Ryan Clark

“Progress is a part of life and progress is possible.”

“When you're able to get turnovers, it keeps people from scoring points, and if you get turnovers in the right positions on the field, it allows your offense to score points. It's as simple as that.”

“In 2007, I lost my spleen and gallbladder, and I was just sick. I got altitude sickness from sickle cell trait while playing in Denver. I didn't even know if I was going to live, much less play again.”

“I know what it's like not to be able to play and almost have football taken away from me. I never want to be a guy who takes it away from someone else.”

“I'll be honest, the years we tried to go in there and fire zone and play Tom Brady in that way, he was able to pick us apart. In that, you're not overloading the offense - one-on-one rushes, only rushing five, so he's able to find places to go.”

“To have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl, play in another and play in a Pro Bowl, it's been amazing.”

“To be able to go places and take over stadiums, the Steelers are spoiled by the fans they have.”

“I graduated from the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU.”

“I try to be the hammer. I try to be the one doing the hitting, because if you're the guy sitting back waiting for the other guy to get to you, it's going to be trouble.”

“You never give up football. You just get too old to play it. But I think about my family. Is it selfish to keep playing for so long?”

“I do believe they're trying to do the best that they can to keep players healthy, but you can't protect everything. Obviously you want to protect the head, and you've done that. Now you have to let us play.”

“My whole thing is getting to the ball as fast as I can to make a play.”

“The NFL has been a family experience for us. My kids have been there for the whole thing. They've seen Super Bowls, they've seen Pro Bowls. It's been hard, but we did it.”

“No matter what Kobe or LeBron do, we've already seen some form of it in Michael Jordan. Everyone else is a knockoff.”

“I'm from New Orleans; I talk a certain way.”

“To be honest, I was a big Tom Jackson fan. Everybody watched 'NFL Primetime' and 'NFL Countdown,' and the dude was always so poised. It felt like he never said anything wrong. I was also a huge Stuart Scott fan.”

“There are only two things I loved the first time I ever held them. A football and my children.”

“I want the conversations I have with my homeboys to be brought to TV.”

“We didn't always have cable growing up in Louisiana. In raising three kids, having every channel available wasn't much of a priority for my mother and father.”

“There's never been a time on the field I thought to myself, 'Oh man, we're 0-4; Oh man, we're 2-6.' While you play, you think about that play, you think about that moment.”