Archives for September 4, 2014

‘”With EJ, obviously we’re looking for him to progress and to keep coming along,” Marrone said. “We’re going to stick with him. I’m going to support him 110 percent. And we’re going to get him better.”‘

‘Manuel says it doesn’t pay to listen or worry about the past. He feels that if Chicago goes well, the play of the team will do the talking, “Being able to show that on Sunday is huge. Coming out there in a regular season game, it’s a huge game, Chicago has a great defense so that’s why I say I want to keep my focus on Chicago cause that’s the most important thing to me. I can’t control what’s happened in the past, you have to move and look forward.”‘

‘”Yeah, I’m ready to play,” he said. “With the ribs you don’t know, whether you feel one hundred percent one day, or eighty, ninety. Until I get that first hit, that will explain it all. Now I know how it feels to get hit, and what the outcome will be. A lot of pain, losing your breath but it’s not going to take me out of the game. Just get a breather and come back in.”‘

‘”I always had his attention,” said Manuel Sr. “He was never a disrespectful kid. I don’t know if it was the military background that had a bearing on it or if he just emulated the way I did things. I was strict as far as who he hung out with and what he would do with his spare time. I guess he just figured those are the rules and I need to abide by them.”‘

‘”I look at it as how many guys have been injured returning the football compared to people injured with the ball being handed off to them,” said Marrone. “I don’t view it as much of a risk as some people would. I could understand why people could see that because of the distance and the way people are running down the field. But again I don’t look at it that way. As much as we can get our playmakers out there whether it be punt returns or kickoff returns we have to make sure we explore that.”‘