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Sam Aiken
"Sam's done a real good job for us. It's his third year. He's done a good job with us all the way through – in the kicking game, solid. [He's a] very versatile player, can do different [things]. He's got good size. He's strong. He runs well. He's tough. He's got some versatility in the kicking game. Offensively, it's kind of the same thing. He's played in the slot, he's played outside. When he's had an opportunity to play, he's been pretty productive. Sam doesn't say much; he's a quiet guy, but he works hard. He's very well respected as you can see by the team selection of him as one of their leaders. He's really a solid guy, but he's one of those players that – when he's had an opportunity – he's made the most out of it." Sept. 12
Tom Brady
"[H]e's improved steadily. Even now. Even on a daily basis. Little things. It might be one thing now, while in his rookie year or second year it might have been five things. But he's always working to get better and you see that on the field. He takes coaching well and applies it. [For instance] [j]ust a change to a play or a minor read or detail … personal training and conditioning. Film study. Visualization of plays or situations. Execution on the practice field. He's driven to be the best and he takes that seriously in everything he does. Everything is geared to get better. … You have to be better prepared than he is because he sets such a high standard with his preparation and his level of understanding. As a coach, you're competing with that, trying to exceed that or else, what are you doing (for him)? You don't want to go into a meeting with him and say, 'Well, this team didn't hit a lot of outcuts against (this defense).' He'll turn around and say, 'Well, in the Green Bay game last year they did. They hit five of them.' You'll want to have seen that game and make sure you know what happened so that he's not telling you what happened when you should be telling him what happened." Sept. 8
Tedy Bruschi
"Instinctively on the field and instinctively off the field, there's just no other way for me to describe it other than to say he always did the right thing. Whatever was the right thing at that moment, it seemed like he always hit it right on the head. And ultimately, when we won – which fortunately we've done a little of that – at the end of the game, Tedy had the great presence to pull the team together, and as only you could do, sum up everybody's feelings at that moment. 'How do we feel about winning on Monday night?' 'How do we feel about winning on the road?' 'How do we feel about going into the bye week with a big victory?' How do we feel about where we were at that moment? He always captured it perfectly. I guess if you asked me to sum it up, how do I feel about Tedy Bruschi, in five seconds? He's the perfect player. The perfect player. He's helped create a tradition here that we're all proud of. The torch has been passed and we'll try to carry it on. It's a high standard. It's a high standard. I'm proud of everything he did and the payoff that he's paid for all of us going forward. I don't want to say we're missing him because I know he's going to be here, I know he's going to be around, I know he's always a part of us. We'll still miss him." Aug. 31
Leigh Bodden
"In Detroit last year they played him on the perimeter, usually on the defensive left. He started off the season on the right, but he mainly played on the perimeter. At Cleveland they used him in the perimeter but they also used him inside in the slot, and that's something that Detroit didn't do. So, Leigh's shown the ability to do both in his career. He's played in our system in Cleveland, and I think that the people at the Browns have a lot of respect for him and like him. I don't think that they necessarily wanted to trade him, but that was part of what they had to do in the Shaun Rogers deal, so that's why he ended up in Detroit. Again, I think he's a player that's shown some versatility. He's got good size, is a tough kid, is a good tackler. It just gives us another guy in the secondary to help us defend the passing game. That wasn't one of our stronger areas last year, so with him and Shawn and re-signing James Sanders, I feel like we've got a chance to be a little better back there than we were a year ago." Mar. 19
Darius Butler
"Darius has made good progress. He's a smart kid, he's worked hard. Some of our techniques and coverages are a little bit different than what he ran [in] college and he's certainly seeing a high quality level of receivers, both in practice and in the games. He's adjusted well. He's smart; he picks things up. He's very coachable, you tell him how to do something and he tries to do it that way. He tries to play it the way you want it executed. Like all rookies, every game's a learning experience, going up against different people, different scheme and a little different quarterback and all those kind of things. He's learning from those and he continues to work hard and improve on a daily basis, I think that's good." Oct. 21
Matt Cassel
