John Madden Quotes

I never watched TV because I was always doing a game. I didn't have any experience to be home watching games. I didn't know how to do it. Brent Musburger and those guys could sit and watch every game and know the scores. And I was amazed and said, 'I'd like to have something like that someday.' ~ John Madden

As I look back now on my coaching career, I think of my family, I think of the days that we spent together. I say this to coaches everywhere: If you ever have a chance to take your kids with you, take them. Don't miss that opportunity. Because when it's all over and done with, when you look back, those are going to be your fondest memories. ~ John Madden

Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon. ~ John Madden

Every time I go to the theater, there's something about the atmosphere, seeing something unfold live in front of an audience, that you can't get out of your system. ~ John Madden

If you play the video game, you become more interested and you want to know more about it. You want to read as much about it as you can, see it live and watch as many games as you can. If you're the type who wants to be as involved as you can in the sport, you're probably going to want to play 'Madden NFL.' ~ John Madden

Give something that wasn't expected. ~ John Madden

The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer. ~ John Madden

I think comparisons are odious. ~ John Madden

Both of my sons used to coach high school football. When they started, I'd say things I shouldn't have. So I learned my lesson. ~ John Madden

There is a difference in being in shape and being in football shape. Any one can out on the field and run around , but once you start getting hit and have to get up then you find out the difference between being in shape and football shape. ~ John Madden

Justin Smith was one of the most underrated players in the NFL for what he did. He would sacrifice and do the dirty work, then someone else would clean up off it. ~ John Madden

It's been the video game ever since I got out of coaching. Even when I was an announcer, fewer and fewer people remembered me as 'Coach,' and as the years went on, people just started knowing me from the game. ~ John Madden

The defense should be expecting a run or a pass here. ~ John Madden

If a guy doesn't work hard and doesn't play well, he can't lead anything. All he is, is a talker. ~ John Madden

Some day we're gonna have interactive television where you can pick the shot that you want. You can watch defense, or you can watch the end-zone shot, or you can watch an isolated shot of Terance Mathis or whoever you want to. Because right now, the only thing that you watch is what the producer or director decides to show you. ~ John Madden

Here's a guy who can use his arms and legs at the same time. ~ John Madden

If someone remembers me as a coach, they still call me 'Coach,' but if they know me for the video game, they just call me 'Madden.' ~ John Madden

Nothing jazzes me up like football. I've acquired more passion of the years, not less. Not to love it wouldn't make sense. ~ John Madden

Even when I was a little kid, I hated to dress up. I hated to put on regular shoes. I wanted to play all the time. I hate to wear any kind of coat or sweater. I've never liked hot. I've never liked to be warm. ~ John Madden

From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back. ~ John Madden

You can't win a game if you don't score any points. ~ John Madden

Mark Brunell usually likes to soak his balls before a rainy game. ~ John Madden

At the end of the game the team with the most points on the board is going to win. ~ John Madden

Jim Harbaugh has done a great job of coaching in the NFL no matter how you put it. ~ John Madden

I'm sure that had I not been a coach, I would have been some form of a teacher. ~ John Madden

Whenever you talk about a Mike Shanahan offense, you're always going to be talking about his offense. ~ John Madden

Knowing his coach likes him is more important to a player than anything else. To me, it was important to be able to chew out a player for screwing up and for him to accept it because he knew I liked him anyway. ~ John Madden

You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone. ~ John Madden

The only things that smell good are fat and sugar. Tofu being boiled doesn't smell good. Anything that smells good is fattening. ~ John Madden

I'd like to work with kids in special education - younger kids. ~ John Madden

Real frontier-busting math explores new worlds ... If you can communicate that experience, somewhere between math and uncertainty, life experience provides the balance. ~ John Madden

We need the quarterbacks. It's a passing league and a quarterback-driven league. We need the Peyton Mannings in football uniforms out there playing - the Tom Bradys, the Drew Breeses, the Philip Riverses - we need those guys instead of them standing on the sideline. ~ John Madden

I get a certain feeling when I go to Lambeau field in Green Bay. Soldier field in Chicago is special to me. Those are the places that I really like. The stadiums. ~ John Madden

If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they've had a bad day. ~ John Madden

The quarterback has to get rid of the ball quickly, so there's not a lot of time to make moves to gain separation. ~ John Madden

I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I never really had a job. I was a football player, then a football coach, then a football broadcaster. It's been my life. Pro football has been my life since 1967. I've enjoyed every part of it. Never once did it ever feel like work. ~ John Madden

I'm not afraid of flying; I just fear I'm going to die. I think I'm - vulnerable. I admit it. I don't fly. I got claustrophobia. I don't go in high buildings. I don't do those things. I'm just myself, whatever that is. ~ John Madden

