25 Quotes by Jerry Gray

Because if you trust that guy and he has the capabilities and puts in the work, he's going to trust you more and more. I always feel like the more suggestions I take from the players, the more film they'll watch. If they know it's an open-door policy, they'll use it.

I've been here five years and I know the guys so I don't have to re-evaluate anything, we would just have to take off and run from there. You don't want to take steps backward, you want to take steps forward, and that's what Mr. Wilson has been doing.

I've always felt like you want to do things to make the quarterback uncomfortable in there. But there's a line there between fooling him and fooling you. Mistakes are touchdowns, so you have to look at your people and decide what you can do, how much you can do.

The big thing about open-field tackling is you've got to have a belief that you can get it done, and they've got it. Those guys understand that the coaches are going to give them the right techniques and tools to get their job done. Then they can let their talent take care of the rest.

This is different . . . a little amazing. You've got to get to guys and try to find a job. It's a little humbling.

There were a lot of things that went on that you have to take into account. But if you have the No. 2-ranked defense two years in a row, that's not a fluke.

It's always like that. When you've got a guy that gets double-digit sacks and you're not on a winning team, it's hard for them to put you in the spotlight. But they're not talking about your team, so it's hard for him to get Pro Bowl recognition.

They can come at you in different ways. You've got a guy like Dunn who is small but has a lot of speed. Duckett is a big guy who can pound it between the tackles. And of course, you have to account for Vick. It's going to be a challenge for our defense to stop these guys. After last week, I think our guys will be ready to play better than they did in Tampa.

I learned a lot last year, and I'm still learning. Mike has given me a lot of responsibility. (General manager) Tom Donahoe let me go on the road to scout before the draft. He asked my opinions about players we needed. I really appreciate their faith in me.