Mike McDaniel – September 20, 2023
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Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Is WR Jaylen Waddle still in concussion protocol? Will LB Jaelan Phillips be able to practice today?) – “(Jaelan) Phillips is progressing, (Jaylen) Waddle is still in concussion protocol.”
(I know there’s a point in concussion protocol where they practice. Is WR Jaylen Waddle at that point, or is he still sidelined?) – “Yes, he’s not practicing today. I’m not really worried about the timeline. I’m more worried about him getting right. I’m not really sure when that is nor have I tried to dig that up.”
(What about T Terron Armstead?) – “Terron (Armstead) will be in practice today. He’ll have an uptick tomorrow when the pads are on, so we’re full steam ahead. We’ll take it day by day.”
(With T Terron Armstead, I know sometimes the day after a workout is important. How did he do last week on day after workouts?) – “That’s where we saw the progression. That’s why we felt pretty good about moving forward and upping the ante, so to speak, this week. Then we’ll be really just taking a close look tomorrow and see how he responds and same thing the next day.”
(Where does RB Salvon Ahmed stand?) – “He won’t be practicing today. Until otherwise noted, I wasn’t planning for today or tomorrow. So we’ll see how it shakes out, but I always leave room for people to have an unexpected fast expeditious recovery. But as far as today, I’m not planning on seeing him.”
(How did RB De’Von Achane do in his debut and where do you feel he’s at?) – “I thought he did well with his opportunities. You can tell that the game is not too big for him. The biggest challenge is absorbing the entirety of the gameplan, which I think he’s made vast improvements upon really since the spring and through training camp. I think fortunately for the team, he’s prepared for the further opportunities that he’ll be given moving forward.”
(Your first NFL game as an intern was a Broncos at Dolphins matchup, right?) – “It was.”
(What did that show you about the early season September home field advantage that exists here?) – “Well, that was pre-global warming. It was hot. (laughter) I think it’s all in each individual team and how they’re prepared. I think there’s a challenge to adapt to every place you play in terms of it’s outside of normal to a degree, but the good news is it’s the same atmosphere for both teams. I think they’re very used to it when people travel to Mile High, and I’m sure they’re going to be prepared for the humidity.”
(Along those lines, it’s your first regular season game against your hometown team. When you think of the Denver Broncos as it relates to your journey, what comes to mind?) – “I mean it’s a big part of it. It was the team that I found my love for football with. Their jerseys were orange at the time for the most part. Also a couple of the biggest influences that I’ve had from the game of football in terms of Mike Shanahan and by extension Kyle Shanahan and Gary Kubiak. It’s a great franchise. I have played them before, but not as a head coach. What’s weird in the journey is once you get in the business, the teams don’t feel the same. So I guess it’s like how you don’t treat bosses the same. Technically, the organization is my boss, so it’s just like, ‘Aright.’ It kind of loses its fandom so to speak. But a tremendous organization and I wouldn’t be here without it.”
(Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II has not allowed a whole lot of completions or yards this year. What’s the challenge of game planning for a defense that has someone that can lock down a full side of the field?) – “If you want to talk about a tough position, that’s why you kind of know by name the guys that are the best in the business, and I think he’s in that category for sure, because put it this way, your job is to cover someone with your back to the thing your defending, which is the goal line, and you have no idea what they’re going to do. You talk about you have to have certain traits to be able to execute that, as well as you have to be deliberate in your approach, you have to have technique and fundamentals. You have to be patient when you need to be and aggressive when you need to be, so I think he deserves all the praise he gets. He’s a heck of a player.”
(You have a relationship with many players. What’s different about the head coach/quarterback relationship and how essential is it to success?) – “I think every relationship is unique to itself, I think especially when you enter into the journey with each individual player like I try to do. However, there are certain things that, as a play-caller more than anything, you’re hypersensitive to the extra things that someone has on their plate that maybe people don’t pay mind to. The stability and the grounded nature that the quarterback position necessitates – listen you have the ball in your hands and if you’re throwing a temper-tantrum, there are residual results to everyone on the field and the organization. For guys to be able to make plays, you have to either hand or throw the ball to them. I think I keep that in mind and bear witness to that. It’s hard to ignore all the different things that you’re instructing him to do. I think it gives you a true appreciation for all the things that need to take place from that particular individual as well as his immediate surroundings and all the people that are in his corner, with position coach and family. It is all encompassing. You are judged retroactively and no one cares how much you’ve invested and you have to be ok with that. You have to just guiltlessly approach your job and not feel entitled to anything. You have to be hungry consistently and you have to be ready for the unforeseen. You have to continue to get better. It’s very humbling. I have a more direct scope. I wouldn’t call the relationship necessarily different. I would say that I have as true of an appreciation as you can have for all the success and things that he earns.”
