Tim Ruskell Quotes (71 Quotes)

It could be midnight and we're still arguing about a fifth-rounder. It's a labor of love. We all have passion for it and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

We're going to take it slow and see how Ken goes. There's still more testing. We would never want to do anything that would harm him as we go forward.

No, but I hear about it. People will tell us that Mel said your pick stunk.

He's tough as nails. He's one of the toughest human beings I've ever been around and had the pleasure of working with,

You've gotta draft well. You have to bring the right people in.

Tony would run our coaches out of there to get back to their families when it was getting too late in the night.

I think we're in really good shape.

Mike's a father figure for these guys. The guy's consistent, he doesn't change, and he's got a big heart.

The key ingredient is bringing guys in who have character, to build team chemistry, so that everyone is moving in the same direction, ... The other thing I thought was important was to open up the lines of communication and improve the morale in the building.

You were a warrior today. As always.

Given all this information on Warren and what is true and what is not true. Ultimately, we said this guy loves playing football, he is an impact player, he wants to play in this state, and he will raise the level of our defense.

Sometimes you feel like you are getting a canned answer. The coaches love these players in many cases and want good things to happen to them and are going to protect their group.

Pressure him and make him throw. And when he runs, you must punish him. He has to feel it. Michael can only take so much of that, like anyone.

Fortunately, this draft in particular is deep in those.

What you see with Tony is what you get. He doesn't just talk it and not do it. He talks it and does it. He's a great man. High moral character. High value system and he instills that in his team and the people that work with him.

You factor in his durability quotient and it makes the decision pretty easy.

Most people would see that their glasses were broken and do the interview without them. But Tony felt it was important to see who he was talking to, so he kept the glasses on.

This is fun. The town is excited. That can only be a good thing.

There is the size factor. You'd like that guy running even faster than he already does, too. But he's a very good player.

The big blowout deals are probably a thing of the past for this period. You still have the understanding that there may be some teams and some cap casualties that come along the way, but you really focus now on the draft in terms of what needs you have le

Not being together for a long time, that's not good for a defense. The longer you are together as a group, the better you are going to be. We can't fake that. That's just going to take time. How long, I don't know. But I know this, they are working hard at getting everybody on the same page and not making mistakes. That's how you get that started.

These guys, they were below the line on their height, or they're at a small school or whatever. So they came below the radar. But they loved the game so much it never deterred them, and I like that in terms of what it makes up in their character and attitude.

That's great. I think they are proud of that. Everybody who goes onto the field contributes something in some way, and you saw that again today.

I think that's where communication comes in. It's paramount. You have to create an environment where people and ideas are heard. We had that in Tampa, when Tony Dungy was there. I've seen it a few other places. When I was on the road, I always thought, 'If I ever get a general manager's job, that's how I want things to be.' There's a lot of ego in this league, and so it doesn't always work that way, but you always want to try to be working for the good of the organization. You know, 'How do we get better' You want people around you who don't have individual agendas.

We've been a really efficient team of late, and Mike touched on that in the locker room. That (performance) was uncharacteristic of this team.

We're just so proud of what he's accomplished. Not his numbers -- I mean, the sacks are great and everything -- but the character that he brings to our locker room, the discipline and the preparation and the work ethic. And that permeates throughout the l

Rod didn't want the 6-6 defensive tackles, ... He wanted the undersized guy who could leverage. He really believed in that, that if you can win the battle of pads, you can get off and make plays.

There are many ways for guys to lead. Conduct. Toughness. How hard you hit. Different people can be that guy.

I don't believe that. He just hasn't gotten any opportunities. He's still got that after-the-catch ability.

Stuff still gets out. (The media) are able to predict, almost to the T, the first 15 picks (of the first round). But you try your best to keep it in-house.

We told him we would not talk with him again until after the draft, if that's necessary.

We're still in the checking-it-out stage. We want to get through a scrimmage, maybe a game or two and then assess it. ... It's too early. You can't make any definitive judgments.

We lost our two starting receivers to injuries at various times. If we didn't have Joe, we would have had a skid. We wouldn't have had our 11 in a row and we wouldn't be here.

Atlanta was basically a blueprint in that we did the same thing there before the 2004 season. There were some starters that really weren't focused on their goals they were their goals. Jim and Rich, to their credit, made tough decisions. They said, 'OK, this is what we're looking for to be an Atlanta Falcon.' We made tough decisions. When we did that, we were able to pull together in the locker room.

We consider trading down when the guys that we projected would be there, aren't there. They're all gone and we have to go to our next group, our next grade level. That's when we'll make the calls. Those guys are gone, let's go to our next group. The value is less because we graded them less. Let's see if we can get some takers and get another pick later on.

From a philosophical standpoint, I think the whole league is paying attention to that. They get the players to buy into the system, and no one is bigger than the team. It's a team concept all the way. We all strive for that -- maybe some more than others.

We're higher than I would like. But with a transition, you're going to get this. People who aren't fitting are not going to be here.

It was a roster-maintenance move. Kris was on the bubble for us. They had inquired about him several times. We're always looking for defensive linemen. ... Obviously, it's not a world-beater trade.

Like everybody else, from afar you thought the Seahawks had a lot of good players. You know they were inconsistent. The core group, certainly the offense, and Mike's coaching were good things to build on.

It was the game where those guys that were new to the team all made contributions. Yet, no one got singled out after the game. It was about this was great team defense -- our best team defensive game.

We took a gamble at bringing Peter in. The extent of his injury was probably more than we thought it was. He was a borderline. But we did know eventually he would be OK.

It certainly had an effect on us. But some teams are so enamored by the numbers -- the height and the speed -- that maybe he was there (high on teams' draft boards) and then came off after the workout.

I want the guy to be everything, ... I want him to do the little things. Catching the football. Pass protecting for the quarterback. Being a good receiver out of the backfield because then the defense can't focus on, 'We've got to stop him running.'

We just made a run for the Super Bowl, so everybody's feeling good about themselves. Obviously our players become more attractive to other teams. So they get some ideas in their head. We'd love to have them all back, but that's hard to do. We're in a good spot in terms of where our talks are with all of our players.

But as far as copying the blueprint, your team is your team. You have strengths, you have weaknesses. You have to figure out what your identity is as a team, make sure that stays the same, and then build strong around it.

And you bring the walls down. We've been in situations, both he and I, where you can't get anything done and you get agendas. When we finally cleared the fog in Tampa, that really opened the light ... Not so much that Rich showed me we saw it together... how successful that can be when the coach and general manager and ownership are all working together for the same goal.

Certainly, there was a lot to do. We were right in the middle of the free-agent deals. We had 16 guys looking. ...But we all rolled up our sleeves.

(The Panthers) weren't ready for some of that stuff, which threw them off. And that's how you win big games. Mike's called it great all year long he's quite a game manager, and he's been a joy to watch this season.

I think people do a better job in the second round because the pressure's off.

That is a nice corner list that they have. The safeties are more than I am used to in terms of the pure numbers of guys that we think can play.