compiled by Peter DeBaz and Mark Zajack

I GUESS PENNINGTON NEEDS MORE WEAPONS?

"We mentioned this last week, but there's a guy that [the Dolphins are] playing against that wouldn't mind being in a Dolphins uniform in Anquan Boldin. ... It's a shame that he'll be wearing a Cardinals uniform against the Dolphins, than the other way around."
-Anquan Boldin's agent Drew Rosenhaus, not being very subtle. (AOL Fanhouse)

THANKS MOM, THANKS A LOT

"He's hurting inside and out. But he will be fine if people are prayerful and help my baby boy out. He is a young man. He just needs a lot of love and support."
-Felicia Young, mother of Titans quarterback Vince Young, said her son indicated he didn't want to play football anymore. (The Tennesean)

GOOD ADVICE WHEN GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME: STAY OUT OF COURT AND ... MAKE IT RAIN?

"I know if I was a first-round pick and didn't have any court cases and I got $25-million up front, I wouldn't be worried about what y'all say about me. But I just hope he stays strong and knows that it will get better."
-Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones tried to call his former teammate to offer these sage words of encouragement, but didn't get through to Young. (Dallas Morning News)

THE YOUNG AND THE JOBLESS?

"He has some work to do. Obviously he has some work to do ... he has to put some things back in perspective, and first and foremost he has to get healthy."
-Titans coach Jeff Fisher, on the progress that Vince Young has to make before starting another game for Tennessee. (Tennessean)

We're going to get Vince back and work with him and get him back involved in the offense, but Kerry is going to go ahead and play for us until either he struggles or whatever else happens ... you saw by the way he played, and in light of everything, it just makes sense to go with that."
-Fisher (Nashville City Paper)

WATCHIN THE GAME, HAVIN A BUD

"Let the cloud go away for a minute, and that's what I did. I left. My mom seen me; she thought I wasn't in my right mind. At the same time, I was watching the game, watching Aaron Rodgers do his things ... eating some hot wings."
-Vince Young, on how he spent last Monday night during his supposed breakdown. (Eurweb )

AN EARLY FRONTRUNNER FOR RANT OF THE YEAR

"I'm sure there's times when you put your work out there and sometimes it doesn't work out like Pulitzer Prize stuff either... but the difference is when you guys are out there you can hit spell check and after I call a bad one, I can't hit spell check ...
-Oakland defensive coordinator Rex Ryan using the little-known 'Spell Check Corollary' to the 'Wookie Defense' when talking about last Monday's loss to Denver. (NBC)

"Hell, I've been through some tough times."
-Ryan, raising his cap and showing off his grey hair.

"(Expletive), look at this ... I've got gray. I've got it. This is the National (expletive) Football League, you're not going to be on point every week. Am I (expletive) off about (last) Monday night? You're (expletive) right. But it's on me and (expletive) it, enough's enough."
-Ryan, on the N(F)FL.

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE

"There are parts of the roof that are completely gone."
-Reliant Park president and general manager Shea Guinn, on the postponement of the Texans-Ravens game. (ESPN)

THIS WEEK IN HERM

"Well they play soccer here. See the lines? They just played last night. He must feel a little more comfortable with the lines. For the really long ones he's in the circle at midfield, I don't know what they call it. He can really kick it, especially in that direction. If we were going the other direction, we may not have kicked it. He was warming up that way and I guess he just really felt comfortable."
-Herm Edwards, on Sebastian Janikowski kicking at Arrowhead. (KCChiefs.com)

FUZZY MATH

"Fourth and seven makes it a little bit tougher to go for it but the points on the board, that gives you a chance to win. You stop them and give your offense the ball back, that gives you the chance to win. You can look at it a couple ways. You can look at it like we could score a touchdown and get it to overtime or you can look at it as it's been almost four quarters and you've scored three points. So what are you going to do?"
-Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, on his decision to kick a questionable field goal for the second week in a row. (Cleveland Leader)

OHIO'S LEAST POPULAR

"My friends won't let me live it down if I don't win in that state ... it's something about going home and trying to win at home. It's something added for Cleveland because I think they had a pick higher than 11th in my draft."
-Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, regarding his native land. (Newsday )

GUESS WHO'S BACK... BACK AGAIN

"I don't know about the football side of it all ... I haven't seen him play in a long time. But I guess what I care about more is that he grew up and really matured and got his life turned around in the right direction."
-Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, on the Seahawks' decision to bring back wide receiver Koren Robinson. (Seattle PI )

NOW I'M MUCH MORE PRECISE WHEN CHUCKING IT INTO TRIPLE COVERAGE
"I had a lot of talent, but was very raw. I didn't know how to use it. To me, if a guy was double covered or triple covered it didn't matter. I could throw it through them. The precision part of my game didn't come until later."
-Jets quarterback Brett Favre on being less prepared than Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel before making his first NFL start. (ESPN.com)

AT LEAST SOMEBODY KNEW Alex Smith WAS HURTING, TOO BAD IT WAS THE PEOPLE TRYING TO HURT HIM

"I thought it was still kind of banged up. I thought he just tried to tough it out and it really wasn't a smart move for the team and for himself. But I just thought he tried to do it for the team and wasn't really ready."
-Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson, regarding the state of 49ers quarterback Alex Smith's shoulder during the Seahawks second meeting with the 49ers last season.

"During the game? No. During the game we were just trying to kill him."
-Peterson, when asked if he shared his thoughts during the game. (Sacramento Bee)

A DEAFENING SILENCE

"I tell you what, that crowd is loud. The acoustics in the stadium and the way the crowd gets up for plays, it's a spectacle to behold. But there was nothing louder than 67,000 people dead silent."
-49ers kicker Joe Nedney on his game-winning field goal in Seattle. (Tacoma News Tribune)

AT LEAST SOMEBODY IN SEATTLE HAD A GOOD TIME SUNDAY

"Other than the loss, it was a good experience."
-Seahawks receiver Michael Bumpus who started the game after being moved to the active roster Saturday. (Seattle Times)

CAN YOU DO A POUTY ROBOT?

