Hostile
The Duke
- Messages
- 119,565
- Reaction score
- 4,544
Random quotes from around the league
Friday, June 15, 2007
Rams RB Steven Jackson is setting some lofty goals for himself in the coming season. Jackson wants to break the NFL record for total yardage from scrimmage, breaking the mark (2,429) set by former teammate Marshall Faulk in 1999. “My goal is 2,500 total yards from scrimmage,” Jackson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday. “And how I get it doesn't matter. But I want to get to that number.” Last season Jackson compiled 2,334 total yards (1,528 rushing, 806 receiving), a total that has been surpassed by only four players — Faulk, Tiki Barber, LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders.
Jets OG Pete Kendall wants a raise, and he’s not shy about letting the world know his wishes. The 34-year-old Kendall renegotiated his contract last year, signing a four-year deal that will pay him $1.7 million. But the versatile, well-liked lineman said that renegotiation was done at the club’s request. After mentoring Jets rookie O-linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, Kendall thinks the team should repay his productive 2006 season with an additional $1 million on top of his current salary. “I just felt like I’d make a reasonable request in a professional manner at the right time and something would get worked out,” Kendall told The New York Times. “I didn’t think I’d get the stonewall.”
Some people believe Giants DE Michael Strahan is on the downside of his career, but Strahan is not one of them. “I feel like I can have my best year this year,” Strahan told the New York Daily News during the Giants’ three-day minicamp, which concludes Friday. “I feel great. When I hurt my pec (in 2004), I came back, made the Pro Bowl, played great, and I wasn't anywhere near as strong as I am now and probably wasn't in the shape I'm in now.” Strahan suffered a Lisfranc sprain Nov. 5 and was sidelined the remainder of the season. “In my opinion, I pop on the film and I can still say I'm the best at what I do,” Strahan said.
Packers QB Brett Favre is experiencing soreness in his throwing shoulder. It’s nothing serious, the 37-year-old Favre says, but it may keep him out of his annual charity softball game Sunday. “I'm not in opening day shape right now, but I feel pretty good,” Favre told the Wisconsin State Journal. “I thought like I threw the ball better with each practice; I started feeling better physically, moving around. I didn’t come away from (one) practice thinking, ‘Man, I've got a ways to go.’ I came away with a thought after each practice, ‘That was good, physically and mentally. I got out of it what I wanted to get out of it.’ ” Favre didn’t participate in Wednesday’s or Thursday’s organized team activities and won’t attend the final two OTA workouts on Monday and Tuesday. He is, however, said to be fully recovered from the Feb. 26 arthroscopic surgery on his ankle.
Robert Langford, the attorney for suspended Titans CB Pacman Jones, is urging authorities to either file criminal charges against his client or stop trying to link Jones to the triple shooting at a Las Vegas strip club. Langford says that DNA evidence has failed to link Jones to a bite injury during the February altercation. “It is really unfair to Mr. Jones that they continue to assert some investigation when they can't come up with any more evidence,” Langford told The Associated Press.
A post-mortem conducted on former Steelers OL Justin Strzelczyk found that the retired player, who died three years ago in a car crash, had a brain condition normally associated with a boxer who has dementia or a person in his 80s. The condition, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, can cause memory loss, depression and eventually dementia, according to The New York Times. “This is extremely abnormal in a 36-year-old,” Dr. Ronald Hamilton of the University of Pittsburgh told the Times, referring to Strzelczyk. “If I didn’t know anything about this case and I looked at the slides, I would have asked, ‘Was this patient a boxer?’ ” According to the Times, Strzelczyk is the fourth former NFL player who has been discovered with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, including Andre Waters, who committed suicide at the age of 44 last November.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, quoted by The Associated Press on the anniversary of his motorcycle accident last year: “This is the day last year that, uh, I almost lost my life. … I had it marked on the calendar. I marked it down today on the calendar as one year and then tomorrow I had, 'Hopefully, no more talking about it.' It's over with, it's done with, and, hopefully, now that it's a year over with, people will stop talking about it.”
