Seahawks react to resignation of team president Tim Ruskell

Reaction from the Seahawks' locker room to Thursday's announcement Tim Ruskell was stepping down as the team's president and general manager:

Jim Mora, coach: "My heart goes out to Tim and his family. Tim's a good man and a good football man, and I'm disappointed that we couldn't have performed better and given him the help he needed."

Right tackle Ray Willis, last week's captain: "You know what, Mr. Ruskell is definitely going to be missed. He has done a lot for the organization. I think as a team, we're kind of like the little people in this building. We've got to continue to strive on, we've got to concentrate on San Fran."

Fullback Justin Griffith, who played for Ruskell in Atlanta and signed here in Seattle: "He's a good man. You can tell by the guys that he drafted, that he put in this room. Good men, but you know, when you're not having a good season, things are going to change. I hate it had to be him, but with this team, we have to move forward because we still have a chance to get into the playoffs and hopefully make some noise."

Wide receiver Nate Burleson: "It's tough to see him go. I feel like he took a lot of the responsibility for bringing me in. Anybody who supported me, I'm obviously going to show my support back so when I heard the news this morning, it was somewhat of a shock."

Safety Deon Grant, defensive captain: "We [have] seen what happened last year when we knew we were going to have a lot of changes as far as losing the Big Show [coach Mike Holmgren] and knowing that the next year we were going to have a new head coach and all that. It messed our year up last year and I felt like we should have had a better year than what we had. The main thing I'm trying to keep instilled in the guys is that we've got to finish 9-7."

Deion Branch, wide receiver: "That was bold in a good way. A man who's taking a lot of heat when the heat should be on the players. Him being a man and sitting back and wanting to remove everything — the nonsense, the negativity that's going around about him — and to take those distractions away from the team to try to help us move forward so we can close out the season. I think that was a bold move on his behalf. It speaks volumes on the type of general manager he is. Everybody should have a great deal of respect for him for that. And I think all this stuff falls back on the players. He's done everything he possibly can to put this team together and to line things up the right way as far as people put all the blame on him, I think that's wrong."

Patrick Kerney, defensive end who played for Ruskell in Atlanta and was signed by him in 2007: "Wins or losses are the barometers for every one of us, from the general manager right on down to the guy most recently signed. So it affects all of us, but I think last year, it had to be some type of NFL record for starters missing games. So this year has been a difficult year as well, but it's certainly not over and we're certainly not out of it."

Matt Hasselbeck, quarterback and offensive captain: "You could tell how much he cared about the team. Like all of us, a little disappointed with the way things have shook out this year. But all in all, I would just say a class act. He's hurting just as much as we are with the way things have gone."

Danny O'Neil