ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- On Tuesday, Broncos season ticket holders got a little glimpse inside the team's Dove Valley headquarters.
Running back Willis McGahee, wide receiver Eric Decker and tight end Joel Dreessen took part in a fan forum via conference call, which allowed fans to ask their questions directly to the players.
There were nearly 6,000 season ticket holders on the call, and they were thrilled to talk one-on-one with the players.
"I want to thank you Willis, Joel and Eric for doing this," said a fan known as The Bronco Lady. "It's a great opportunity for the fans."
Below are some notable quotes from each player during the one-hour call.
WILLIS McGAHEE
On how successful the team can be in 2012:
"I think we gave you guys a glimpse with what happened in the game against San Francisco with the first team."
On his role in the offense:
"My role is not going to change that much. I might be involved in the passing game a little more, but that's part of playing football. My goal in the offense is just to do better than I did last year."
On his advice to young players recovering from injuries:
"The advice I can give is to tell them never to give up and never, ever forget where you came from. Always just try to do better than you did every time. That's what I did and I've stuck with it. Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it."
On whether altitude is really an advantage for the Broncos:
"I think the altitude is an advantage for us because we practice in it every day, we're accustomed to it. When teams come in, they're not used to it. So we go ahead and put that little hurry-up offense on them, and it kind of wears and tears them down."
On rookie running back Ronnie Hillman:
"I feel pretty good about Ronnie. Ronnie's a great kid. He comes from a great school where he did a lot of great things in college. I think he's going to help our offense out tremendously. We've just got to get him on the field and get him ready."
On the best player to play at the University of Miami:
"The greatest player ever? That's real tough. You've got Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly, that's a hard one to choose from, there's a lot of guys, but I think it's me, really."
ERIC DECKER
On quarterback Peyton Manning's influence:
"It's been tremendous. The short time he's been here, we've gotten to learn a lot from him. Being on the field with him, being in the film room, just being around him, I've become a better pro for it and a better wide receiver."
On how the team stacks up in 2012:
"We're excited about the team we've built. Obviously we have a tough schedule and we have to take it one game at a time and really let our playing do the talking, then see where we're at when January and February roll around."
On whether he believes he'll see double-teams this season:
"I think we have too many threats offensively to see anyone get double-teamed. If that's the case, Peyton's going to find the open guy and make sure we exploit what they're giving us, and make them play balanced. That's our strength, having a guy like Peyton Manning who is so smart and finds the open guy. We have a lot of threats so I'm not too concerned about that."
On whether he's received advice from former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey:
"I have. Ed's a good guy. He's been around. We have each other's phone numbers, so we have had conversations. I've helped him at camps. It's been nice. If I have questions or want to learn from experience of his days playing, he's there, he's a resource. That's the best thing about being here in Denver, we have some great alumni that are always around and always want to try to help the young guys."
JOEL DREESSEN
On working for Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway:
"I grew up in Colorado since 1985 and I was a huge John Elway fan. It really is kind of surreal at times that he's my boss. Honestly, it just motivates me that much more. I grew up kind of idolizing him and watching him play and being such a huge Broncos and John Elway fan. It motivates me even better because he's my boss and I don't want to let him down by any means. So it makes me want to work harder. To have a quarterback like Peyton is very special too. I spent five years with the Houston Texans and he always beat us (laughs). It seemed like we'd jump up on them 17-0 but they'd always come back and find a way to win, so now that we're on the same side, it's a lot of fun."
On what Manning is doing when fans see him pointing and making calls at the line of scrimmage:
"A lot of times when you see Peyton pointing like that, he's just giving us a direction, like, right or left, as far as telling us what formation to line up in if we're in the no huddle offense. Or, a lot of our run game and pass game protections are based off a declaration of a middle linebacker. So basically, when he points to a guy, we can then make our assignments and blocking calls then. So we know what kind of technique to use and what guys, and who's responsible for what particular guys."
On whether he has any superstitions:
"If we win the previous week, I'll try to park at the same parking spot at the stadium or try to put my right shoe on first and that sort of thing – only if we win. My main superstition is I always have to be at the stadium at least four hours before kickoff and I always have to get an IV to make sure my fluids are topped off."
On playing his former team, the Houston Texans, in Week 3:
"When it comes time to game plan against them, I'm definitely going to come up here to the office on Tuesday and tell the coaches everything I possibly know to help us win that game. Obviously, it's going to be a little emotional for me because I played there for the last five years. I have a lot of friends and players who I'm close to on that team. It's going to be tough for me to try and beat them. With that being said, I have to, and I will. They have a really good defense, so it'll be tough to exploit their weaknesses, but we're going to do it. Like I said, I'll give all the information I possibly can to help us."
