They Said It: week of Sept. 6

Friday, Sept. 10, 2011

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 312 yards and three TDs in Thursday night's 42-34 triumph over the Saints, poking fun at reporters who questioned Green Bay not organizing unofficial team workouts during the lockout, as quoted on startribune.com: "That was a good start for us. But I've just got to ask myself, 'What would have happened if we had had offseason workouts?' Could we have started any faster and scored more points tonight?"

Saints rookie RB Mark Ingram, quoted on mlive.com after rushing for 40 yards on 13 carries in his NFL debut, but failing to pick up a yard on the final play of the game to potentially force overtime: "Of course I was excited. It has always been a dream come true to play in the NFL, but at the end of the day I am more about winning. Today we didn't come out with the win so we need to work hard and fix things that didn't work out for us." Added Ingram on the game's final play: "You have to get a yard. It is the goal line to win the game. I have to get a yard."

Eagles head coach Andy Reid, discussing the demotion of first-round OG Danny Watkins, as quoted on nytimes.com: "You've got to remember with Danny now, and this is an important thing here with him, is that when you move from the college to the pros, that's a tough deal. When you move from tackle to guard, that's another tough deal, and when you move from the left side to the right side, that's another tough deal and then you add onto it missing part of camp. So he's been playing a catch-up game all the way through here. Even though he's a little bit older, he's still a rookie. He's working his tail off and I'm proud of him for how he's handled things and he'll do nothing but continue to get better."

Patriots DT Albert Haynesworth, quoted on projo.com on getting a fresh start in New England: "Last year I didn't even know if I was going to play. I was playing a lot of scout team. Now I'm in the system and playing and practicing. It's time for me, the sleeping giant, to awaken - to go out there on the field and play football again." Added Haynesworth: "It makes a huge difference when you come in and feel good about coming in the door. If you go to work hating your job, you're not going to perform at your best. If you enjoy coming to work and you enjoy being around the people you work with, you'll give it your all."

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2011

Jets QB Mark Sanchez, explaining what is different about his team entering this season, as quoted on nydailynews.com:  "Last year, we were trying too hard. (We) got that pressure from 'Hard Knocks,' got to show the world everything we got and we got all these new players and you want to do so much. (This year, we) just (have to) be ourselves. Go with what you know. We're a good rushing team. We can throw the ball when we need to. We're going to have good field position with our special teams. Our defense is going to get the offense the ball back." Added Sanchez on personal improvements he wants to make: "Just going through my progression, being confident like I am and getting completions when I can."

Bears RB Matt Forté is disappointed that he did not come to an agreement with the club on a contract extension before the start of the season, as quoted on washingtonexaminer.com: "Yeah, it's a little surprising. I'm disappointed that it wasn't. Like I said, coming into the league, you feel like this is supposed to be production-based. And when you produce in the offense, you expect the team or the organization to actually notice that compared to other guys. We just couldn't meet in the middle." Forté continued, refuting GM Jerry Angelo's claim that both sides mutually agreed to curb negotiations for now: "He said that? I didn't say that, so I guess it wasn't mutual. But that was his decision. I can't really decide if we continue to talk or not. He's the one we talk to. The door's always open on my end."

Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, quoted on washingtonexaminer.com on his hamstring being 100 percent healed after aggravating the injury in practice a few weeks ago: "I wasn't ready at all yet. It was still baking. I took it out the oven too soon." Shiancoe added: "It's out of the oven nice and fresh. Fresh hammy."

Ravens RB Ray Rice thinks teammate Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback, as quoted by The Associated Press: "I think Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback, and he happens to play for us. He's a winning quarterback. People look at the other stuff, like he hasn't won a Super Bowl. I came into this thing with Joe, and we've been to the playoffs every year since I've been here. When you look at a quarterback, if it's based on winning, you've got to take a look at Joe Flacco. He's a great quarterback and he's only gotten better."

Rams QB Sam Bradford, discussing his budding relationship with new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, as quoted on bnd.com: "It has been great. I have been very happy to work with Josh. He is a great football mind, very smart. When you sit and watch tape with him, he points out things I don't see the first time or I am not necessarily looking for. It's always good when you have someone like that in the room with you." Bradford continued: "As far as his offense, I think it has been great. Everyone has really bought into the system. I think guys understand that if we come out and we do our jobs, we have a great chance to be successful on offense."

Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2011

Buccaneers DE Da'Quan Bowers, quoted on USATODAY.com on drawing motivation from his Draft Day slide: "To the 31 teams that passed me up and didn't think I was good enough, I have something to prove." Added Bowers: "Everything happens for a reason. I ended up being in the best possible place for me to play."

Bears GM Jerry Angelo, leaving a glimmer of hope that RB Matt Forté still could get a new deal before his current one expires after the season, as quoted on Chicago Sun-Times: "I'm not saying the door is shut, but right now our focus is going to be on the season."

Former Titans FB Lorenzo Neal, discussing Titans FB Quinn Johnson, who was acquired in a trade with the Packers last week after starting FB Ahmard Hall was suspended four games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, as quoted on The Tennessean: "When you have a guy like Chris Johnson, who is so explosive and so fast, you just have to get out of his way. The worst thing the fullback can do is start picking his way through holes, looking for guys to block. The main thing he needs to concentrate on is going hard until he hears glass break, until he goes full speed and hits somebody and causes a collision. He needs to let those linebackers know, 'This guy is not a pest; he is hitting me.' And if he does that, the next thing he'll know is Chris Johnson is by him and into the open field."

Lions DE Cliff Avril, comparing Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger in terms of how difficult it is to bring down the giant triggermen, as quoted on freep.com: "Shoot, they might be the only two that are real good at just being able to stand in the pocket, have people on them and still be able to complete the play." Added Avril: "I even remember with my sack last year he [Freeman] tried dragging me for a couple yards. Definitely you have to get him and gator roll. That's the idea. Tackle him, gator roll and spin. He's real good at with guys being on his feet and still getting the play off."

Colts QB Kerry Collins, confident in his ability to step in have success if starter Peyton Manning, who has been ruled out for Week One, as quoted on commercialappeal.com: "I know what it takes to prepare and be successful in this league, so I'm going to do all those things, rely on all the experience that I have. I have a good idea of what I need to do to get ready to play and give a winning performance."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/09/09/they-said-it-week-of-sept-6

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