They Said It: week of April 4

Monday, April 4, 2011

Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez, explaining that if the season were lost because of the lockout, he likely would retire, as quoted in The Sporting News: "Would I sit out a whole season and come back — probably not, honestly. At this point, at my age, I don't know if that would be smart of me to do something like that. … "I think it [the work stoppage] might cut into camp. Into the season, I doubt it. Who knows though? Hopefully we can get these issues resolved. The arguments from the owners' perspective are a little outrageous to me. It's the No. 1 game in the world. I think there are so many ways you could structure a deal. Maybe there are too many chiefs, not enough Indians. Maybe we should get one or two representatives from each side to hammer it out. But between the owners and the players, that's a lot of different opinions and that's why the process is going so slow. That's why I don't think it's going to be resolved anytime soon. But I just don't see an entire season being taken away. That would be sad. Not just for the players and the owners, but the fans."

Former longtime NFL scout Dave Razzano, quoted on azcentral.com sharing his concerns about Texas A&M OLB Von Miller: "I'm not a Von Miller guy at al. I know he had an ankle injury, but I think it's a cop-out. I've look at enough tape. The stuff he does that I don't like has nothing to do with an ankle sprain at all." Added Razzano: "Von Miller does not have a real competitive demeanor. That's the kind of guy who has 'bust' quality."

Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino, whose former team, the Miami Dolphins, reportedly is interested in acquiring Bengals QB Carson Palmer, says he would be willing to trade a third-round pick to acquire Palmer if he were running the team, as quoted on ArizonaSports.com: "I've always liked Carson. For a third-rounder, I would do it."

Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall, quoted in The Palm Beach Post on being in the best shape since he came out of college: "Where I'm at today, it doesn't even compare to where I was during any time during the season last year or the season before that. (The past) two months we've been working, I'm back to that guy that was training to the Combine. My body fat is down to like seven percent — when I was in college I was at six percent. My hips are feeling great, knees are feeling great. Just, man, it's beautiful." Added Marshall: "I'm seeing myself just grow and grow. And I really think I'm heading into my prime this year, so I'm excited about it."

Patriots CB Leigh Bodden, discussing the performance of Devin McCourty as a rookie, as quoted in the Boston Herald: "You can never say, 'This guy is going to be great or this guy is going to be this good,' but when he first came, he made a few plays where I was amazed and shocked and like, 'Man, he's going to be a player.' Me, personally, I didn't think he would be as good as he was during the season, but like I told a lot of those young guys, 'When you get that playing experience on the field, you just learn on the go.' " Bodden continued: "He's a smart player, and that's the thing that some rookies don't have, is the knowledge of the game. That's the majority of football, especially as you get older, not going off your athletic ability anymore. It's knowing the game. And he knew that coming in. And he had athletic talent. So that just propelled him to have the great season that he had."

Alicia Witt Radha Mitchell Melissa Rycroft Chloë Sevigny Janet Jackson