EEK Thinks

As defenses get more complex, the answer isn’t always to get more complex on offense; sometimes, it’s the opposite. By making the game easier, Harbaugh has turned Smith into one of the league leaders in interceptions per pass attempt. Football is a game of intelligent compromises under constraints such as time, ability, and the raw physics of the game. And right now, at 7-1, Harbaugh’s 49ers seem to have found the right mix.

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—	Chris Brown on the success of the 49ers and Alex Smith - Grantland

(via Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner from Taylor Lautner, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, Shawne Merriman, Marielle Jaffe, Antonio Cromartie, Marshall Faulk, Kirk Morrison, Steve Smith, Shaun Phillips, Rich Eisen, Dwight Freeney, DeSean Jackson, Funny Or Die, Eric Appel, Alex Fernie, Ryan Perez, christiansprenger, and BoTown Sound)

My beard’s getting too caught up in this media attention, basking in the glory. It just need to focus on the game

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—	Steelers DL Brett Keisel. His beard truly is magnificent. Dumbest things said during Super Bowl XLV week - Rick Reilly Go Fish Blog - ESPN

It’s pretty simple. Like he tells us, too many rules will get you beat. We’re here to win, we’re here to be professionals. We’re here to be champions.

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—	Tyler Grisham on Mike Tomlin. Super Bowl: The journey to meet Steelers coach Mike Tomlin - ESPN

Nothing sums up Ryan’s appeal more than this: The man had a sex scandal with his wife.

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—	New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is the Charles Barkley of NFL - Michael Rosenberg - SI.com

Bill Maher: New Rule: If a Woman Rejects Your First Dozen Advances, Don't Send Her a Picture of Your Penis »

Too funny.

You can be the greatest motivator in the world, but it won’t matter if you’re dealing with somebody who doesn’t want to be motivated.

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—	Mike Singletary. NFL: Vernon Davis is channeling his anger and resurrecting his San Francisco 49ers career - ESPN

Life is for living, folks. Don’t let a number be anything other than a number. Don’t let somebody tell you that you’re too old to do this or too old to do that. Stay in life. Life is a gift. It’s a joy. Don’t drop out of it.

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—	Joyous night for Steelers’ Dick LeBeau - AFC North Blog - ESPN

Greatness is not about someone who has the ability to be great. Greatness shows up when someone might not have that ability but finds a way to succeed. They outwork their opponents, they outhit their opponents, they outfight their opponents. They want it more.

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—	On Mike Singletary’s remarkable job in his first year as an NFL head coach. Be Like Mike! - 09.28.09 - SI Vault

At the end of the day, people always want to be told the truth. We all respected him that much more for what he did. Not only did America fall in love with that, we fell in love with that.

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—	San Francisco 49ers linebacker, Takeo Spikes, on coach Mike Singletary and his, “I want winners” action and speech in his first game as coach last year. From Mike Singletary a single-minded inspirer - Los Angeles Times.