Quote:
Originally Posted by htismaqe
Actually, I believe Pioli said that somebody else compared him to Maryland in a conversation between that person and Pioli.
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“I had an interesting conversation this week with Coach (Jimmy) Johnson. We were talking about defensive linemen, and I’m NOT comparing him to this player I’m about to speak about. I remember Coach Johnson a long time ago in conversations Bill and I had had with him and in separate conversations about Russell Maryland. That year they were due to pick the fourth spot overall and they traded up from four to one to get Russell Maryland, a player who played in the league for 10 years, had only 24 and a half sacks over the course of his career and only went to one Pro Bowl. But Coach Johnson talked about the importance of Russell Maryland – again, different positions – how he allowed him to play the defense they wanted to play and what an important component he was even though he didn’t rack up sacks or only went to one Pro Bowl. What he was as a player in a very key position allowed the defense to be what the defense was.