Tim Ruskell
Tim Ruskell
Tim Ruskellis a former team president and director of player personnel for the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, and current scout for the Tennessee Titans...
looking
We still have to look. We were looking even before Jeb went down.
coach knew sets teammates tempo usc
We knew that his teammates at USC rallied around him. His coach, Pete Carroll, went on and on about his intangibles. He sets the tempo for a defense. He's very confident.
focused good player return somebody
We're not just going to be focused on that, even on Day 2 if he's a good special-teams player and not a return guy. But I would think that we would come away with somebody who does one or both.
game great joy quite ready threw watch win year
(The Panthers) weren't ready for some of that stuff, which threw them off. And that's how you win big games. Mike's called it great all year long; he's quite a game manager, and he's been a joy to watch this season.
backs basically best football history lifetime national running signed
We've just signed one of the best running backs in the history of the National Football League, basically in essence, to a lifetime deal.
inside
We'd already had undersized inside players. For any other team, it would have been. For us, it was, 'OK, another 6-footer.'
came certainly draft effect enamored height maybe numbers speed teams
It certainly had an effect on us. But some teams are so enamored by the numbers -- the height and the speed -- that maybe he was there (high on teams' draft boards) and then came off after the workout.
arguing labor midnight passion trade
It could be midnight and we're still arguing about a fifth-rounder. It's a labor of love. We all have passion for it and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
blow character collection fly guys nation resilience saw sum
I think the nation saw the resilience of this team, the character, the teamwork. We're not a collection of stars. We don't blow you away. We're really better than the sum of our parts. These guys play hard, they fly around, they give you everything they have.
attention bigger buy concept league maybe paying players strive team
From a philosophical standpoint, I think the whole league is paying attention to that. They get the players to buy into the system, and no one is bigger than the team. It's a team concept all the way. We all strive for that -- maybe some more than others.
deep draft particular
Fortunately, this draft in particular is deep in those.
formula quickly
There is a formula and there is a way to get to that point. You don't know how quickly it's going to happen.
bringing eventually extent gamble injury peter took
We took a gamble at bringing Peter in. The extent of his injury was probably more than we thought it was. He was a borderline. But we did know eventually he would be OK.
again talk until
We told him we would not talk with him again until after the draft, if that's necessary.