Mike Holmgren Quotations

Where I am impressed even more with him this year is his pass protection,

With the numbers he has put up, I think if you don't approach it at the start that way, you're making a huge mistake. He catches 14 balls, 12 balls, 13 balls, that's a lot of passes in a game. Clearly, they want him to be a big part of what they do. ... You better have some sort of answer for playing them or they can make you look pretty bad.

Wow, great story. That's an area we have to look at, but he certainly has done everything we have asked him to do.

We'll see, ... Joe, of course, has played, and Hackett hasn't played very much so we'll see. He has certainly worked hard to do this, and I have confidence in him. We'll see how it goes.

We are going to have to figure out how we're going to deal with a real strong receiver like that.

What we're asking him to do is difficult, ... A rookie middle linebacker calling the signals, there's nothing easy about that. His plate is full. But if anyone can handle it, of the young people I've seen in the last few years, he can.

We have played better than we did tonight. Unfortunately, it's the biggest game of the year.

We were careless with the football, and we made too many mistakes. And when you play a good team like the Steelers, that's not a good combination.

There are times when I become frustrated when we get second (down) and nine, ... (But) I was bound and determined today to stay with it.

We're going for the record. We've set a lot of records this year. We're going for that one, too.

Let's just wait on that and make sure what's written and what's said is correct.

Sean has played pretty well so we're going to let him play, ... But we're going to get Chop (Womack) in there to play a little bit.

Seneca Wallace is a good player. He just hasn't played.

Mo (Maurice) Morris did a really good job in place of Shaun and Mack Strong filled in a couple of blanks.

My feeling is, for the short term, at least prior to the bye, we are going to go with the guys we got. If we feel that we have to do something there and add some depth, we will.

My hope is, we'll have him down the stretch.

No one wants a disruptive situation on his roster. There is too much at stake. Without naming names, we've seen too much of it recently. Teams are getting tired of it.

Now, we've all seen potential fall by the wayside, but he has a great work ethic. If he's fortunate not to get hurt, it will work for him.

Now that you mention it, I might take it easy. I haven't decided yet. I'm surprised (the staff) hasn't brought it up yet ... to get rid of me.

Now our second season starts. Fortunately we have a first-round bye, so we can heal up a little bit and get ready to play in the playoffs.

Next season, I would expect more from him. I'm always going to push the envelope a little bit, and I think he would expect more from himself.

On the second (run) we did not block very well. I tried to get more (yards). But I tried to get it with the run.

One of these years, we're going to win a playoff game and take that next step.

One of the fun things for us when we do talk is sharing many, many instances of similar things.

One of the differences to our start this year is they are catching the ball real well. It makes it fun. I'm sure it makes it fun for Matt because he has confidence he can go anywhere with the ball. And then I have confidence that I can call just about anything I want.

I was going to come out and wing it around. It had nothing to do with the week before.

I would be in better position to answer it on Wednesday, ... Except I'm not going to be here.

I grabbed him and now I'm mad at him for walking away and he's mad at me for grabbing him.

I have had it with that stuff. I have a very short fuse with that stuff.

I don't know exactly what that means. I don't think so. I like to kill anybody just like the next guy.

I did realize how hard it was. I think coaches realize it a little bit sooner than players do. I had hoped that we would have been able to do it a little sooner than we have done it, but you know things happen along the way.

I don't expect that and he knows it. He might not throw another one like that. But that was bad.

Carolina offered him just a phenomenal financial package, and he was gone. Ken had developed his skills. We drafted him, we liked him, he had gotten better and better and better, and now he's playing at a certain level. That was a good signing by Carolina.

But we're in as good a position as any team to absorb that. Our attitude has always been the next guy steps in, and off you go.

Chris is very steady. He's had a fine year. He gets overlooked. They tease him about it. I tease him about it.

I had made an agreement when we signed him that if he got a chance to be a starter that I would help to make that happen, and a deal's a deal,

get out of town and ride my motorcycle for a few days.

If a guy becomes available the caliber of Peter Warrick, I think we're going to bring him in, look at him, talk to him,

If a guy becomes available the caliber of a Peter Warrick, we're probably going to bring him in. I think then you're doing your due diligence. I'm looking for a guy to catch every pass we throw to him.

