Joe Thomas Quotes

Plays are designed to attack certain coverages and schemes.

Even as a coach, sometimes you forget the little intricacies of the offense, the details of the routes, the timing of the footwork, and the timing of the offensive tackles with the different sets that they have.

A lot of different things go into calling the run game - especially at the line of scrimmage.

When I'm lined up in the middle, it's a lot of freelancing and blitzing.

You have to just have football knowledge. Without football knowledge, it doesn't matter how much skill you have.

I would say Pep Guardiola's No. 1 quality is that he sees the technical and tactical aspect of a game really fast.

When you know how to read football, it is easier for some players.

I'm a realist, I understand football and situations in the game.

You've probably heard from 100 different people that the Patriots are a game plan offense. Here's what that means: We're going to watch the defense specifically to identify their tendencies, what they do situationally and what their philosophy is.

I've been in three offenses in the NFL. I think I'm pretty good now.

I know a lot about football. I know a lot about this game.

You can learn a lot from Pep Guardiola. From pre-season to the match itself. He has a vision of the game that is impressive.

I've studied the game in every different aspect that I can.

Before I go up against the best forwards in the world - Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar - I study their strengths and weaknesses like an obsession, and then I plan how I am going to attack. My goal is to show the world that Dani Alves is on the same level.

Football is made up of episodes.

I've played a lot of football in my life. I know the tempo and speed of the game.

Beyond studying, though, I think a coach should mainly have knowledge of football: if you do not know what to say to the players then you are not going anywhere.

I do catch NFL games every now and again, and it doesn't remind me of anything that I watch when breaking down opponents or watching college games on TV. It's completely different.

A lot of sprinters aren't football players. I'm a football player. That's the difference between me and a sprinter. My knowledge of the game. I'm totally different than any other track guy.

I came from a high school where I didn't have a playbook or anything like that. Coach would draw it up and get the headset on, and we'd go after it.

A defensive coordinator is always going to try to throw you something different and get you out of your element, and I have to do better with the pass protection.

If I watch big games like the Champions League on TV then I'm definitely watching what different centre-backs are doing in certain situations.

I was such a big football fan in general, I just watched as many games as I could and I picked up things from every game.

You have different schemes for different teams. Some teams blitz a lot, and some teams drop eight in coverage.

You have to be able to recognize defenses on your own in pro football. You can't look to the sideline and read some board. You've got to recognize the defense on your own, and then you've got to communicate to your offensive teammates what you want them to do.