Browns RB Jamal Lewis, quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on whether questions about his age and durability fuel him: “That doesn't fuel me. I know what I have to do. I know what I'm capable of. I'm still young [he'll be 28 on Aug. 26]. I still have a lot of energy. Over the years, you have backs like Warrick Dunn and Curtis Martin … a lot of guys over 30, 32, that had over 1,000-yard seasons. I think organizations, when they do have a back pushing 30, they kind of weigh them down and just shorten the carries. I have a lot in the tank. I'm still young and ready to roll.”
Cowboys S Roy Williams, quoted on DallasCowboys.com about playing in a new defense: “I get to be more involved. I'd really just like to be closer to the ball and Coach Phillips said they installed some plays for me and I'm looking forward to it. … I feel that we [Williams and DeMarcus Ware] are going to be put in a position to make more plays. Wade said he's going to put his players in positions to make plays and I believe him and we're going to go from there. I get to be around the ball and it's a big difference being 15 yards away from the ball and being seven yards from the ball.”
49ers coach Mike Nolan, quoted by the Sacramento Bee after hearing of fans' plans to wear suits to the 49ers' Sept. 10 home game in support of Nolan, whose request to wear a suit full time on the sideline was denied by Reebok: “I'll say this. I hope they do it for the same reason I'm doing it, which is out of respect for the league, the 49ers and to those who have done it in the past. … I like it. It shows unity. I like that.”
Patriots WR Randy Moss, quoted in the Providence Journal on fitting in with the Patriots and playing with QB Tom Brady: “My biggest thing was coming in with a locker right beside Tom (Brady’s) and to the right of me is Vinny Testaverde. I think that’s where the butterflies came in, just really getting in the locker room and meeting the guys. I’ve always been a big fan of his and now that I’m here playing alongside him, I don’t want anything to change. I’m not going to even try to get in his way in anything that he does and hopefully he doesn’t get in the way of anything that I do. I’m just basically talking on the field, because that’s one thing that I came here for was to be with this group of guys, the organization as a whole.”
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Eagles head coach Andy Reid, quoted in The Philadelphia Enquirer after starting QB Donovan McNabb turned heads yesterday by participating (albeit briefly) in the Eagles’ minicamp workout (McNabb is coming off surgery to repair a torn ligament in his knee suffered last November): “He's where we hoped he would be. He worked very hard to get to this spot, so we let him test it out today. We didn't give him too much. We want to make sure he can move around tomorrow, if possible. So we gave him a few shots and got him back to the ice tub. I thought he did a nice job. He looked strong and, like I said, he has been working very hard to get to this point.”
Rams head coach Scott Linehan, quoted on STLToday.com about the improvement his team and himself have displayed in a year: “That's what's really fun about where we are right now. I'm really enjoying this go-around personally, because I just see so much improvement in not only our team but in myself. And so I feel we have a chance to really do some fun things this year and accomplish a lot.”
Ravens MLB Ray Lewis, quoted on BaltimoreSun.com about how he feels his best years are still in front of him: “It's incredible. Some people say you go reverse once you hit the 30 mark, but I think I'm going the other way. So where I am right now, it's scary because now I can really see that my best football is ahead of me, and so that's what's more exciting than anything, for me.”
Hall of Famer (and former Bears head coach) Mike Ditka, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times regarding claims made by former Bears S Dave Duerson (one of six trustees who oversee the benefits process on the NFLPA retirement board) that Ditka was “disrespectful toward injured players” and that he “didn’t give a damn about the players or their injuries”: “It's not Duerson vs. Ditka. It's about right vs. wrong, and when you're wrong, you lash out in a lot of different ways. He has chosen to lash out in a personal way, and it's an out-and-out lie. To say I didn't have compassion and care for my players — or didn't worry about them, regardless of whether they were first string or third string — and I didn't worry about them when they were injured and I didn't care about them and try to help them is an out-and-out, outrageous lie.”
Bears DT Tommie Harris, quoted in the Daily Herald (Ill.) on his strong belief that last year’s season-ending upper left leg injury is fully recovered, and that it will be a non-issue moving forward: “It can’t come back. They put sutures in my bone and hooked it back. This one will never pull again. It’s more likely for the right one to pull than the left because this one should be there for life now because of the screws and stuff, so I should be faster, and I should be stronger, so we’ll see. I don’t have any excuses. During the season you won’t hear me say, ‘Well, my hamstring’s been killing me.’ Right now I feel great. I’m working hard where there won’t be any excuses and let’s just go, let’s get ready for football. That injury’s over with.”
