Shanahan Q&A

FOXBOROUGH -- Comments from Broncos coach Mike Shanahan following the Patriots' 41-7 win over the Broncos, as transcribed by the Patriots' media relations staff:

(opening statement)
MS: Well, obviously the Patriots played much better than we did, the obvious. We went into the game knowing we couldn’t turn the football over. Any time you turn the ball over five times and you get no turnovers in return, obviously good things aren’t going to happen. We have been pretty good this season without beating ourselves with penalties. We had too many penalties. Obviously that did not go very well. The next thing, obviously, we have to do much better with our rush defense. Going into the game we thought we had improved. Obviously they ran the football very successfully on us. We did some good things early with the pressure on the quarterback. Obviously we couldn’t get it done down the stretch.

Q: What happened with Jay Cutler’s hand?
ME: Well, he hurt it on the first play of the game following through. We took x-rays at halftime. It was not broken so he came back in there and played the rest of the game. So, he should be okay.

Q: Did Cutler also take a shot to the head later in the first half?
MS: If he did, he didn’t say anything about it. It was the finger that bothered him.

Q: Why did you go with Patrick Ramsey at the end of the half? Was it because Cutler’s finger was bothering him?
MS: No, he couldn’t go back in. It was bothering him too much before we had it x-rayed and he couldn’t get a feel on a few passes there in that first quarter. That one he threw out to Eddie [Royal] you could see that he just could not get any zip on it. He wanted to stay in there and obviously we took him out at the end of the half just to make sure the finger wasn’t broken and it’s not.

Q: Will he need to get an MRI or anything on it when you get back?
MS: Well, usually with fingers you just take a look and it’s either broken or it’s not. So, it’s not broken and he should be okay. I don’t think fingers need MRIs. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t believe that’s the case.

Q: What do you do next with the rush defense?
MS: We just keep on working. Obviously we gave up some big plays today and we missed some tackles. When you play an eight-man front and you miss one, the running backs make some big plays. We just have to go back to the basics. We did a couple good things in pressure situations and had a little pressure on the quarterback and made a couple penalties there that kept some drives alive. But, we have some work to do on both sides of the ball. Champ [Bailey], I’m not really sure right now if he’ll be back. He went out early in that second quarter with a hamstring. We’ll just have to wait and see how he is.

Q: Would you say that you are still trying to establish your identity, and, if so, is it later than normal to be doing that?
MS: Well, I think it was very obvious today that there is a question mark. I’m very disappointed in how we played. But, you can’t turn the football over. We had two drives and methodically were moving the ball down the field, just like New England. You might not score touchdowns, but you have to kick field goals. When you turn the ball over against a good defense good things usually don’t happen. One thing you can’t do is beat yourself, and with the penalties we had and the turnovers, that was not a good sign. Even the last one, right before the half. We had a chance to get a field goal in that situation and it turned out to be an interception. So, you have to be coordinated both in the run and the pass and we were a little short today.

Q: How much of a difference did it make when Champ Bailey went out of the game?
MS: Obviously we all know what kind of a player Champ is. He was matched up today on [Randy] Moss and I thought when he was in there he did an excellent job. Any time you lose a great player it is not easy, but that is the nature of the game.

Q: You went completely 3-4 today. Is that something you will continue?
MS: No, it wasn’t straight 3-4. We mixed it up with 3-4, 4-3, four-man front on a number of plays starting off the second half and some in the first half. But, we will mix it up.

Q: Is this a good time to have your bye week, or would you rather get right back on the field after a loss like this?
MS: Well, I think we are kind of banged up and we have a chance to heal up. [Brandon] Stokley is out, [Tony] Scheffler is out, [inaudible], Selvin Young is out. A guy like Champ [Bailey] goes out in the second quarter and Dre’ [Bly] went out for a little bit. So, we had some guys. Boss Bailey went out early and [Louis] Green came in his spot. I think it comes at a good time. Even though you don’t want to go into a bye playing the way we did, I think it comes at a good time to hopefully get some of these guys back.