They Said It: week of July 18

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Panthers LB Thomas Davis, quoted on mercedsunstar.com on his excitement for training camp — Davis missed the entire 2010 season after suffering a knee injury in OTAs last June: "I'm looking forward to training camp more so this year than any year in my life."

Free-agent WR Plaxico Burress, discussing what he is looking for in his new team, as quoted on nypost.com: "Well, the head coach is going to be first and foremost. It's going to be somebody to where, well, you know, he has an open door policy. I can walk in his office and sit down and talk to him whether it's about football or life or whatever that may be." Burress continued: "Then, of course, second, it's going to be a quarterback. I'm a wide receiver. I mean, that's a no-brainer. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not. … Some guys are just happy to go out, get a check, compete, and don't care whether they win or lose. Well, I'm not that guy. I mean, I'm a winner. I love to win. You ask the guys that I've played with in New York or whether it was in Pittsburgh, there's nothing more that I hate than losing. I hate to lose and I'm going to put myself into a situation and put myself into a piece of a puzzle where I'm going to make it complete."

Free-agent DL Justin Harrell, explaining how a season-ending knee injury last year could turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as quoted on jsonline.com: "It was another year of no pounding. My back has really had two years to rest since the surgery. Not having any issues with that was encouraging last year. It was a whole year with no symptoms or anything." Added Harrell on turning the page on his unsuccessful tenure in Green Bay: "Being a first-round pick, there were a lot of expectations. I haven't lived up to those. I'm just trying to stay focused and be ready for what's next."

Free-agent CB Chris Carr only sees himself returning to the Ravens if he is going to be a starter, as quoted on baltimoresun.com: "Yeah, I want to play here, but I also want to have a big role. If they see me having a big role, then I'm going to want to come back here. If not, then no because I feel like every year of my career I've gotten better and I feel like I'm only going to get better." Added Carr: "I don't want to be pigeonholed as a backup because I'm not a backup. I know I'm better than a lot of corners in this league. And this year I'm going to be better than I was last year. If they want me to play a big role, then, yes, I definitely want to come back. If they don't and another team wants me to play a big role, then I'll probably go someplace else."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ravens WR Derrick Mason, discussing his future in Baltimore, as quoted on baltimoresun.com: "My reign is going to come to an end soon and I know that. And I expect that to happen. But I'm going to make it hard for anybody else coming along to supplant me from my position." Added Mason on looking beyond this season: "I don't prepare for the next upcoming season during the season I'm in. If I'm blessed to play another season, if my body feels good and my mind is willing, then I'll play. If not ... it's hard to walk away. I know that. Eventually, you'll have to."

Jets LB Bart Scott, quoted on NJ.com on prohibiting two-a-day practices being a part of the new labor agreement: "I get concerned you're making football players weaker because you don't push them past that threshold.  I get concerned with the same thing with the quarterback stuff, that they turn it into flag football; they turn it into little pansy stuff." Added Scott: "Two-a-days, it's what football is all about. It's about endurance, pain, will, putting yourself through something when your body is telling you it doesn't want to go. Your mind controlling your body. That's what camp is all about. With one-a-days, guys might not be in as good of shape as they would have been. Camp tears you down, and then a smart coach starts pulling back in enough time that allows players' bodies to build back up."

Free-agent LB James Anderson, who hopes to remain a member of the Carolina Panthers, discussing new head coach Ron Rivera, as quoted on newsobserver.com: "I think he's going to bring some fire and experience from being in the league, and understanding what it takes to be in the league. Being a linebacker, he's already good with me." Added Anderson on Carolina's young nucleus: "I definitely hope that we can keep all of our guys here because I think we have a great nucleus. I think we have potential to be very good on defense. Just looking forward to the possibilities of us going out and dominating with our new defensive-minded coach and aggressive defensive coordinator (Sean McDermott)."

Broncos TE Dan Gronkowski thinks teammate and fellow TE Richard Quinn is ready to take on a bigger role as he enters his third season, as quoted on denverpost.com: "Richard definitely has the ability and the size and strength. He just has to get his mind right. It's more confidence than anything, and he'll be all right."

Free-agent C Olin Kreutz, who has spent his entire 13-year career with the Bears, discussing his desire to remain in Chicago, as quoted on chicagotribune.com: "Everybody knows the way I feel about the Bears. I've chosen them many times. You hate to toot your own horn but I've left a lot of money on the table to be a Bear. The guys at Halas Hall have to decide what's best for the Bears. That's the decision they're going through this off-season and probably why I'm not signed yet." Added Kreutz: "I am not looking for an advantage, I am looking for a fair deal. I am not looking for an upper hand, the Bears know that about me. But it has to be fair. Whatever the decision is up there, I respect it. I know what they do is hard. They have decisions to make just like anybody in a business. When they decide it's time to move on from me there will be no hard feelings."

