Notable comments from Broncos head coach Vic Fangio and more in the lead up to the Week 12 game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head coach Vic Fangio on what he saw in Brandon Staley when he hired him in Chicago in 2017
"I knew he had the ability to be a really good coach but for me to predict he'd be a head coach four years later, I didn't predict that, but I knew Brandon had special abilities as a coach. He had a really good understanding of the game on both sides of the ball and was really happy to hire him and I thought he would progress very well and he did."
Fangio on Justin Herbert
"I thought the guy was really good last year…he made a tremendous adjustment and adaptation to the NFL last year. I thought their coaching staff last year did a great job with him and the coaching staff this year has just taken him to a new level. He's really, really good, he throws the ball extremely well. He's got a big arm, but he throws with touch, he throws a very catchable ball. Obviously he's big so he's hard to get down, obviously he's athletic and fast. You saw him run for almost 100 yards [on Sunday] on scrambles. He's a complete quarterback."
Fangio on Austin Ekeler
"He's tough. He's obviously their leading runner. He runs [well] when he gets the ball. They do run it [well]. They've got different schemes they run it with—power type schemes and zone schemes. Obviously, he's a really good receiver out of the backfield—check downs, option routes, and seam routes. He's a real threat for them."
Fangio on Derwin James
"He's a really good player. He's a playmaker, he's versatile, runs really [well], and he's a good hitter. He has good instincts and a feel for the game. He's a good player, and you can see that. His mindset and attitude permeates through the defense."
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on the Chargers secondary
"They play well together, they are in the top of the league in passing yards allowed per game and big explosive passes allowed per game. So, they do a great job at just communicating, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their defense and their coverages. They've got guys that can play some really good football and of course you've got Derwin James who's spear-heading all of it. Man, collectively as a group they do a great job at just playing in zone coverages well, communicating in man coverage, being physical so it's going to be a challenge for us."
Safety Justin Simmons on what Justin Herbert has improved on in his second year in the NFL
"I just think it's the confidence. He's seeing what he's seeing early and just being decisive with his decision making whether that's making a throw in a tight window or not liking what he sees to start and pulling the ball and running it. I know we saw that a couple times against the Steelers, I mean he's playing really good football so it's going to be a really tough challenge for us."
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur on the Chargers defense
"They've got really good players. They can challenge you. They can do a good job of stopping the run. They've proven it the last couple of weeks and when you throw the ball, they do a good job of getting pressure on you. Their corners are sticky [and] they can get on you. It's going to be a challenge across the board. I think we see that every week [that] defenses fight back. In high school and college sometimes, it doesn't appear that way [when] the scores are [really] high. It's a challenge every week regardless of how people think teams are ranked because there are really good players on every defense."
Shurmur on Joey Bosa
"He moves around. He's typically—you'll find him on the edge in a position where he's the rusher. If there are five on the line and they're going to bring four, that's pretty standard. In the nickel situations, there are times when he'll lineup in on the guard and work on the interior. They have some run alignments where he'll get down in the interior of the front as well. So yeah, he's all over and it's going to be important for us to know where he is and get a hat on them."
Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell on the pride he has in Brandon Staley becoming a head coach
"A lot. We're all in this business to help others and to grow. It was apparent right from the start. He's such a student, and he's OK with being a lifetime student. He listens to others. He's always expanding his knowledge. This is a guy who has a really bright future because he's really open to change. He loves change and embraces it. He embraces the science of football. On top of that, he really showed us that he thought relationships are really important. He works on a daily basis to make that happen. [I'm] really happy for him and his success."
Donatell on Justin Herbert
"I thought he was good last year. He's getting better. When you see young players play [well] right away, there's usually something going on. All these draft picks have strong arms and they've had a lot of success. They can make the tough throws and so forth. What separates them is the guys that can process information in rapid cognition, and that's what he does. He's had a lot of tough opponents that he's played. [They've] given him different books. He can respond to unscouted looks and see things on the run. That's why he has a really bright future along with all these other positive attributes."
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