Marvin Lewis News Conference
Sept. 21, 2016
Paul Brown Stadium
On presenting the American Flag carried onto the field at the Week 1 game at the Jets to the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial...
"We have Jim Bernholtz and Brian Stewart from the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial with us today. We have the flag that Rey (Maualuga) actually ran out onto the field with in New York. So we'll let Rey present that. Thank you."
Opening comments...
"It's exciting to open up the season here at home and have the opportunity to play in front of our crowd. We'll have a nice, beautiful day on Sunday, and a great day for football and a great day to win a football game. Obviously it's an important football game for us, with another AFC opponent, and a big day to open up the season right here and kick it off here at Paul Brown Stadium.
"As we know, they're a well-put together football team. The difference is (Trevor) Siemian playing quarterback for them. He's done a very good job the first two weeks of the season. He's been very efficient with the ball. They've done a nice job of controlling the football games, and the defense has continued to play very well, coming up with turnovers and big plays defensively, which make a big difference. So we're going to have to do a great job in all three phases."
What does Siemian do best at quarterback?
"He's been really good at decision-making, understanding pre-snap, seeing the coverage, knowing where his one-on-ones are and delivering accurate footballs. He's been very accurate with the football."
John Elway addressed the offensive line in the offseason and changed it up a little bit, although they're dealing with an injury right now. What have you seen from them this season?
"They're still good athletes. That's their style of offensive lineman. They run their zone running plays and move sideways and get you to move, and then allow the back the freedom to cut with the football. That's important. The run and play-action are packaged together off of that."
What will it mean to get Tyler Eifert back at practice today?
"He'll be taking steps closer to playing. It's good. He's not had padded practices in training camp and the opportunity to get out and get moving around again and doing football. He's been doing everything else that he can do. So it's another step in his progression."
A.J. Green mentioned that his wife might be having their baby this week. Will he be practicing today?
"We'll see."
Do you know if she's had the baby?
"She's not had the baby as of yet – as of an hour ago."
What kind of challenges do Broncos CBs Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. present?
"They do a good job. Both guys play the football well in the air, and that's what you've got to do to be a good corner in the NFL. They get themselves in good position, and they're able to play the football in the air."
Von Miller gets a lot of attention for his pass-rushing, but what do you see out of Derek Wolfe, who played at the University of Cincinnati, on the interior?
"Derek has been a very productive player for them. He's done a really good job as an inside rusher. He's played stout in the run game. He's a good athlete. He stays on his feet and does the things you want to see from an interior defensive lineman. But he has the ability to penetrate and make plays within the pocket that allows those outside guys an opportunity where the quarterback can't step up."
Their linebackers don't get as much attention as the rest of the defense, but they seem to play well...
"They're such good athletes. They're productive, good athletes, downhill players and play very fast. It fits to their defense very well."
Your coaching history, before you were a head coach, was on the defensive side of the ball. What did you think watching a Super Bowl when a defense, like the Broncos did last year, takes over and essentially wins the game itself?
"I really don't pay much attention to the Super Bowl. They have a good defensive football team, no question. They made a difference. Von Miller's ability to make plays, their ability to cover. They're a good team."
Does Denver's current team remind you a little of the Super Bowl team you coached in Baltimore? Trent Dilfer and Siemian both are talented guys, but they do a good job of protecting the football, and they have a dominant defense...
"This is the third game of the year. We'll hold off on that (laughs)."
But even just the way they're structured?
"They were a good team last year. And they're a good team right now."
What comes to mind when you watch C.J. Anderson play?
"He's got great vision. He has ability to cut and run the football. He gets his shoulders pointed toward the goal line. He had the run against us last year, where we don't quite leverage him the right way and he ends up scoring on a 39-yard run. It proved to be the difference in the football game. Literally. You have to do a good job of leveraging tackle on him. He's got enough speed to make a long run like that."
In your eyes, how much different are they from last year's team?
"I don't think they're a whole lot different right now. They way they're playing, they're very efficient on both sides of the football."
What do you think about their special teams?
"They've made a little transition with the punter and long-snapper and some people. They haven't had an opportunity to return a kickoff yet – they've played two home games. So the kicking game has been somewhat limited in that fashion. But just like anything else, they're a good football team that has good athletes. They're a 3-4 team, which means they have an abundance of linebackers. So you have some bigger guys in coverage, and in blocking in the return game. So when we match up against those teams, we have to do a very good job of doing what we do."
Aside from the obvious of scoring touchdowns, what have you seen from your offense the last two weeks in the red zone that you would like to see improved upon?
"We've done a good job of taking care of the ball down there. We'd like to continue to press and make touchdowns plays. You do that by working the football in and continuing to execute well and do a good job. Whether it be the running game or passing game, we've got to be efficient and score touchdowns."
Just to clarify, did you watch any of the Super Bowl?
"I can't even remember. Not much."
