John Elway’s done an outstanding job in his post as Executive Vice President of The Denver Broncos. The last Broncos QB to win a Super Bowl, Elway was happy that his gamble on Peyton Manning (who some said was finished after his neck injury) paid off. Sadly, he watched as his dream of winning again faded under the red-hot Seattle Seahawks Defense.
Here’s his post-Super Bowl XVLIII interview, thanks to the NFL:
BRONCOS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS JOHN ELWAY
(on what happened in this game) “No. We just didn’t play like we’re capable of. I was disappointed. Hopefully we’ll learn from this. It started tough. We just couldn’t seem to get it going.”(on how momentum in the first half and second half affected the game) “Yeah, exactly. We had some chances to get back into it. We just couldn’t get it done.”
(on talking to the team after the game) “It was a great year. It’s always disappointing – only one team is happy at the end of the year, and you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. They played well. They took advantage of mistakes we made. I’m proud of these guys.”
(on the offense not being productive during the game given its success throughout the season) “What hurts more is from the turnover, because if you turn it over that many times, especially in this game to a good football team, which you know you’re going to play in this game, that is not – it’s hard to do. But that’s where you have to give the Seahawks a lot of credit. They really played well tonight.”
(on momentum being a factor in the first play of each half) “Yeah. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve got to imagine that had something to do with it. We just couldn’t get into the end zone or really couldn’t get it going, and had some opportunities to try to get back in the game and we just couldn’t seem to get it going.”
(on what happened specifically in the game that contributed to the loss) “Well, we turned the ball over. We can’t turn the ball over in this game. When you turn the ball over and you get way down, you’re playing right into their hand because they’ve got a great pass rush and they cover the pass. So we kind of played into their hands by turning the ball over.”
(on whether it reminds him of his first two Super Bowls) “No. Those are separate.”
(on whether his players played like star players) “Well, we didn’t make enough plays. You’ve got to get in the end zone, and the last time I saw the stat was 21 points on three turnovers that we gave up. That kickoff return in the second half was tough. You get down 29-0 in this game, in any game, it’s always tough to get to get back from.”
(on how tough it is to realize how quick the Seahawks are on tape) “Well, they’re good and they knew that coming in. They can rush the passer, and they’ve got great speed at linebacker, and great speed in the secondary. So we knew coming in it was a great defense.”
(on being disappointed more as a player or manager) “I think it’s disappointing, because I just know how hard these guys worked this whole year and really had a good year, really pushed and ribbed through a lot of tough situations and they did a good job. In my situation, I feel bad in the fact that we couldn’t play better, especially with all the effort the players put in and the coaches put in. And so I’m disappointed for them.”
(on what he says to Peyton after a game like this with the season that he had to come up short in the Super Bowl) “It’s just one of those nights. I give then credit on the defensive side, but we just can’t make the mistakes that we made, especially against a good football team. It’s going to be a battle, and to turn it over like we did, you’re not going to beat a really good football team if you turn it over four times. He had a tremendous year. He’ll use this and hopefully learn from this, and we’re going to go at it again next year.”
-SB XLVIII-