Q: If you had an MVP vote this year, who would you go with?
TB: I don't have any MVP votes. I don't get any votes. There are a lot of great players.
Q: What makes it so difficult to play in Denver?
TB: I think they've had really good teams. More so than where you play, it's how you play. I said earlier today, we just need to play better than the way we've been playing out there. It's a great place to play. They've got great fans. Coach [Bill Belichick] said they've sold out every game for like the last 45 years or something like that. It's definitely one of the louder places so our communication is going to be really important. Number 58 [Von Miller] on the other side of the ball is a lot more dangerous, and 94 [DeMarcus Ware], than the people in the crowd, so we're going to have to do a good job handling all those guys up front. They've got a great rush group. They've got a great coverage group. They're exceptional in a lot of ways and they've been that way for a long time, so it's going to be a big challenge for us.
Q: How will this time in Denver differ from years in the past when your running game wasn't as good as it is right now?
TB: It's important, it's definitely important. Because they play the pass so well, I think we've got to find ways to make yards in the run game. We've done a pretty good job of that this year. LG [LeGarrette Blount] is having a great year. Dion [Lewis] is getting healthier every week, and James White has done such a great job for us. I feel great about our backfield. We're going to need to run the ball very effectively. I think that's important every week, but they do a great job of stopping you from running the ball and forcing you into a one-dimensional game, and that's ultimately how they want to play it. They want to play from ahead, they want to get to the quarterback, and they do a great job of that.
Q: What was the experience of meeting Logan Schoenhardt like for you as it was shown in Monday night's E:60 feature?
TB: Well he is a special young man. Just to have a chance to know his story has been very humbling and certainly gives me a lot of perspective, and certainly all of us a lot of perspective on the very difficult challenges a lot of families face, and certainly that he has faced. It's very tough circumstances but he has showed a lot of courage under some very trying circumstances, so it was great to get to meet him. I sent him a video I think in March of April of this year, and then had a chance to meet him this fall. He's a sweet young boy.
Q: Aside from football, is the ability to be that important to people in their own ways something that you didn't realize you would have when you came into the league?
TB: Yeah, I think it's always - when you're in the position, certainly as a professional athlete, a lot of guys use it as a great way to express their views on a lot of different things. I think it's always - there are so many blessings that we all have and to have a positive impact on people and children in different ways, and whichever way you can do that. This was one particular way. I said earlier, a lot of time you feel like you get more out of it than they do at the end of the day because of how touched you are and the kind of perspective that you gain from it. It's always nice to be a part of something really special and unique like that, and I'm happy always to play a small part in trying to make those types of things happen.
*Q: At this point in your career, does winning or your own longevity motivate you more? *
TB: I'm just trying to do the best I can for my teammates. I think that's what motivates me. I never want to let them down. That's a great motivator because guys work really hard. They make lot of sacrifices to be here, to be on this team and try to do a great job, and you don't want to go out there and not give our team a chance. I always feel like I want to work as hard as I can to put our team in a great position to win, whether that's bringing enthusiasm to practice or making a good throw or making sure I'm out there at practice preparing like they are. I think those are all really important things. There are all different kinds of motivation, but that's a great one for me.
Q: As you've gone through different levels of your career, when did execution become such a big thing for you?
TB: Well, I think it's - good execution, certainly when it's going well, things are in rhythm and guys are making the throws and catches, it's tough to stop. Good execution, especially on offense, is hard for any defense. They're always kind of waiting for you to screw it up. Over the course of the week, you're trying to find consistent, dependable players that are going to execute every single play. The way that we talk about it from our coaches, they coach it to us, we talk about it as players and then we've got to go out on the field and we've got to make the right read, make the right decision, make the right throw, make the catch, secure the ball, and move to the next play. When you're doing it well, you're going to make a lot of yards; you're going to score a lot of points. When you're not, it doesn't matter what play the coach calls if you can't throw it and hit it. You could dial up the perfect play against the perfect defense and have a guy open by five yards, and if I over throw him, it doesn't matter. You gain zero yards. I think it always comes down to how well you execute and situationally, there are always situations in the game - it's a constant flow of first-and-10 to third down, to third-and-goal on the one, to a minute-40 before the end of the half - all those things that we talk about all the time and what we're trying to get out of those situations so that you can use the plays that you talk about to execute at a high level during those situations.
Q: What have you seen out of Von Miller and has he advanced in his game this season?
TB: I think he's pretty great every single play, every game. I think he's actually gotten better in all phases of the game, not just as a rusher but dropping into coverage, covering guys, playing the run. He's a phenomenal player. I never played against Lawrence Taylor, but I watched a lot of Lawrence Taylor and they've got the same number, or two digits from one another, but they look like they can go kill the quarterback, so he's done a great job of that.
Q: How important is David Andrews in riding the fine line of snapping the ball in noisy environments like Denver so guys like Von Miller can't jump the snap?
TB: Yeah, they do a pretty good job of that. I think as the game goes on, I think they try to get a good understanding of how you're snapping the ball, the cadence and the pace of things, so we've got to do a good job of keeping them off balance. I think every team tries to do that. When you go in there, you see the teams trying different things, but if you can't communicate verbally, then you've got to do things non-verbally. We've just got to do a good job of keeping them from really teeing off.
Q: How has David Andrews done this year in that regard?
TB: He's done a great job. He's done a great job. He has been so consistent and dependable for us in his calls and his control of the line of scrimmage. He's had an incredible year.
Q: Is the January AFC Championship game at Denver still fresh in your mind?
TB: Yeah, I think you always remember those feelings and you remember the circumstances of the game. Of course, to watch that game again - I watched it a bunch this offseason - but to watch it again, you're just trying to do things better than the way we've done them. If you want a different outcome then you've got to do things differently and we've got to play better. I think that's what it comes down to. I think about the things that I need to do better. We've been close, but close is not good enough when you play in the NFL. You've got to be able to finish your job.
