How would you evaluate the play of the special teams so far this season?
“I'd say we're still a work in progress. A lot of young guys playing so early in the season, guys are getting better, improving and hopefully we can play better down the stretch than what we have. I think we've been off to a good start but with the system being new, with a lot of new players, it's been an area of emphasis to keep improving every week.”
What was the adjustment like coming in as a new coach this past offseason?
“It's different. But a lot of guys in the league are in the same situation. Certainly, it would've been helpful to get a jump. But the reality is with our area, the kicking game, you're using new guys a lot of times week-to-week anyways for a variety of reasons. “
How would you evaluate the play of
“He certainly had a good offseason on his own. Britton will be the first one to tell you that unless he's got guys covering well, it's not going to help him statistically. We're not trying to put a bunch of emphasis in stats, but net punts are an important indicator of how we're doing field position wise with returning the ball to the defense and vice versa with opponent net. So obviously that unit has had more good things happen with them than negative things.”
How have
“Decker did a good job stepping in there early on in the season. Had a big return which obviously is going to help you statistically. Quan's a guy who's had experience in the league and the one thing that jumps off the tape with him, even in the past before he got here, is he's a fearless guy. He's going to return for the team and not a stat guy. What I mean by that is a lot of guys are going to fair catch the ball if they don't think they can get a 15-20 yard return out of it. Quan's not that guy. He's going to save us some field position and make sure the team's successful.
Have the big punt returns helped give the offense a momentum boost before they take the field?
“Those are explosive plays that can be difference-making returns. But like I said, with Britton, those guys aren't going anywhere unless we're doing a decent job blocking for them. So, they've done a good job but the guys around them have done a pretty decent job too.”
What has
“Chris was a guy that in camp, he kind of kept making plays. We talk about it all the time. Sometimes our tape is so wide, that you can't see jersey numbers. And you keep saying, ‘Who in the heck is that guy?’ That was Chris. He deserved to be on the team based on his play and he's continued to play at a high level once the regular season started.”
How have the new kickoff rules impacted the way you coach kick returns and kick coverage?
“You used to get a lot of opportunities for returns in the kickoff area. Not at Denver necessarily because of the altitude, but most places, you're going to get about a third or quarter touchbacks in a game. Obviously, that's not the case anymore. I think league-wide, it's close to 50 percent touchbacks. It probably would be even more if people were playing by their standardized rules. Usually, you get enough opportunities for the return game to where if the ball is kicked deep, you're going to sit on it, you're going to take a knee and concede the touchback because there's some risk involved bringing it out eight-to-nine yards deep, getting tackled inside the 20. Guys aren't doing that anymore. There's limited number of times where the ball is even staying out of the stands. So, it's increased the aggressiveness of the return teams because they certainly feel like, 'Okay, if we can get it to the 21, 22, that's better than a touchback.' That's always been the case but the amount of opportunities has lessened so guys are being aggressive.”
What were your thoughts when Coach Fox approached you about coming from Carolina to Denver with him?
“I think it's a challenge to do this job if you don't know who you're working for. I just spent two years with him, so I knew what we were going to get. He's got a really good outlook on the kicking game, understands how it can affect games, how personnel changes can affect things. His background's been more of a field-position game. It's just really impacted the way that we play things. Certainly when you play that way, the kicking game can have a great impact. So, the on-the-field stuff has been the same as what it's been. It was good there and it's been good here. The off-the-field stuff with the way of the schedule of the offseason, our meeting schedules, things like that, all that stuff's important too. Again, just knowing what you're going to get and it being a positive thing, certainly was enticing to keep that going.”
How has it been working with your brother, Jay, who is a defensive quality control coach for the Broncos?
“It's unique. I don't think it's all the much different working with him. It's just living in close proximity, being able to see each other, where it used to be with our schedules, Christmas, it's not really Christmas, it's whenever the season ended at the beginning of January and sometime in the summer. Being able to hang out on a weekly basis and me being able to see his kids, that's been unique and been a good thing.
Did having Jay in Denver help with your transition process to Denver?
“Sure. I mean, I've been to Denver a couple times just playing here when I was with the Niners. I came out here last year during the bye week, they had just had a son, a newborn, I came out to see him. Certainly knowing, where do you get gas, where's a grocery store, where's a good car wash, who fixes this or whatever, that has been beneficial because he's got all those answers. I'm certainly comfortable enough to ask him questions but the adjustment went pretty smooth. I stayed with him for a couple weeks.”
How have you enjoyed living in Denver?
“Denver's been good. I've been fortunate to live in some good places -- going to high school in Austin, college in Dallas, living in San Francisco and Charlotte, those are all good places and Denver's right up there with all of them. The weather's a little more erratic but it's been a good transition so far.”
