Sept. 4, 2006
Monday, September 04, 2006
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening statement:
"Our staff is evaluating the Ole Miss game against Memphis from yesterday, and we've also obviously had reports and evaluations and plans set since the summer. They're (Mississippi) an impressive team. They play almost a flawless game, the kicking game and the punt return set them up. They had no turnovers, they got a critical fumble in a critical situation, they had a fake play that was executed as well as you could execute. We're very impressed with their football team, so it will be a great challenge for us. We're obviously focusing on ourselves and trying to improve, and we will be doing so starting tomorrow."
On avoiding a letdown in the non-conference schedule:
"I think we just need to focus on becoming a better football team, that's what we need to do. We need to play our best game. I would suggest one reason why we've not done as well and played consistent enough, is we don't play our `A' game enough. We don't play consistent enough. It's not real complex as to why we haven't played well. I've said before, if you play your `A' game, it doesn't mean you're going to win, but it certainly gives you opportunities to win. That's our focus, each player getting better and doing a great job of preparation."
On Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer:
"We're impressed with him. He just handles himself well. He has a lot of poise and he has a real presence in the pocket. When they roll him out, they move him around and do a lot of different things with him. (He's a) very, very impressive player, and that's what we expected."
On Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis:
"He's as good as I've seen. He's a great player. Willis is certainly an outstanding player. He has great foot speed and is very smart. He's everywhere on the field."
On Chase Daniel being named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week:
"It's a really nice honor. I think what he'll do is talk about the offensive line and talk about the receivers and tight ends and a lot of people making plays for him. He had a lot of time to throw most of the time, and he'll also tell you it's one game. It's very nice that he did it, there's no question."
On safety Brandon Massey:
"He's really playing well. We saw when he was in high school that he was a good athlete that can run well. When he got here, our decision was that we were going to move him to safety and we thought he could be an outstanding player. He's always done what we've asked him to do. Since the end of the bowl game, and he played most of the bowl game as you all recall, he's done a lot more than we ask him to. He's reaping the benefits, and our football team is reaping the benefits from that also, because of his work ethic and his athleticism. We're really pleased with his efforts and he's playing very well and helping the football team."
On the kicking game:
"I thought [Jeff] Wolfert did a pretty good job. He barely missed the one. Our goal is to make everything inside the 40 and he did that. The one outside, he just barely missed. His extra points were excellent, his times were excellent. We're very pleased with that.
We felt that the punt team did very well, they had two punts which were sky punt situations, and we accomplished our goals on both those punts. Those were excellent and they gave us great field position."
On the players' attitudes:
"I think (Martin) T Rucker is a great player and he only caught three balls. Tommy Saunders didn't happen to catch any, that's just the way it worked out. Will [Franklin] caught a few more, Chase [Coffman] caught more. Everybody after the game is excited. It's not about how many balls I got, how many catches I got, but I think the attitude of this football team is we're a team. Some days some people are going to get the ball more than others, sometimes they're not, that's the way it's going to be. As long as we move the football from the offensive perspective, that's all that matters, and I was really encouraged by that."
On getting past the big win over Murray State and moving onto the Saturday game against Mississippi:
"I have to treat it like it's in the past. The one thing on my mind is if we're going to be consistent. We did have a great game for the first one of the year. But we have to learn how to keep the flow, especially with some of the younger guys, and not let it get to their heads. Consistency is one of the main things we need to focus on for the week."
On seeing the Ole Miss win Sunday:
"From what I've seen on film they look pretty good. Their quarterback (Brent Schaeffer) can move very well up the field. They have some good speed in their running backs. I really think that it's going to be a good game."
On whether this year's Missouri defensive is a faster line:
"I think it is. Stryker (Sulak) can run about a 4.5 flat, and I'm right up there with him. Then we got cats like Xzavie (Jackson) with a tremendous game. Even our defensive tackles; I really can't say enough about what those guys do every game. We've always got four guys on the field that know how to get to the ball."
On his playmaking ability:
"It really doesn't fool anyone. It's the same speed all the time. Whether it's a linebacker or someone else, everybody knows that I'm one speed."
On carrying a huge load versus Murray State:
"It felt good. It felt good to get more than about seven or eight carries a game. I know I can stay healthy and that will keep me get the ball more."
On how he feels after the spring injury:
"Oh...I feel 100 percent healthy. I feel like I'm in shape. I just feel great."
On keeping up the attitude for Ole Miss after Saturday's win over Murray State:
"You have to have a dominant attitude. What Coach "E" (Matt Eberflus) tells us to do is to always be dominant no matter who you're playing, what the game is looking like, or what the score is. You have to do that every down and that's what we need to do to prepare for Ole Miss."
On what differences there will be next week:
"Well, as you know SEC teams always have a lot of speed and we have a lot of speed as well, so we need to get out there and do whatever is necessary to compete with them. We do all we can to dominate like we always try to do."
On why this Saturday can be as good last Saturday's win over Murray State:
"If we work hard and prepare as well as we can, then everything will fall into place. It can be as fun as it was."
On what impressed him most about Chase Daniel:
"He just went out there with a lot of confidence and just made some really great passes all night long. He's a very confident guy and we've been seeing that all spring and fall. He just keeps on making things happen for all of us."