They Said It: week of Jan. 24

Friday, Jan. 28, 2011

Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, quoted in The Tennessean on his surprise to learn that head coach Jeff Fisher would not be returning next season: "I haven't talked to Jeff or anyone in the office. We would be the last ones to know. They're not going to let coaches know. They're going to take care of the other stuff first." Added Heimerdinger: "Obviously something happened that I don't know about. I guess we'll find out what's next. There's a lot up in the air that we just don't know about. We'll just have to roll with the punches and see what happens."

Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents incarcerated WR Plaxico Burress, quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer making a prediction about his client: "I am not afraid to make the following prediction: Plaxico Burress will be playing in 2011. And he will play very well. And it will be a very happy ending to a very tough, tough story for him."

Steelers S Ryan Clark, explaining that he isn't concerned about a perceived lack of respect for the Pittsburgh secondary, as quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "I'm done being disrespected. I'm done even caring. It's my second Super Bowl with this defense and the exact same guys minus Deshea (Townsend). Maybe the other six or seven (defensive players) on the field with us are that much better than everyone else that they can overcome us being so terrible." Added Clark: "Right now this group of individuals can say they've started two Super Bowls, some three Super Bowls together. Go around the league and poll how many secondaries have done that. There's not going to be many, if any, that can say that, so I think we're doing all right."

Jets CB Antonio Cromartie, quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer engaging in a war of words on his Twitter page with Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck after Hasselbeck called out Cromartie for his comments regarding the CBA last week: "Hey Matt, if you have something to [say] then say it. Be a man about it. Don't erase it. I will smash your face in."

Former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, who was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before agreeing to part ways with the club on Thursday, quoted in The Tennessean sharing his sentiments on leaving the organization: "It's been 17 great years and I appreciate everything Mr. Adams has done for me. It's time for me to rest and fish. I have total peace about this right now." Added Fisher: "I want to thank Mr. Adams and the organization for a special 17 years. I can't thank the fans enough for the support they showed us through the years; it has been a tremendous experience. We all did our very best and I think I can look back with fond memories and be very proud of what we accomplished. I want to wish the organization, the current players and the fans nothing but the best in the future."

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011

Titans RB Chris Johnson, quoted in The Tennessean on becoming the face of the franchise with QB Vince Young now on the way out: "I am willing to step up and be the face of the franchise. I have no problem with that. I don't know who our next quarterback is going to be, but I want to help take pressure off him by doing my part.'' Johnson continued by discussing his goals for 2011: "I want to win more, but I still have the same goals. I want to go for 2,500. … It is very realistic. I had a good season last year. When you put the stats up there, I had a good year. Some people say I had a bad year, but I set my standards so high people expect that.''

Chargers new defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, who coached 49ers S Taylor Mays last season, discussing the potential of Mays, as quoted in the Sacramento Bee: "I see some promise in the kid. He's a football guy. He loves football. I'd rather have those guys on my team because they want to get better." Manusky, who said Mays was not ready to start as a rookie, continued: "He's cut a little high. And (secondary coaches) VJ (Vance Joseph), Johnnie (Lynn) and myself were trying to get his (butt) down. I mean, that's where you have your explosion and that's where you have your power. … He's athletic enough that he can change direction and get his body down. And that's where he gets his explosion."

Steelers DE Aaron Smith is not ruling out playing in the Super Bowl — Smith partially tore his left triceps in late October — as quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "I think it's feasible, I really do. The longer (this season) has stretched, the better the possibility of me playing has gotten. I would like to have an answer before we leave, but we've gone this long, so we'll see what happens and go from there." Added Smith: "I can't help but fantasize about the team and dream about it, just to be out there, being able to be on the field and a part of something special."

Ravens new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, quoted in the Detroit Free Press discussing the departure of former defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who left Baltimore for the same post at the University of Michigan: "What he told me was, for 37 years (including playing), all of us have families. They get left behind, and they've got to finish the move. … I always admire him, but even more today, because he said, 'For 37 years, I've been leaving them behind, and they sell the house and finish school with the kids and, eventually, they meet you, six months down the road. I've got a chance now to do something and give something back to them for all these years of support.' That, to me, speaks volumes above anything else he did for this organization."

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Packers DT B.J. Raji, quoted on GazetteXtra praising the Green Bay front office for the job it did this season: "I've got to give credit to, first of all, our guys upstairs — general managers and scouts. Those guys do a fantastic job-getting guys that kind of slip through the cracks, like (undrafted free agent DB Sam) Shields, players like that. People that are great football players, but for whatever reason, they slip."

49ers new GM Trent Baalke, whose club is expected to address the QB position in this April's draft, explaining how difficult it is to find a franchise signalcaller, as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle: "I think what makes it difficult is there's a lot more that goes into it than the physical aspects. You're trying to evaluate decision-making process, the football IQ, the football instincts, the leadership qualities. It's a very difficult position to evaluate, and everybody needs one. You can only get so much until you have them in your possession and work with them every day." Added Baalke: "We're looking for the same things as everybody else. Are they willing to cut it loose and throw the ball on time? Accuracy to me is such an innate thing. Either they can or they can't. That has to do with timing, getting the ball out on time, seeing the coverage the way the receivers see it. That's a difficult question to answer sometimes."