I don't know that the referee can be watching holding on the offensive line and get back to the quarterback. I think watching the quarterback is a full-time job. ~ John Madden

I respect coaches; I respect what good coaches do. I know that you don't learn to be a coach in an hour and a half. ~ John Madden

When people watch football, they're looking for fun things. ~ John Madden

Some yards is better than none yards? ~ John Madden

Discipline in football occurs on the field, not off it. Discipline is knowing what you're supposed to do and doing it as best you can. ~ John Madden

They'll score if they can just get into the endzone. ~ John Madden

It's a big deal. ABC and MNF are a big part of NFL history, and it's going to end with the Super Bowl (on ABC). You can't say you're not looking forward to it . ~ John Madden

The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break. ~ John Madden

Discipline is knowing what you're supposed to do and doing it as best you can ... On third down and short yardage, the Raiders don't jump offside. That's discipline - not a coat and tie, not a clean shave. ~ John Madden

It takes about three times as long to explain to someone why you won't give them an autograph as it does to actually give them an autograph. ~ John Madden

Any defensive coordinator is worried about two things: a running quarterback and a deep ball. You know, don't get beat deep and don't let the quarterback run, because a big part of your defense can't account for the quarterback as a runner, so he gets a free run. ~ John Madden

I like to hear about what people do. That's more interesting than talking about what the hell I do. ~ John Madden

He might want to watch where he lands when tackling that guy, because he could really hurt his hand if it gets stepped on. ~ John Madden

I would have all my offensive linemen wrestle if I could. ~ John Madden

It's a lot easier to get a suit than it is to get a coach. ~ John Madden

Since 1981, I've spent every Thanksgiving Day broadcasting a game, and it is one of my favorite days. You can say, 'Woe is me, I never get to be part of the tradition,' or you can say, 'Heck, we've got our own tradition, and it's pretty good.' ~ John Madden

I would never be one to critique the announcers when I watched games. I try to watch the play and listen to the broadcasters and what they are pointing out. I was never one to say this one was good or bad. ~ John Madden

Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen to what they don't want to hear. ~ John Madden

When the going gets tough, I'm not always sure what you do. I'm not saying that I know how to fix everything when the going gets tough, but I do know this: when the going goes tough, you don't quit. And you don't fold up. And you don't go in the other direction. ~ John Madden

When I watch professional football, I love listening to John Madden because I know he knows what he's talking about. He's been both down in the trenches and in front of the bench as a coach. He knows the game. ~ Robert Kiyosaki

If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life. ~ John Madden

Thursday night football is here to stay. So we're looking at ways to make it safer. Now they're playing division games, so you limit travel. Now the question is, should you play Sunday night before a Thursday night? ~ John Madden

I tried golf for a while, but I wasn't very good at it, so I didn't play a lot of golf. I enjoy all sports, not just football. I like basketball, baseball, and I got into the World Cup. So really, sports in general are my life, and football specifically. ~ John Madden

There was a hidden narrative I felt we could get into, It's about an accessible world. Family and relationships are accessible subjects. ~ John Madden

Having been in football all my life as a player and a coach and having been on the sideline, I think the closer we can get to bringing people what it's like standing and watching the game on the sideline, with a better view, would be the perfect situation for television football. ~ John Madden

When you have great players, playing great, well that's great football! ~ John Madden

If you look at tailgating, everyone does it. It's for everyone who likes to cook outdoors. It could be a 4th of July picnic. ~ John Madden

I wound up through a wild set of circumstances getting into coaching. I went in and volunteered with Don Coryell, who was a big part of my past, great coach. A lot of people say he was one of the greatest coaches ever. He was very good in high school, college and pro. Another guy on that staff was named John Madden. ~ Joe Gibbs

Playing in this nice weather really makes me remember all the times I got stung by a bee. ~ John Madden

A consulting position might work in another profession, but not in pro football. There's no such thing. They give a guy a parking spot and put his name up as a consultant, and in six months, they erase the name. ~ John Madden

When I got out of coaching, I had taught a class at the University of California, an extension class on football for fans. I was looking for tools. I was showing them films. I was going to write a textbook. Trip Hawkins came to me about making it a game for computers. ~ John Madden

The best thing about getting older is knowing history. The longer you live, the longer you have been in a sport, the more you know, and the more you know where things started. ~ John Madden

If you go back to the history of the 'Madden' game, I was probably on the cover of it half the time. So if I was to believe there was a curse, I would also have to believe I'd been cursed. And I've never had that feeling. ~ John Madden

The thing that I always respected about Bruce Arians was, when he was at Pittsburgh, he let Ben Roethlisberger decide what he liked. I used to do that. You can put something in and force-feed it to a quarterback. But if he doesn't like it and have his heart in it, it's not going to be as good as when he really likes something. ~ John Madden