(This will probably be a unique week for LB Bradley Chubb as well. What he showed last week, how encouraging was that? And how confident are you that’s what we’re going to see the rest of the season?) – “I think there hasn’t been a day that has gone by since we were able to acquire him that I haven’t been thankful. It’s been production is more of a when, not if. I think it’s awesome to see earned production. I think what’s unique about Bradley and one of the reasons why we chose to acquire him, and we chose to pay him, is because he is a difference maker that is also selfless. I think a lot of times, particularly at the edge position in the National Football League, it’s almost like a receiver blocking. You have to, as an edge player, defend the run if you want your team to be good, but you don’t necessarily get direct compensation all the time for it. Guys get paid for sacks. So when you’re fortunate enough to have a guy that can get sacks, but also takes extreme pride in the overall complexion of the defense and his part in it, you feel very, very fortunate to have that. I think there are some people with ties to the Broncos organization for sure, but one of the great things about this team and the people in that locker room is they would feel enormously guilty if they approached it with anything other than the team’s best interest. Thinking about last year, or where you’re drafted – I’m sure there are memories and stuff and I will never speak for them – but the one thing that I can tell by actions is that their primary focus is the Miami Dolphins and not their score to settle or whatever maybe created in the media. That’s not really going on in-house. They are focused on this team getting better from the last (game).”
(How have you seen Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry’s approach and mindset translate to the field over the first few weeks?) – “Directly. I was fortunate enough to work directly with Butch in San Francisco for my last season there. The in’s and out’s of a season, especially the one we had there where people were speaking on next year in the middle of the season, then we went on a run and found a way to galvanize and got to the NFC Championship Game. That relationship, there’s no hiding. You kind of know what you’re going to get. And after really digesting the whole 2022 season, I thought he was just what the doctor ordered. I think if you ask the players, they would say the same thing. And it’s not because of anything but his commitment to the task at hand, his commitment to the players, and his integrity of his position. He’s relentless. I mean, he’s sweating in a sun hat every day. He brings the juice and takes it very, very serious. So I think the residuals are in the players and I commend the whole group for understanding their various roles, and using each other to maximize all their potential, which if this is letter C in the alphabet, we have a long way to go. But it’s been very encouraging thus far.”
(We saw the Patriots use a common unique defensive plan to maybe try to stop some of your tendencies and you guys adjusted well. Can you maybe take me through that adjustment process in year two with you and QB Tua Tagovailoa of trying to stay ahead of the defense as they scheme for your tendencies?) – “I’m very hesitant to have a crystal ball. I think my job is to have things, I think I said it the other day, I kind of view it as equity in the plan, so that you can allow the players to dictate the terms, regardless of situation. We have plenty of pass plays we didn’t call and some run plays we didn’t call, but you’re trying to disperse it around ‘okay, well, they could do this, this or this.’ You don’t quite know what it’s going to be, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to kind of come to the conclusion they might try to stop a pass or two. So you’re thinking along those lines. But then the biggest thing is about where the players are with regard to the coaching staff. Because what happens in those situations is you’re having a puzzle that doesn’t replicate any puzzle that you’ve really seen up until that point. There wasn’t playbook drawings of the defense. But for everyone to be accounted for in a pass play or a run play, you kind of have to be able to sort it all out collectively with a collective vision. So to me, it’s those types of games, which will come if you are fortunate enough to have success. Those type of problem-solving abilities are absolutely fundamentally (something that) the team depends on for you to have success in big moments and big games. That is something that I hope for the team that we’ll continue to get work at as we progress through the season because I know those are problems that you have to solve live speed in games that you remember for the rest of your life. So, it’s good to get those reps early.”
