Derrick Brooks
Derrick Brooks
Derrick Dewan Brooksis an American former football linebacker who played in the National Football Leaguefor fourteen seasons. He played college football for Florida State University, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft, where he played his entire professional career. An eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and nine-time All-Pro, Brooks was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002, and earned a...
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth18 April 1973
CityPensacola, FL
Let's not be naive to the system. For the countless examples of people who have changed teams, there are countless of examples of people who haven't changed teams. Darrell Green finished his career with the Redskins and he always was one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the league. Jackie Slater was always one of the highest-paid tackles in the league and he played his whole career with the Rams. Brett Favre got a $100-million contract a few years ago and they found a way to keep him, so it can be done. Is it important to me? Yes. Is it in my hands? No.
I refuse to let myself get comfortable. Some people may read this and say,
Hopefully he felt the love that I have for him and Lauren. He's doing the best he can under the circumstances. A lot of people have come to pay their respects because he's meant more to this community than just a football coach.
To me, that's Hall of Fame, ... To know you had an impact on one person in this world. For them to give you so much credit when you hear young people tell you what you mean to their lives. That changed me as a person. Being around those kids at that young age helped me mature as a man. It kept me from all other distractions that could've knocked me off the path. They were saving me as much as I was saving them.
People are just now starting to notice Troy as a game-changer. From a standpoint of making plays, he's carried Pittsburgh to where they are today. He's got a unique style all his own, and I'm a fan of his hair. I like that flair he plays with.
The ironic thing is that was the talk before we won the Super Bowl ... that this defense is not what it used to be. We stepped up and showed people they were wrong. The same little mumblings are starting to rumble now, and we're going to step up and show the world again.
Everyone feels the same way we feel, that their chances are just as good as ours. If everybody is not feeling that way in this locker room, I hope to have a conversation with them.
The big-play element is still there. Daunte made a lot of big plays not throwing to Randy.
After that, I'm calling myself everything but a child of God,
It kind of reminds you of something we've seen on the other side of the ball. Back when we were building this franchise.
Their running game has obviously picked up the last couple weeks. They're running strong right now and playing well on defense too. If you can run the ball and get turnovers you're tough and that's what they've been doing the fourth quarter of the season.
We just played collectively as a unit. Everybody did their job and pitched in.
This was about helping the team and putting us in the position to keep a lot of our players here that we currently have and, at the same time, give us something to go get a player that we felt could help us win a Super Bowl. That's the way it's always been when I've done this, a two-way street.
Don't get too excited! We got to go back out there!