Friday, Feb. 12, 2010

Broncos new defensive coordinator Don Martindale, quoted in The Denver Post describing the situation that surrounded him being named to his new position: "I went in to Josh (McDaniels) and I said, 'I want this job.' I felt I was ready and I wanted this job. I'm excited about the possibilities." Martindale added: "I'm an aggressive guy by nature. I believe in physical, smart football, and I have an aggressive attitude about things. The players already know that by being with me."

Recently released LB Antonio Pierce has no animosity towards his former team, the New York Giants, as quoted in the New York Post: "I appreciate everything the Giants' organization has done for me. I told both Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese when I sat in front of them that I have no animosity. I have no anger. It's nowhere near that kind of situation. You might not agree with everything that's said, but you understand how the game is. It comes and goes. " Pierce added: "I had support from everybody in the Giants' organization from Mr. [John] Mara, Steve Tisch and everybody all the way down to Jose [Garcia], the guy that cleans the locker room. I have nothing but very strong love for the New York Giants. Obviously, I wanted to end it when my contract ended, but it didn't. It ended a year early. But I have no regrets. I have nothing to look back on and wish I had done it differently. Now it's time to look forward at the possibilities that I have."

Eagles president Joe Banner, quoted on philly.com discussing the club's quarterback situation: "Andy's the final decision maker here. But as far as, do we trade any of the quarterbacks? Do we keep all three? What do we do with their contract status? Each is in the last year of their deals, the uncertainty of the Collective Bargaining Agreement going forward. Those are also parts of the decision. It just isn't who's the starter and who's here? There are different levels of complexity about the decision. We'll have to sit down and figure that out."

Bills new defensive coordinator George Edwards, talking about the transition to a 3-4 defense, as quoted in The Buffalo News: "Is it hard? Yeah, it's hard. Is it different? Yes, it's different. At the end of the day it still boils down to defense being able to attack a blocker, get off a block and make a play on the running back. At the end of the day, that's what defense is about."

Rams CEO Kevin Demoff, quoted on STLToday following the announcement that the club has entered a purchase agreement with Shahid Khan, an auto parts manufacturer from Urbana, IL: "Today is a tremendously exciting day for the organization, because whether or not a sale to a prospective buyer goes through, I think it reaffirms to everybody the commitment this club has to St. Louis and our belief in this marketplace."

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010

Former NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira, quoted by The Associated Press prior to the Super Bowl discussing the emphasis that has been placed on illegal contact over the last decade: "It was difficult for us. You always tried to officiate the game advantage-disadvantage.  And so it didn't seem logical … to me at the time.  I probably wouldn't be saying this if I didn't have just four quarters left to go in my career.  But it didn't seem logical to me that you would take advantage-disadvantage out of the equation, that just a touch became a foul whether or not it had an affect or not."

Falcons QB Michael Vick regrets not always being as committed to his workout routine as he is now, as quoted on philly.com: "There was a lot more I could have done off the field and in the film room that could have elevated my game to a different level. I thought what I was doing was enough." Vick continued: "I'm stronger, I feel fast and I'm back to my old-school workouts. I think you'll see a big difference this year. I want to play my best football up until the age of 34 and 35, and I'm going to put everything into it. Just imagine what I could have been doing if I really would have been applying myself. That's a regret I have."

Texans owner Bob McNair, quoted in the Houston Chronicle after signing head coach Gary Kubiak to a contract extension through 2012 on Wednesday: "We have a foundation in place. We don't have to go out and establish the foundation, which is what we've been doing the last 8 years. We've got some outstanding players, and we just have to keep building on that. In evaluating where we were and looking at our coaching situation, I believe Gary can take us to the Super Bowl."

Jets Pro Bowl DE Shaun Ellis is recovering nicely from surgery on his broken left hand, as quoted on ESPN.com: "I did have the surgery and my recovery is coming along." Ellis also said he will not need more surgery on his knee that was scoped last offseason: "My knee is fine. All that would happen was my knee would swell. It should be a lot better this season, considering I had surgery before workouts and I never had time for it to rest."

Colts president Bill Polian, quoted on Colts.com assessing blame for his team's performance in the Super Bowl: "Our offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game. They were outplayed by the Saints' defensive line. Our special teams, in terms of handing the ball — both in the return game and on the onside kick — were outplayed by the Saints. Therein lies the result. It had nothing to do with strategy or preparedness or toughness or effort."

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010

Seahawks new offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, explaining what he learned in his three years under Jon Gruden in Tampa, as quoted on thenewstribune.com: "He let me get into the door, and once I got my foot in the door, he just taught me how to grind. I was up really early in the morning and working late at night learning every play known to man in football. It was special. The one thing I take from Jon is passion. You've got to have the passion. It's just too hard of a job if you're not in love with it. And he loved it. It was a fun three years."

Saints PK Thomas Morstead, quoted on SunHerald.com describing his mood at halftime of the Super Bowl after learning Sean Payton intended to start the second half with an onside kick: "I wasn't worried. I was just terrified." Morstead added: "It was telling because when Coach called that play, it made sense to me."

