Q: Can you explain any better than anyone else can how Tim Tebow is doing this?
TB: I think they have a very good team. I think they've obviously got a bunch of guys that play hard and play well together. I think they complement each other very well - offense, defense, special teams. Honestly, I've been focusing on their defense. I haven't watched a lot of Broncos offense this week. I've seen all their games and they have a lot of good players - D.J. Williams, Champ Bailey - obviously I've played against him a bunch. I really have a lot of respect for a lot of those guys on the defensive side of the ball. That's really our challenge this week. We'll let the defensive guys handle their offense.
Q: Have you ever met Tim Tebow at all?
TB: No.
Q: Have you ever been part of a team where one player, regardless of his skill level, seems to raise the level of his teammates around him?
TB: I'd say, as a team, everyone is trying to raise everybody's collective level energy and enthusiasm, and that's part of being a team. You can really only do your job. That's what Coach Belichick has stressed to us day after day here. I can only play quarterback, Andre Carter can only play defensive end, Kevin Faulk can only play running back, and you have to do your job as well as you possibly can, because no one else can do it for you. The better you do it and the better everyone individually does it, the better collectively you'll be as a team.
Q: Can you identify with Tim Tebow as far as what it takes to be a great leader, especially in the fourth quarter, as a quarterback?
TB: It's an important part of the position. You're the one calling the plays. You're obviously the coach in the huddle. It's a responsibility that I think every quarterback takes very seriously - leading your team and representing what your coaches are trying to put across on the field. Obviously he does a very good job of that.
Q: Do you believe in the altitude advantage in Denver?
TB: No, I've played out there a bunch. I don't think it has much to do with the outcomes of the games out there. I think the team that plays the best is going to win, more so than the air or the color of the sky or the moon phase or anything like that. Probably whoever makes the most plays [will win].
Q: Is there a part of you as a fan that's intrigued or interested in what Tim Tebow has accomplished? I know that you're busy studying tape and watching defense, but is there a part of you that enjoys it as a fan?
TB: I mean, I appreciate good quarterback play. I'm always watching around the league, whether it's Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees having phenomenal years. Obviously, Tim is having a great year. You watch guys and the way that they perform under pressure and it says a lot about who they are and the way their teammates feel about them. It's a big challenge. It's going to be a very electric environment out there. We've had some really great games against the Broncos over the years. I'm sure this will be no different.
Q: As a quarterback, you want to get hit as a little as possible. How much do you marvel at a quarterback who runs deliberately so many times in a game and is still able to get back there and be effective?
TB: I think everybody has strengths and weaknesses at every position. As a quarterback, you try to play to your strengths. I think that's what we all try to do.
Q: Denver's defense has a lot of the same players as the last time you faced them two years ago. How different do they look under John Fox?
TB: It's very different than what they were playing when we played them the last time, so they do - obviously with Von Miller, he's a phenomenal player; watching him play is pretty awesome. And then with Elvis [Dumervil] on the other side - they've really got two guys that can rush the passer. I know I stand up here every week and talk about how good of a pass rush we're going to face and we seem to continue to face them. They really get after the quarterback. They've got great linebackers. Obviously, they have a very physical front. Their linebackers are really good and they cover well. That's what makes a pretty good defense: guys that can rush the quarterback and people that can cover. They blitz well. They blitz a lot. It's a matter of making sure we're protecting and getting the ball out on time and getting the ball to our guys so they can do something with it.
Q: Are they blitzing more now that they have two guys on the edge, as opposed to two years ago?
TB: Yeah, they blitz a bunch. They blitz a lot. They're always blitzing. It's a very heavy blitz scheme.
Q: How have you been impressed with Ryan Mallett in practice? What have you seen from him that impresses you?
TB: Ryan has been great to be here with. I really enjoy him. He loves football. I know he does everything that coaches ask him to do. He works hard. It's great having him.
Q: Denver is the only team in the league that you have a losing record against. Does that bother you? Is there a commonality in those games that you haven't been successful against them in?
TB: I didn't know that.
Q: You're 1-5.
TB: 1-5? Man, that's pretty bad. Hopefully we get to 2-5 this week. Maybe it's the mile-high air. Maybe there's something to that, I don't know. We just haven't played very well I don't think. We've had some very close games against them; we just haven't pulled it out. They're a good team. They've had a good team for a long time - when Coach Shanahan was there, and I think we've played a bunch of very tight games with them. Hopefully we can start working our way to getting even.
Q: Does that bother you? You have a winning record against literally every other team in the league.
TB: No. I mean, losing sucks; you hate losing, but there's nothing I can do about those games in the past now, so I'll just try to win this one. That will make me feel pretty good.
Q: When you talk about playing complementary football, do you pay attention to what your defense is doing and think you need to score more or do something different based on what your defense is doing? Or is it two separate components?
TB: Well, we're all pretty cognizant of the situation. If you're up seven in the fourth quarter, you don't want to throw an interception like I did last week. That's not necessarily complementary football right there. A lot of it is just understanding the situation. Look, when you're paying ahead, you have to play smart. When you're behind, sometimes you have to take more chances. I think the big part of it, for the defense, however they're going to play, it doesn't matter, because we have to do our job. They get the ball to start the game, who cares what happens on the opening drive; when we get the ball, we have to go down and do something with it.
Q: How happy are you with the offense and what do you think needs to improve with three games left here?
TB: Everything. Everything we need to improve. Everything needs to be better. Our execution of the passing game can be better, our execution of the run game [and] every position. It's just a matter of us committing ourselves on a daily basis to be more mentally tough than what the drain of the season does to you and to overcome fatigue and being tired and mentally being drained a little bit to putting your best foot forward to still going out there and doing whatever it takes to be healthy and prepare mentally and physically to go out there and play your best game. I think that's really been the focus for the guys this week because we have a huge challenge ahead of us and it's a very important game for us.
Q: Tim Tebow has a lot of doubters in the league and you had some too, being drafted in the sixth round. How did that negative energy help you?
TB: I think you just really have confidence in yourself that you can achieve whatever you think you can achieve, and then you try to work hard at it, and then when you get your opportunity you try to take advantage of it. I think that's what a lot of young players - not everyone is a high pick or not everyone gets a lot of chances right out of the box, but when you do get your opportunity, you really try to take advantage of your opportunity and do your best and give everything you have. If football means a lot to you and it's important, usually good things happen.
Q: Rob Gronkowski has gotten a lot of attention but how has Aaron Hernandez come along this year?
TB: He's done an incredible job. The two of them really coming in together and starting at the same place and you see their development over the course of two years has been very impressive. Rob does a lot of great things for us; Aaron does equally great things. The most important part is they've been out there every day in practice. I know Aaron was banged up a little bit earlier this season, but his consistency and dependability since he's been out there in practice has really improved. He's a very excitable kind of guy and he's got a great attitude. You talk about a guy that loves football - no one loves football more than Aaron Hernandez. He's a great teammate and I love being out there with him.