Patriots MLB Jerod Mayo, who hopes to pick Future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis' brain this week as the two Pro Bowl teammates practice together, quoted on Boston Herald.com sharing what he is most impressed by with Lewis: "Just his overall assertiveness. How he takes control of the defense, how he gets everyone in the right place at the right time. How he lines everyone up. I know he studies a lot of film, and he just seems to know where the play is going before everyone else does."

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, explaining that the club has had high expectations for  young WRs Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown since the beginning of the season, as quoted on Canada.com: "We have been impressed with these two young men since Day 1. We knew they were capable of providing splash plays for us - plays that could help us win. It's becoming pretty clear they are up to the task."

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, quoted on topix.com following Sunday's 21-14 triumph over the Bears in the NFC Championship game that sends the Packers to their first Super Bowl since 1998: "It still maybe hasn't really hit home entirely. It's just what I dreamt about as a kid growing up in Northern California watching Joe Montana all those years, and Steve Young when Joe moved on … It's amazing to know that I'll be living out my dream in two weeks in Dallas."

Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, describing the 3rd-and-6 play call late in the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game with the Steelers needing a first-down conversion to run out the clock, as quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Coach (Mike Tomlin) said, 'Win the game.' We had a play set Thursday night, that that's the play we would use and Ben (Roethlisberger) made an unbelievable throw and Antonio (Brown) got open. You can always play safe and run, punt, put your defense back out there but it's not as nice as kneeling down."

Packers RB John Kuhn, the lone Green Bay player who owns a Super Bowl ring — Kuhn was on the Steelers' practice squad when they defeated the Seahawks in 2005 in Super Bowl XL — quoted on JSOnline offering advice to his teammates who will be living it for the first time: "You need to embrace it. You need to really enjoy the fact that you're there. But at the same time you need to win that game. You're there to play a game ultimately and to try to win it. If you win it, it makes all the memories that much sweeter." Added Kuhn: "I'm anxious already for the game. I want to get there and I want to play. Because like I said, this has been something that I've looked at ever since I was there with Pittsburgh, and I just wanted to get back there and play so badly. And to be back there and play against Pittsburgh, it's a whirlwind of emotions."

Steelers CB Ike Taylor, explaining that his club is used to being the underdog — Vegas oddsmakers' early line made the Packers three-point favorites — as quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "I feel like we're always underdogs, even when they've got us covering the point spread." Taylor continued: "People don't like successful people, regardless of how you make it. Just the tradition we have here, the success we have here, I just feel that a lot of people don't want us to succeed. They're getting tired of seeing the same people over and over again. I guess they want to see somebody new."

Monday, Jan. 24, 2011

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, whose team is heading to Dallas to play in Super Bowl XLV after edging the Bears 21-14 in the NFC championship game, quoted in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on the resiliency his team has shown all season: "Really, with the way our season went, the trials and tribulations that we encountered, to me, that was how we were shaped. I think it's made us a better football team. It's challenged our character. I think we've really grown through it. Our players truly believe that we will be successful in Dallas, just like they truly believed that we were going to be successful here today." McCarthy continued: "Now we have the opportunity to achieve greatness, and that is winning the Super Bowl down in Dallas. Bring the Lombardi Trophy back home."

Bears LB Brian Urlacher, defending QB Jay Cutler from critics who are questioning the quarterback's toughness after Cutler left Sunday's game in the second half after sustaining a knee injury, as quoted in the Chicago Tribune: "Jay was hurt. I don't question his toughness, he's tough as hell. He's one of the toughest players on our football team. He doesn't complain when he gets hit. He goes out there and plays every Sunday, he practices every single day, so no we don't question his toughness." Added Urlacher: "Nothing like jealous people at home watching. Players around the league you said, right? Yeah, I love jealous people when they are watching our game on TV while their season is over."

Steelers WR Hines Ward, who will be playing in his third Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Dallas, quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after his Steelers held on to beat the Jets 24-19 in the AFC championship game: "Never gets old. A lot of our guys have had to battle a lot of things this year, but we're going to the Super Bowl, we're going to play the Packers, and we're going to enjoy it." Ward continued: "Us going 3-1 [in September] without Ben showed what kind of team we are. It brought us closer together as a unit."

Jets DL Trevor Pryce, quoted on NYDailyNews.com following Sunday's loss in the AFC championship game: "You can't win in this league if you don't stop the run. Kid (Mendenhall) was running out of his body." Added NT Sione Pouha: "It goes back to basics, and basics is tackling. I didn't do my job. We didn't get it done, and the most heartbreaking thing now is knowing this locker room is never going to be the same."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/01/28/they-said-it-week-of-jan-24

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