Archives for February 2013

‘When the selection committee made the second cut from 10 to five, Carter was the only receiver to advance while Reed was eliminated. It marked the first time that one of the three receivers (Brown, Carter, Reed) finally advanced to the final five candidates that are put to a yes or no vote for enshrinement.’

‘”I think until you get to the end of it, the evolution of a special teams unit is more of a work in progress on a daily basis than any other phase,” Crossman said. “That even holds true more importantly when you get into the season in terms of injuries and actives and inactives. Again I think we’re going to start from day one and ground zero and build and have an idea who, when and what are our strengths and what are our weaknesses.”‘

‘”When we got off the podium at the press conference introducing Doug Marrone, we hopped right on a plane right from the podium and went off to Morristown, N.J., and really went after Mike Pettine,” said Brandon Friday.’

‘Reed has advanced to the final 10 each of the past three years. Carter also advanced to the final 10 last year, but both Reed and Carter were eliminated in the cutdown to the final five.’

‘Making Reed’s chances even more difficult this year is the fact that several first-year finalists might break through immediately as inductees.’

‘Now knowing the dangers, Byrd realizes how truly lucky he is. At 71 years old, his memory is good. He still runs and lift weights. In the last decade he suffered a heart attack and stroke, but doctors ruled out football as the cause. He does, however, suffer occasional pain from a cracked vertebra and nerve damage from a hard hit.’