QB Jeff Blake Comments on Arizona/Offers To Darling, Holliday, Jackson, and Hodgins
http://www.azcardinals.com/press/pressdetails.php?sid=1114
The Cardinals may be waiting for a response from quarterback Kordell Stewart, but that doesn't mean the team is standing still. Instead, the Cardinals invited veteran quarterback Jeff Blake to visit the facility on Tuesday.
“I have been around this business long enough to know that you can’t put all your eggs in one basket,” offered Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves.
Blake has also been around and is no stranger to playing for teams that have struggled. In his 11 seasons, he has played for the Jets, the Bengals, the Saints and most recently the Ravens.
“I’ve played with the Bengals, the Saints,” stated Blake. “There isn’t too much convincing they (Arizona) have got to do for me. As an individual, you go out and work hard and you train to play because you love to play the game regardless of what uniform you have on. The biggest thing is doing it together as a team and as a unit. I think the best way to do ii is to do it in a place where it has never been done before.”
Blake feels more than up to the challenge of getting the Cardinals into the play-offs.
“I see the respect factor for players is here. It is a very young team and there is a lot of excitement that can develop here on this team. With the right mix, and the right attitude, and the right hard work and dedication anything can happen. Coming here, my main goal would be to make sure our offense is in the top five in the NFL, period.
“They need somebody to come in and help get this team to another level. All it takes is believing in yourself, believing in your teammates, teammates believing in each other. That is what happened to us when I went to New Orleans. We just believed.”
Graves indicated that he would confer with the Cardinals coaching staff Tuesday evening to see where Blake fits into the equation.
“We have made an offer to Kordell and Leigh (Steinberg) has indicated that he would respond back to us. At this point he has not, but we are not going to sit back and wait on Stewart to make a decision, although he has asked us for some time to do so,” offered Graves. “We simply don’t want to be left missing other opportunities in the process.”
Graves also shared his reaction to the news that linebacker Rosevelt Colvin has signed with New England.
“Obviously, we were disappointed that Rosevelt decided to sign elsewhere. I got a phone call from his agent this morning indicating that he had made a decision not to play out on the West Coast. After having substantial conversations with his agent and having a feeling that we were certainly the team, or at least one of the few teams that he was seriously considering, we were disappointed to learn that he made a decision yesterday, as I’ve been led to believe, that he would prefer to play somewhere else other than the West Coast.”
The Cardinals negotiated late into the night with the agent of safety Dexter Jackson.
“I felt that we had the best offer on the table for him and so we are waiting a decision from Dexter Jackson,” said Graves.
The Cardinals also have offers on the table with defensive lineman Vonnie Holiday, linebacker James Darling and fullback James Hodgins.
Graves hopes to have a few free agents locked up soon and empathizes with the frustrations of the fans.
“I understand the frustrations of some of our fans and the anticipation out there, but it is a process we certainly have to go through and we have to try to make the best decisions for the organization. At the same time, we can’t twist arms to have people accept our deals even when they are the best offers that are made to them. I would certainly have liked to have had several players in place and to be able to enjoy conversations about the new players under contract but that hasn’t happened. We’ll just keep working until we can get something done.”
The next scheduled visit is with running back Emmitt Smith on Thursday
http://www.azcardinals.com/press/pressdetails.php?sid=1114
The Cardinals may be waiting for a response from quarterback Kordell Stewart, but that doesn't mean the team is standing still. Instead, the Cardinals invited veteran quarterback Jeff Blake to visit the facility on Tuesday.
“I have been around this business long enough to know that you can’t put all your eggs in one basket,” offered Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves.
Blake has also been around and is no stranger to playing for teams that have struggled. In his 11 seasons, he has played for the Jets, the Bengals, the Saints and most recently the Ravens.
“I’ve played with the Bengals, the Saints,” stated Blake. “There isn’t too much convincing they (Arizona) have got to do for me. As an individual, you go out and work hard and you train to play because you love to play the game regardless of what uniform you have on. The biggest thing is doing it together as a team and as a unit. I think the best way to do ii is to do it in a place where it has never been done before.”
Blake feels more than up to the challenge of getting the Cardinals into the play-offs.
“I see the respect factor for players is here. It is a very young team and there is a lot of excitement that can develop here on this team. With the right mix, and the right attitude, and the right hard work and dedication anything can happen. Coming here, my main goal would be to make sure our offense is in the top five in the NFL, period.
“They need somebody to come in and help get this team to another level. All it takes is believing in yourself, believing in your teammates, teammates believing in each other. That is what happened to us when I went to New Orleans. We just believed.”
Graves indicated that he would confer with the Cardinals coaching staff Tuesday evening to see where Blake fits into the equation.
“We have made an offer to Kordell and Leigh (Steinberg) has indicated that he would respond back to us. At this point he has not, but we are not going to sit back and wait on Stewart to make a decision, although he has asked us for some time to do so,” offered Graves. “We simply don’t want to be left missing other opportunities in the process.”
Graves also shared his reaction to the news that linebacker Rosevelt Colvin has signed with New England.
“Obviously, we were disappointed that Rosevelt decided to sign elsewhere. I got a phone call from his agent this morning indicating that he had made a decision not to play out on the West Coast. After having substantial conversations with his agent and having a feeling that we were certainly the team, or at least one of the few teams that he was seriously considering, we were disappointed to learn that he made a decision yesterday, as I’ve been led to believe, that he would prefer to play somewhere else other than the West Coast.”
The Cardinals negotiated late into the night with the agent of safety Dexter Jackson.
“I felt that we had the best offer on the table for him and so we are waiting a decision from Dexter Jackson,” said Graves.
The Cardinals also have offers on the table with defensive lineman Vonnie Holiday, linebacker James Darling and fullback James Hodgins.
Graves hopes to have a few free agents locked up soon and empathizes with the frustrations of the fans.
“I understand the frustrations of some of our fans and the anticipation out there, but it is a process we certainly have to go through and we have to try to make the best decisions for the organization. At the same time, we can’t twist arms to have people accept our deals even when they are the best offers that are made to them. I would certainly have liked to have had several players in place and to be able to enjoy conversations about the new players under contract but that hasn’t happened. We’ll just keep working until we can get something done.”
The next scheduled visit is with running back Emmitt Smith on Thursday
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