We have NFL quotage on this Night 1 of the NFL Draft. It’s from NFL Network’s pre-draft show. And it’s a 1,757-word press release. Get ready to scroll.
News and Sound Bites From 2012 NFL Draft Kickoff Show
Interviews with Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway & Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen
“The success of Jason Pierre-Paul is what has moved this guy up – everybody covets that.” – Brian Billick on DE Chandler Jones
“I don’t see an elite quarterback here; I see a guy that can develop and be a solid quarterback.” – Charley Casserly on QB Ryan Tannehill
“The Broncos feel free, unencumbered now because they realize they didn’t have to do something specifically for Tim Tebow.” – Jamie Dukes on Denver’s Draft strategyQuotes from 2012 NFL Draft Kickoff Show:
“The Broncos feel free, unencumbered now because they realize they didn’t have to do something specifically for Tim Tebow. Now they have that freedom where they can go anywhere they want to go because they are going to take the best player off the board and not necessarily have to cover for some shortcomings for the player that was going to be the guy running their franchise.” – Jamie Dukes on the Denver Broncos heading into the 2012 NFL Draft“Fletcher Cox is the most complete defensive lineman in this draft.” – Charley Casserly on Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox
“It’s a very unique situation because you’re following a guy [Peyton Manning] that is still playing, and we consider him one of – if not the – best quarterback to play our game…He has to be Andrew Luck regardless of what happens in this situation. There is no replacing Peyton Manning.” – Marshall Faulk on quarterback Andrew Luck
“Andrew Luck is about as near perfect of a prospect as we’ve had in a long, long time and he’s the exact right guy for the Colts. They can determine long-term now how they want to build their football team around him offensively and defensively.” – Steve Mariucci on quarterback Andrew Luck
“This guy is a top-10 back in any draft in any year. He is a complete back; he can run inside with power, he can run outside with speed, he catches the ball, he blocks – he does everything…There is a value to having a great back. This guy is a great back.” – Charley Casserly on Alabama running back Trent Richardson
“The success of Jason Pierre-Paul is what has moved this guy up – everybody covets that…This is not a great defensive end draft so to get an impact guy, he may get pulled up on the board a little earlier than he might otherwise be.” – Brian Billick on Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones
“Obviously he is going to be over-drafted, obviously he is a guy that Miami is reaching for in a sense of desperation because they didn’t get their quarterback. Great players typically never move; Joe Flacco transferred, he didn’t move positions. For me, that is bothersome. He’s a potential starter, and drafting potential starters with the eighth pick overall is not something I would do.” – Michael Lombardi on Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill
“I don’t know if people realize how competitive he is. You see this nice guy, humble guy with the media but on the field he’s a fierce leader and a fierce competitor. He’ll get into you if you mess up.” – Stanford OT Jonathan Martin on quarterback Andrew Luck
“I like the guy as a prospect. I don’t see an elite quarterback here; I see a guy that can develop and be a solid quarterback.” – Charley Casserly on Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill
“You have to play New England twice a year with those two tight ends. You better have good safeties and good linebackers.” – Mike Mayock on Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly going to the Buffalo Bills in his mock draft
Interview with Washington Redskins GM Bruce Allen
On if he can say that he is 100 percent sure that the Redskins will select Robert Griffin III in the first round of the NFL Draft:
“We know exactly who we are going to take after the Colts take Andrew Luck. Yes, we do.”On what they saw in Robert Griffin III that convinced them to trade up to the number two overall pick to select him:
“The exciting part about what we were able to do was we fell in love with both quarterbacks [Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck]. We knew we wanted to move up; the Colts didn’t want to make a trade and the Rams having a franchise quarterback allowed us to pinpoint the number two spot. But it’s not just this year for either one of those quarterbacks; it’s the body of work that they accomplished in college football, it’s what we found out about them as individuals that really set them apart from everybody that we had graded in this draft.”On quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck:
“They both have terrific talent. First of all, it starts with their leadership. As most people will tell you, that position takes more than talent; it takes a leadership and a drive and a toughness that other positions in other sports don’t require. But they’re unique in what they do and we think that Robert fits our offense to a tee. We’re excited about being able to complement him with what we’ve already been able to do with some of his special talents. Obviously his charisma is going to be embraced by the Redskins nation.”
