The Week in Quotes: January 26, 2010

compiled by Rory Hickey

HINDSIGHT ISN'T JUST 20-20, IT'S ALSO 31-28

"I probably should have ran it."

-- Vikings quarterback Brett Favre looking back on the interception he threw in the closing moments of the fourth quarter of Minnesota's loss in the NFC Championship Game. (ESPN [1])

HAVE YOU HEARD ONE OF YOUR PRESS CONFERENCES? JEEZ ...

"We were very humble this week. I think we just kept our mouths shut and went to work."

-- Colts quarterback Peyton Manning possibly throwing a subtle jab at Jets coach Rex Ryan after Indianapolis defeated the Jets 30-17 to advance to the Super Bowl. (The Huddle [2])

ONCE BRETT FAVRE MAKES A DECISION HE STICKS WITH IT ... FOR AT LEAST A WEEK

"It's still early. Way too early. Brett is liable to change his mind five, ten times down the road."

-- Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian on quarterback Brett Favre's potential retirement or unretirement or non-retirement. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune [3])

A COACH WHO SOLVED THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND PROVED FERMAT'S LAST THEOREM

"Why [G.M. Buddy Nix] had not called a coach with a Super Bowl ring, ten wins a year for nine years, having orchestrated the highest-scoring offense and defense in the history of the league, is a question worth asking."

-- Former Ravens coach Brian Billick wondering aloud why he was not contacted by the Bills for their head coaching vacancy in the wake of Buffalo hiring Chan Gailey (AFC East Blog [4])

REX RYAN IS AMERICA

"No, everybody knows you can't buy a 4X tee shirt anyway. I don't care about that stuff. I always go into men's stores and ask, 'Where is your men's section at?' "What do you mean. We have XX?" I'm like, 'Yeah, who is that supposed to fit?' It's tough."

-- Jets coach Rex Ryan on whether the postseason itinerary he distributed to the team before the playoffs included selling AFC championship merchandise, (which is "common practice" for teams to do [5]), before his team had actually won the game. (The Huddle [6])

NO DISRESPECT BUT YOU DROP A LOT OF PASSES

"I don't call plays. I just run them. ... No disrespect but they weren't rolling the coverage toward me."

-- Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards on his role, or lack thereof, in the second half of the Jets' loss to the Colts. (Newark Star-Ledger [7])

AT LEAST HE DIDN'T SAY BALTIMORE COLTS

"The New York Giants call tails."

-- Referee Tony Corrente mistaking the Jets for the Giants during the opening coin toss of the AFC Championship Game. (WBIR [8])

WAY TO TAKE A STAND THERE JARED

"Heck, I was on the team that was running the score up I guess, so heck. ... I figure, hey, it's the professionals. It's not like Pop Warner where you're gonna have to write a letter after the game apologizing for it. I thought coach did what he thought he had to do, and if I was on the other end of it, I might be pissed off, too."

-- Vikings defensive end Jared Allen on whether the Vikings ran up the score at the end of their 34-3 blowout win over the Cowboys. (Pro Football Talk [9])

TOP-FIVE ALL-TIME QUOTES FROM ANYONE IN WORLD HISTORY NAMED "VISANTHE"

"First, we have to stop their momentum, their velocity. They're like sharks in the water, man. If they smell or taste blood, they're going to go crazy. We've got to make sure there's no bloodshed on our behalf. We have to start fast and exert our will."

-- Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on the Saints' predatory instincts. (USA Today [10])

"We can't listen to all the hoorays, getting all the pats on the back. If we don't win, and play well, all those pats on the backs will turn into foots in the ass."

-- Shiancoe on tuning out praise for the team when there are still games to be won.

DOES PRINCE REALLY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO AT THIS POINT?

"as we approach the throne we won't bow down/this time we won't b denied/raise every voice and let it be known/in the name of the purple and gold/we come in the name of the purple and gold/all of the odds r in r favor/ no prediction 2 bold."

-- Some of the lyrics of song composed by Prince in honor of the Minnesota Vikings. (New York Times [11])

"I haven't it heard it yet. But I heard it wasn't that good."

-- Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards on Prince's Vikings anthem. (Pro Football Talk [12])

AWW LOOK THEY'RE ALMOST LIKE A REAL TEAM!

"We need playmakers. That's what we have to get on our team right now, that's what we have to get: guys that can score touchdowns from way out, guys that can sack the quarterback, make a difference, impact a game."

-- Rams GM Billy Devaney on the immediate needs of the St. Louis Rams. (Rams.com [13])

BORN IN NEW ORLEANS, RAISED IN NEW ORLEANS, I WILL REMAIN FOREVER FAITHFUL ... BRETT FAVRE?

"I'm rooting for Brett because I'm a diehard."

-- Rapper and New Orleans resident Lil' Wayne on rooting for Brett Favre and the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. (The Boombox [14])

PETE CARROLL WAS SO JACKED AND PUMPED TO SEND THAT TWEET

"You are the symbol of the power of believing in yourself and realizing your dreams ... let it rip again [tomorrow]!"

-- Seahawks coach and former USC coach Pete Carroll sending a motivational tweet to Jets quarterback and USC alum Mark Sanchez. (Twitter [15])

BILL COWHER'S CHIN TALKS TO JEROME BETTIS REGULARLY

"I haven't talked to Jerome Bettis in two years. I'll leave it at that."

-- Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher on Jerome Bettis claiming that Cowher is waiting for the Giants' job to open up [16] before he returns to coaching. (NY Daily News [17])

BRAD CHILDRESS USUALLY FORGETS THAT PART OF THE GAME PLAN

"We'll have a plan that doesn't involve pooping our pants."

-- Vikings punter Chris Kluwe on the team's approach to punting to Saints punt returner Reggie Bush. (Pioneer Press [18])

WHO DOESN'T LIKE MARMALARD?

"I was really excited to see Philip Rivers [19] choke."

-- Titans defensive back Cortland Finnegan on the Jets' victory over the Chargers in the AFC Divisional round. (The Tennessean [20])

LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE'S IN THE DOGHOUSE

"Very annoying. It's like your wife nagging you at home."

-- Vikings defensive end Brian Robison on the team pumping in fake crowd noise during its practices to simulate the loudness of the Superdome. (Pioneer Press [22])

JARED ALLEN AND BRAD CHILDRESS COULD BE THE MOST OPPOSITE PLAYER-COACH COMBO EVER

BS: Do you consider yourself a hero to bearded guys who are hair-follicle challenged?
Childress: [Smiles.] Geezo Beezo. I don't look at it this way, but somebody said, ‘I kind of like the beard. It gives you balance.' I said, ‘Yeah, that's the ticket. Balance.'
BS: You do know that, if you win the Super Bowl, you'd be the only coach to win who was both bearded and hair-follicle challenged?
Childress: It's in Miami. I have a chance to have a hat on. And now, with my new earpiece deal that doesn't come over the top of my head, I can probably wear a floppy hat. I may be the first coach that's worn a floppy hat in a Super Bowl. [Laughs.] Jared Allen [23] likes the facial hair. He wants me to go for the mullet. I said, ‘How many bald guys do you see with a mullet?' He said, ‘Oh, I've seen plenty.'

-- Vikings coach Brad Childress in an interview with Bob Sansevere of the Pioneer Press. (Pioneer Press [24])

I am extending an open invitation to Conan O'Brien to co-produce This Week in Quotes with me for the rest of the season. However any jokes he comes up with will be the intellectual property of Football Outsiders. Send a quote to quotes-at-footballoutsiders.com