Friday, June 15, 2007
Rams RB Steven Jackson is setting some lofty goals for himself in the coming season. Jackson wants to break the NFL record for total yardage from scrimmage, breaking the mark (2,429) set by former teammate Marshall Faulk in 1999. “My goal is 2,500 total yards from scrimmage,” Jackson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday. “And how I get it doesn't matter. But I want to get to that number.” Last season Jackson compiled 2,334 total yards (1,528 rushing, 806 receiving), a total that has been surpassed by only four players — Faulk, Tiki Barber, LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders.
Jets OG Pete Kendall wants a raise, and he’s not shy about letting the world know his wishes. The 34-year-old Kendall renegotiated his contract last year, signing a four-year deal that will pay him $1.7 million. But the versatile, well-liked lineman said that renegotiation was done at the club’s request. After mentoring Jets rookie O-linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, Kendall thinks the team should repay his productive 2006 season with an additional $1 million on top of his current salary. “I just felt like I’d make a reasonable request in a professional manner at the right time and something would get worked out,” Kendall told The New York Times. “I didn’t think I’d get the stonewall.”
Some people believe Giants DE Michael Strahan is on the downside of his career, but Strahan is not one of them. “I feel like I can have my best year this year,” Strahan told the New York Daily News during the Giants’ three-day minicamp, which concludes Friday. “I feel great. When I hurt my pec (in 2004), I came back, made the Pro Bowl, played great, and I wasn't anywhere near as strong as I am now and probably wasn't in the shape I'm in now.” Strahan suffered a Lisfranc sprain Nov. 5 and was sidelined the remainder of the season. “In my opinion, I pop on the film and I can still say I'm the best at what I do,” Strahan said.
Packers QB Brett Favre is experiencing soreness in his throwing shoulder. It’s nothing serious, the 37-year-old Favre says, but it may keep him out of his annual charity softball game Sunday. “I'm not in opening day shape right now, but I feel pretty good,” Favre told the Wisconsin State Journal. “I thought like I threw the ball better with each practice; I started feeling better physically, moving around. I didn’t come away from (one) practice thinking, ‘Man, I've got a ways to go.’ I came away with a thought after each practice, ‘That was good, physically and mentally. I got out of it what I wanted to get out of it.’ ” Favre didn’t participate in Wednesday’s or Thursday’s organized team activities and won’t attend the final two OTA workouts on Monday and Tuesday. He is, however, said to be fully recovered from the Feb. 26 arthroscopic surgery on his ankle.
Robert Langford, the attorney for suspended Titans CB Pacman Jones, is urging authorities to either file criminal charges against his client or stop trying to link Jones to the triple shooting at a Las Vegas strip club. Langford says that DNA evidence has failed to link Jones to a bite injury during the February altercation. “It is really unfair to Mr. Jones that they continue to assert some investigation when they can't come up with any more evidence,” Langford told The Associated Press.
A post-mortem conducted on former Steelers OL Justin Strzelczyk found that the retired player, who died three years ago in a car crash, had a brain condition normally associated with a boxer who has dementia or a person in his 80s. The condition, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, can cause memory loss, depression and eventually dementia, according to The New York Times. “This is extremely abnormal in a 36-year-old,” Dr. Ronald Hamilton of the University of Pittsburgh told the Times, referring to Strzelczyk. “If I didn’t know anything about this case and I looked at the slides, I would have asked, ‘Was this patient a boxer?’ ” According to the Times, Strzelczyk is the fourth former NFL player who has been discovered with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, including Andre Waters, who committed suicide at the age of 44 last November.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, quoted by The Associated Press on the anniversary of his motorcycle accident last year: “This is the day last year that, uh, I almost lost my life. … I had it marked on the calendar. I marked it down today on the calendar as one year and then tomorrow I had, 'Hopefully, no more talking about it.' It's over with, it's done with, and, hopefully, now that it's a year over with, people will stop talking about it.”
Browns RB Jamal Lewis, quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on whether questions about his age and durability fuel him: “That doesn't fuel me. I know what I have to do. I know what I'm capable of. I'm still young [he'll be 28 on Aug. 26]. I still have a lot of energy. Over the years, you have backs like Warrick Dunn and Curtis Martin … a lot of guys over 30, 32, that had over 1,000-yard seasons. I think organizations, when they do have a back pushing 30, they kind of weigh them down and just shorten the carries. I have a lot in the tank. I'm still young and ready to roll.”
