Denver Broncos coaches and players comment on their upcoming game against the New England Patriots.
On facing the Patriots defense...
"I think they're a defense where up front it obviously starts with one gap where it's kind of a man with a man and they do a good job of defending the front, as usual. And then in the back end, they play a heck of a lot of man coverage where it's man on man. They obviously are very effective doing that. That's been the challenge all the time when playing against Bill, their fronts tend to be multiple like most teams, but they do it in a way that makes the most sense for their players. They'll play a scheme at times but there will be different players playing within that scheme, so you have to make sure you're doing a good job of blocking spots. But one week that spot might be filled with a defensive back, one week it might be filled with a linebacker, they get different players playing on the edge, so that's really the crux of it. Like most teams they probably have ways of defending and taking away the things that we do well, I think that's why it's important that multiple guys have to touch the ball and be productive when given their opportunities."
- Broncos Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur
"I think he (Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick) does a great job every single week. I don't know if it is necessarily just against young quarterbacks. They do a great job disguising, they use a lot of DBs which makes it tough to identify in the run game, and certain stuff in the passing game like where your one-on-ones are and stuff like that. Obviously, it's going to be a challenge, and on our side, we just have to make sure that we have a great week of practice and a great week in the film room so we're ready to go on Sunday."
- Denver Broncos Quarterback Brett Rypien
On Cam Newton...
"When it comes to Cam, he's one of those guys that you watched growing up and he's one of those guys that you want to get your hands on. He had the whole COVID stuff and all that, but I feel like if he's going to be out there playing then he went through everything and passed all the tests. It shouldn't be one of those things that's up in the air."
- Broncos Outside Linebacker Bradley Chubb
"A lot of their offense is the same, but then there's things that bring out Cam's strengths. Obviously, quarterback driven runs are something that is different when he's in there."
- Broncos Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell
On the differences in the Patriots offense this season...
"There's always going to be differences. The Patriot way is 'What do we need to be to win this week,' and that was when Tom [Brady] was there. They're always going to play to the strengths of their players and they're going to play differently with different quarterbacks in there. So, we have to be ready for all that. They'll use anything they need to win."
- Broncos Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell
On the versatility of the Patriots defensive backs...
"They ask some of them to play traditional linebacker positions. They've been doing that the last few years and they're doing it a lot now. They have 12 defensive backs, I believe, on their active roster. That's just the way that they go and the way they built their team. They're still able to get in looks that traditionally have linebackers in place but they have safety-type guys doing those jobs. They do a great job at being versatile on defense."
- Denver Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio
On facing the Patriots...
"We have to go out there and we have to find ways to win football games. We got a win against the Jets, and we have to find a way to go to New England in a tough environment—even though there's no fans—and find a way to win there, too."
- Denver Broncos Safety Justin Simmons
"They do a great job of taking out the best player. They're a great defense, bend don't break sort of speak. I've been watching them very closely. [Patriots RB] James White is one of my close friends, so I've paid a lot of attention to the Patriots. They've got a great defense and do a good job of knocking the ball out, so if they give us an opportunity, we've got to make the best of it because they probably won't give many."
- Denver Broncos Running Back Melvin Gordon III
"We have to keep finding ways to make us better and win more games, especially on the defensive side of the football. We just have to find ways to do it. At the end of the day, no one cares what's happening to you injury wise. You still have to go out there and play, and you still have to win football games. That's what we're looking forward to, and we're excited for Sunday."
- Denver Broncos Safety Justin Simmons
On preparing for all three of New England's quarterbacks...
"One thing I do every week with the defense is always let them know who the other team's backup quarterback is, especially if he's a vastly different skillset than the starter. That's something you have to be ready for each and every week. Their offense didn't change a great deal against Kansas City with [Patriots QB] Cam Newton not playing, other than the Cam Newton generated-type runs weren't there. But they still ran their offense and ran it well. If one of the backups has to play again this week, they're going to be in a better spot than they were last week because they would have had the week of practice and the prep time of knowing that they're playing, whereas last week it kind of happened late."
- Denver Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio
"This week, it's kind of two completely different quarterback styles. You look at their first few games compared to their last game. It changed up. It's kind of hard, but you've just got to be a professional and prepare for whatever situation may come. We're going to prepare like we could play any one of the three quarterbacks, no matter who it may be. We've just got to go out there and be the best defense we can be."
- Denver Broncos Defensive Lineman Mike Purcell
"As of right now, we are. We're preparing for [Patriots QB] Cam [Newton] to be the quarterback. We have film, we're watching other things and we're preparing for this, that and the other. As of right now, you just have to be able to prepare for what you're going to expect. Part of being a professional is handling the unknown the best possible way you can. That's what we're preparing for, and we're looking forward to it."
- Denver Broncos Safety Justin Simmons
On Bill Belichick...
"Coach Belichick has been around for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him for what he's been able to do with that program for the last 20 years now. He does kind of change things week to week and he's able to do that really well when those guys buy into what the game plan is every single week."
- Denver Broncos Quarterback Brett Rypien
"He's one of the greatest coaches to ever do this and his resume speaks for itself. When he was at my pro day with all the guys we had, it was one of those things like, 'Alright guys, we've got everybody on notice.' It was just one of those things where we went out there and did what we had to do. It was a cool experience. it was fun, but now I've got to beat him this upcoming Sunday."
- Denver Broncos Outside Linebacker Bradley Chubb
"Bill is obviously one of the greatest, if not the greatest head coach of all time."
- Denver Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio
On James White...
"I'm going to be happy to see him; I haven't seen him in a while. We train together, I'm over at his house all the time. I'm close with his wife, I was there when they started their little love connection. The Coronavirus stopped me from seeing him, I couldn't see his son and go over there as much as I would've liked to, and then obviously with his father, it'll be good to see him. I've been texting him but it's nothing like talking in person. Kudos to him to be able to go out there and help his teammates last night. It's going to be good to chop it up with him, probably after the game or before, but regardless I'll be able to talk to him and that'll be good to see my dog."
- Denver Broncos Running Back Melvin Gordon III
