Monday Media Day Quotes
11/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2010
Injury update:
"Luke Lambert will not play this week, he's not ready. Kevin Rutland went out of the game with a strained lower back, we expect him to be back. He's a pretty tough guy."
On Kansas State:
"Kansas State's a very, very good football team. (Daniel) Thomas, their running back, is probably, one of the best in the country, if not the best in the country. He's a great, great player. They play very, very good defense, so we obviously got a challenge ahead of us and we've got to play better football. We're going to work real hard, as we always do, and try to get back playing better."
On offensive struggles on third downs:
" You know, you work so hard at it during the week. We've been a pretty good third-down football team and when you go out there and all of the sudden we get an incomplete or we drop a ball, or a guy's open and we miss it, then there's a lot of frustration. You want to remain as positive as you can because that's the best way to deal with it. But when it mounts, he tanxiety level goes up and that's that much more pressure on you. The best way to work through it is to stay positive."
On Blaine Gabbert's struggles:
"It's (Quarterback) the hardest position to play in all of sports. Anybody that goes and tries it, it's hard to play. There're a lot of variables out there. He's not perfect. If we make some catches or we do better protection, he makes a few better throws.He had some struggles but he's still a good player and he's got my support a hundred percent."
On Senior Day:
"You just get so close to the players. You've been through so much. Like, were going through the ups and downs, you know the good times and bad times. You hang together and you're very, very close to them and you're very thankful for their commitment. It's a small class, but those kids that are seniors, most of them have been here for a long time and have been tremendously committed and so you're very thankful for the relationships that you have with them and emotionally it's really tough on me."
T.J. Moe, WR
On playing at home:
"It's always easier to play at home. You've got 70,000 fans behind you, that's a whole lot easier than 70,000 fans against you. So it's a comfort level for us. I think we spent our first four or five games here so playing away was a little more difficult. But it's definitely comforting coming home."
On offensive struggles:
"I'm not worried about the criticism, I'm worried about getting it fixed. So we're in there watching film, we're working hard, we're staying after practice catching balls, we're trying to talk to Blaine a little bit more, getting more in sync. We're just trying to work on that. I couldn't care less about the criticism."
On Blaine Gabbert:
"I think he is dealing with it just like the rest of us. He's just trying to work harder. That's the only thing you can do. You have to stay afloat, you have to keep working harder, that's the only thing you can do."
On the receivers:
"We just have to get open. It's man-to-man all the time, me against him. There are specific routes for different players where you know you're getting the ball. So when Blaine is dropping back and you're looking for the ball and he's looking for you, and you're not open, that kind of ruins the whole play. So we kind of attribute a lot of that to us. Obviously, there are three things that have to happen on each play. The line has to get their job done, Blaine's got to deliver the ball, and we have to get open. A lot of times it's two out of three and the receivers aren't getting it done."
Andrew Gachkar, LB
On Kansas State having only four passing plays in its last game:
"They are confident in their run game and it says they are committed to their run game obviously. We just have to buckle down and play hard against the run."
On playing at home again after two road games:
"It's my last game at `The Zou'. That's definitely big, something I'm going to be cherishing the rest of my life. Coming off two losses in a row, both on the road, then being at home, it's definitely a good thing for the team. Maybe a confidence booster, I don't know. All of us are going to be more enthusiastic this week, definitely."
On Kansas State's offense "Nebraska and Kansas State are definitely different run type teams. Daniel Thomas is a good downhill back. He gets downhill real quick, he hits the holes. Like I said, it's a tall order. We have to be good in our gaps this week, that's for sure. We have to have a lot of guys running the ball and tackling. We can't be missing tackles, and if we do, we have to at least three guys there ready to grab them up after. Also, we have to force the takeaways. We have to get more takeaways this week."
Kevin Rutland, DB
On coming into "The Zou" for the last time:
"I think it's going to be pretty special. I'm looking forward to it, but it's bittersweet. I recall some guys like Sean Weatherspoon and Danario Alexander, going through (the tunnel) and they shed some tears. I'm not much of a crying type, so I hope I don't cry. But I know it will be a special moment and I'll never forget it."
On his back injury:
"It's just spasms. The same thing happened to me during two a days so hopefully I get over it in time for the game."
On holding Texas Tech scoreless the last quarter and a half:
"I think it shows what our defense is capable of. Though I wasn't out there, our defense played really hard given the situation we were put in. I guess whether it was a long game, or many plays, I think we did a pretty good job. We could always do better. We can hold them to less points than that.
On Kansas State's offense:
"I think it's a great test for us. I think we will do just fine against it, although they do run the ball a lot. In our last game against the run, it wasn't as good as it should have been. It's an excellent test for us. It will be up to us put our backs against the wall and come out swinging and hoping to pitch a great game."
On finishing the season:
"I think it's hard to get over two losses because you expect so much out of your team. Speaking for myself and the rest of my team, we all thought we were better than two losses this year. Unfortunately, those losses did happen. But the biggest thing is to bounce back and really just focus, look internally and come out this next week in practice and focus on what we have to do to better ourselves. Not worry about the BCS or worry about championships or anything like that. Just come out there and keep playing football."
Blaine Gabbert, QB
On what losses from last year taught the team:
"We definitely gained knowledge on losing streaks last year, we had that big one in the middle of the year. We know how to bounce back from them and we know how to win football games."
On the offensive struggles:
"It's not anybody's fault. It's not T.J.'s fault, it's not any of the receivers' faults. Like I said, it's a combination of things. We just have to get things clicking. We have to run better routes, we have to throw the ball better, we have to block better. It's just a multitude of reasons why weren't executing in that game."
On throwing deep balls:
"It's hit or miss but you have to take those shots to loosen up the defense and get them to back up a little bit. We'll hit them, it's just little things that are going on. We'll get that down in practice this week."
On the week leading up to next game:
"Of course you feel disgusted after losing. But we have a 24- hour rule in this program. Win or loss, after 24 hours we forget about it."