Cowboys S Roy Williams, quoted on DallasCowboys.com about playing in a new defense: “I get to be more involved. I'd really just like to be closer to the ball and Coach Phillips said they installed some plays for me and I'm looking forward to it. … I feel that we [Williams and DeMarcus Ware] are going to be put in a position to make more plays. Wade said he's going to put his players in positions to make plays and I believe him and we're going to go from there. I get to be around the ball and it's a big difference being 15 yards away from the ball and being seven yards from the ball.”
49ers coach Mike Nolan, quoted by the Sacramento Bee after hearing of fans' plans to wear suits to the 49ers' Sept. 10 home game in support of Nolan, whose request to wear a suit full time on the sideline was denied by Reebok: “I'll say this. I hope they do it for the same reason I'm doing it, which is out of respect for the league, the 49ers and to those who have done it in the past. … I like it. It shows unity. I like that.”
Patriots WR Randy Moss, quoted in the Providence Journal on fitting in with the Patriots and playing with QB Tom Brady: “My biggest thing was coming in with a locker right beside Tom (Brady’s) and to the right of me is Vinny Testaverde. I think that’s where the butterflies came in, just really getting in the locker room and meeting the guys. I’ve always been a big fan of his and now that I’m here playing alongside him, I don’t want anything to change. I’m not going to even try to get in his way in anything that he does and hopefully he doesn’t get in the way of anything that I do. I’m just basically talking on the field, because that’s one thing that I came here for was to be with this group of guys, the organization as a whole.”
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Eagles head coach Andy Reid, quoted in The Philadelphia Enquirer after starting QB Donovan McNabb turned heads yesterday by participating (albeit briefly) in the Eagles’ minicamp workout (McNabb is coming off surgery to repair a torn ligament in his knee suffered last November): “He's where we hoped he would be. He worked very hard to get to this spot, so we let him test it out today. We didn't give him too much. We want to make sure he can move around tomorrow, if possible. So we gave him a few shots and got him back to the ice tub. I thought he did a nice job. He looked strong and, like I said, he has been working very hard to get to this point.”
Rams head coach Scott Linehan, quoted on STLToday.com about the improvement his team and himself have displayed in a year: “That's what's really fun about where we are right now. I'm really enjoying this go-around personally, because I just see so much improvement in not only our team but in myself. And so I feel we have a chance to really do some fun things this year and accomplish a lot.”
Ravens MLB Ray Lewis, quoted on BaltimoreSun.com about how he feels his best years are still in front of him: “It's incredible. Some people say you go reverse once you hit the 30 mark, but I think I'm going the other way. So where I am right now, it's scary because now I can really see that my best football is ahead of me, and so that's what's more exciting than anything, for me.”
Hall of Famer (and former Bears head coach) Mike Ditka, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times regarding claims made by former Bears S Dave Duerson (one of six trustees who oversee the benefits process on the NFLPA retirement board) that Ditka was “disrespectful toward injured players” and that he “didn’t give a damn about the players or their injuries”: “It's not Duerson vs. Ditka. It's about right vs. wrong, and when you're wrong, you lash out in a lot of different ways. He has chosen to lash out in a personal way, and it's an out-and-out lie. To say I didn't have compassion and care for my players — or didn't worry about them, regardless of whether they were first string or third string — and I didn't worry about them when they were injured and I didn't care about them and try to help them is an out-and-out, outrageous lie.”
Bears DT Tommie Harris, quoted in the Daily Herald (Ill.) on his strong belief that last year’s season-ending upper left leg injury is fully recovered, and that it will be a non-issue moving forward: “It can’t come back. They put sutures in my bone and hooked it back. This one will never pull again. It’s more likely for the right one to pull than the left because this one should be there for life now because of the screws and stuff, so I should be faster, and I should be stronger, so we’ll see. I don’t have any excuses. During the season you won’t hear me say, ‘Well, my hamstring’s been killing me.’ Right now I feel great. I’m working hard where there won’t be any excuses and let’s just go, let’s get ready for football. That injury’s over with.”
: