against Denver’s offense)
“Our defensive staff did a heck of a job coming up with a great game plan. Quite frankly, we were on the same page and as long as all 11 are on the same page we will be alright. That’s the most important thing. We had certain checks and usually you go into a game plan with two or three checks and defenses. Today we had six or seven checks. That’s a great job by the coaching staff knowing that it would come to that. The best part about (Rams Defensive Coordinator) Gregg Williams is that he gives me the freedom to call stuff if I don’t want to check and the feeling of the play just isn’t right. A couple of times it happened and a couple of times we checked. The thing is, our guys played great. It’s a combination of a great game plan and just executing.”
(On how the defense is performing well under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams)
“Although the scheme was similar two years ago, when Blake Williams was here, when you go from coordinator to a different one to a different one, you’re still re-learning a lot of things. This scheme is built so that if everyone is on the same page you can play really fast. Gregg always says, ‘A slow correct decision is still a wrong decision.’ He doesn’t want you to be thinking, ‘Well technically I’m supposed to be here.’ If you do that slowly he’s still going to grade you down because he wants you playing fast. I think the last few weeks we’ve just kind of been able to come in and play extremely fast and trust each other and know that we don’t have to be perfect but let’s just be aggressive and physical. The light bulb is kind of switched on but we have to keep that thing on. I don’t want it to run out.”
(On if his sack was more meaningful because he sacked Peyton Manning)
“Heck yeah. He’s hard to get to and he’s arguably the greatest of all time to do it. He gets rid of the ball so fast because he diagnoses defenses so fast. Quite frankly, I’m upset. I think I should have two. I missed one earlier in the game. I’m still kind of ticked about it but I’ll cherish that one. I promise I’ll show my daughter that clip some day.”
Rams RB Tre Mason
(On not playing the first half of the season)
“When prayers go up, blessings come down. That’s the only thing I can say about that.”
(On the offensive line)
“Without those guys up front, any stat that we have is impossible. I love those guys. Of course I went to college with one, so I know his tendencies. I’m starting to gain the other guy’s tendencies and know how they go about things. Let’s get this train rolling.”
(On beating the 49ers, Seahawks and now the Broncos)
“We’re trying to get better and be consistent every week. We don’t want to be the team that beats a great team and then loses then wins. So we’re just trying to be consistent, work hard every week and try to get it done next week.”
(On if it’s motivating to play against a top-ranked defense as a running back)
“Of course, every time. That’s been me since high school. They’re ranked No.1. That’s when I have to play big. I love to play big in the big games.”
Rams DE Robert Quinn
(On what they were doing to pressure Broncos QB Peyton Manning)
“I think we were getting the pressure. He gets the ball out fast, so I think the opportunities that we had, we got back there and made him a little bit uneasy with getting pressured. The back seven covered their tails off, making huge plays. (CB) Trumaine (Johnson) and (LB Alec) Ogletree with those interceptions. Everyone played excellent from offense, defense, special teams. Like I said, it took a team to win this ball game and we did what we had to do.”
(On how he feels about maintaining the lead in the fourth-quarter and not letting the game get away)
“With any team back there you always get a little nervous. Like I said, guys, no matter who it was, did their assignment, made a play. 25 (T.J. McDonald) making nice huge hits all day and 23 (Rodney McLeod), I could start naming everybody. Everyone did what they needed to do. Made huge plays and got us where we’re at now with a W. We beat a great ball club. Enjoy it for 24 hours or so and move on.”
(On his thoughts on the Rams record against the league’s top competition)
“I think respect. If we play consistent week in and week out, finish ball games and the story will write itself with that. Hopefully – you always say it after a big win – hopefully, we build on this momentum. Like I said, with a full team back there and we played a heck of a game. I don’t know it’s, kind of breath taking to beat a great ball club like that. You’ve got to enjoy it for this little bit of time and get ready for the next opponent.”
