* Second-year running back Donald Brown: “I think Donald will be a year better because of the experience. He got invaluable experience last year. He was in the games in a lot of crucial situations, third downs, some red-zone areas and some goal line areas. He made some big plays. He showed the flashes of what he was able to do in college and we expect him to be a huge contributor this year. He and Joseph (Addai) both, whenever they are in there, we are running the same plays, the same passing plays. Certainly Addai has proven himself to be an outstanding receiver out of the backfield and we expect Donald to try to be that same contributor in the passing game. Like I said, we can’t call certain plays or not be able to call certain plays because a guy is in there. We expect Donald to be able to do the same things in the passing game that Addai did and he is very bright and knows his protections, and I know he’s hungry to come out here and have a good year. He’s really had a good offseason and is one of our hardest workers in the weight room, always in tip-top shape. He is a great guy, a hard worker and he’ll have a big year for us I’m sure."
*The season after a Super Bowl loss: “I really can’t speak for other teams. I don’t know the circumstances of other teams and what they dealt with in that offseason, what players they lost, what injuries they had. I really think it is hard to summarize every single team because you have a lot of different individual players. I know we are focused on trying to be a good team again this year. We have had some things we’ve worked on; we’ve had some players that we’ve addressed to draft and target to improve on the team. All we are really focused on is trying to get better. If we get better, then we hope some good things will hopefully follow. That is really all we can control.”
*Being consistent with players changing around him: “I think you have to put the work in. When you have a new receiver, like I mentioned we got Brody Eldridge, a tight end who is going to play a role in the offense for us this year, you have to spend the time with them. You have to watch some film with them, you have to go out and throw with them. The work I’ve always liked to do is instead of going out and throwing with three quarterbacks and 10 receivers, I’d rather just take one receiver and me and have some truly one on one throwing. You might throw 30 routes, but you are talking about the route before hand and you are really trying to teach and get him on the same page with you. Like I said, it is no fun to be out there in a game and not be sure how the tight end is going to break or how fast he is going to break. You have to work to get to know him in the months after the draft, May, June and after the practices at training camp. I have always taken the time to do that. We are always a young team, we are always bringing in new players, and I like that because it keeps the older guys like me and Jeff (Saturday) and (Adam) Vinatieri feeling young. But at the same time when you bring in new players, that means you are going to have to work with them even harder to get those guys up to speed. I’ve always done that and I’ve always appreciated Bill (Polian) bringing in young guys that like to work. They love to work. They all have different backgrounds and stories, whether you come from Mount Union or BYU or you are a first-round pick like Reggie or Marvin. All of them have had a great work ethic and I think Reggie and Marvin have taught them that. That sure makes my job easier when a guy likes to work. We put the time in and fortunately it has paid off for us for the most part.”
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