Dobbs' Diatribes

From last week's football media session, some quotes from defensive end Demarcus Dobbs...

On the difficulties of heading into spring practice with so few healthy D-ends...
It's going to be difficult. We've had some guys that needed to have surgery after the season and they aren't going to be able to participate. For spring practice it's going to be me, Houston and Jeremy Longo. Houston played last year so he has some experience on the field, but Longo redshirted. It's going to be a grind, but we're prepared for it.

On what he expects of spring practice...
Well, we only have three people, so we're only going to do as much as we can. We're going to go into spring motivated, we're going to go with energy. We may only have three guys, but us three can hold our own.

On turning the page from a frustrating 2008...
Yeah, we turned the page. Last year was last year and this year is a new year. We're in the weight room doing a lot more. We're motivated and working hard.

On his relationship with Justin Houston...
We're like the two amigos. But Longo has been there too. He's been in all the practices and all the meetings with us. He was actually my little brother. We had the little big brother thing. But I hang around Longo all the time. We're just ready to go, ready to roll.

On his ankle injury...
Well, my injury's doing good. I had an MRI and it came back negative. So I'm just doing some rehad and treatment on it, but I'll be ready to go.

On his expectations for 2009...
I expect big things for myself and out of the defensive unit role. We didn't get as many sacks as we wanted last year, and we knew that pressure and quarterback hurries isn't as appealing as a sack. We're just working hard to better ourselves. Personally, I can get faster, quicker and stronger.

On the significance of a healthy Atkins-Owens-Weston combo on the interior line...
It's going to be a big boost. With Jeff deciding to stay and not enter the draft, he has a lot of energy and a lot of leadership qualities. It's going to be a boost for our defense and defensive line. Kade and Geno did awesome last year and it's just going to be very comforting knowing that you have such skill and talent.

(*courtesy of Doug Stutsman)