ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The offseason addition of quarterback 
But one thing that remains familiar to Broncos’ opponents is the success of veteran running back
“He’s worked extremely hard,” McCoy said. “All of last year, this year, he’s bought into our system and he’s playing with a great offensive line. The guys up front have done a great job opening up holes. The back is only going to be as good as your offensive line is. Then the fullbacks, tight ends, blocking and all those things. The whole group, all 11 guys, have helped him out and going back to last year, the way (wide receiver) Demaryius (Thomas) and (wide receiver) Eric (Decker) and (wide receiver) Matt (Willis) and those guys blocked outside, you block the right guys, you block the secondary support down there and he gets the crease and he’s off and running. All 11 guys on offense have helped him but he’s a strong runner and he’s made the most of his opportunities since last year.”
While McGahee has gotten the majority of the touches, another player who is beginning to emerge in the backfield is rookie
“Any young player, the more reps they get, the better they’re going to be,” McCoy said. “So over time, we’ll cut a plan for him. It’s one of those things we said sitting down and coming in to training camp what we wanted to do with him and as the season goes along he’ll get more work and just take it day to day and keep learning the system because there’s a lot of new things that are thrown at him. The number of different looks he’s seeing defensively from week to week and the game’s a lot faster but it’s still playing football. He’s doing a nice job and just taking it one day at a time and learning as he goes.”
GREEN JOINS TIGHT ENDS
One of the strengths of the Broncos through the first four games of the season has been the play of a pair of tight ends in their first years in Denver.
Already one of the offense’s focal points, the tight end position was further bolstered this week, as
“It’s great to have him back,” Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy said. “He worked extremely hard this offseason and did a nice job all through training camp. He’s another one of those ‘Y’ tight ends that can put his hand on the ground, we can flex him out, he does a nice job of blocking so it’s nice to have him back around to help everybody out.”
Green, Tamme, Dreessen and second-year pro
“I think league-wide, athletically the talent the tight ends have now is unbelievable,” McCoy said. “It’s very similar to defensive ends. The way colleges are playing football now with the tight ends out there running all over the place, they’re almost like a receiver to a certain extent but they’re just bigger. It doesn’t surprise me at all, throughout the entire league, the success tight ends have because it’s a mismatch for certain teams and they do a nice job with it.”
KOPPEN AND MAGAZU TOGETHER AGAIN
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One familiar face greeting him upon his arrival in Denver was that of Offensive Line Coach Dave Magazu, who worked with Koppen back at Boston College. Both Magazu and McCoy have been familiar with Koppen since their days on the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff, so they were excited to bring Koppen on board.
“It’s great to have him,” McCoy said. “Dave Magazu’s been trying to get him since he came out. We were in Carolina together, Dave and I, and when he was coming out and Dave wanted him back then and he had him in college also so he’s familiar with the way Dave coaches and running the similar system in New England, some of the terminology and some things that we call the same so it was an easy transition for him. He’s done a nice job.”
McCoy said he looks forward to seeing what Koppen can do against his former team this weekend and throughout the rest of the season.
“He’ll be familiar playing against those players but he’s a crafty veteran,” McCoy said. “He’s been around long enough so regardless of who the opponent was, we have a lot of confidence in him.”