Broncos Head Coach John Fox
(On what the range was for the kicker today)
“Probably 33. Although he never got to that range.”
(On what the difference was with today’s game)
“They practice to get paid too and that is a good football team. The last time they were here they beat the defending world champions, Seattle. They also went out to San Francisco and beat them. This is the NFL and they played better than we did. Minus two as I mentioned before is a reason you can write. Our effectiveness on third down is a reason that you can write. I thought those were more factors than where we kicked or didn’t kick.”
(On the big 4th down sack)
“I have not seen the tape, but obviously it was not executed like we wanted it. I thought they created pressure. Give them some credit; they are a good defensive football team and they out played us tonight.”
(On any concerns up front)
“In a lot of games when you get one dimensional it is not a fun day at the office when you play up front. But give them a little more credit than other concerns.”
(On why time outs were not used at the end of the first half)
“We contemplated it from both sides. We would get the ball at the start of the third quarter. I have been on both sides of that, but it worked out fine for what we were trying to get accomplished. I have been on both sides, if you get too cute the other team can go down and score.”
(On how important their run game was today)
“A lot of it, not taking anything away from their offense, you can credit their defense. They kept our offense off of the field, and they go hand in hand no doubt. They were able to possess the ball enough to put up 22 points and when we score 7 points, we aren’t going to win a bunch of games.”
(On his level of concern with the team after their recent losses)
“It is a loss, how you react to it will be important. I think that we have character in that room that we will respond fine. I can’t predict the future, but I still like our chances as a football team. This is obviously a set back.”
Broncos QB Peyton Manning
(On if he felt shorthanded in the second half due to injuries)
“It really didn’t. ‘Bubba’ (WR Andre Caldwell) and (TE) Jacob (Tamme) made a lot of plays for this offense, and I have a lot of confidence in them. I’ve got to give them the chance to make better plays. Certainly, that’s been the model of this team, this offense, if somebody goes down, somebody is there to step in. I have all the confidence in the world in both Bubba and Jacob, but I’ve got to give them the chance to make plays. Certainly, you hate to see (TE) Julius (Thomas) and (WR) Emmanuel (Sanders) injured, but I still don’t think that’s an excuse. I still think that Bubba and Jacob are capable of making plenty of plays, and I’ve got to do a better job of giving them the chance to make some plays.”
(On what he attributes to the offense’s lack of production today whether it be lack of execution or the Rams’ defensive scheme)
“You can probably combine all of them. I give them a lot of credit. I thought they played really well at all three levels: their front, their linebackers and the secondary. I thought we didn’t execute very well and just think I didn’t play very well, so usually you can kind of wrap it up into that. I thought our defense did a good job holding them to some field goals and we were within two scores the entire game at the end, so no excuses. I have to play better and got to score more points than seven.”
(On what happened when he was sacked on fourth down)
“I probably couldn’t tell you until I see the film. I couldn’t give you a good answer on that.”
(On his level of concern after this road trip)
“You’re disappointed. Certainly, any time you score seven points as an offense, you feel that you’ve let your team down. The defense, like I said, held them to some field goals. We had some fourth downs where we got stopped, I threw two interceptions and I gave them some field position. I didn’t feel like I carried my weight today. Offensively, we’ve got to score more points than seven. That’s pretty plain and simple. Like I said, I give the Rams a lot of credit for holding us to seven points, but certainly we have to take responsibility for not doing our job on offense and it starts with me.”
(On if he was frustrated at the end of the first half that a strong effort wasn’t made to get the ball back before the half)
“Certainly any time they tell us to go score, that’s what you want to do. He (Head Coach John Fox) had a feel. He told me we get the ball first in the second half and it had kind of been a grind the entire first half. We did score on a third down play on our last possession, but he just said, ‘We get the ball first in the second half, let’s go do it.’ We had a good drive going on that first drive of the second half. Emmanuel gets injured, which you just hate to see that and I feel a part of that. I felt like I probably could have held the safety a little bit longer, keep him from getting a jump on that. So every pass I throw, you feel responsible for it especially if a player gets injured so I hope he’s okay. For whatever reason, after that play, we went three incompletions and weren’t able to get that drive, so that was a disappointing drive to start the second half and came away with no points and no points the entire second half.”
