They Said It: week of July 25

Monday, July 25, 2011

Titans SS Chris Hope, whose $7 million salary this season has prompted some team observers to mention him as a possible cap casualty, quoted in The Tennessean on what he brings to the club: "I remember when I first got here (defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz said I was underpaid for what I did. You have guys around the league that make $10 million to $15 million a year, and they don't practice and are bad in the locker room and then they don't even play the entire game. But I speak for myself when I say I am a leader on and off the field, and in the classroom. I don't have off-the-field issues or get in trouble. I am a professional. I come to work every day and I don't miss practice and I don't miss plays. With all that being said, I think every dime I get, I am deserving of it.'' Added Hope: "I am still the same guy I was when I first got here, just a few years older. I still love to play the game of football, and there is not a value on what I bring to the table. I still feel like I am one of the top 10 safeties in the league if not the top five. Numbers don't always show that. But when I am playing to the best of my ability, I compare myself to any safety in the league."

Seahawks GM John Schneider, quoted on newstribune.com on continuing to build the nucleus of his young football team: "It's just a unique year, but where we are as a team, we still think that we're in the infancy of our development. And so, no disrespect to the players that are here, but we feel like we have a long way to go to be a consistent, championship-caliber football team."

Agent Joe Linta, explaining one of the major challenges of signing free agents in lockout-shortened offseason, as quoted on nydailynews.com: "For a lot of the teams, except for the real superstars, the question is going to be this: Are the teams going to be willing to spend big money on a guy who has to come in and learn a system so quickly? It's a fair point that makes some wonder if this free-agent crop might turn out to be not just the biggest, but also the most disappointed in NFL history once it sees the lack of teams willing to spend." Added Linta: "(In previous years) you might go and actually take time to visit," Linta said. "Whereas here I've had to talk to (my free-agent clients) about four or five teams. 'Here's what the facility's like. Here's what the area's like.' I have to be kind of his eyes. We navigate through that."

Ravens S Ed Reed, quoted on baltimoresun.com on Steelers WR Hines Ward: "I love Hines as a player and I told him that. But I told him also for a long time, 'You're a dirty player because I know how you play.'" Added Reed: "I always play the game a certain way, regardless of what guys say. I've given some shots out there, but even those shots have been to where the guy can get up. I play a position where I know I have kill shots. I can really hurt somebody if I wanted to."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/25/they-said-it-week-of-july-25

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