DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (11/21/14)
WIDE RECEIVER EMMANUEL SANDERS
On how he felt going through practice
“I felt good. I felt really good. Obviously, you go through the shortness of breath a little bit not practicing two days, but I felt good. I’m optimistic about playing on Sunday, and it’s a day-to-day thing right now.”
On whether he has had multiple concussions
“I haven’t. I think this is possibly my first concussion. Obviously, I went through the NFL protocol all week, and I passed every single test, and now it’s just on the Broncos and the medical staff to see whether or not they want to go forward or not.”
On the hit that caused his concussion
“I think it was a legal hit. Obviously [Rams S Rodney McLeod] didn’t hit me in the head or lead with the head. He hit me with the shoulder. But in terms of the intentions of targeting, I feel like the guy could have had an opportunity to go for the ball, but I think his intentions the whole time were to come over and deliver a blow. That’s the only thing that I’m not too happy about. I feel like [in] the National Football League, although it is a violent game, you’re also supposed to protect your brother, and most free safeties, they like interceptions. Obviously, his intent was to try and make a statement, and I guess he did.”
On whether he remembers the play
“Yeah, I remember the play. I remember everything. I had a go ball, I had the corner one-on-one, and I had beat the corner, and I was actually open, and I was running, and I laid out for the ball, and he came over and he didn’t even look at the ball the entire time, he was just looking at me and ready to hit me.”
On whether he thinks McLeod should have been penalized
“I really don’t know. That’s out of my control. I’m ready to move past it. This is not about me, this is about the Miami Dolphins.”
On when he felt ready to play
“Obviously I did the concussion tests, and then they wouldn’t let me back in; that was a violent hit, obviously. So they had to do the right thing. But I felt good five minutes after the hit was over; I was back to normal and back to being myself. We’ll see how the rest of tomorrow goes. Hopefully I’ll be in there on Sunday making plays.”
On if there is any panic leading up to this Sunday’s game
“No, the sky is not falling. We’re 7-3. Right now, we’re first in the AFC West, and we’re a couple of games behind New England. There’s no need to panic. We’re not panicking around here. We know what we’ve got to do. Obviously the goal is to hopefully win home-field advantage, but the real goal is to get in the playoffs and stay alive and win a championship, so obviously we’re still more than capable of attaining our goals, so we’re not going to panic around here.”
On Miami’s defense
“They’ve got a really good team. I feel like Miami is one of those teams that really doesn’t get a lot of credit, but they’ve got a lot of guys over there that can play some really good football. We’ve definitely got our hands full, but I feel like they’ve got their hands full, also. We’re looking forward to the opportunity at hand, especially coming off a loss to the Rams. We know that we can’t go out here and lay another egg.”
On whether there is extra motivation for the offense after scoring seven points
“Every game is motivation for me, personally. I love to play this game, I love to put on the pads, I love to go out and make plays in front of fans. Obviously, we’re back at home, which doesn’t make it easier, but it’s a lot more fun; you score a touchdown and you get a huge ovation and things of that sort. We’re just excited about playing another game, and hopefully at the end, it’ll be a win.”
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