Oct. 25, 2004
Opening Comments
"Good afternoon we are, as always, we are in preparation stages for Nebraska. Obviously this is a very critical game as we have four games left in the season and every game is hugely important, and none more important then this one here. It will certainly be a great challenge...they are a very good football team and it is going to take a great effort on our part. "
"Damian Nash has been indefinitely suspended for disciplinary reasons and I'm consistent with how I handle all those issues and I have no further comment."
"I talked to Tony last night and I gave Tony the option on what he wanted to do. You know Tony hasn't been really ready, he's physically ready to run the football and catch, but as far as all the blocking and all the detail because he missed two a days, it's taking time. It takes time to get ready. We've always got him in a position to improve and about a game or two or go he was getting to a point where he thought he could start playing. I asked Tony and Tony said that his quote to me was I want to do it for the team and I'm dying to play, so we will play Tony Temple."
On splitting time between Temple and Woods:
"We will make that decision Thursday."
"I mean we just run our offense and move the next guy up. That's what we do. I do what I feel is the right thing to do. I don't ever base them on the effect on the team as far as win/loss, I don't do that. I do it purely on what I think is the right thing for the individual and the right thing for the program and will prepare and try to get better and hopefully play more consistent on offense."
On Tony Temple:
"Oh he will probably be a little nervous. I would suggest, but he's dying to play. He's been dying to play and he's worked very hard. You know a couple of games ago we were thinking about playing him and we just didn't feel (he had) all the details down on playing the position and he's just been working so hard on it, but he will do fine."
On the upcoming Nebraska game:
"I think we've been playing pretty good. I feel real good about our team that way. Actually, I'm concerned with the consistency of our offense a little bit. I mean obviously I would be. I feel like our kids have been ready to play and are playing with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of emotion. I think when we play like that I think we play hard."
On where lack of inconsistency is coming from:
"I think when you look at it, you've got to coach better and play better. We analyze things and try to keep improving, but we certainly need to get better. You know there are reasons why you win and reasons why you lose football games. We did not play well on defense or offense the second half of the game (against Oklahoma State) and I'm responsible for it. You're looking at the guy in charge and, did we want to play, well no question we wanted to play, but we did not play well on either side of the ball. So you can look up at the stars and say oh gosh what happened, but we didn't play well and that's my responsibility and that's the facts. We've got to keep working hard. It's a 60 minute game, you've got to play it you know and you've got to keep working hard. It's the same thing I've been doing forever. I'm not going to change what I do."
On Brad Smith:
"I think they're (opponents' defense) very cautious of him. I think they send safeties down and they have some people spy, defensive people linebackers on him, spying and almost assign a player to him. They don't let him get out and contain they stay home...they are very disciplined, that's pretty smart, so it's been a little more difficult to get him out in person."
"You have to understand that a lot of people do what we do now. We see some of those belly plays the belly option plays and the nakeds and all that stuff. Shoot, almost everybody we play does a form of it; the counter with the quarterback and the power play with the quarterback, those kind of things, so I think more people are seeing it and you see it from more people, so that when they come to play us obviously they are a little bit more prepared. That's why it's been a little bit more difficult to get him out in space."
Brad Smith's touchdown pass to Martin Rucker against Oklahoma State:
"He's (Brad Smith) a heck of an athlete. He got some space out there and it was a decision whether or not he could make it running. There were two defenders there too if you look at the video. The amazing thing was when I look at for a quarterback is he squared up, is he squared up because if he's squared up he can see everything in front of him. His shoulders are turned in a direction one way or the other then he can't see defenders coming from different sides, but he was completely squared. He knew what he was doing, he had some good blocks from some teammates to get out there, but I obviously I thought it was a good play."
"You know I think initially there was a player open I don't think he saw him and then he got out of there and found some space and made a play."
On Nebraska:
"They do a few more things. They blitz more, they have a real good scheme, they do a lot of different things and they have a real complex scheme as far as they put a lot of pressure on you, they come after you in many different ways. They do a good job of giving you in most situations several things that you have to be concerned about and its just very good design. So, if you have third and let's say seventeen instead of having one or two things they give you three or four things percentage wise within those areas that make it a little more difficult to call plays and they do that throughout there entire defense so it's very impressive. (Barrett) Ruud their middle linebacker is a great player...they have a lot of good players they. They are still a Nebraska defense of old. They have great players...he's (Ruud) a very dominant player and I've seen him the last couple of years and I'm tired of seeing him, but he's a great great football player and they run the ball well and I think to the normal person, they would look at that and say the are every bit as good as they have ever been."
On first down deficiencies:
"I can't tell you exactly what it was in that game. I think our goal was 49 or 52 percent or something. We were within a few percentage points. First half our first down deficiencies was good second half it wasn't. I think when you look at the whole thing...obviously we didn't do very well in the second half, but that's critically important, obviously getting yards on first down enables you on then second and third to call the game a little bit different."
On Nebraska's defense:
"I think they are playing against some good people number one and every defense has some breakdowns but as we all look at and analyze game plans on offense or defense you try to look at any vulnerable areas you try to look at what did other teams how did they get big plays they get big play tapes on both sides of the football to find out the big plays teams get and the big plays the defense gives up and I don't think it's any unusual number compared to the past, but certainly we are going to try to exploit the weaknesses that we can, but obviously they are a very good defense."
On Nebraska's offense:
"I think they are certainly improving. It's a good offense, it's a West Coast offense and they are pretty much balanced run and pass almost within a few yards, but people think of the West Coast offense of just throwing the football down the field, but it's spreading people out and creating running lanes. Obviously he knows it very well...he's very good at it and it's an exceptional scheme and his players are working at it and getting better and better."