"It is very easy to root for guys like Matt Cassel, who do everything the right way and flourish as a result. As much as we would have loved to continue working with Matt, we wish him nothing but the best as he takes this next step forward in his career." Feb. 28
Fred Jackson
"[He's a] very good player [who] does a lot of things well. [He] catches the ball well, obviously, runs well. He's got good vision. He's strong. He's a hard guy to tackle in the open field, but he does a good job of picking his holes inside. He's a good inside runner, good outside runner, again [as a] screen back, flare routes, things like that – real good player. We had a hard time with him last year. He did a good job finding holes. We had a hard time tackling him. That's not the first time he's done that either and I thought he did well in preseason." Sept. 12
Joey Galloway
"Joey's been a terrific football player in this league. First of all, he's trained probably as well as any player, and I think that speaks to the longevity of his career. He's got tremendous speed, explosion; been very productive as a perimeter receiver, as an inside receiver. In Coach Gruden's offense, where he's played the last few years, he's moved around a lot. I've gotten the opportunity to see him run a lot of different routes. He has a lot of versatility as well as a lot of skill – he's got punt return ability, is good with the ball in his hands after the catch. I just think there's a lot of different things that he can do in our offense. Looking at him and [Greg] Lewis, those two additions, plus [Wes] Welker, [Randy] Moss, Sam Aiken, the guys that we already have, I think that we have some good talent and also versatility in that group, so hopefully we'll be productive throwing the ball. But I think Joey gives us a good level of talent but also is a versatile receiver that'll do a lot of different things for us." Mar. 19
Jarvis Green
"I think Jarvis is a real versatile player. We used him in a lot of different roles and situations. He's played inside, played on the guard, played outside on the tackle. [He's] been a sub-rusher for us, playing in regular situations, goal-line, playing in the kicking game on the return teams. So he's done a lot of things over the course of his career and usually pretty well. He's a dependable guy, works hard, tough, comes from a good program. [He] came in here and contributed pretty quickly so he's been consistent. I think he's one of our consistent, dependable guys – maybe sometimes a little bit like Kevin Faulk. He might not play every play in the game, but the plays that they play are good plays and some games they play more than others. … I think he's a good football player – as I said – kind of like Kevin Faulk. He's a good football player. He plays in certain situations. What we ask him to do in those situations, he does a good job of. I think he's a solid contributor in the roles that he's been asked to perform and there have been multiple. It hasn't just been one thing, but over the course of his career it's probably been everything at one time or another and he's done a pretty solid job." Sept. 11
Gary Guyton
"I have a lot of respect for Gary. … [He] signed with us as an undrafted free agent. I was personally involved with that one, talking to him on the phone after he wasn't drafted, answering some questions and things like that. I'm really glad we have him and it worked out. He's a very humble player, works hard and has earned everything he's got. You really have a lot of respect for a player like that, especially when… As it turned out we drafted Jerod [Mayo] in that same draft and those two guys really became close and spent a lot of time together. They kind of came from the opposite [ends] and then their paths eventually met in the same place, but they came from about as far apart as you could come – top of the first round to undrafted. [He was then asked: Is it odd for someone who had the fastest 40-time among linebackers to go undrafted?] Well, yeah at the combine Gary ran well. I can't speak for the league [and] why things happen the way they do. We took a linebacker ahead of Gary in the fifth or sixth round, whatever it was. Obviously, that was a mistake. We ended up with him and we still made him. That was one of the questions he asked me and a kind of a hard one to answer." … "He's smart. He's well-prepared. He has a real good understanding of football – the running game, the passing game. He's good in coverage. He understands coverage. He understands the running game, he understands defensive adjustments not just his role, but where other people have to be or if somebody else has to do something how that affects him. That's really what you want in a defensive signal caller, somebody that understands how it all works. It's not always possible. Sometimes you have to have two people on defense do it, one guy with the running game and another guy with the secondary. There's an element of that regardless, but there're certain times that the linebackers aren't involved in coverage – when it's a blitz or something like that, then it has to be handled in the secondary. All things being equal, you want to have somebody that can understand what everybody's doing out there and make the right decision, rather than make the decision that's best for maybe the group that he's involved with, but it's something that isn't really what we want to do because it stresses somebody else's area. He's smart. He understands that quickly. He's a good communicator and even though he's played, but he hasn't played a lot, when he goes in there he plays well and he handles himself well." Sept. 18
