Matt LaFleur explains how the Denver Broncos ‘will be a good test’

Matt LaFleur explains how the Denver Broncos ‘will be a good test’

about Denver’s defense on Monday. What’s the starting point in trying to solve that group? It’s a hell of a question. I think everybody’s trying to figure that out right now. They just they do a great job. Vance does a hell of a job uh putting his guys in position and they there’s just not really a a weak link out there. Uh when you look at their front, their backers, their back end, they’ve got players across the board. I mean, the sack numbers are pretty crazy. their run defense is pretty crazy. So, you couple that um then you got a a legitimate shutdown corner. I think the safeties are are excellent. McMillan does a great job. Moss does a great job. So, they’re just they got a lot of great players and they put them in great position and they go out there and they play. I I think there’s a lot of similarities when I look at our defense in regards to the style of play. um how hard they play, how hard they they finish and tackle and um so it’s it’s going to be a great test for us. Did you ask did you see some things during that joint practice session last year in Denver? I think I did. I did. They kind of put it on us pretty good. Um so and it was, you know, it was a new or I shouldn’t say new, but um were they all new there than last year or uh Vance? No. Um, but you know, I didn’t know a ton about that defense at the time. Um, and yeah, they’re they’re they were legit. Why has Bo Knicks helped win games when a lot of young quarterbacks struggle? Well, I think it’s a byproduct of just the collective. I think he’s he’s a excellent quarterback and obviously he does a hell of a job in those in those two-minute situations and they’ve had quite a few comeback victories. I think nine of the 11 games they’ve come back in the fourth quarter. And so I think that obviously deservingly so he gets a ton of credit for that. But I also think that just when you combine that um with the rest of the guys that he has on his offense, obviously Shawn does a hell of a job uh calling plays he has for a really long time and then the defense and and special teams. I mean it’s it’s just a really good football team. Is there anything you can do to acclimate to the altitude there? Uh, you know, we had our performance staff talk to our players today and there there are certain things that you can do, but um, ultimately it’s just it is a circumstance and you got to try to best prepare your body to go out there and handle the elements. Jordan’s completion rate compared to the last few years is up. The turnovers are down. Is that growth, development, his third years of starters or something within this his game this season that you see is different than Yeah, I would say so. I would definitely think that I think the consistency at which he’s gone out there and performed um just keeps getting better the more he plays and certainly the the comfort with his surrounding support cast I think is is um ever growing the more we get to go out there and practice and it’s been nice to get some some pieces back I think later in this year and um so hopefully we can continue to build and get even better. What makes an offense good against the Blitz? It just depends. I mean, situationally, I I think having a good plan number one with for our guys, but also, you know, shoot, you got to be able to react. And I think that’s what you saw just that you’ve seen a little bit. Um, you know, just thinking about this pass game is, you know, when when teams are going to dial up, whether it’s a zero blitz or whether it’s a fire zone, whatever it may be, you know, how do you react to that? And I think, um, you know, fortunately for us, our quarterback has responded in the right way. How much of it is on, you know, receivers and O line to do their part against that? Oh, it takes everybody. I mean, like, you’re not going to beat pressure without everybody doing their job. Uh it always starts up front making sure that you’re on the right people. Then you got to make the blocks which isn’t always the easiest. Then the receivers got to sometimes beat man coverage, sometimes just be in the right spot in the right time within the timing of the play. Uh backs have done a great job for us and in protection throughout the course of the season and we’ve you we even utilize our tight ends in some of those protection schemes as well. So it it is about the collective, everybody doing their their 111ths. Hey Matt, in in Detroit, you were pretty aggressive with the fourth downs and obviously that worked out really well for you at the end of the half last week. You kind of it seemed like you let the game come to you more, didn’t use your timeouts right out of the two-minute warning and that worked out pretty well for you. How do you gauge when it’s time to be aggressive and when it’s time to maybe pull back a little bit more? I think it’s all the flow of the game. I think a lot of that will come into play. Um, I think generally speaking, we we want to be aggressive. Um, I know that doesn’t always come to fruition again based on the flow of the game, but um, typically that’s how we’d like to operate. So, in the term of the flow of the game at the end of the half where you’re starting the third quarter with the ball last week, are you just no matter what the Bears are not touching it here