One of the biggest gaps in sports is the difference between the winning and losing teams of the Super Bowl. They don't invite the losing team to the White House. They don't have parades for them. They don't throw confetti on them. ~ John Madden

I've always said winning's the great deodorant, and conversely, when you have a bad record, everything stinks, and everything starts to unravel, and everything falls apart. ~ John Madden

Sports has always been a pass-through. You pay for something, and then you pass it through to television, you pass it through to advertisers, or you pass it through to season-ticket holders, luxury boxes and then the fans. Then it all adds up, and you take in more than you pass out. ~ John Madden

Any time you get a new running back, whether it's a rookie or hasn't played a lot, that's the first thing you test, is their pass protection. That's big. ~ John Madden

Don't do anything great if you can't handle the congratulations. ~ John Madden

You're not going to eliminate concussions. Anytime you hit your head, you have a chance of getting a concussion, in any sport, too. I think we have to learn more about it. Part of it is rules, part of it is equipment, part of it is medical studies, knowing more about the brain. ~ John Madden

People say, 'Is broadcasting the same as coaching?' I say, 'Hell, no.' Coaching, you win and lose. Broadcasting, you don't win and lose. Coaching was a lot bigger than broadcasting. ~ John Madden

In Oakland, Al Davis was a genius. We had Ron Wolff there, too, and he was a genius. There was no room for me to be a genius. ~ John Madden

He would have scored a touchdown if he hadn't been tackled right there. ~ John Madden

If you lose your best cornerback and punter, I'd say that's a double loss. ~ John Madden

I was a coach, and I put a lot of education and experience into coaching. ~ John Madden

He got up looking out of his earhole! ~ John Madden

In order for this team to win the game, the quarterback has to throw the ball. ~ John Madden

There definitely needs to be water on the sidelines for these players, but I also had some Gatorade just in case they were allergic to the water or vice versa. ~ John Madden

Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble. ~ John Madden

I've often said, 'If I had one drive to win a game to this day, and I had a quarterback to pick, I would pick Kenny.' Snake was a lot cooler than I was. He was a perfect quarterback and a perfect Raider. When you think about the Raiders, you think about Ken Stabler. ~ John Madden

I was in New York on September 11 when those planes hit the World Trade Center. At the time, it seemed like it was a local thing. But three or four days later, by the time we drove across the country in the bus, we realized it wasn't a local thing. You could really feel the states become united. We became the United States of America. ~ John Madden

I'm a firm believer that there's no way that a six-year-old should have a helmet on and learn a tackling drill. ~ John Madden

Lastly, those are not at all to be tolerated who deny the being of a God. Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all; besides also, those that by their atheism undermine and destroy all religion, can have no pretence of religion whereupon to challenge the privilege of a toleration. As for other practical opinions, though not absolutely free from all error, if they do not tend to establish domination over others, or civil impunity to the Church in which they are taught, there can be no reason why they should not be tolerated. ~ John Locke

My father was this big, tough guy, almost heroic in proportion to me as a child. It was only later that I saw how fearful he was. ~ John Burnside

The artist's business is to feel, although he may think a little sometimes ... when he has nothing better to do. ~ John Ruskin

Fresh air is as good for the mind as for the body. Nature always seems trying to talk to us as if she had some great secret to tell. And so she has. ~ John Lubbock

Hate no one; hate their vices, not themselves. ~ John Gardiner Calkins Brainard

Rich and great people can take care of themselves; but the poor and defenceless the men with small cottages and large families the men who must work six days every week if they are to live in anything like comfort for a week, these men want defenders; they want men to maintain their position in Parliament; they want men who will protest against any infringement of their rights. ~ John Bright

I write in expectation that readers want to participate in a kind of two-sided game: They are trying to guess what I am up to - what the story's up to - and I'm giving them clues and matter to keep them interested without giving everything away at the start. Even the rules, if any, of the game are for the reader to discover. ~ John Crowley

Some one has said of a fine and honorable old age, that it was the childhood of immortality. ~ John Wolcot

Only those who do not expect anything are never disappointed. Only those who never try, never fail. Anyone who is currently achieving anything in life is simultaneously risking failure. It is always better to fail in doing something than to excel in doing nothing. A flawed diamond is more valuable than a perfect brick. People who have no failures also have few victories. ~ John Landis Mason

Stress is when you're 29 years old, playing for Rochdale, with an expiring contract and a mortgage to pay. ~ John Gregory

If you love a Dream Woman ... let her stay the divine Woman of the Dream. To awaken and clasp flesh and blood, no matter how delicately tender, and find that love has sped at the dawn is a misery too deep for tears. ~ William John Locke