On Nebraska's quarterback Joe Daily:
"The few games I saw, I think he's a player that's learning offense. I think he can certainly make some good plays...he's got a good arm and um trying to get better like we all are."
On doing trick plays:
"As I said before there are similarities, some structural similarities, but also it's a different defense coordinator they have different ideas they pressure different ways there's zone ways to pressure there is man ways to pressure there's man with a free safety ways to pressure a lot of free safeties. There are a lot of different ways you can pressure people and what you play behind zone pressure. There are very multiple ways in the stuff they do. It's a little bit more complex and it's good and I mean I'm very impressed with what they do and the affect it has on any play you basically trick plays are good if they work."
On Brad Smith hitting a plateau:
"He will get better and better. I still think he's ...how many games now...seven games into the second half of his career now. I mean he's got a lot of games left around here and I think he will get better without a question."
"I think sometimes numbers can be deceiving a little bit, but I think he's like any player in our program or coach or anybody. We are trying to get better and improve and I think he's doing some real good things and I think he can get better and I think that's what he's trying to do and you know he's always doing that, that's the kind of player he is, the kind of person he is."
On what Brad can improve on: "Just throwing and being a total quarterback."
On opponents using Brad Smith's plays:
"Every last few years you see a little bit more people doing it there's some good things I mean people that have there quarterbacks do some if the things that we do. It enables you also to be able to run the football in the shotgun so that's some of it too, it enables you to do quite a few plays. It used to be very restrictive on the shotgun what you can do. Now with the shotgun there are multiple number of running plays you can do and everybody cheats off of everybody else and watches. It's been something that's been kind of gradual. In our business, several years ago, nobody knew what a zone blitz was, and now everybody zone blitzes, so we all cheat a little bit and try to find out ideas out there and how you can implement them in your offense or your defense."
"We see people that play us put in a play they see Brad (Smith) play the week before they played us. I don't think Oklahoma State didn't run that counter play, they never ran it until last week and I suggest they got it from the way Brad runs it, but that's smart. I don't think we are the first to do it. Northwestern was doing it several years ago and we got some ideas and Dave Christianson's office and staff just tried to perfect it and try to make better and expand it."
On expanding Brad's running game:
"We've got a lot of ways to use Brad Smith, about every way if you can think about it. What we choose to do and what we do are two different things, but he had quite a few runs last week, so you see the numbers we weren't holding them back."
"We take in quite a few plays every game there's a lot of plays, running game and passing game third downs all multiple and field positions, so there is no reason on earth why we would want to hold back."
On Nebraska's second quarterback performance last week:
"Every Saturday night you look at all the scores and there's nothing that surprises me. I've got friends all over the country that are coaching and I feel for some friends and other friends I feel great for. It's a tough business."
On the teams' confidence after the Oklahoma State loss:
"I think it's natural, but that's our job to try to get that back. I think that's a pretty good observation and games like that hurt, but you've got to get going and you've got to get moving."
On Tony Temple playing in Saturday's game vs. Nebraska:
"He definitely gets in the holes and he can do a lot. He's definitely going to be great for this team. We're definitely going to need him. Temple and Woods will definitely be a good asset to the team."
On Missouri and Nebraska both playing for the division lead:
"It's a great thing that we still have the chance to play for the North title and eventually play for the Big 12 Championship. We're just focusing right now on beating Nebraska."
On the win last year against Nebraska having any impact on this year's game:
"I don't really think so. I think we just need to go out there with the same focus we had last year and with the other games this year. We just have to go out there and be prepared for it and hope for a victory."
Brad Smith On a lot more passes going towards the tight ends this season:
"Just the type of guys that we have, we try to get it to them. With some of the plays that we do, they have ways to get open."
On playing at Nebraska:
"They have great fans. It's a great place. They're loud, really intense. They have a good team. It's the loudest place I've been."
On the weight being on his shoulders with Damien Nash not playing:
"A little bit. It's going to be tough to replace a guy like that as far as yardage goes."
On trick plays being used to help the team win like last year:
"We're trying to play our game; go out there and do what we do and execute our offense. If we get our offense up there at a high level then we can put those yards up, put those points up. It's all about working together."
On what he expects out of his game:
"I'm confident with what I can do and what I can do for the team, and just getting up to play at a higher level. I'm working on making more plays for us and helping the team."
On this game meaning a little more since his older brother used to play there:
"This game means a whole lot to me. My brother went there so if we win, I can call him up and talk trash to him. I think it can be a great win. I've always dreamed of playing in that stadium and I always thought I was going to be in the red and white. It's going to be even bigger to go in there and try to beat them."
On Nebraska being a whole different team now compared to when he was younger:
"They pass the ball a lot more on offense, and I haven't really gotten to see a whole lot of their defense yet."
On Tony Temple getting to play this Saturday
"He's a really explosive running back. He's as good as everybody thinks he is, and I think that he will make some good plays. It can be pretty intimidating playing a first game at Nebraska, but I guess we'll see."
On Tony Temple's performance so far in practice this year:
"He's very explosive. He has a lot of speed. I haven't really seen his power, but I have seen him run a few guys over. He's a really good running back."
On switching up the defense having a positive impact:
"Coaches make changes for the better; to make a better team and a better defense."
On the second half of the game against Oklahoma State:
"They stuck with their game plan. They ran the ball and ran it some more. They had a couple passes, and their running back had thirty-one carries."