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Browns QB Colt McCoy, discussing how new head coach Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense is similar to the one McCoy ran at Texas, as quoted on nationalfootballauthority.com: "The West Coast is very similar to what I ran in college. A little bit different lingo, little bit different language, but protections, routes, the feel, the rhythm, the timing part of the West Coast, it's all the same, and I do feel confident in that."

Vikings rookie QB Christian Ponder is confident it won't take long to come to a contract agreement with his new club, as quoted on dallasnews.com: "It will be done quickly and I want to be ready to go and get in as soon as possible. My goal is always to get this second contract anyway. That's when you make the most money."

Ravens RB Ray Rice, quoted on NFL.com standing behind his criticism of Steelers WR Hines Ward, who was recently arrested on suspicion of drunken driving: "Drunk driving is one of those things that hits a soft spot in my life. I don't care if you're a Pittsburgh Steeler or a Baltimore Raven or whoever you are, if you get caught drunk driving, that's not a smart judgment. We make enough money. It's $150 for a car service for the rest of the night." Added Rice: "I didn't put it on Twitter to disrespect. I just said, 'It's not a good look.' Their whole town knows it's not a good look. It doesn't matter what team you play for. When it comes across the ticker that you got arrested for a DUI, it's not a good look."

Vikings backup MLB Jasper Brinkley, quoted on startribune.com on improving his coverage skills this offseason: Brinkley said a main area of focus was his backpedal. "I feel very comfortable [against the pass]. Two years ago I had never played a Tampa-2 middle linebacker, but now I think I'm ready for the challenge."

Cowboys OLB DeMarcus Ware, quoted on nbcdfw.com on being open to restructuring his contract: "You know, to be honest, I would do it, but y'all have got to talk to my agent about that, about restructuring my contract. But my thing is, if it's not taking away from my family, if it's not taking away from the table and it's doing whatever it can to better the team, I'm down with it."

Monday, July 18, 2011

Chargers head coach Norv Turner, discussing how last season's injury situation relates to getting players prepared in a short amount of time because of the lockout, as quoted on chargers.com: "In the circumstances we're in, you have to have some flexibility. (Last year) we were getting guys ready on short notice throughout the entire season. I think our staff understands how to do that and they've done a great job of doing that." Added Turner: "That's obviously a little bit of the situation we'll be in whenever we get started and our players and coaches will handle it great."

Texans running backs coach Chick Harris, quoted on the houstontexans.com on the competition for carries behind 2010 NFL rushing champ Arian Foster: "That remains to be seen. If Derrick [Ward] takes off where he left off, it's going to be tough to do it. But there's a young guy named Ben Tate that's going out there, and he's going to be challenging both backs that are supposedly ahead of him to get their jobs. And that's what we want. The greatest atmosphere in the world that you can have is competition. Competition will make everyone better."

Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, discussing the advantages of throwing a rookie QB such as Andy Dalton into the fire, as quoted on bengals.com: "Do you get better sitting on the sidelines making notes on a clipboard or do you get better playing? The way to get better is playing. If you make a mistake, you learn from it. You learn the speed of the game very quickly. You're going to have to adjust. It's hard to do that standing on the sidelines clapping your hands after a good play. If he's the guy, he's got to be that guy and learn fast." Added Gruden: "Guys have (gone with a rookie) and been successful and guys have failed miserably. It's not an easy position … it's a unique position for a unique individual and I know we drafted the guy with the right frame of mind and hopefully his ability will prove his worth."

Bills defensive line coach Giff Smith, quoted on buffalobills.com on his expectations for DL Torell Troup, who has added more than 10 pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason, as he enters his second season: "I think Torell has done a great job of improving his core strength. I only got to speak to him a couple of times prior to the lockout, but he's worked hard and I think he's going to make huge strides this coming season. I think he's got the ability to be an excellent player."

Redskins running backs coach Bobby Turner, explaining the role of the fullback in the Washington offense, as quoted on the team's website, redskins.com: "The fullback in our offense, he's not like a lineman. He has to be able to carry the ball, catch a ball out of the backfield, and be adjustable out in space. In other words, he's just a bigger halfback when you get right down to it." Added Turner on starting FB Mike Sellers: "He's an outstanding athlete for a young man that size, to have the ability and those skills. He's just utilizing all of his tools. He's a leader in the running back role, and he's also a leader on the football team."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/21/they-said-it-week-of-july-18

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