On his reaction to analysts predicting Robert Griffin III will have more success than Andrew Luck initially because he has a better team around him:
“We have to play the games. What I love about Robert is that he wants to get to work. The only way we’re going to get better as a football team is if the talent on our team right now improves, we do a good job in the rest of the draft and the players are focused on our upcoming opponents. I love his attitude, his dedication and he is ready to get to work.”On what the Redskins will be doing from now until their next pick:
“We’re going to watch the draft like all NFL fans and try to imagine that if we had a pick at 24 or 25 what we would do. But we spent a lot of time on picking the guys that we think will be there around [pick] 69 and developing our plan for the second half of the draft. We’re looking forward to it, but there is going to be a special celebration in the nation’s capitol tonight.”To view the entire interview with Allen, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d8289f26a/Redskins-GM-We-know-exactly-who-we-re-going-to-takeInterview with Denver Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway
On quarterback Peyton Manning:
“We obviously haven’t been able to be on the field with him yet, but he’s been going through his rehab in the training room and he’s continuing to make strides. The type of guy that Peyton is, he wants it done yesterday, but he’s working hard and making strides every day. We know with three months to go, by the time we get to camp we expect him to be 100 percent.”On the conversations that he has had with Peyton Manning:
“It’s been difficult because at this point in time I am not able to spend a whole lot of time with Peyton. Obviously when we were going through the process of recruiting Peyton to come here as a free agent, we were able to sit down and have a great conversation. Really the conversations were about what was best for Peyton Manning at that time, what I went through when I was 36 years old and what I was looking for to try to help us win world championships. There is a unique bond there in the fact that when you play that position, there is so much that goes into it, there is so much pressure that is involved, that you have a unique bond with the other quarterbacks; obviously with Peyton, but Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, the other guys that came out with me. I’ve always had a great relationship with them.”To view the entire interview with Elway, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d828a09fc/John-Elway-gears-up-for-the-draftInterview with Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones
On the blueprint for the Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East next year after finishing 8-8 in 2011:
“When I woke up this morning, it didn’t take me long to realize that having the 14th pick meant that we did go 8-8, and that just was not acceptable. Today is a reminder of how much we need to improve and where we can improve. I’ll assure you one thing: we’re interested in while we have [Tony] Romo, while we have the great years ahead with Romo, we’re going to do the things on this team that are going to make it Romo-friendly and give us a chance to be knocking at the door. We think that is the key. We could be looking at protection for him, we could be looking for, without being cute, how to get the ball back – that means defensive players; how to get them out of there on third down so we can get Romo back on the field. All of this comes to mind because this is bittersweet: getting the 14th pick, you have to earn it. You have to have fallen on your butt.”On the Cowboys’ secondary:
“First of all, we all want to put pressure on the offense, put pressure on the quarterback. But that pressure most of the time really manifests itself getting to make some plays in the secondary – not necessarily a sack. We use the term ‘pressures are just as important,’ but you have to be able to make plays in the secondary. We haven’t been able to do that the last two or three years. We have to address that and tonight may give us a chance to do it.’Video Links:
– Stanford offensive lineman Jonathan Martin appears in-studio to talk about where he thinks he will be drafted and playing in the NFL.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d8289fb5e/Jonathan-Martin-on-set– Will the Dallas Cowboys have the opportunity to draft Alabama safety Mark Barron with the No. 14 pick? Analysts Charles Davis, Brian Billick and Jay Glazer discuss.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d828a005a/Will-Cowboys-get-Barron– Analysts Brian Billick, Charles Davis and Jay Glazer debate if it is worth it for the Dolphins to make a move on Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/miami-dolphins/09000d5d828a0111/Is-Tannehill-on-Dalton-s-level– LSU head coach Les Miles and Stanford head coach David Shaw discuss how they used their NFL experience to evaluate football players.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d828a1241/Evaluating-talent
That’s all
