INDIANAPOLISCOLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN ON DAY TWO OF THE NFL DRAFT
PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (On the attraction to Tyjaun Hagler) Sunday, April 24, 2005
"We thought that he had quickness and ability and real striking power. He's a player that didn't blossom until this year, so when we talked to his coach (Mark Dantonio) earlier in the week, he said he had a hard time finding a place for him in a new system, but when they did, he thrived and the graph was all up from there. As we went through the tapes, we saw a guy who can run and hit, which is what we want in our linebackers. I don't know if he's the ideal middle linebacker at this time, but we'll find out. He certainly can play football and that's really what you want. Our linebacker positions are interchangeable. In many ways you can move a player here or there."
PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (On possibly signing Rob Morris) Sunday, April 24, 2005
"We have to sit down and see what the issues are. I wouldn't say no. With all the youth we have, it may be nice to have a veteran presence there. In my opinion Rob is a good player. I've said all along and I've said to his agent that we like Rob Morris here. I certainly would not close the door."
PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (On second day of the draft results) Sunday, April 24, 2005
"We've always done well on the second day. Part of that is because we don't invest in veterans just by the numbers; players have to come to the floor, but that's our philosophy and you tend to make what you believe in, so what happens is when you believe in these types of players, if they have the goods, then they tend to come to the floor. It's all part of the cap management plan when you have as much invested in the triplets as we do. It's extremely important that the difference be made up by low salaried entry-level players. The secret is to find entry-level players who don't play like entry-level players and we've been fairly fortunate in that area over the last couple of years."
PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (On the importance of tackling in the secondary) Sunday, April 24, 2005
"I can't emphasis the importance of tackling in the secondary. When we came home from Foxboro (last season), the thing I think gnawed at us (Tony Dungy) both the most was the tackling in the secondary. That had to get better. We had a good number of interceptions, but I didn't think the play-making was stellar. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't stellar either. We had to get better. There were far too many misses. You can't be a tackler unless you're physical. When you have to tackle (running) backs of the caliber that we play you have to be a flat-back guy. You have to be the one that knocks them back at the collegiate level. If you're grabbing on and holding on for dear life, you're going to be holding on for a long time in this league. "
