Tiger Head Coach Gary Pinkel Meets with the Media
9/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2007
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Injury update
"Injury wise, we have a bunch of players with bumps and bruises which you're naturally going to have. We're in the same position we were a week ago. Marcus Woods got a lot of work in last week but he was not 100 percent so he did not play, so hopefully we'll get him back. Danario Alexander has a cast that goes up to his bicep. On Tuesday that will come off and they will put a short cast on and he'll actually be able to practice."
On Western Michigan
"I know Bill Cubit well and he's a very good football coach. He's done a great job at Western Michigan. They were picked to win the MAC. You all know the respect I have for that league and the great players that come out of that league. Western Michigan went to a bowl game last year and probably will go to one this year and it will certainly be a great challenge for us. We're preparing obviously. We have a lot of things we need to work on and a lot of things we need to fix to get better as a team. We'll work real hard to get that done."
On offensive production
"I think we've seen a lot of good production at times. We're not doing real well at the end of the third quarter and fourth quarter, just look at the numbers. There have been some flashes of excellence, too. As you well know, here's a great example, last week in the first quarter we were moving the ball a little bit and we had good execution. Then there's also the time where you have to be patient and eventually it'll come around and you'll make some plays. Hopefully we can score more and we'll work hard to do that."
On giving up late leads
"I'm the one responsible for that. If it happens in one game, you learn from it and move on. But it has happened three games in a row and there's a trend here. Trends aren't good. If you give up seven points in the first half, six points in the other game, and all of a sudden you're not playing very well and that's a combination of a lot of things. I have to get it fixed."
On the defense wearing down
"I think big plays against your defense wear you down. All coaches are going to say `stop the run and don't give up big plays,' because they wear you down. You could sit there and be playing good defense but then you give up a 35 yard pass and 28 yard run, and then you're back at it again. You have to keep those at a minimum and we've had way too many big plays and that's got to stop."
On tight end Martin Rucker
"For those who were at the game, we had a third and seven, and it was honestly one of the greatest efforts I have ever seen on the football field. He ran over six guys and had his hand on the ground. It was really one of the best efforts I have ever seen and I showed that to our football team. If our football team gave that effort on every play of every game, we'll win a lot of football games. He's making plays, breaking tackles and he's also doing a great job leading. It's very encouraging when one of your best players from a year ago has upped his game to a level that maybe we didn't think he could be at. That's not say some others haven't, but it's very obvious that he's done a tremendous job."
On Western Michigan wide receiver Jamarko Simmons
"He's really quick, he catches the ball well and he gets open, and he's very, very impressive. His numbers in the first two games are pretty staggering and we're certainly aware of him. He's a big play receiver and obviously we're going to have to know where he is at on the field."
Missouri Player Quotes
Lorenzo Williams
On the defenses second half mentality:
"I think it's just guys, including myself, losing the intensity and focus you need to finish the game. It seems like we are getting up by thirty points, but we give a big play to the other team, and all of a sudden we lose focus of what we're doing."
On aspects of the defense the need improvement:
"The good thing is that most of the problems can be easily fixed this week at practice. It really is the simple things, such as covering your gap. We really just need to make sure that we play with intensity and focus throughout the whole game."
On playing at home:
"It feels very good and a lot more relaxed to be at home to play in front of the family and friends."
On the fan support so far:
"[The fans] have been really good to us. We had a great showing down at Ole Miss. They've been very supportive, so [the team] is really excited about getting back to Faurot [Field]."
On the effects of playing two big conference teams first:
"Yeah, I think it does because we played the run decently in the first game [versus Illinois], but didn't perform as well in this last game [versus Ole Miss]. The run is something we need to work on because these two next teams will be nothing to look over because they really are good schools. We need to focus on these [next two games] to get ready for the Big 12."
Sean Witherspoon
On second half efforts:
"In college football, you cannot expect to go into halftime thinking that the game is over. We can't come out with the relaxed feeling that we've been doing for the last two games."
On Martin Rucker's big play versus Ole Miss: "We saw him yesterday in film, and I don't know anyone else who could have gotten those yards. I'm not sure how long he had to go, but I do know it was a third down. It was all just tough running right there. He's a mean guy, even though you see him smiling all the time. When it comes down to being on the field, you don't ever want to have to go against [Martin] Rucker."
Chase Daniel
On his relationship with Head Coach Gary Pinkel:
"[Our relationship] has definitely been growing over the last few years. He really does trust me and understands what I'm about. Our views on the team are the exact same. He's really been a lot more relaxed over the last few years. [Coach] understands how to get to know the people that he works with on and off the field. He knows the person first and the football player second."
