Ernie Accorsi Quotes (68 Quotes)

The kid's downright unflappable, ... I mean, I've watched Eli since college and nothing ever seems to bother him. Not being in the NFL. Not playing in the New York spotlight. Not guys dropping perfect passes. Not hellacious hits. Nothing. You won't seem him pout or mope or shrug his shoulders, but you won't see him celebrate much either.

If he was an impressionable kid who didn't have a lot of maturity, it would be one thing,

But he is such an under-control, mature kid. He's just unflappable. What he went through last year and with the team just decimated around him, he's just a very poised young man. If it was a kid I really thought would be afraid of any situation, I might say something, but I don't think I need to. I won't say anything to (him).

You had a player that wants to be here, agents that were dealmakers and you had a club that wants to keep the player, ... When you have all those things working for you, you can figure out a way to make a deal.

As it is with all of these guys, do they have the stomach for pro football I remember Jack Ramsey introducing me to Charles Barkley. I said to him, 'You would make a great tight end.' He told me I was out of my mind. He said, 'Do you think I want to get hit in the mouth on every play' It's a different world. It's all about wanting it badly enough.

I was entrusted with the legacy of the franchise. I simply picked the best player in the country. If the Baltimore franchise was good enough for John Unitas, the greatest quarterback in the history of the league, it was good enough for John Elway.

You might have 15 players rated with the same grade. If it is close, you might go with the need, but it has to be very close. This is no perfect formula. If there is a tenth or two-tenths of a point difference between two players, that's basically nothing but opinion anyway. Like the polls on political elections, it's often too close to call. If it is that close, sure, you are going to go by need. But what you are hoping for is that the highest rated player is the position that you need. And that happens, it happens a lot.

You just have to do what's best for the franchise. I don't get involved with personalities. But I have a great deal of respect for him and gratitude for him. He took us to the Super Bowl.

I think he's going to be a terrific quarterback, ... He hasn't even played 16 games. He's getting better all the time. He has enormous talent and poise. I'm happy this franchise will have him as their quarterback for a long time.

We came to an agreement that acknowledges what everybody wants - the player being rewarded for performance.

He's a project. It's not going to happen overnight. Basketball teams are filled with great athletes. The question is, does he have the fortitude to play this sport, where you're getting hit in the mouth every play It's going to depend on how hard he wants it and how hard he works.

When you have a chance to pick what you feel, at least in your own mind, is the franchise quarterback, you make it. If you hit it, you're set for 15 years.

You know, ... it all happened so fast that I didn't realize it at the time. But you're right. It's amazing. It's one of those things you'll remember for a long time.

Coughlin not only had to make changes on the run against Philadelphia, but he had to prepare to play a powerful football team in the Chiefs the next week. That's just not easy to do.

These are two body punches we've taken back-to-back, ... We haven't gotten over Wellington.

We played with such passion in the fundamentals of the game - defense and the running game - which were the two things he loved.

He shaped nearly every rule and philosophy we have in our league today. Most of all, he was the moral conscience of the National Football League. He now joins the pantheon of incredible men who made this league what it has become.

I may be wrong, and you might fool me, but I just feel like there's a slight difference in their body motion, ... But they are awfully similar.

His 'Take the Field' program was one of the most innovative and beautiful efforts in athletics in this country, ... His efforts provide fields of play for young New York athletes who otherwise would have no place to play.

We were planning on the lowest figures projected. This delay doesn't affect us. It just delays your chance to start looking at free-agent players.

I think that (the) whole combine demands you to have incredible self-discipline in decision making. It's invaluable, No. 1, because of the medical (exams). But you better discipline yourself to evaluate a player on the tape of a game. This will indicate what kind of athlete they are, but usually what that does is support what you've already seen on tape.

My feeling is that, because there are more injuries, because of free agency, because it is a dilution (of talent), it doesn't matter who's the best team during the season. All that matters is who's healthy and hot late (in the season). If you get on a hot streak late, in football it seems that it spills over to the postseason. You have to be hot at the right time and healthy at the right time.

