On the passing of Coach Allen's father: "Tough situation obviously for Coach. Our team got together and we're going to support him and do whatever he needs us to do and right now, that's prepare for this game and get ready for the Denver Broncos. But our thoughts and prayers are with he and his family right now as they're going through this."
On toughest part of a short week: "The toughest part…there's a lot of tough parts to it. Obviously just the recovery from playing a physical AFC North team and a team that runs the ball a lot. Just the wear and tear from that game. And playing against a really good offense and a really good defense. They are top five on both sides of the ball. They do a lot on defense. They bring a number of different pressures and on offense they're just really good. Obviously preparing for an opponent like this with a short week, you've got to take advantage of every minute you have. You have to get extra reps, you have to get extra film study in, and try to get as prepared as you can for Thursday."
On holes in Denver's defense: "There isn't one and we've looked. It's a very solid group. They cover well on the outside. They pressure the quarterback. They're very good against the run. There's not a young guy that you want to take advantage of. It's just a very solid group from spot one to 11."
On challenge preparing for the game without Coach Allen: "We've tried to block that out. Coach Knapp stepped in and filled in and did a phenomenal job and really took charge of meetings the way that DA [Dennis Allen] does and handled practice the same way DA does. It's a challenge but we understand that he just needs some time away and a chance to be with his family. What we need to do for him is prepare, get ready to play this game and focus on this game and be as prepared as we can in a short amount of time for when he returns."
On if he'd ever met Coach Allen's father: "No, never did."
On Darren McFadden getting his burst back: "I noticed it last week, he was starting to get it and showed it a number of different times. He's back, he's ready to play. I can't wait to watch him. He brings a chance for Marcel [Reece] to get some rest. Marcel has been getting a ton of reps and obviously an explosive element to the game that he has unlike many other players in this league. He's a lot faster and quicker than most backs are. But getting Goody [Mike Goodson] back is great too because that's another change up for us because it's not like Darren is going to go in and get 50 carries. He's got to work his way back into this thing too. Having another guy on third down come in like Goody and kind of spell everybody, gives some more rest to that back."
On the improvement in the running game: "We're very excited. I can't wait to watch him. We were kind of working through a lot of things when he was healthy in a new scheme, a lot of guys doing a lot of different things they haven't done in their careers. But now, with as many games as we have underneath our belt up front, getting him back is going to be a big bonus for us."
On Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil being like Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis: "Different, a lot of people don't realize that Von Miller is a linebacker and he's not in a 3-4 scheme. I think that's kind of something that unless you really know football, a lot of people kind of skip over. He's a guy that covers tight ends, a guy that covers backs out of the backfield and rushes, and on third down he's in a two-point stance rushing the passer as a defensive end. Dwight was in a different scheme. He was always in a three-point stance and had that spin move and was phenomenal. And this guy might be better; 14 sacks already. Dumervil has been doing it since he's been healthy and before he got that injury, I believe last year. It's a really good combination because the thing about Von Miller he plays the run too. People don't realize that he gets up in there and sheds blocks well. At the point of attack, he's really strong and powerful. He kind of does it all. He's not just a pass specialist."
On Broncos being a difficult team to fall behind to: "Yeah, and we know that from experience. You get behind to them, they peel their ears back and when they don't' have to worry about the run, all the pass rush moves come out and we've seen a lot of them. It's important to do a good job with the clock and get your defense fresh and stay on the field, convert third downs and do all the things that you talk about every week."
On Denarius Moore's response to being taken out of the game: "He seemed ready to roll today. I thought he had a great practice today. He seems recharged and ready to roll. Denarius is very prideful. I know he didn't like what happened to him and if anybody is going to bounce back, it's him because of the way he is and the way he's built."
On discussions between him and Moore: "Every guy is different and every guy needs to hear a different thing. I have the utmost respect for him and confidence in him. He's a playmaker and everybody has a lull or a drop or a bad quarter or bad game, whatever it may be. But Denarius will respond. I know he will respond."
On if increase in his passing yards is due to lack of balance in the offense: "Oh definitely. A number of reasons – the scores of games, the loss of obviously our start tailback and our backup tailback. And it's probably mainly the score of games. Sometimes you get into the second half and you don't' have the ability or you don't have the luxury of running the football, you have to throw it."
On allowing younger players to get playing time, specifically Terrelle Pryor: "That's just the game. You get to this point in this league and it's part of the game, it's part of the business. You have to start figuring out if some of the younger guys can play and there's no way to figure out if they can play other than putting them in a game. I know that. I totally understand it. I know what's going on. That's just part of the job, part of the business."
On playing a division rival on Thursday Night Football at home: "Exciting, very exciting. They're on a seven-game win streak. It's a division game. There's the past, the history, between the Raiders and the Broncos. It's on TV. We're the only game on. We'll be ready to play."
On if he's surprised by Peyton Manning's success in a new offense coming off his injury: "Not really. He's been one of the most consistent players in this league at any position over his career. I'm not very surprised."
On his statistics for this season: "Any time you play this game as a quarterback, it doesn't matter. All that matters is wins and losses, so statistics are irrelevant when it comes down to it."