I expected more from him. We had a nice visit. I think the world of him. I think he is a really good player. I set the bar very high for him. My expectation level for him is high. Any time he falls short of that, fair or not fair, I want to talk to him about it.

I enjoy working with him; he's a good guy,

If you are hurt and can't play or practice, and then the other guys come in and make a case for themselves, you've got to look at that. Before we make any decisions there, we've got to find out what they say in Alabama.

If this were to be his last game, then I'm really glad I was here. He has nothing to prove to anybody.

He was very sorry, apologized to me. This morning, he apologized to his teammates.

He was very sorry and apologized to me. He did not want anything like this to be a distraction. He really does realize that the players represent the community and he is one of the guys that would like to be a role model in this community. He realizes that this has been a negative thing in what should be a feel-good week for us.

He's coming back a little at a time. We're going per doctors orders on this. If they say 'No, he can't be there,' he's not there.

He has great hands. We knew that. He's a big target. I think his speed is a little underestimated. And we really needed him to play the way he played.

He is as hard of a working lineman as I've been around. Offensive linemen are usually that way, but he kind of goes over the edge in his work ethic. He is tremendously strong, very bright and he really wants it every play, every down. His ability to focus in is really very amazing.

He is as about as consistent and tough a linemen as I've ever coached. He's very, very steady.

He is a lifelong football personnel man. Personnel people, they have a passion for it. They want to help the head coach. They want to give him the best players they can give him. And it creates a real healthy trust and working relationship. Bob's first love, as you know, was basketball. And he was taking on a lot of jobs. It's different now, because Tim is a lifelong football guy. We have a good relationship.

He is feeling much better, ... But I don't want to minimize what happened.

He is much more confident. He sees things much better. I can put much more on his plate now and be confident in his handling it. He is ready to play a fine football game.

He has probably been our most consistently good player inside. I tease Rock about it. When he is going, concentrating and pushing himself really hard he is a very, very good player.

He feels OK. He feels good. So it will be a club decision, a medical decision. He'd like to play.

He came out of that game pretty sore. Washington is a tough physical defensive football team, and we got banged around a little bit, but both he and Engram practiced today.

He came into camp in the best condition of his life. He really did ... He's a little bit unlucky.

He came in this morning and it was sore.

He came in not with a chip on his shoulder, but with something to prove.

We talked a lot about being aggressive and getting off to a good start.

We've got to let the ribs heal. He's got to feel like he can run and those things. The area that now is rather large causing him discomfort has to shrink, so (doctors) can put the medicine in where they have to put it in. Right now, it's too large. But he's on schedule; he's getting better.

To find a quarterback to take you to the Super Bowl in our offense is very, very important. We were able to do that in Year 3.

He's acknowledged in the league as one of the best position coaches.

Going through a Super Bowl week without something like this would be unusual.

He's a wonderful young man and a great football player -- let me say those things first,

He's been like a breath of fresh air. He's really been great for our team.

He's doing good. But heck, he was the former head coach (in Green Bay) and he doesn't need to go to this game. (He's) doing OK. Healing up.

He wants to be far enough away that he can't grab a player and start coaching.

He did exactly what he was supposed to do, and we blocked it well.

Heck, I get excited about it just like any coach would, particularly if you think it cost you a ball game. The fact is, it's a tough job. Officials have a tough job. They're honest guys doing the best they can.

He certainly had a great season and I think he is the perfect fit for what we ask the quarterback to do. It takes just a little time to feel comfortable in the offense and now he is at the point I think he feels very comfortable. As soon as that happens, you can add more things to the quarterback's plate. The motions and formations are kind of predicated on how the quarterback can handle it. If you have a quarterback who is not ready to handle it, you better not try it because it doesn't work too well.

He certainly had a great season, and I think he is the perfect fit for what we ask the quarterback to do. It just takes a little time to feel comfortable in the offense, and now he is at the point he's very comfortable.

He kind of set the tone for all those guys inside. And they've played well. He was a little like what John Randle was like for us a couple years ago.

