DT-COREY SIMON PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (general comments on DT-Corey Simon signing with Colts)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"It's great to welcome Corey here. It's great to have him. It's great to have an owner like (Colts Owner and CEO) Jim Irsay, who's willing to make the commitment that it takes to get a player of this caliber. We've been talking, it seems, since the day (Head Coach) Tony (Dungy) arrived about a defensive tackle who could be a difference-maker for us, and we feel that Corey is that player in this defense. We understand that he has not had any training camp and so we don't anticipate that he's going to be out there playing 70 plays in the next couple of weeks. But we'll get him to where he's comfortable, and we think in this system he's going to do a great job."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (general comments on DT-Corey Simon signing with Colts)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"We are obviously very excited about having Corey Simon here with us and being part of our family and part of our football team. It's not often that you can get players of this caliber and people of this caliber. And that's probably the biggest thing that was important to us, not only a very good player, but everyone we had references with—Florida State and Philadelphia—just talked about the type of person he was and what he was going to bring to the locker room. So we're as excited about that. But as (Colts President) Bill (Polian) mentioned, you talk about this defense and the defensive tackle position, and what that means and adding another person to our rotation, and somebody who really is a different type physically than we've had, is going to be exciting for us. I think all of our players are fired up about it. Our task right now is to get Corey acclimated to how we do things and what we do and get him comfortable in the system. But once he does that, I think you're going to see a really, really tremendous player. We have to be careful and not think one person is the answer or the end-all and that everything's going to be perfect. Because we have Corey, he's going to be a big help and he's going to do a lot of things for us, but it's still a team game. I think he's going to be a big part of the puzzle of what we want to do on defense. So, we're excited about this, looking forward to it and ready to move down the road."
DT-COREY SIMON (general comments on signing with Colts)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to play for an organization that's dedicated to winning. Over the last few years, this team has done tremendous things, and hopefully I can just be a piece of that puzzle to move them a little further. I missed out on a Super Bowl ring last year, and I'm very excited about being here because I think the possibility of obtaining one here is beyond our wildest dreams. I think it could happen this year. That's the way I always see things. Growing up and really becoming a part of some successful teams, playing at Florida State and winning there, and going to Philadelphia and winning there, I've never become accustomed to losing. So I definitely see that here with the staff and the guys on this team. I definitely want to come in and continue to move in that direction. I don't know what it feels like to have a .500 season or less than a .500 season. So, anything less than winning I'm not going to be comfortable with. I'm going to go out there and do my best to help this team move to that next level, and hopefully we'll have a ring in the next year or two."
DT-COREY SIMON (on if he was irritated or upset in Philadelphia, or if it was just the business)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"It's the business. It's totally the business. I have a great relationship with everybody over there. (Head Coach) Andy (Reid) and I, we talked and we talk outside of football. So when he called me up and said, 'Corey, listen, I'm going to let you go,' he knew that that was a tremendous opportunity for me, and they were comfortable in the position in that they were moving, to get some of those young guys in there. And from a business standpoint, it saves them some money. So, there were no hard feelings. It was somewhat of a surprise because I had the (franchise tag) on me all offseason. But to drop that in the last two weeks of the preseason, it came on as a little bit of a surprise. I wasn't unhappy about the situation. It was bittersweet, but it was an opportunity for me to move on and go somewhere else and hopefully make an impact there. I'm going to miss some of the guys that I played with, I'm going to miss some of the fans I played in front of…they weren't all bad. I enjoyed those guys, and the one thing about this business is that phones work, and I can still maintain those relationships and continue to go out and play hard and do what I like to do.
"It worked out, it worked out great. I'm coming to a great organization. It's rare that something like this happens."
DT-COREY SIMON (on his style and what he brings to the Colts)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"I've been in a defense over the last five years that was really different for me coming out of college. This defense is very much like what we did in college. We got up the field, we attacked. There wasn't a whole lot of reading. You read your run on the way to the quarterback. The last five years we did a little two-gap in Philadelphia. There was some single-gap at times, but you played more under control, and here I get to go out there—and when I looked over the playbook last night and I got a chance to really see some of the things they do, watching the game—is I get to get after it again. And that's what I enjoy doing. I enjoy getting after the quarterback, and I think that's what I'm geared to do."
DT-COREY SIMON (on why this is a good fit for him)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"For those reasons, for winning. I think it's a great coaching staff. I got a chance to meet (Head) Coach (Tony) Dungy, a great guy, and everything that I've heard from several of his former players, guys that are great, great friends of mine in Anthony McFarland and Derrick (Brooks) and guys I value their opinion very highly. They told me the kind of guy he is. (Defensive Assistant) Leslie Frazier, who's now here on the staff. I played under Leslie for three years in Philadelphia, and he's such a great guy. And then the spiritual family that I have here, with some of the guys that are on the team here—Hunter Smith, Tarik Glenn and Jeff Saturday. I know these guys. We have a church here in town…it just seemed like a great fit. When I prayed about it, it was obvious. It was obvious where I was supposed to be, and this is where I ended up."
DT-COREY SIMON (on being the missing link to the defense and the pressure that comes with that)Saturday, September 3, 2005
"I embrace it. I want to go out there and play the way I'm capable of playing. If I'm the missing piece, then all fine and good. But I'm not going to discount those guys that have been out there playing for the last few years. They've done a great job. It's one or two plays that gets you beat, and hopefully, I can go out there and provide some of those plays that won't get us beat. That's what seasons hinge on. It hasn't been blowouts that have killed this organization. It's one or two plays here and there, and that's how it works in the NFL. You have a lot of good teams in this league, and everybody has great players. Whoever is able to put all the pieces together on Sunday are the teams that come out and win. I just want to go out there and help us to put it together on defe
