Sunday Conversation With Guy Morriss
11/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2004
Q: On the positive end this was probably he first time in a long time that Baylor actually stayed in a game with Tech for any length of time. Did you feel like the first half was playing the way you needed to play in the first half?
Morriss: "I thought that the third play we took the ball and put it in the end zone that was going to really spark us and jump start us. Because we were flat in warm-ups, I thought to a certain degree it did. But we kind of reverted back to our old selves pretty quick, on both sides of the ball, we had a lot of execution mistakes and it finally caught up with us."
Q: It seemed like you missed some opportunities early to kind of stretch it out, Willie Andrews gets you the ball on their side of the field, and on the very next possession your defense gets them to go three and out. And you didn't do anything with the good field position.
Morriss: "I talked to them all week about how we had to try and go and overwhelm them with emotion and energy. I don't think that the environment all week was very good for us because everyone wanted to talk about the Texas A&M game. Everyone was telling them; `heck, if there is one game we wanted to see you win it was that game, I don't care if you don't win another game all year as long as you beat A&M.' Well, they heard that stuff and we were flat in warm-ups and we didn't play well up front, our receivers were getting jammed and couldn't get separation. Sometimes it looked like we were running like we were velcroed to the defensive back. I don't think Shawn (Bell) had a particularly great day, so it was kind of a snow ball effect and we just didn't get much done."
Q: You mentioned the play up front, it seemed like the offensive line was coming off a real good game, they were protecting Shawn (Bell) and you were able to run the ball some. And then it just didn't seem like they got it done up front, it seemed like he was running for his life even when he did complete some passes. It just didn't seem like he had the same amount of time as he did last week.
Morriss: "We were the ones who got overwhelmed with emotion. Offensively, we felt like they were some times when we though he (Shawn) should have stepped up and threw. A couple times he got himself into sacks because he was running right into some folks. He didn't have a lot of time to find anyone and no one was open much."
Q: Do you think the missed opportunities early affected you the rest of the game?
Morriss: "The longer the game went on the more we kind of ran out of steam what little we started with. We were just standing around, waiting for someone else to make a play, and we all became spectators."
Q: What if anything can you do here, obviously you need someone to step up. But is it just in their hands at that point, they have to do it?
Morriss: "Well, I was a little concerned in about the middle of last week on Wednesday because we noticed a little more difference in the way they were approaching the Tech game then they did the A&M game. We were like guys come on we have to find some energy from somewhere and we noticed it again in pre-game warm-ups, that something just wasn't right. I kept thinking something would get them going, which is why I felt good about the first drive. (Trent) Shelton started it, but we just couldn't seem to get anything going. We couldn't get them fired up."
Q: The defense, the first couple times out or for about the first 28 minutes, played about as well as any defense has against that offense maybe all year.
Morriss: "Yes, I think so. Through the whole game the defense was running to the football, but defensively we just had a bunch of execution mistakes and there was one guy not playing the huddle call, he was doing his own thing. Early in the game we had some missed tackles but that got better. We got the sense that the plays we were making against A&M we just weren't making, we were a half a step away from making the plays. It just didn't seem like we were selling out to make the plays."
Q: What did you think of (Sonny) Cumbie as a quarterback?
Morriss: "I think he has got a lot of courage, we hit him, we sacked him and it didn't seem to rile him at all. He kept his composure, made some adjustments and picked up a lot of what we were doing, and he believes in the system. He is a competitor."
Q: Was there anything Texas Tech did to adjust to your pass rush after you guys got the two sacks early?
Morriss: "I don't know that they made too many adjustments, I think that they just came out a little sluggish and we caught them off balance. Once they got into a rhythm, they got a lot better."
Q: Is that what happened on the last drive of the first half, they just got into a rhythm?
Morriss: "Yes. They kind of found it and they mashed us. The first touchdown was on the running game. We got blocked pretty good in their running game. We couldn't get off a block and make a play."
Q: What was the mood at halftime?
