INDIANAPOLIS – Sunday night's regular season opener pits two of the AFC's perennial favorites in the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.
What are the Broncos coaches and players saying about the Colts?
Head Coach John FoxOn the Colts
"A tremendous team. They were in the playoffs last year. We watched a very competitive game in the playoffs against Kansas City, a team we're very familiar with. They had 11 wins a year ago. One of those wins was against us at their place. There's a reason why we're both playing each other on Sunday night."On Andrew Luck
"He's a tremendous young player. He's got all the physical attributes that you look for in a quarterback. Obviously, he has the intangibles that you look for and a guy that leads that side of the ball. We had him in the Pro Bowl two years ago and I can say that he's an impressive young man and any success he's had has not surprised me." On Bjoern Werner
"He was a guy we did [see] coming out [of college]. He's a second-year player that was very productive in college. I think he had some injuries a bit last year, but he's got a great motor. He's got a good skill set, and he's a good young player."**
Offensive Coordinator Adam GaseOn what can he take from what the Colts cornerbacks did last year**
"They did a really good job as far as getting in our face, they got physical with us in the line of scrimmage and as the game went on we did a better job. I think we got shocked a little bit early because that was the first time we had some difficulty getting open and the pressure got to us a little bit. [Defensive Coordinator] Greg Manusky and [Head] Coach [Chuck] Pagano did a great job as far as changing up some things and attacking us a different way than we had been. It was a great learning experience for us even though we lost but it was a great learning experience for us down the road. We learned from that game and I think this time our guys are ready. I wasn't sure if they understood how good that secondary was; they did a really good job and held us in check and it took us a while to get going."
Quarterback Peyton ManningOn if playing Indianapolis this year is different compared to last year
"Yeah, I think it's a little different playing here at home. Regular season, season opener, it doesn't get much bigger than this aside from the post season. I've always said opening day, opening night, is a playoff-type atmosphere. I am tired of talking; I am looking forward to playing some real football. I think it's an honor, three years running the Broncos have played on the Sunday Night Football primetime game. Two years ago, Pittsburgh, here last year, and with the Baltimore home game fiasco we were able to play them here, which that was fine with me. So it's an honor and they don't pick bad teams to open up NBC Sunday Night Football; they're not paying all that money to the NFL to put bad teams, they're going to put two good teams on and we're honored to be one of those teams. We're playing a really good football team, a playoff team, and it's going to be a tough game but, yeah, I am looking forward to all those things and I'm excited football's finally here."**
Wide Receiver Demaryius ThomasOn Vontae Davis**
"Vontae is a very crafty guy. He's good at what he does watching film on him. So it's going to be a good matchup. I look forward to it, but I just hope to go out and do whatever I can to get open for my quarterback."On what he learned from last year's matchup with Davis
"He's a bigger guy, kind of strong. So I had to go back and watch film and change up some stuff in my game because when I went in last year, he did a great job with some of the stuff he did, so I'm looking forward to this game to try to change it up."**
Outside Linebacker Von MillerOn Andrew Luck and the Colts**
"They reloaded. You've got [WR] Hakeem Nicks, [WR] T.Y. [Hilton] and all those guys. [TE] Coby Fleener is the go-to guy and he's pretty good in there too. They've got a pretty good offense, pretty good defense. That's what you want in this league, two good teams going at it on Sunday Night Football."**
Defensive Tackle Terrance KnightonOn facing Andrew Luck**
"I think what makes him different and more difficult than those scrambling quarterbacks like [Colin] Kaepernick or Cam [Newton] is he's a big guy. He's about 6-3, 6-4, about 245 [pounds]. He's a big guy. He's more like a Big Ben [Roethlisberger] type—a guy you've got to wrap up and tackle almost like a running back or tight end body type. He steps up in the pocket. He'll take a hit. When he does step up in the pocket, he steps up to throw it deep and he steps up to run it. The [defensive] line will have to keep him contained. He has good speed. When we get there, we've got to make sure we wrap him up because a lot of guys are missing sacks because they're underestimating how strong he is."**
Cornerback Aqib TalibOn facing Andrew Luck**
"We want to play the top competition. He's definitely one of the top quarterbacks in the league and he has great weapons around him. It'll be a great test for us. We'll be looking forward to that challenge."On what makes WRs Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton tough to cover
"You forgot [WR Hakeem] Nicks. You can't forget Nicks. They all bring different things to the table. They've got a great quarterback and they've got a great coordinator. They put themselves in good position to get the ball."On what makes Luck good
"He's smart. He reads the safeties, he's hard to bring down and he's got a rifle for an arm."**
Safety Rahim MooreOn Andrew Luck**
"He looks even better. You can tell he had a great offseason. He's getting more comfortable within the system. I've been playing against Andrew Luck since we were both freshmen [in college]. He was a redshirt freshman when I first played against him, but he always excelled. It was always a challenge. He's the future. He does a great job understanding defenses and coverages, and he's taken control of the offense. That's what it's all about. You can see his growth. It's going to be tough task. If we don't come ready to play, it'll be ugly."On Luck's ability to deceive defensive backs
"He's talented. You look on film and study his idiosyncrasies, and it's impressive. He looks like a guy that's been in the league five, 10 years. He's their franchise. It's a great program. They've got a great defense. It's going to be a great football. Sunday Night Football. We can definitely expect their best, for sure. We've lost to them five times [in a row]—that's with [QB] Peyton [Manning] and against Peyton—so it's going to be a great game."
