DENVER BRONCOS OTA QUOTES (6/1/15)
HEAD COACH GARY KUBIAK
On whether the players’ heads are spinning with the playbook installations
“Yeah, but you know what? They’re getting better. It’s really exciting to watch. It’s not like we’re young in a spot; we’re young as a group. So it’s very competitive. Guys are getting a ton of reps. It’s just exciting to watch them grow. There are some young players on this football team right now and obviously those guys have got to grow up really fast.”
On how T Ty Sambrailo has been progressing
“Hhe’s done a good job. He’s smart, so that’s not a problem. He’s kind of going through a process right now. I sat [OLBs] Von [Miller] and DeMarcus [Ware] for a day—one day out of the three. I think he feels pretty good about himself that day, and all of a sudden here they come. Well, that’s the real deal. But that’s what I told him: ‘Not many guys get to work against two Pro Bowl players on a daily basis and you will.’ He’s had no problem mentally. Physically, it’s just going to be a continuous deal. He’s a worker. I think the players respect how he’s going about his business. Like I said, he’s got to do it really fast. I think also that [T Michael] Schofield has really improved. I’ve been impressed with how he’s practiced.”
On balancing when to give players days off
“It’s not so much that. I’m not concerned about that as I am trying to figure out the youth of this football team, the depth of this football team and how it’s going to help us. I know a lot about those other players, you know what I mean? I’m trying to really rep those other guys. I’m also trying to see how [QB] Brock [Osweiler] reacts and how [QB] Zac [Dysert] reacts when they take the football team and they get it for a day. Last week, that day that we did, it wasn’t very good. Today it was actually pretty good. I liked the tempo of practice. There are always mistakes, but we practiced a lot better with our young players today than we did last week.”
On how OLB Shane Ray looked
“He had his helmet on and did individual period. ‘Greek’ (Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos) said it went really good. I watched him a little bit. We’re trying to progress a little bit more each day. I think this week will be kind of what you saw today.”
On what he is looking for in his young offensive linemen and if there is a lot of time before training camp
“I feel just the opposite. I think you throw everything at them and you see what’s sticking and where the strengths are. It’s our jobs as coaches by the time we get to the fall to do what they do best. I think right now we need to see how much they can handle. When they’re in an overload mentally, how do they practice? We’re trying to find out a lot about them as people. They’re getting reps that they never knew they were going to get. We’ll see. The decisions are all going to be made because of the work in practice not just because they are a draft choice or if they’ve been here. It’s going to be made off of reps. That’s what I like about it.”
On Osweiler’s improvement since last week
“He’s changing systems, so remember, he wasn’t under center either. It’s not just [QB] Peyton [Manning], so it’s different for him. I’m asking him to read some things differently. I teach guys to read with their feet and how they hitch and how they do things without me going inside. It’s different for him. He’s responding. The thing I like about him is when he does make a mistake and you correct something, the next day he fixes it. He works hard at his craft and this is really a good time for him to get reps.”
On if he will continue to rest veterans in mini camps and OTAs
“We’ll continue this process. I want to practice at least one day with those other guys sitting because I just think it’s important. You’ll probably see some of that in training camp, too. I think the NFL season is a long grind. How you go about keeping guys healthy is a tough deal and a tough assignment. Also how you go about getting young guys involved with your team—the only way I know how to do that is give them practice time.”
On if giving veterans time off in practice is something he has always done
“I’ve always believed in doing it. I’m probably doing it more in the past after I was in Baltimore last year and we did it quite a bit. We had some young guys step up and play really well for us, especially up front last year. I find myself in kind of the same situation up front. We’ve got to get those guys going.”
On the difficulties resting veterans in practice
“It’s hard to do as a coach, to be honest with you, because it does make practice difficult on the coaches because they’re getting young guys going and they’re carrying the load. You kind of find out what they can handle. In this business you never know until they get thrown into fire. It’s kind of practice of throwing them into the fire so-to-speak.”
On the benefit for the veterans who are sitting out practice
“I’m standing back there talking to Peyton during the periods and stuff. We encourage them that if they’re going to ‘sit,’ they’re not going to sit. They’re going to coach. They’re going to help. They’re going to be involved with what’s going on. I think they know how important it is that the youth of our football team gets better. I see them all involved and they will stay involved. It’s not a total day off.”
On Manning not participating but taking mental reps at practice
“He’s not a big fan of it. I just think it’s important. I talked to him about it. You want guys that want to practice. They all want to practice. You try to convince them, ‘Hey, I want you there for the long haul and as healthy as you could be and as strong as you could be. I also want to find out about these guys.’ They’ve been good. It hasn’t been a problem.”
On OLB Lerentee McCray not practicing
“Lerentee has a quad or groin. It’s something he did last Friday. We just gave him a break today. He should be back tomorrow.”
On S Ross Madison not practicing
“He’s got a little neck issue from last week. Rest for him, too.”
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