again, even if you got to settle for the three, you just you want to not give that extra possession? Well, we actually did give them the extra possession because we scored too quick. Um, but so they they got the extra possession there at the end of the half. Is that is that what you’re referring to? I mean, you’ll take the seven and give them 30 seconds, I’m sure. But is that in your mind as far as Okay, it is. And sometimes it’s it’s it’s hurt us to be honest with you because you’re always thinking, “Ah, I don’t want to put I don’t want to kick off and I don’t want to put our defense back out there.” But that was a situation um every game’s a little bit different, but we actually ran the same play back to back just a little bit differently. We saw that they dropped Christian Watson and then the next play dialed up again and Bo was running free. So, um, but every play, every I would say every game’s a little bit different in regards to how you’re going to attack and, um, you know, just the flow of the game. What is it about the flow of the game? Like what what are you looking for specifically? And well, I would just say like just how is your defense doing? Who are you playing? How is how is their quarterback doing? How are you holding up protect and pass protection? There’s just a lot of elements, a lot of factors I think that you’re constantly weighing what is the score of the game, who’s getting the ball at halftime, uh, or out, you know, to start the second half. So, I think there’s a lot of factors, a lot of variables that go into just some of the thought process, um, you know, each and every each and every week. You’ve mentioned after a few games the number of possessions that you’ve had on offense. um you’re toward the bottom of the league as far as total possessions. Is that partially by design on your end? Not necessarily. Uh no, it just I mean I I try not to get too hung up on that. Um in regards to offensively, you’re doing whatever you can do to try to score points. Defensively, you’re doing whatever you can do to try to stop the opponent from scoring points. I think it’s a little bit of a a byproduct of kind of how teams have been playing us quite frankly in terms of just the number of rushes. I mean, every time that after a play that clock’s moving, um, you know, time is ticking away and you’re going to have less possessions. And then conversely, if you’re if you’re having long drives on the offensive side, it’s going to limit the number of possessions. So, but it just is it’s been kind of a a weird year in that regard. It it seems like there’s like four possessions a half and you know, you you just got to try to maximize them. So, it’s maybe more so opponents are trying to quote unquote take the air out of the ball to Well, I I I don’t know necessarily if it’s that. It’s I think that’s just um you know, we’ve defended a ton of runs and I think that’s kind of a byproduct of our pass rush. Um, and so they feel like that’s the best way to attack us. Matt, there’s a lot of coaches last couple years that talked about emphasize the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. You don’t do you buy into that or you talk about that with your players? Um, no. I I think it’s more how do we manage it from a coaching perspective more so than I just want our players to focus on? Uh, obviously you got to know situational football and what we’re trying to get done in each situation, but I really want them to focus on the task at hand and just play the play, play the play to the best of your ability. And certainly in those critical moments, I mean, we we talk about every week, you know, we show stuff from around the league when guys when teams it shows up every week. There’s positive and then there’s some really bad stuff and you you try to stay off that tape for because every team in the league does this or most teams I would say. Um and you always want to stay off the bad the bad uh tape but uh sometimes you you find yourself there unfortunately but um so you’re constantly talking about all the situational stuff. Uh but for for us I would say more more so it’s just how are we managing it from a coaching perspective. I know you guys can’t control your schedule at the beginning of the year. Obviously it’s what it is but can’t control the schedule ever more so that how the teams are going to do and everything. Is there something to being battle tested in the fact that you face Chicago and then you’re faced the top team in the AFC and do you like that knowing that? Yeah, I mean it’s what a what a great challenge, you know, what a great challenge, but also I think there’s a lot of there’s great opportunity that goes with that. So, um it it is what it is. We knew going into this year, like if just looking at it and and there’s always going to be surprises each and every year, but I would say just our division alone, you knew it was going to be it was going to be a grind and you got to find a way to get through it. And uh hopefully, you know, just continue to focus on the process and getting a little bit better each and every day and just try to hone in at one game at a time. Will Vaness get out there? He will be out there.

Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur spoke with the media on Wednesday as the team prepares to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

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