On T Joe Barksdale: "We released Joe Barksdale today. We've got plans in place on how we're going to replace that, but we're going to wait to make that announcement."
On getting referees back: "I hadn't seen or heard the report. I've been focusing on Denver, so I don't know exactly where that's at. Whenever they get the officials back that will be good."
On difficulty parting ways with Barksdale: "Eventually there's a point in time where you move on from everybody. It's never an easy decision. There's always a lot of thought that goes into that. There's only 53 spots that we have on the active roster. And we've got to try to do whatever we can to fill those spots with the best 53 guys that we think give us a chance to win games on Sundays."
On wide receiver position: "We brought in a practice squad wide receiver today, yes."
On Darrius Heyward-Bey: "He's doing good; he was here today. He's going through the protocol for NFL concussion testing. We'll let that process play out and see when he'll be available to us."
On if DHB was in meetings: "He was doing part of the testing this morning, but he's here in the building and he will be participating in meetings."
On if the neck is an issue: "No, it's really mostly the concussion issue that's the biggest concern."
On Brandon Myers participation status: "He's not cleared for any contact at all. That's just part of the protocol is to get these guys that have concussions, get their heart rate up and see how they respond to that. That's part of what we did today, and it's part of the protocol."
On production of tight ends: "It's important that we get production out of all of our players. Obviously that's been a position that was a little bit of a question mark coming into the season. The fact that we've got some production out of those guys, and all of them have had production in their own way and they've brought different aspects to our offense, so that's been a positive."
On significance of baseball bats: "It's just a motivational tool to try to get our guys to understand that it's going to be a tough fight, and we've got to bring it the whole time."
On the significance of the bat itself: "It's 'bring the wood.'"
On Peyton Manning: "He's Peyton Manning; he's a Hall of Fame quarterback. There's no way that we're going to in any way say that he's not the quarterback that he's been. I've watched the tape. He's still an outstanding quarterback. He's operating that offense and I don't really see much of a drop off from where he's been before. I think he's still an outstanding quarterback."
On Ryan Mundy's fine for the hit on Darrius Heyward-Bey: "We don't have any control over that. We leave those matters up to the league and they handle that."
On difference in Broncos offense from last year to this year: "There's obviously some different things. We went through two offensive phases there at the Broncos, so it's probably not too much different from when I first got there, but it's obviously a lot different from what the Broncos were running at the end of the season last year."
On comparing win versus Pittsburgh to Denver's win versus Pittsburgh: "We've looked at all the game films. Our deal is we're trying to make the corrections that we need to make from the past game and try to figure out the things that Denver is going to try to do to exploit us. Then we're trying to figure out the things that we can do to exploit some of their weaknesses. It's part of the chess match that you go through every week in the National Football League."
On Brandian Ross: "Any of those guys that are on our 53-man roster are guys that we could conceivably use. He's going into the second week of being here, so every day that he gets a chance to be sitting in the meetings, and getting out to the practice fields, he gets that much closer to having an opportunity to come out and play for us."
On areas of improvement for Michael Huff: "I think the thing that you're going to see form Michael Huff is that if we ask him to go back out there and play corner he's going to be a lot more confident out there. It's the first time he ever lined up there in forever. I'd be looking for a guy that is going to play with a little bit more confidence. I think that will come just by having a little bit more experience there."
On possibility for Ross to start this week: "We'll see how the week plays out as far as how he practices and stuff. We're not going to rule out anything. We're going to put the best people out there that we feel like give us a chance to be successful."
On role of LB Vic So'oto: "We're going to try and get him caught up to speed as fast as we can. I wouldn't see an extended role for him. We'll initially start him out with a role on special teams and see how that develops from there.
On So'oto: "He's a big, strong, physical player. He gives us a presence on the end of the line of scrimmage as a Sam Linebacker."
On familiarity with the Denver players: "Well, I think a little bit. At the end of the day it's going to come down to our execution of our players on the field versus their execution of their players on the field. We've got to do a great job of preparing for the Bronco's scheme and what they try to do and attack some of their scheme things that they do."
On struggle to get a pass rush: "I think it's a combination of a lot of different things. The biggest thing is some of these teams have matched up their protection on us, on our four-man rush stuff. When they've got six or seven protectors versus four rushers it's hard to get a lot pressure on the quarterback. There were a few times times where we had a little something going in the game last week and Roethlisberger does a great job of maneuvering in the pocket. Obviously, we've got to try to do some things to get a little more pressure on the quarterback because as we go throughout the season we're going to need that."
On not being able to pass rush more than four because of the secondary: "That's one of the things you look at. You're always looking at what personnel you have and you try to play to the strengths of your personnel and what you feel like gives you the best chance. We're going to take all those things into account."
On preparing for Peyton Manning's no-huddle at altitude: "The biggest thing is you've got to practice the communication part of it because that's where they try to stress you the most. They try to get you where you're in a little bit of a stressful situation, you don't think quite as clearly, and they're on the line and trying to get you to show what you're going to run defensively so he can get them in the right place. Our deal is we've got to do a great job communicating and we've got to be patient."
On Denver altitude and substituting against the no-huddle: "That's one of the things that they do with the no-huddle is try not to let you substitute. Both teams have to deal with the altitude, both teams have to deal with the pace of play. We're going to do the best we can to keep up with that pace."
On when Manning locks into his play: "There's certainly a point in time where we feel like he's into the play. We'll get a feel for how far he's taking that thing down as the game goes along."
On WR Tori Gurley: "He's a big-body player. He runs pretty good routes. He's a guy that we want to bring in to take a look at to see exactly what we have. He's a guy that can help take some of the reps with DHB being out for a little bit."
On Aaron Curry's status: "He was out here running around again today. We've still got some time with him. He's looking better. Whenever we hit that point in time where we've got to make a decision, then I think we'll make that decision."
On if he's hopeful for Curry: "Absolutely."