Bears DT Tommie Harris, discussing the promotion of Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator, as quoted in the Chicago Tribune: "I'll make it my business to go up there and talk to him. I really learned the game from him last season. I understand the game now instead of just going out there. I think having him as defensive coordinator is a great move. … If anybody would have come from the outside, they would have already known the history of the defense, so nothing would have changed. It would have just been the times that we would call different plays. Nobody was going to come here and change this to a 3-4 or anything like that. It just would have been a different name at defensive coordinator. But we're fine with coach Marinelli. He's a monster.''

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, quoted on Boston.com regarding his decision not to hire a new defensive coordinator to replace recently departed Dean Pees: "Titles are fine, nothing wrong with them. But the most important thing is each person's role, that we do everything we can to help the players succeed — everyone collectively getting the job done."

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010

Saints TE Jeremy Shockey, humbled by the experience of bringing a Super Bowl title to New Orleans, as quoted on NYDailyNews.com: "It's a privilege to play for this organization and be a part of something that's rebuilding — an organization that's never had any success in the postseason. Being part of that is very special. The feeling is about as special as it gets."

Bears new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times on his belief that the success of his new team will begin up front: "Everything starts on the offensive line, everything. They allow you to keep your defense off the field, allow you to protect the quarterback, allow you to do what you want to do on offense. When that's established — which will get done — then I think more than anything else, you are getting in a position to hit them right in the mouth." Martz added: "That's one of the things with [offensive line coach] Mike Tice, that toughness and tenacity and run the ball and pound it in there and still have a chance to fake and then throw to [Johnny] Knox or somebody streaking to the end zone."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell feels Donté Stallworth is prepared to resume his playing career after his yearlong suspension for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk, as quoted in The Detroit News: "I think he's in a better place than he was. I think he recognizes what he did and the horrific nature and the unfortunate outcome, and I think he's prepared himself to get back in and play."

Panthers DE Julius Peppers, quoted in The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald regarding his contract situation: "I'm a man of very few words; I understand very well what silence means. I do it a lot and I understand that. You being silent to me, I understand exactly what you're trying to say. Because of the lack of communication that they've had with us, if somebody asks me, 'Do I want to stay in Carolina and play for the Panthers next year?' it's like OK, well, how can you say you want to be somewhere if you're not really sure if they want you, because they're not even talking to you. They're not even talking to me, so why would I come out and say I want to be here, when the team is not even acknowledging the fact that my future with the organization is up in the air."

Free-agent QB Bruce Gradkowski hopes to sign a long-term deal with the Raiders, as quoted on toldeoblade.com: "I plan to be back with the Raiders. I think everything will work out, and I'm looking forward to it. We did a lot of good things this year and I'm looking forward to next season." Gradkowski added: "My license plate says California, my driver's license says Florida, and my home address is Pittsburgh. I'm all over the place, and hopefully I can settle down soon."

Monday, Feb. 8, 2010

Saints QB Drew Brees, quoted by The Associated Press after leading his team to a 31-17 victory in Super Bowl XLIV: "What can I say? We've been blessed with so much, and to have this opportunity is unbelievable. Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people didn't know if New Orleans would come back or if the team would even come back. But we stuck together. We had a mindset. We said, 'We're going to rebuild together, and we're going to lean on each other. We're going to come back stronger.' It's unbelievable. Forever now, we will walk together. We will walk together forever as world champions. This championship is for you New Orleans."

Colts special-teams captain Melvin Bullitt, quoted on NOLA.com regarding the onside kick by the Saints to open the second half: "The onside kick was huge. As special-teams captain, I feel like we kind of didn't do what we were supposed to do. We always talk about the little things, and that was a little thing that was huge. If we would've got the ball right there, maybe on the 40-yard line going in, the game could've went a totally different way. We would've been up by, what, (11) points? So that was a huge turning point in the game."

Saints LB Scott Fujita loves the aggressiveness of his head coach Sean Payton and his staff, as quoted on NOLA.com: "He came in playing to win this game. I think we knew all week we were going to call that kick at some point. None of us doubted that we were gonna get the ball. " Fujita continued: "You like that. As a defensive guy, you like that. He's got a certain swagger about him, it carries over to the offense. And you bring in a guy like (defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams, who has a swagger, as well. Now you've got a lot of guys playing aggressive, playing confident. Sean Payton's the leader of the pack. When he needed to count on us to step up and make those plays, guys did it."

Colts DE Dwight Freeney, who contributed a sack despite playing on torn ligaments in his ankle, quoted on Colts.com following the disappointing loss: "They just came up with a great game plan in the second half. I can't say, necessarily, that it surprised us. They executed their game plan in the second half better than we did. … I don't know if they caught us by surprise. Obviously, they got it." Freeney added: "Obviously, you are overjoyed (when you win). Now, it's disappointment."

Saints head coach Sean Payton, describing the feeling of winning his first Lombardi Trophy, as quoted on Reuters.com: "This thing laid in my bed next to me last night, I rolled over a couple of times and I probably drooled on it. But man, there is nothing like it. "To be a coach and be a part of a great team, with players like Drew Brees, I'm honored and I don't take that opportunity lightly at all — I feel very fortunate, very blessed and very humbled by it."