They Said It: week of Sept. 12

Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011

Eagles new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, quoted on timesherald.com praising his unit's performance in its 31-13 Week One victory over the Rams: "The way they practice — all the guys — they practice fast. And it looked like they were playing fast. And that was our goal going into the game; it was, 'You know what? Let's play the game the way we practice. Let's play fast — everybody, the linebackers, the back end. Just play fast.''' Added Castillo: "Overall, the guys played hard. So, we got a W."

Panthers MLB Jon Beason, on I.R. after blowing out his Achilles in Week One, does not have any regrets about rushing back from offseason foot surgery, as quoted on washingtonexaminer.com: "If I had to do it all over again, and go into that game with my Achilles injury, I would. Because football defines who I am. Sometimes you have to do something that you've never done to get something you've never had. The motivating factor is simple for me. To win, and not fear failure. A lot of people say, hey, he rushed back too soon. But actually, I didn't. I told my teammates and myself that I would only play if I could help the team. I felt ready to do that. Myself and the Panthers' medical staff were convinced that I was healthy enough to play in the opener versus the Cardinals."

Giants S Antrel Rolle, quoted on ESPN.com saying that the Giants are a better team than the Redskins despite falling to Washington 28-14 in Week One: "As a team and organization, we know that the Washington Redskins is not a better team than us. We know that hands down. If we played them 100 times, they might win five. They won that day. It never leaves a good taste in your mouth when you lose to an opponent that you know you are better than."

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, discussing how humility can be a good thing — Haley's Chiefs were embarrassed by the Bills, 41-7, in Week One — as quoted on washingtonpost.com: "The entire organization, when you have a game like that, it's embarrassed. And it's a good thing. It means you care, and it means something to you. It's important to you and that gives you the impetus to make it better." Added Haley: "As I told the team, it can't stay the same. If it stays the same, the results will be the same. It has to change and it will."

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011

Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, quoted on middletownpress.com after watching his defense surrender 622 yards of offense to Tom Brady and the Patriots in a 38-24 defeat: "Not the defensive performance we were hoping for. That's an understatement."

Patriots QB Tom Brady, who threw for a franchise-record 517 yards in a 38-24 victory in Miami Monday night, downplaying his historic performance, as quoted on USATODAY.com: "We executed pretty well at times, but it's a team sport. We made enough plays to win — that's the goal." Added Brady: "I enjoy scoring points. Whatever the hell we need to do to score points, that's what I enjoy doing."

Raiders PK Sebastian Janikowski, quoted on washingtonpost.com after tying an NFL record by booting a 63-yard field goal in Oakland's 23-20 victory over the Broncos Monday night: "To be honest, I didn't hit it that good. It barely got over the bar. ... I wanted to be 10 years in the league, break the record or tie the record and I want to win a Super Bowl. Those are my three goals. I've got two out of three."

Broncos new head coach John Fox, finding a silver lining in his club's three-point defeat to the Raiders Monday night, as quoted on indystar.com: "There's no consolation for close but we're still optimistic. We just happen to be 0-1 like half the teams in our football league."

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/09/14/they-said-it-week-of-sept-12

Brandon McRae Jermelle Cudjo James Farrior Fred Davis Peter Mayer Nate Burleson