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Coach Munchak's Friday Practice Report

 

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HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK

(on if Kenny Britt is now considered a "number one" quality NFL receiver)

Yes, I would say yes.

(on what Kenny Britt needs to do to stay healthy and keep his hamstrings loose)

I think he has to take care of himself and do the extra stuff even though you may not necessarily be injured, just like anyone would who has a history of certain injuries. I think stretching, treatments, just taking care of yourself after ball games even though you don't necessarily miss plays. There are certain players, and he is one of them because of the history, that you just be careful and make sure he is getting the treatment because you don't want to have something happen just because it's happened before to him. He is an example of one but I think there are other guys too that need to stretch a little bit more than other guys do. Even though he is a young guy, it's something he's got to be aware of.

(on if he needs to be in the hot tub more to loosen up)

Yeah, I think everyone's a little different as far as what they think they need. Some guys get a massage, some guys do hot and cold tubs. If it's not truly an injury, it's stretching before you come out here just to get a routine down that works for you, because for everyone it's different. Quarterbacks go through their routines and all quarterbacks are different on what they think they need to get their arm ready for practice, and it's the same things for guys who have hamstrings. I think they all have to find something that works for them and he is in that group. It's the same thing as when you have knees. I know with myself having a knee that there was certain things I had to do to get ready for practice, where as someone else, a knee would do something different. It's just more of a personal preference and knowing you need to do those kinds of things and practice to stay healthy.

(on where the team is injury wise)

Really, I think we are pretty good. They only guy who was still kind of a little limited was (Chris) Hope. Everyone else for the most part…Kenny (Britt) practiced all the way through and so did Chris (Johnson), which they did yesterday too I guess so those two are fine. I'm not concerned for them. Damian (Williams) did pretty good today, he got through everything today and did a lot yesterday and was able to do everything today so that's a good sign and he will be available.

(on if they will be cautious with Chris Hope)

Yeah, I think we will be smart with that again. Sometimes it still depends, even though we are saying he is questionable and not sure, sometimes it depends on what else we may need on the roster. If we are still OK there then we have no problem carrying an extra DB then we would do that. If we needed help somewhere else then that may affect it like it did last week, but last week we thought Chris (Hope) couldn't play at this point last week. Then he did more this week so he probably would be available if we needed him. Where his position gets affected is, 'do we need another receiver, D-lineman, running back,' whatever it is in that position.

(on having all of the defensive linemen able to play this weekend)

It's good in the fact that the two guys that last week were the concern, (Derrick) Morgan, and (Jason) Jones, that they got through the game. They played probably more than we thought they would play and held up well and practiced all week. They weren't held back at all in practice so that was a real positive thing for us. It's great to have those decisions, it makes them hard because now you are putting down guys that could help you, but now you just have to make decisions on guys that maybe are tweaked. You have to make sure that, 'what if this happens, what do we do?' Every team has the same problem, so you just got to be smart about it.

(on if Champ Bailey can't play for Denver, what that does to the game)

Well they got through it last week just like we did. The fact is you are one week in from making a change and they made one like we did. I'm sure they felt pretty good about it that they have an answer there if he can't. We will assume he is there until we hear otherwise. It's not going to change what we do. For them they must be confident, I'm sure they are because they were able to win without him in the lineup. He is a great football player so I'm sure if he is healthy then he will be out there.

(on what the reasons may have been that Denver's defense had so much success against Cincinnati last week)

I think they were going against a young quarterback and that helped. They played well, they rallied to the ball, they put pressure on the quarterback, and they were hitting him. It's a group effort when that happens that means that everybody is doing their job and they did a nice job of getting pressure, even though they may not have gotten all the sacks they wanted, they were around him, hitting the receivers and getting the ball out and it was just a combination of things.

(on if the Denver corners are good at going up and challenging WRs)

To me, it seems like most teams are pretty competitive in the back-ends and they want that ball and they are a team that definitely does that well. John Fox, his defenses have always been aggressive, he has them playing hard, and he has a lot of good athletes out there. They are getting used to his system, they are switching over from a 3-4 to a 4-3, so they are in their third week, besides preseason, of learning exactly how they want them to play. If they are anything then they are aggressive and so they would be a team that is after the ball, trying to make plays but knowing that, 'we are new at this thing, the offense may make some plays on us but at some point we will get the turnover, get the sack and we will make a play to turn the game around.' When you play against someone like him, who has had so much success in the league on the defensive side of the ball and as a head coach, his guys are playing hard and when you turn the tape on that's what you see.

(on if there is a need to address the team about the game potentially getting chippy and to stay smart)

That's something we talk about every week, about playing smart and playing under control. The only history, like I said, to this game is they beat us last year. All of that stuff that went on before or after the whistle really is not a concern. That stuff is not going to help us win on Sunday. The way to get back at a team is to beat them. That is your 'talk,' play well and beat them. There is no need to get caught up in what happened last year, who said what or all of that, I think that's something that we are not really concentrating on. I think the guys have done a good job of not letting that be something they focused on at all.

(on how well he knows Broncos Executive President of Football Operations, John Elway, and if he is surprised that he got back into football)

Not really, obviously he loves football, he is passionate about it, been around it, he feels he can make a difference, he knows what it takes to be successful. He has been around that, they have won Super Bowls with him, so I think they want his input on that. I don't think he really ever stayed away from it, he was in the arena league. He never got real far away from the game. I played in some Pro Bowls with him, got to know him through the Hall of Fame thing so I have gotten the chance to meet him, know him, but we are never around each other that much but you just know about the success he has had and how much he loves it. He hired a good head coach, so he has already made some good decisions, and I'm sure they are going to be a very good organization going forward with him there.

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