The Week in Quotes: December 22, 2009

compiled by Rory Hickey

BILL BELICHICK CALLED, HE WANTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL DECISION MAKING BACK

"I don't live in my fear, I just play and play to win and I don't worry about being judged."

-- Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on his controversial onside kick call in the Steelers' 37-36 win over the Packers. (Steelers Depot [1])

I DON'T SEE "89" ANYWHERE IN THE NFL RULEBOOK ... WEIRD

"22 had something to say to me on the field, the little youngster. Just telling me who he is. So I just had to establish the rules and regulations of the game."

"Which was 89. Bottom line. That's why he's going home."

-- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (age 30) on his trash-talking match with Vikings defensive back Benny Sapp (age 28) during the Vikings-Panthers game. (NBC Sports [2])

HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?

"Huge dude. I'm not scared of anybody. Nobody. You put your pants on the right way, same way I do. You bleed like I do, you stand over the toilet and you [urinate] like I do. I'm not scared of anybody. At all."

-- Giants running back Brandon Jacobs on his scuffle with Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth during the fourth quarter of the Giants-Redskins game. (D.C. Sports Bog [3])

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO EASY

"I contemplated just going kicking the field goal after [Coughlin] called timeout. But the play was unique enough I didn't think they saw what we were going to do. But they smelled it out."

-- Redskins head coach Jim Zorn on the ridiculous fake field goal attempt at the end of the first half of the Redskins' blowout loss to the Giants. (Sports Illustrated [4])

MAYBE YOUR TEAM SUCKS

"You thought after last week it couldn't get any worse. Surprise. I don't know what's going on, to be honest with you."

-- Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the state of the Seahawks after the team's 24-7 loss to the Buccaneers. (The Seattle Times [5])

AH YES, TURDS ... I CONCUR

"We just don't understand how the national media don't bash us, but our local media do. This has been going on since the [Kansas City] game, how y'all have been writing. … If you're going to write something, don't pick a particular position out and what changes you think need to be made because it's unfair to the player."

"You watch the Eagles, you watch the big plays given up, and I started checking other media outlets and you don't hear the things about them in their media that you hear about us. So either we're held to higher standards, or the people that write about us are turds."

-- Steelers safety Ryan Clark giving his thoughts on the local media coverage of the team. (Trib Total Media [6])

MAYBE HE JUST FORGOT ABOUT ZORN?

"I've had the pleasure of working with some great coaches such as Joe Gibbs, Greg Blache and Sherman Lewis."

-- Former Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato's statement upon resigning from the team. He neglected to mention Jim Zorn. (The Washington Times [7])

YES YOU WOULD THINK SO

"I was dead wrong, obviously, with the playoff scenarios. It's weird. You would think the head coach of the team would know the situations and know the playoff scenarios."

"So I'm a New England Patriots fan for a week."

-- Jets coach Rex Ryan learning that the Jets were still mathematically alive, after declaring his team out of the playoffs the previous day. (The Huddle [8])

HOW BIG DO YOU THINK THE EARTH ACTUALLY IS?

"Now you all had two weeks to do y'all's talking, let me do mine. I've been in this league twelve years man, and I've been through a lot. And these shoulders that I have on my body, you could put the earth on it. So just to let you know, I bounce back."

-- Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. (WEEI [9])

GETTING CALLED OUT BY A CONFERENCE USA ALUM? THE BIG TEN NEEDS TO STEP UP ITS GAME

"We were going to race down Ocean Drive. I walked down to the street, and he never showed up."

-- Titans running back Chris Johnson on a proposed race between him and Dolphins wide receiver Ted Ginn that never occurred. (The Huddle [10])

"It wasn't anything like I didn't show up. It wasn't like I went to him to say, 'Let's race.' There were some guys at the party who wanted to say who was faster, so they started the rumor. It's not like I'm denying it or I'm scared of him."

-- Ginn describing his side of the story.

"He's pretty fast. But a lot of people get it mistaken at the conference he played at. Was it the Big Ten? They're a slow conference. They don't have fast guys in that conference. It automatically makes him look like he's a real fast guy."

-- Johnson on Ginn's perceived speed. (The Huddle [11])

IT'S JUST A REFLEX AT THIS POINT

"It is impossible to shut the man up. I don't want to call him out, but even when I pancaked him, he was still talking trash. How are you talking trash when you're on your back?"

-- Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli on Jets linebacker Bart Scott's affinity for trash-talking. (NY Daily News [12])

MAY I SUGGEST RICHIE INCOGNITO?

"I want to see him take a right end and keep him away from our quarterback for an entire game, that's what I want to see. I want to see him, when we run the football, knock somebody on their ass. When we run the football away, I want to see him cut somebody down. That's what I want to see. I want to see some nastiness!"

"If you're going to be a good offensive lineman ... you've got to have -- can I say it? ... You've got to be a little bit of a dirtbag. Not as a person, but on the football field. Man, if you don't have some frickin' toughness, you're going to fail, you know? You're going to fail."

-- Seahawks coach Jim Mora on what he would like to see from left tackle Sean Locklear. (The Huddle [13])

LUCES FUERA PARA OCHOCINCO?

"I will beat Shawne's head in, right now. It's not even fun. This is not in fun. This is personal. Bring it on. I think he might be one of the only people I don't really get along with. I want to fight. I'm not sure how to get the fight on without him suing me."

-- Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco on wanting to fight Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman for unspecified reasons, though a Twitter fight or Ochocinco mimicking Merriman's "Lights Out" dance could be the reason. (The Huddle [14])

"It would be a joke, man. It's like a little kid, you hold out your hand and you hold their head and they swing, you know, and they can't do anything. It's one of those things."

-- Merriman responding to Ochocinco's threat.

CAPS LOCK MAKES MY POINT MORE VALID

"BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT THIS YR. THE GUYS A BUM. DIRTY AND ALWAYS ... WILL BE. REALLY WISH I WAS PLAYIN RITE NOW. SERIOUSLY ... I KNO WE'RE N NEED OF OLINE BUT THIS GUY SUKS BALLS."

-- Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell on the team signing offensive lineman and head-butter Richie Incognito. (Twitter [15])

CAN ERIC MANGINI FINE PLAYERS' WIVES?

"If they don't pay this boy Imma take the keys to all the cars in the house so he can't get to work!"

-- Cleveland Browns wunderkind Josh Cribbs' wife Maria on what will happen if the Browns don't give her husband a new contract. (Twitter [16])

LABOR DAY, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS' DAY, JUST TO NAME A FEW

"Obviously, a lot of guys like Christmas. I think that's what it is. Everybody likes Christmas. What do you really have to look forward to in September? The first day of school?"

-- Chargers defensive lineman Jacques Cesaire on why the Chargers play so well in December. (SignOnSanDiego.com [17])

CLEARLY HE DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB OF KEEPING IT A SECRET ...

"If he could keep that a secret and ain't nobody came out and told [on him], hey, congratulate him. You know, most of the time there's one or two, and you can't keep that a secret. So if he can balance fourteen and keep it a secret, congrats. You know, at least he knows what he wants. He don't discriminate, he's not against people, he don't care what your job, what your background is ... He knew what he was after."

-- Redskins running back Clinton Portis on Tiger Woods' numerous infidelities. (SportsbyBrooks [19])

It's only three days until Christmas ... send a quote to quotes-at-footballoutsiders.com and I will personally give you a gift suggestion for a loved one. You're welcome.