In a national conference call on July 23, St. Louis Rams head coach Dick Vermeil talked about his return to coaching and two of his young players -- quarterback Tony Banks and running back Lawrence Phillips.

On why he returned to coaching: "I just couldn’t fill up my gas tank broadcasting. There was an emptiness there. I just could not do it. Sometimes in life the greatest risk is not taking one. I passed up some opportunities and I started saying to myself that I may never do it and I may regret it the rest of my life."

On Tony Banks: "Tony Banks has a lot of talent. He needs a lot of work which he is getting here. He’s a smart kid, which is a real advantage. He’s had a different offensive coordinator every year he’s played football. There was a period of time when he tried to play baseball instead of football. He was at junior college with two different guys, at Michigan State with two different guys, and now here at the St. Louis Rams with two different coordinators and quarterback coaches. It holds him back, but eventually he’s going to be better for it because of the exposure.

"People say he’s a big, strong guy with a strong arm, but one of his biggest advantages is he’s smart. He learns well. Once he’s on the field he works well. Like all young NFL players sometimes it takes them awhile to find out what you really have to do to be a great NFL player. It’s going to take him some time."

On Lawrence Phillips: "I don’t think I’ve ever been on the field with a player of his ability. I’ve been on the field with some players that played awfully well at that position, Wilbert Montgomery and Lawrence McCutcheon, but never with one as talented as this guy."