Rodney Harrison
"Rodney is one of the best players I've ever coached. He had a great passion for the game. I don't think there's any player that I've ever coached that's practiced as hard as Rodney, or played as hard, down after down. He's a tremendous competitor, a great leader, a great worker, very unselfish, and meant a lot to our football team and a lot to me, personally, as a coach. Rodney had a great career as a player and now as he embarks on his next career in broadcasting I'm sure that he'll bring a lot of insight into the game, not only from a strategical and preparation standpoint, but also what it's like to play and what it's like to interact with the coaches, and some of the things that go on out on the field and in the huddle as well as the Xs and Os and the strategy of the game. I hope that Rodney will take it easy on me." Jun. 3
Russ Hochstein
"Russ has been with us for a long time. He's done a lot of different things for us. He's played everywhere from fullback to center and all the positions in between – guard, tackle, tight end, kickoff return, you name it. He's been a very versatile player for us – filled in in a lot of critical situations and did an excellent job and was also a great teammate. We all have a lot of love and respect for Russ, but in the end this was a decision that we made in the best interest of our football team. We wish him well, except for the games we compete against him in. He's certainly meant a lot to this organization through the years in the roles that he's performed, and performed them well." Aug. 26
Brandon McGowan
"[P]retty much everything he did was impressive defensively and in the kicking game. He runs well. He's athletic. He's a hard-hitting guy. He covers a lot of ground, pretty instinctive. He reads things well, does a good job in the pass coverage. [McGowan] really became a starting safety for the Bears and then got injured, missed some time – had a couple setbacks there in terms of not being able to play. But from an ability and production standpoint – when he was in there – he did a lot of good things on defense and in the kicking game. He does a good job blocking in the return game, covers well. Like I said, [he] tackles well in the open field, has good range, good space player. I think there are really a lot of things to like about his game." Sept. 22
Fred Taylor
"I have tremendous respect for Fred Taylor, both as a person and as a player whose production is outstanding. I look forward to working with Fred as he joins the rest of our running back group." Feb. 27
Mike Vrabel
"When Mike arrived in 2001, we knew we were adding a solid outside linebacker, but where Mike took it from there exceeded our highest hopes. Mike Vrabel epitomizes everything a coach could seek in a professional football player: toughness, intelligence, playmaking, leadership, versatility and consistency at the highest level. Behind the scenes, Mike's wit and personality is one of the things we have all enjoyed about coming to work every day. The toughest aspect of my job is the day I stop coaching people like Mike, who did everything in his power to contribute to team success. Of all the players I have coached in my career, there is nobody I enjoyed working with more than Mike. In the same way people recognize guys like Troy Brown, we appreciate and thank Mike Vrabel. He is one of the very special Patriots champions." Feb. 28
Tank Williams
"I think Tank's a very professional guy, somebody I really enjoyed coaching, had a lot of respect for when he played at Tennessee and Minnesota. Particularly at Tennessee, he was a very tough competitor, a tough guy for us to handle. He came in and did everything he could. He had, unfortunately, a knee injury last year, but he was a guy that I had the utmost respect and admiration for, even though he never actually played for us during the regular season. But what he did in the offseason, and in every opportunity that he had, was nothing but exemplary. I just wish things could have turned out better because of the work and desire and devotion that he put into his job and the leadership that he gave us on a lot of different levels. Even though he didn't have the playing time maybe of some other people, he certainly gave it to us at every opportunity that he could." Aug. 26
Billy Yates
"These are the hardest couple days of the year, really, for all the coaches in the National Football League. To tell players that have been working hard this year, and in other cases maybe a lot years before that – such as Billy Yates – that you're going to have to release them today; it's a tough conversation to have. Like I said, Billy has been one of our real solid guys here through the years, very dependable, very tough, comes to work every day, gives you 110 percent. Billy's a guy that every coach would love to have on his team. So that was a hard one." Sept. 4
2008 player quotes |
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