Cale Clinton's blog

As the regular season enters its home stretch, teams prepare for the playoffs, and everyone's busy with holiday activities, it's only obvious that the top item on anyone's mind is Star Wars. (No spoilers.)

This week served as a reminder that football is a violent, dangerous game -- but also that NFL players do and say funny things and help out people in need.

An abbreviated holiday edition of the Week in Quotes features a little profanity, a poorly timed bus stop, and a linebacker moonlighting as a kicker.

Quotes this week are dominated by the strange, convoluted, somebody-here-is-lying tale of Martellus Bennett's return to New England.

We've got lots of hate this week. Deion Sanders hates Tony Romo. Arian Foster hates Fruity Pebbles. Golden Tate hates Jameis Winston's pregame speech. Doug Baldwin hates Thursday night games. And Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Green clearly hate each other.

There's trade talk in here, and pizza talk, and sleep talk, and coaches and players generally being cranky. But we know the real appeal: pictures of NFL players in Halloween costumes.

This week: odd motivational sayings; wide receivers insulting teammates and losing bicycles in Pittsburgh; thoughts on old pass-rushers from a middle-aged pass-rusher; and the golden tones of Ed Orgeron.

This week: TV announcers stay classy and go full Ron Burgundy; Ryan Kerrigan goes full Steve Austin; Bill Belichick waxes philosophical; and the fattest damn running back we've ever seen.

This week: Coaches talk about bad quarterbacks, bad quarterbacks talk about themselves, the best hair money can buy, and Cam Newton sticks all available feet deep into his mouth.