Quotes from Pisa

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/rams/story/2813640F31F931F0862573310012654B?OpenDocument

Thank you to Tombo for sending me this link!

When he reviewed his game film from last season, Pisa was very critical of himself:
"My tackling was horrible. It was horrific. And I kind of prided myself on bringing guys down. And then as far as taking on blockers, I felt really soft at the point. I wasn't using my hands as much because I didn't trust 'em." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SLPD Note: "He didn't trust them because as Tinoisamoa's nightmarish 2006 season progressed, there wasn't much on his upper body that still worked. Hand, elbow and shoulder problems sidelined Tinoisamoa for five games — the first contests missed by the linebacker as an NFL player. Even when he was on the field, the avalanche of injuries forced Tinoisamoa to compensate in various ways in terms of tackling form. Predictably, as his tackling form suffered, so did his tackling."


About how surgery fixed his shoulder, Pisa said:
"It was dislocated and the muscle was torn. So what they did is reattach it to the bone and make sure that I do have that strength and that function when my arm goes overhead or when my arm is extended." (SLPD)


About how he took his body for granted in the past, Pisa said:
"I didn't really take care of myself as much as I should have. I kind of took things for granted, that it didn't matter what happened to me. I felt like I could take on the world and still be all right." (SLPD)


Pisa ate better and put more time in the weight room this offseason, and he did specific types of exercises to strengthen the muscles around his elbow and shoulder, as he explained:
"To make sure that when it comes to game time, I can trust that they're going to hang in there tight. I can just go ahead and play and perform and know it's strong." (SLPD)


Pisa is a solid 240 pounds now, but he played at 235 last year and said:
"And it was a bad 235. It was really soft. So I definitely got a lot stronger this year." (SLPD)



About relearning how to use his hands and proper tackling technique, Pisa said:
"I feel like a kid trying to walk. I'm learning how to use these hands now, and it's different. But I'm getting to use them, and I feel more confident in using them." (SLPD)


About how Pisa will use the preseason games to test his injuries and build up confidence that he's healthy, coach Scott Linehan said:
"That's the only way you get it. You can't really wait till you play the first regular-season game. You don't want to be going into that game and finding out whether you're ready or not. There's no better way to do it than to play a certain amount of snaps in these preseason games." (SLPD)


About how losing Pisa last season hurt their defense, Linehan said:
"Not that we had bad chemistry, but when Pisa wasn't in there it disrupted our playing chemistry. He's just such a dependable guy." (SLPD)