Nick Saban Quotes

While it's great for a quarterback to have athletic ability, his goal is to get the ball out of his hand, orchestrate the offense and not allow his ability to stand in the way of the offense running efficiently.

I love everything about being a quarterback. The ball is in your hand at every play. You can have a huge impact on the game. It is a challenge.

I think the number one job as a quarterback is protecting the football.

My favorite quarterback is Donovan McNabb. I think he's a complete quarterback. I love the way he can scramble and throw on the run. He can do it all. He can control a game.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a quarterback who thinks playing quarterback is just about passing.

I think there's a special relationship between the center and quarterback.

I actually watched Tom Brady a good amount in college. My coach in college was Kliff Kingsbury, and he actually was a backup for Brady at one point, and so he showed me things that he liked with Tom and his pocket movements and stuff he did within the pocket that I've tried to put in my game a little bit.

Look at guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Those guys have great arms, but people talk about them more as a quarterbacks and the intellectual side of the game and how they really dissect defenses - and then the arm is something else that helps them with that.

Aaron Rodgers - I love the way he scrambles and how he plays the game - he always makes great decisions with the ball.

I believe I am a player that can organise the game well for my team.

In order to win in this league, you have to have a quarterback who can make all the throws, who makes great decisions, somebody who can get you out of bad situations, that just gives you a chance.

As a quarterback, you have to go out and take care of the ball. That is your No. 1 priority.

A quarterback should be leaders of the team.

Any quarterback that understands what the offense is really about is going to succeed.

You know, quarterbacks, I think greatness in quarterbacks is taking what you've got, whether it's a great team, a good team, or a struggling team and make them better.

It's my job, first and foremost, to take care of the football. Guys work their tails off. That's Football 101. From the time you play youth ball to high school, college, pro, every level, that's the starting point for every quarterback. You have to take care of the ball.

Young quarterbacks do well because they have a great defense.

I think I could describe the perfect quarterback. Take a little piece of everybody. Take John Elway's arm, Dan Marino's release, maybe Troy Aikman's drop-back, Brett Favre's scrambling ability, Joe Montana's two-minute poise and, naturally, my speed.

We're not running the ball again until we get ahead. Shula was calling the plays, but I told them, 'I don't care what he calls. We're throwing every pass from now until we get the lead.' To Shula's credit, he always gave me that option.

He is a very positive captain; he is proactive as well as reactive. He is keen to read the game, to get in there, and he never stops thinking about the game, the situation, and trying to turn it to his advantage. He has been very good for the game.

I like to think I'm pretty close in comparison to Aaron Rodgers. He's very athletic and gets the ball out quickly. He's very knowledgeable of the game, controls the offense totally, and that's something I try to do. Just know the offense inside and out.

I definitely feel like I'm a really good playmaker, a really smart point guard that can lead his team and win.

Quarterbacks need to make their team better. If it's a bad team, they can even make a bad team better.

My height doesn't define my skill set. To be a great quarterback, you have to have great leadership, great attention to detail and a relentless competitive nature - and I try to bring that on a daily basis.

I've tried to get cute - and I don't mind saying tried to be cute - at the quarterback spot.