He'll be able to get on the field in a couple of weeks, I would think,

I would think I should be able to give some sort of answer in a couple, three weeks. I want to be fair, and I don't think there's any need to rush. That's why I think I'm being kind of diligent.

I talked with (defensive coordinator) Ray Rhodes and we both agreed that that was as fine a game executed as we could remember, all around. They were better than good. They were really good. Physical, smart, and they made key plays. They just set their mind to it and did it.

I talked to him Saturday morning, and he was walking and moving. And he felt pretty good about it,

I talked to a number of players on the team -- including our offensive linemen -- they really wanted to do this for him. That's all healthy stuff, that's all good stuff.

I talk about that a lot. I think if you asked one of my players, they'd probably tell you I kill them with that stuff. Just being careful. It's the last thing I told them Sunday night after we broke from the stadium after the game. After this incident, it gave me another opportunity because they were listening. I mean for the guys who kind of tuned me out before, now I had everybody listening and we talked about it, which, I think, is my responsibility as a coach. You know these guys are my family, and it would be like talking to your own kids, you don't want bad things to happen to them so let's try to help them a little bit.

It can look a little chaotic on the sidelines, but if you have done things right ahead of time, you really are not surprised by much, Mike, for the next 60 minutes, we are not responsible for anything we say to each other.

It could be as simple as, 'How about we go through next year and if you're happy and I'm feeling good then we'll meet.' I really don't know.

I tip my hat to him that way.

I think that has always stuck with me. I put the ball in the hands of the best player in the world, in a fairly safe pass and I almost lost the game for our team. That stuck with me a long time in that situation.

I was afraid I was going to break furniture and throw the monitor out the window. It's just hard because we had our chances and we didn't capitalize.

I think we made a little mistake last year not throwing him in there sooner. He would have struggled a little bit, but when he did play, he was very good.

I think we have to wait on that. Let's just wait on that to make sure that what is written and what is said is correct.

I think that can be overstated just a little bit. If you have a very untalented guy who is a high-effort guy, you are going to lose every week. You like them like that, but the better player is going to win more games for you. The trick is finding those guys that are really fine football players and really don't think they are that great; they are always trying to get better.

I think any time you can achieve some balance on offense, it creates problems for the defense. As soon as you become one-dimensional, then any defense can focus in and get you stopped.

I think it was necessary, and now in retrospect, I'm glad I did it.

It happens, because now you're down to one game, and anything can happen in any one game. But I think if you look over percentages over the last however many years, most of the times the guys that are playing at home have the advantage. So we're choosing to look at it that way.

I thanked him for allowing the coaches to build something. In such a volatile industry, you don't always get that.

I think the world of him and I think he is a really good football player. I set the bar very high for him. Anytime he falls short of that, fair or not fair, I will talk to him about it. He is a wonderful guy ... and he wants to do well. To go with his physical ability, all the things you have to do to be a great player, it should happen for him.

I said I was going to leave it up to him, but I have to pull rank. He's going upstairs.

I said to him (Alexander) that if I were to put him back in the game and he were to get hurt, I would never speak to him again. I told him that, and he said, 'No, I'm OK. Don't worry.' I'm really glad that we could do that and he could score.

Our guys are ready to handle this (game) maybe better than they have handled it in the past. It's coming from the feeling I get when I go down in the locker room, and the feeling I get on the airplane and different things. They're having fun playing. The cynics aren't around here so much anymore.

Our inside game, all four of them, you can't separate any of them out of there. I like how they're playing.

Our running back is, I think, pretty good. When I saw him at our meeting today, he said he feels good, he's fine, and unless something happens, I'm assuming he'll be ready to practice on Wednesday.

Our trainers thought it would be good to give him a rest throwing the ball today.

Other than the fact that everyone should be a little angry about the whole thing, no.

Players and coaches who have gone through the game, that helps.

Patience. I thanked Paul for being patient with me in a rather volatile business, to allow your coaches to build something and to believe in them. You don't always see it as much as you should in this business, and he has been great for me. With the patience Mr. Allen has shown me, he gave me a chance to stand on the podium.