Morriss: "We were hanging in there, my biggest deal was trying to get them to wake up, I mean there is a ball game going on here. I felt like we were in good shape, I let the defense know that the first drive of the second half was going to be huge and that we really needed to stop them. And then they went and marched it down the field on 14 plays I think it was."
Q: You talked last week about how the players believed in you. When a game gets away from you like that, does it dwindle at all during the game or do they start doubting things as in starts slipping away from you?
Morriss: "I don't know it strikes me as if its almost as if they just can't help themselves. They fall into that and they can't get it to stop. I mean defensively that is the most undisciplined game I have seen us play all year. We couldn't get a stop and we have one guy off doing his own thing."
Q: You may have a different mindset; they weren't using it as a crutch, but everyone single one of them said that you just can't have that same energy playing on the road that you do at home. It is almost like they feel that they need the crowd behind them.
Morriss: "Well, we won't ever be any good if that's the way they feel. I mean it's more comfortable at home because everything is routine. My back hurt from my bed, but that didn't stop me, I still had to go out there and coach a game. Sure, it is going to be different and harder, but you have to overcome that, it's just the nature of the beast. I'd like to play 11 of them out here at Floyd Casey, too, but we can't do that."
Q: What do you take from that last offensive series against Texas Tech?
Morriss: "It was good to see Terrance (Parks) move the team down the field. I think we need to let him play a little bit more in these last two games and kind of get a handle on him at the QB spot. He threw the ball well, stepped up moved around and found a receiver. That's why I am kind of intrigued again to see what he can do."
Notes: Kickoff for Saturday's Baylor-Oklahoma State game in Stillwater is set for 1 p.m. ... Baylor recorded season-highs for rushing yards (158, tied), yards per rush (4.6 ypc) and rushing TDs (2, tied) at Texas Tech, while its defense was credited with a season-best-tying four sacks for the second straight week ... The Bears also had a season-low 4 penalties for 39 yards ... The Baylor offense has gone eight consecutive quarters without a turnover (the Bears have committed just one turnover over that stretch, but that was committed by a defensive player after Baylor had forced a fumble against Texas A&M) ... A career-high tying 5 of sophomore Daniel Sepulveda's 7 punts against Texas Tech pinned the Red Raiders inside their own 20-yard line, as the 2004 Ray Guy Award semifinalist averaged 43.9 yards for the day ... Sepulveda's season average of 46.27 yards ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 3 nationally, and is just shy of the Baylor single-season mark of 46.35 set by Ty Atteberry in 1996 ... Senior running back Anthony Krieg needs 93 yards in Baylor's final two games to reach the 1,000-yard mark for his career ... Junior free safety Maurice Lane had a season-high 13 tackles at Texas Tech, which included 11 solo stops, while junior outside safety Willie Andrews was credited with a career-high 12 tackles (10 solos) vs. the Red Raiders ... With 180 career solo tackles in his three-year career, Lane needs just three solos to crack the Bears' all-time top 10 list ... Andrews, meanwhile, continues to lead the Big 12 and rank 25th nationally with his 25.1 kickoff return average, and he needs 106 kickoff return yards to become the Bears' all-time leader ... Sophomore wide receiver Dominique Zeigler has caught a team-high 48 passes for 465 yards on the season and needs two receptions to become the sixth Bear to reach the 50-catch mark in a season (a feat that has been accomplished eight times by five players) ... Senior wide receiver Marques Roberts ranks among BU's career leaders in receptions (No. 10, 86), receiving yards (No. 11, 1,142) and TD catches (t-No. 6, 11) ... Sophomore wide receiver Trent Shelton has caught at least one pass in 20 consecutive games, including 13 straight multi-reception outings ... Sophomore quarterback Shawn Bell has not thrown an interception in his last 154 pass attempts, the longest active streak without an interception among Big 12 signal callers ... Baylor's final two opponents, No. 25 Oklahoma State (6-3) and No. 2 Oklahoma, are a combined 15-3 heading into this week's games.