"Next time I get a sack I'll just move away and walk to the sideline. That's the way it seems like the NFL wants to do it. They don't want anybody to have a good time out there and show emotion, so I guess I'll just walk away."
-Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson on his unsportsmanlike conduct call after a sack in the first quarter. Peterson raised his thumbs and pointed to the back of his jersey, a move he did last year without penalty. (Seattle Times)

THE CARDINALS: NOT STOPPING 'TIL THEY STOP THEMSELVES

"We're a great team, as long as we stay together and play together. Only we can stop ourselves."
-Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle regarding the undefeated start to the season. (Azcentral.com)

AVOID PREMATURE ... UH ... CELEBRATION

"I wanted to make a big play and celebrate and I got overexcited."
-Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson on dropping the ball before crossing the goal line against the Cowboys. (Press of Atlantic City)

SLOW DOWN, THINK OF LEON LETT: THAT'S HOW YOU AVOID PREMATURE CELEBRATION

"I was thinking about that Leon Lett play. Luckily I was able to look up at the Jumbotron and see I had enough room to slow down. I don't need to sprint in the end zone. Act like you've been there before."
-Giants defensive end Justin Tuck on nearly getting caught as he slowed down on the way to an interception return for a touchdown against the Rams. (NY Post)

FORGET TIKI, SHOCKEY AND STRAHAN... THIS COULD TEAR THE GIANTS APART

"No, he just co-signed on it ... you're looking at the creator...I'm going to patent it ... that way he can't use it without my permission."
-Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck, disputing Derrick Ward's claim that he created the nicknames "Earth, Wind, and Fire" to refer to the Giant's stable of running backs. (NY Daily News)

NO ELI, THEY AREN'T LAUGHING AT YOU, THEY ARE LAUGHING WITH YOU

"I do sometimes. I don't know why I do it. I throw a little bit left-handed. I'm not bad at it, but I wouldn't say I'm great at it."
-Giants quarterback Eli Manning on practicing throwing left-handed, which paid off when Rams defensive end James Hall pinned Manning's throwing arm at his side. Manning flung a lefty pass to Brandon Jacobs for a completion.

"I think I have seen him warming up with his left hand. He works on that a lot."
-Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.

"It was funny. Coming from a guy like (Manning), I didn't really know he had that much athleticism in him."
-Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, obviously in awe of Manning's freakish natural athletic ability. (Star-Ledger)

KEEPING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE

"He's doing fine... it's not like he's on a suicide watch or anything like that."
-Brad Childress, on Tavaris Jackon's confidence after a disappointing loss at Green Bay. (http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_10432355 " target="_new">TwinCitie)

QB ISSUES, OR AT LEAST A SERIOUS UNIFORM INFRACTION

"I know I was asked a question yesterday, is that the guy who who's going to be the quarterback at the end of the week? That's something that is ongoing. You don't crown a guy king and then the king doesn't have any clothes on and you say, 'Hey, he's still the king'."
-Vikings head coach Brad Childress said he planned to meet with his coaches to make a decision on quarterback Tavaris Jackson. (Star Tribune)

I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN OUR QB...BUT WE HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN OUR QB

"We were running the ball well. I don't want to say we didn't have confidence in Tarvaris at that point."
-Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevellwhen asked why he ran the ball when faced with a third-and-five at the Colts' 31-yard line leading 15-7 with 7:55 remaining.

"But you've got to be able to throw the ball around. You can't just rely on the run. ... They had eight men in the box the whole day, and we still ran the ball. So that's not the problem. It's that you've got to be able to throw it around to win in this game."
-Bevell. (ESPN.com)

STAR POWER

"The fans and just the excitement of me coming there and being there, it became too overwhelming for Donovan... I think at one point in time, I will say that we had a good relationship. I think I got too big for Philly, too big for him. I just feel like in a sense that he felt like I was just probably getting too much attention."
-Terrell Owens, dredging up drama. (NBC)

"I will say that Donovan made me a better receiver in Philadelphia, but I think Donovan would have a hard time admitting I made him a better quarterback.
-Owens.

THIS TOUCHDOWN SPONSORED BY eHARMONY

"He bought me dinner a couple of times and so we just went from there. Now we're dating."
-Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo joking about his relationship with Terrell Owens.

"I think really the thing is Tony gets me."
-Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, probably not joking. (Dallas Star Telegram)

TONY ROMO: HE'S JUST LIKE US!

"I just screamed as loud as I could, then I grabbed him and hugged him."
-Sharon White, on recognizing Tony Romo after he stopped to help her husband change a tire after the week one Cowboys-Browns matchup. (People)

SO MUCH FOR GETTING INTO HOGWARTS

"I'm not going to give you a magic wand. In crunch time in the fourth quarter, you have to execute and do your job, and that's when money players step up and make plays."
-Lions head coach Rod Marinelli on what he cannot do for his players. (Detriot News)

LAST YEAR: 700 PAGES, NO PENII. THIS YEAR?

"We are very sorry that we showed a penis on our website all day yesterday."
-An excerpt from Redskins tight end Chris Cooley's apology on his blog. Cooley posted a picture of his playbook, opened on his lap. He wasn't wearing clothes when he took the photo, hence, he documented more than just the play. (Chris Cooley's Blog)

Posted by: Mark Zajack on 19 Sep 2008

20 comments, Last at 21 Sep 2008, 8:08pm by tuluse