Frank Deford Quotes

A quarterback is always going to be the most valuable player on a football field because he touches the ball every single offensive play.

At some point, you're not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL. That's when you have to be able to throw the ball.

You put a real tough tight end with good hands in the hash area, and there won't be anyone who can cover him. Then you really control the passing game.

Should we go back to huddling? Should we go back to putting all these tight ends in there and have 250 yards a game? It doesn't win anymore. So should we do it because that's what the people before us did? No.

You've got one football and a lot of times, defenses dictate where the ball goes.

What quarterback doesn't like some speed on the outside?

I think first and foremost, you've got to be able to run the football to be successful in college football. Some teams have thrown the ball 60 times a game and had success doing that. But I think you've got to be able to run the football to have success.

You have to have a deep passing game within your offense. It's got to be incorporated in some form or fashion.

Don't ever underestimate Mike Gundy throwing the ball with his quarterbacks.

It's good to be able to run and have a balanced offense. They've got to be worried about both things. They can't just focus on the run game or the passing game and have us locked down that way. So when you have balance, good things are going to happen on offense.

The game has changed since the '70s as more coaches have looked at ways to make it tougher on defenses. But I'm glad my career turned out the way it did - I would have never gotten a chance to learn the defensive side of the ball.

It's always great when you just pound the rock, impose your will, and that is going to break the spirit of the defense if you can keep running it and they can't stop you.

I'm a bit surprised that the Raiders turned to Art Shell to be their new head coach, not because Shell isn't a good head coach - he had success before as the Raiders' head coach - but because he's been away from the game so long and the game has changed a lot in those years.

In football, time and space are the same thing.

The most deceptive course in football is straight at the goalposts.

Nobody I ever broke bread with - and I see players all the time - talked about using their head running the football. I've seen Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen and Franco Harris, and we've all been together - we were all together at the Super Bowl - and no one talked about using their head.

I'll make changes at receiver before I make a change at the quarterback.

I could never understand why they did that to Barry Sanders in Detroit. I know that's one of the reasons why he retired, because they took him out on third down and let someone else catch the ball. I thought they must be out of their mind because Barry is such a threat.

The way Guardiola plays suits me. It enables me to get into space in attacking positions.

Football is about scoring, and if you want to do that, you have to go forward.

I'm trying to evolve with how football is going.

One of the things I'd bring to Villa if I was in charge is the idea that winning is important in football, but winning while playing offensive football is the best of all.

As the West Coast offense has spread out among the NFL, as all of Bill Walsh's assistants and all of Mike Holmgren's assistants have gone on to be head coaches, it's all the West Coast offense, but it's all a little different, tailored to the personnel or the coordinators or the resources each team has.

I think England has to change the way they are teaching football because football is changing, and the method isn't changing as much.

When teams play good football, it tends to create chances for the striker.