I was just overwhelmed with not only his story but the way he told it. He's such a thoughtful, intellectual, moving person. You could hear a pin drop in our interview room when he was done telling us a story.

But you still have to go play, ... This is a sport where you get hit in the mouth 15 times a day. I don't care how much emotion you have, you still have to go play. That's how I look at it.

I like this football team. I think we've got a personality. I think it's got something to it. Now we've just got to go and prove it. But I like this football team.

I really have never bought into that San Francisco game, and maybe players might have a different view, ... My feeling coming out of that game, as heartbreaking as it was, was that I thought we were pretty good.

It's great to make the playoffs, but it's important for us to win the division and get a home game in the postseason. We have it in our hands and it will be disappointing if we can't get it done.

Date of birth is very important to us. In a sport that's as physically taxing as ours, the correct date of birth is critical, not only in determining the physical maturity and growth potential of an athlete but also his longevity. We project body shaping and size, especially weight, and growth potential when we evaluate a player and project them. We make sure we know the correct date of birth and we do a lot of research to verify it.

He's a good person, he has integrity and he's honest. He's not going to try to con anybody. Once they realized the quality of person he was, they'd want to play for him.

You have to proceed as if you are not going to have him. That's the only way you can proceed. We signed two veteran corners, obviously, to protect ourselves. But I think when you get into the draft you can never make a decision that is based on another player's medical uncertainty. You are really taking too much of a risk there.

I was overwhelmed with him. Not only his story but how he told it. He's such a thoughtful, intellectual, moving person.

The signing of Will Demps should complete the free agency phase of our rebuilding the defensive secondary. This is a four-year starter on a very competitive defensive team in Baltimore. He's very athletic and can make plays.

Tomlinson has something Sayers had that is rare -- the ability to stop and, in one step, to have full acceleration,

You worry because you don't know how it's going to affect them when it comes down to playing, ... This is still a game where you're going to get hit in the mouth every play, and we weren't going to get any breaks from (Washington).

He was the conscience of the National Football League.

There was never any doubt in my mind, from the day he got here, that he was going to be a head coach and be a successful one.

We tried to get him four years ago. He wanted to come, but the coaches didn't want him. We couldn't get him past the coaches. So he goes to New England and wins three Super Bowls.

Johnny Unitas. Sure, Johnny had the physical ingredients required lightning quick release, a laser for an arm, good ability to avoid the rush. But what set Unitas apart was the feeling you got in your heart when you saw him walk on the field, something that none of us are capable of defining or explaining, we just feel it. You knew he came to win. And, from the moment he walked into the locker room, you knew you had a better chance to win than the other guy. He was the toughest man I have ever known - physically and mentally.

The thing is, he knows the temperature of the water now, ... So we'll get a good sense of what he'll become (in his career) by the end of this season. Between the first and second season is where quarterbacks make their biggest jumps.

Waiting for 25 can be frustrating at times, but you are there for the right reason. You just hope you are even further down every year.

When you sign on here, you understand this organization. There is so much soul to it, ... It's just the way it is. Players understand that. This has been very emotional for all of them. That's what makes this organization the way it is. There is so much personal feeling in this place. They understand and value that.

If you really want a player, then go after him. We've done that here. But there is so much trading that goes on, particularly in the first round, that sometimes you have to trade up out of self-defense because someone else is trading up.

It has been a long time since I viewed the top of the draft with more interest than this year. It is going to be a fascinating process to watch.

In today's world of professional football, you've got to go for it. When you have a chance to make a run, you take it.

He's got great numbers, considering his injuries, ... If he's healthy he's on a course for a big-time career.

I think it's a very solid and deep draft. I really think the top of it is very interesting.

He said, 'When are you going to get your number one signed I said, 'It's going to get done.

New York isn't like other places. The expectations here are higher than anywhere else. You have to know that coming in.

I once went to a basketball game and told Charles Barkley he'd make a great tight end. And he said, 'No thank you.' Most of them don't want to do it because, in football, you get smacked in the mouth.

I think he's got a chance. We're not doing this as a gimmick. There was competition to get him. I'm pleased we got him.