Compiled by Billy Wellner and Arthur Arkush
March 14, 2008

Random quotes from around the league

Friday, March 14, 2008

Texans RB Chris Brown, excited about his new two-year deal with Houston, which will allow him an opportunity to compete for the starting job, as quoted in The Tennessean: "It is going to be a great fit. I'm going to see if I can help this team get over the hump. They've got all the pieces to the puzzle and just need to put them all together." Brown went on to discuss his opportunity to learn from assistant head coach Alex Gibbs: "Gibbs, he's a guru. He started this whole zone blocking scheme, and that's what I really love to run. That's what I ran in college and then ran a little bit in Tennessee, and that's what I'm best at. The competition is going to make everybody work hard and make everyone work harder."

Lions head coach Rod Marinelli, quoted in the Detroit Free Press after releasing veterans Kevin Jones and Kalimba Edwards to make room under the salary cap: "With the off-season program beginning next week and with our draft preparation intensifying, we decided this was the right time to make these two roster moves. While there are always a number of factors that go into this type of decision, we do believe these moves bring clarity to our roster and also eliminate some uncertainty heading into the draft that would have otherwise existed."

Ravens OT Jonathan Ogden, reiterating the likelihood that he’ll decide to retire this offseason, as quoted on BaltimoreSun.com: "I have not officially retired. So if I come back, it's great, they said, but they're proceeding as if I'm not." Ogden added this about a big toe that has given him trouble the last few seasons: "It just hasn't healed 100 percent, and I don't know if it will. I can still play, but ... I don't want to play if I can't play at the level I'm capable of playing at."

Niners head coach Mike Nolan, quoted on Sacbee.com after the release of QB Trent Dilfer: "Trent Dilfer is a true professional in every meaning of the word. Trent has provided great value to our team over the past two years in terms of his leadership, knowledge of the game and play on the field."

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Titans new RB coach Earnest Byner, quoted on Tennessean.com regarding his new position, and how he hopes to develop a rapport with his players right away: "They don't care what you know unless they know that you care. I want them to know that I care about them personally, first and foremost, and want the very best for them. But I also want the best for them on the football field."

Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones, expressing the importance of signing their own players in free agency, as quoted by The Associated Press: "Our deal is we feel like we've got a good, young team. We just feel like we're at a point in our franchise that we need to take care of our own guys now. ... We just feel like right now, the type of (free-agent) talent for the price that it costs doesn't really fit in our model."

Rams recently signed QB Trent Green, quoted on STLtoday.com on his desire to continue playing in the NFL: "I know everybody out there is going to say, ‘Why keep playing? You played long enough. Had some success. Made some money.’ I love playing. The window (of opportunity) is only so big, and I realize I’m getting toward the end of that. I still enjoy playing. I still enjoy the whole experience of it."

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is not done making a splash in free agency, as quoted on StarTribune.com: "If they fit into what we want to do to become a winner, we will certainly look to do what's best to improve our ballclub. Absolutely, we're not through. We're always looking. ... I think the players who are around the league understand that we're a team that's built to do our best to win championships. So I think there's a lot of excitement, especially by the players who have come over here, to be part of this organization. When they see things in your organization that make them want to come here, you're very excited."