They Said It: week of April 11

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, quoted on Buccaneers.com after receiving a four-year extension on Monday: "I am appreciative of the confidence the Glazer family has in the direction of the franchise. I am looking forward to working into my 20th year as a proud part of this community and organization. The mission is to continue building this team into a lasting contender and to bring championships back to the Tampa Bay area."

Patriots RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis has taken up training for boxing during the NFL work stoppage, as quoted on BostonHerald.com: "We have so much time on our hands nowadays," Green-Ellis said. "Besides waking up and going through your normal football training, the rest of the day is free. I go do boxing. It's a great experience." Added Green-Ellis: "They really put me through it. There's no sitting down. I like it, and it's especially good for my core, that's where it starts. Working on hand/eye coordination, my footwork in there, keeping up my good cardio, different things for my shoulders - it helps out. And I like being able to hit the pads. They push me to my limits and past my limits."

Saints WR Robert Meachem, who played the entire 2010 season on an injured ankle that required surgery this offseason, discussing his preference for a 16-game season, as quoted in the Tulsa World: "I'm a 16-game guy. The human body is built for certain things, but I don't know if it's built for 18 games. If you have 18 games and the playoffs, I don't see that working at all." Added Meachem on 2011 being a contract year: "No pressure. I hand the pressure over to God and I just go play. He blessed me with the ability to play, so that's what I do. ... I'm going to give it all I've got and hope that I'm still with the Saints. I love the Saints and I love the fans. But if God wants me to go in a different direction, I'll go."

Cowboys WR Troy Bergeron, quoted in The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune on his decision to join the Arena Football League's Cleveland Gladiators during the lockout — Bergeron has caught 22 balls for 372 yards and 13 TDs in only three games: "I'm just trying to make a living. I don't have time for this lockout thing to get settled; I have bills to pay." Bergeron continued: "It was a good opportunity for me. I knew I was going to have to find some kind of job. I've got money saved up, but nobody in my position has years and years of money saved up."

Jaguars reserve OL Kevin Haslam, discussing his weightlifting routine with '09 first-round OLT Eugene Monroe, as quoted in The Florida Times-Union: "I go heavy; everything he [Monroe] does is extra heavy. He almost killed me on the front squat yesterday."

 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has his doubts about the star power in this year's draft class, as quoted on Cincinnati.com: "There's some depth but at the end of the day I don't think there are going to be the stars that people think there are. That's probably a better thing overall. There's some hard-playing guys."

Steelers WR Hines Ward, quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on how "Dancing With the Stars" is helping him stay in shape: "I'm getting in shape, staying in shape. This is great rehab. I'm not sliding on the floor or anything or jumping up and down. I'm not going to do any crazy stuff like that. This is actually helping my footwork." Ward added this on getting together with teammates if the labor impasse drags into the summer: "Ben [Roethlisberger] and I will make sure that the wide receivers and him get together, spend a week together and throw at a high school somewhere. We want to be ready so when something does happen, we at least threw the ball around, ran some routes."

University of Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, who has scared off some NFL teams because of character concerns, explaining how he hopes to impress teams during private visits, as quoted on twincities.com: "The key is to just be forthright, and hopefully they can understand who I am as a person. When I'm questioned about my leadership or character, I ask them to look at my experience at Arkansas, where I had the chance to be a two-time captain. That was voted on by my teammates, and I believe they looked at me as a leader. I believe in myself as a football player and leader." Mallett went on to discuss his positive meeting with the Vikings last week: "I was really impressed by the organization, and the talks we had were positive. I enjoyed talking football with them and showing them what I know and what I can do as a quarterback. I feel that's a place where I could thrive."

Vikings VP of player personnel Rick Spielman, quoted on NFL.com revealing that the club is not worried about the surgically repaired hip of WR Sidney Rice, a potential free agent whom the club hopes to ink to an extension once a new CBA is in place: "I just keep everything internally on where (Rice) is at medically, but I'm sure if we felt any concerns medically, we wouldn't be discussing extensions with him." Added Spielman: "We've always talked about Sidney being a very important part of our football team. We've always been pretty agressive with the guys that we have drafted that become very good players for us and hopefully that will work out."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/04/12/they-said-it-week-of-april-11

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