(On if he still feels responsible for his receivers’ safety)
“Absolutely. I don’t know how many career passes I’ve thrown. Whatever 500 times 16 is, I can’t figure that math out, but yeah, any time a player gets injured on the end of one of your passes, my heart drops. You hope he’s okay. He said he was okay and I take that very seriously, I always have.”
(On if he knew he was going to be in for a tough game against the Rams defense)
“I think they have a good defense. I think they’re well coached and I thought they played excellent today. Gregg Williams is an excellent defensive coordinator. I give them all the credit. They executed well on defense and I didn’t play well. We had some chances, weren’t very good on third down, had a lot of third-and-longs. I give them a lot of credit but I’ve got to play better. We had chances. We weren’t very good on third down, didn’t stay on the field, had a chance on that first series of the second half, you could take the lead and that could change the game. To the Rams’ credit, they stopped us. I’ve got to play better – it’s pretty plain and simple.”
(On if teams have been generating more of a pass rush in recent weeks)
“The Rams have a good pass rush. They are good on that phase of their defense. When you throw 54, 50-something times, that’s probably not the ideal scenario that you want to take place coming into the game. I think that plays into their strengths a little bit, but those are passes that I’ve got to complete. I thought the guys up front fought like crazy against a good rush, and I’ve got to complete more of them and find a way to score more than seven points. Our defense held them to those field goals and fought and gave us plenty of possessions and to only score seven points is very disappointing.”
(On if there was something in particular the Rams defense did to shut them down as they approached the red zone inside the 30-yard line)
“That’s probably what makes it more disappointing. It’s one thing if you’re just three-and-out from the 20 (-yard line) every time, but we did have good starts to drives. We call it the strike zone, around the plus 30-35 (yard lines). I couldn’t give you a great answer right now, but like I said I give them credit for executing their defense. Like I said, I feel like I didn’t do my job well enough to get us past there, to get us down in there. We had a good red zone plan, and I don’t think we ever got to call any red zone plays. I’m not sure we were ever in there today. It hasn’t happened very often, so I’ve got to find a way to get us down there more and give us a chance to run red zone plays and score some touchdowns. When your defense is holding them to field goals and you have a chance to score points, that’s on us – we’ve got to do a better job scoring points.”
Broncos DE DeMarcus Ware
(On the challenge of winning on the road)
“At the end of the day, we lost the game that we should have won. We have to play better on the road.”
(On the Broncos following the loss)
“We’re not down about anything. We still have a long season to go. We know what we need to do and we have to play better on the road and we have to get those road wins.”
(On being back in a tie for first in the AFC West)
“That’s what this game is about. You can’t take anything for granted and you have to go out and play with the utmost every week. We can’t worry about another team we can only worry about ourselves. We have to get better this week because we have a good team coming to Denver.
(On losing key players on offense due to injury)
“We have guys who’ll have to step it up this week and especially on defense. We have to play better on defense.”
(On the play of Rams QB Shaun Hill)
“He’s a veteran quarterback and a guy who makes good decisions under pressure and he made his key plays this week.”
Broncos CB Chris Harris, Jr.
(On how the Broncos will respond following the loss)
“We’ll respond great. It was a tough loss today, but we didn’t play the type of football that we wanted to come here and play on the road. They (Rams) outplayed us. They made a lot of plays on defense today and they made more plays than our defense did.”
(On the Broncos struggle on the road)
“We’re losing the turnover battle every time and that’s something we have to fix. We have to get more turnovers and get Peyton (Manning) the ball a little more. But, you have to tip your hat to them. They did a good job of running the ball a little bit and Shaun Hill took care of the ball.”
