Opening remarks:
“We look forward to playing the Denver Broncos. It is similar to what I said
last week, we know they are a Super Bowl caliber football team and we expect a
good football game. There is a great atmosphere when you play in Denver. It’s
very similar to Kansas City that way. It’s loud and there is a lot of energy. I
know our guys are working hard this week and get themselves prepared to play a
good football team.”
On signing K Jose Cortez off wavers and releasing K Todd France:
“I appreciate everything Todd did for us. He did a nice job. On Jose’s side,
I was impressed with what I saw [when we played] against Dallas and [special
teams coach] John Harbaugh has a past relationship with him. We felt very
comfortable with him. He has a very strong leg and we will see how it all works
out.”
On whether kickoffs was a major factor in the move:
“We will see how it works out. Obviously, I was looking at it this week for
field goals and kickoffs. I can’t tell you what is going to happen with David
down the road or Jose for that matter.”
On whether cutting a guy who has made 6 straight field goals is a risky
move:
“We will see how it works out. We will see.”
On whether he is comfortable with the possibility of carrying two kickers:
“We will see how David does here in the next couple of weeks. If it came down
to that, we would have to do something there.”
On how he is measuring the timetable of Akers’ return:
“It’s not quite right. It’s not where it needs to be. We think if we give him
another weeks rest to rehab, it will be better possibly for the following week.”
On how LB Jason Short’s ankle is progressing:
“He is going to try it today and see. I think it will be a stretch for him
playing the game, but he is going to give it a whirl and see what he can do.”
On whether they are going to prepare for the crowd noise in Denver:
“We are going to work with a little crowd noise today and we will be inside.
It is a hostile environment and is loud. We will get a little extra work with
it.”
On whether he thinks the altitude will be a factor on Sunday:
“It will if you let it be. It shouldn’t be, but sometimes people make a
little more of it than it is.”
On facing Broncos CB Champ Bailey:
“We know him and Champ knows us. I think he is a heck of a football player,
an all-pro football player. He’s one of the best corners in the league, so we
have a lot of respect for him and our receivers have to bring their “A” game
when they play him. They know that and I think they look forward to that
challenge.”
On whether Broncos QB Jake Plummer is playing at the same level as he did
for the Cardinals:
“He is playing very good football right now. He’s on a good football team and
he is making a lot of plays for them.”
On stopping Denver’s running game and why they continue to be so
successful in running the ball:
“First of all, [Broncos head coach] Mike [Shanahan] does a nice job of
bringing in good running backs. Those guys were successful running backs in
college and they have carried it over to the NFL. I think their offensive line
does a heck of a job. They put a lot of emphasis on it and they execute very
well.”
On what the plan is for kickoff returns this week:
“We are going to see how it goes this week at practice.”
On the level of concern he has with the offense:
“We need to do better and that is my responsibility. I need to make sure I am
getting these guys in the right position to make plays. We go back to the
fundamentals and sharpen it up a bit.”
On why he thinks the offense is struggling:
“We have played a couple of decent defenses. That’s not an excuse. You have
to show up and play. I have to make sure I am calling it right and giving these
guys an opportunity to make plays.”
On how much he thinks the hernia is affecting Donovan’s accuracy:
“I don’t think it has. As a matter of fact, he feels better this week than he
has in the past. I don’t think that’s a factor. He had a beautiful first half of
football. They made a few adjustments defensively and I could have done a better
job of giving him better opportunities in the second half.”
On how he sees the development of LG Artis Hicks:
“Artis gets better every week. I thought training camp delayed him a bit at
the guard spot. Early in the year he was playing OT for [OT] Tra [Thomas] during
camp and we made that switch to get him back inside to get some more reps there.
He really took the whole offseason and played the OT position. Once we got him
in back at guard he got back in the swing of things. It took a few weeks there,
but he is doing a nice job right now.”
On whether RB Reno Mahe will work at punt returning this week:
“Yeah, we are looking at that. We will see how that goes this week.”
On whether Donovan’s injury is causing difficulty for the offense to start
games well:
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s the issue. Again, I go back and I
can script better plays. We can execute better. It’s not one guy and it’s not
the injury. Overall we need to do a better job.”
On whether he feels the offense is far off from where it needs to be:
“Everybody needs to do their job a little bit better. We need to eliminate
the penalties. Like I said, I need to do my part and the players are working
their tail to do their part. It will all work out and if we keep working at it,
we will be fine.”