Football Meet The Press: Texas A&M
11/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2010
Head Coach Art Briles
Opening Statement...
"Of course it was not the outcome we expected (last) Saturday in Stillwater. Two or three things that were pretty evident that I've been talking to our players about and what I've been saying since I learned enough about coaching to understand it - momentum, turnovers, and field position. You've got to win them and if you don't win two out of those three, then you are in trouble and we didn't win any of them. Consequently, we came out on the short-end of the stick. It's critical, especially on the road that you give yourself an opportunity early to get involved in the football game. We were a little uncharacteristic with the way we handled the football and it catches up with you. It's over, it's past, and we're looking forward to Texas A&M now."
On the team's confidence...
"Confidence wise, I don't think there's anything going on there. Our guys are going to continue to play hard and believe good things are going to happen. We are excited about being back home. We've had two home games since September 11 against Buffalo. It's good to be back at Floyd Casey Stadium. It's going to be a good atmosphere, good crowd, a lot of energy, and a lot of people pulling for the Baylor Bears so that's a good thing for us."
On Baylor's kickoff coverage...
"We can certainly pinpoint what's wrong. That's not the issue. We can tell you who was wrong and why they did it and why they shouldn't do it again and if they get the opportunity to do it again. A lot of it starts with the ball placement, without a doubt. It depends on where you deal the ball up. There are certain areas where we're attempting to put the ball at and if it's not there, and then it can be an issue when you're going against people that can run. We haven't done as good of a job of covering as we need to."
On Robert Griffin III being a Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien semifinalist...
"(It's) Very deserving, first and foremost. It's great for him and great for Baylor. I don't know the last time Baylor had a guy mentioned in the top 16 in America for that award, but I'm going to guess it's been (a while). That's a great deal for our university. That's what Robert will be excited about and that's what we're excited about. Robert would be the first to tell you he would be a lot more excited about beating Texas A&M than to win the Maxwell Award. That's where his focus is. That's why I said he is very deserving because I know where he stands from a teammate and a team leader standpoint."
On Texas A&M's defense...
"That has been a really good area for them on their football team. The defensive stands they had against Oklahoma (were) really impressive. It's been a while since OU has had 10 shots inside the five (yard-line) and jogged back to the sidelines. That's very impressive. A lot of it has to do with the scheme and the personnel and the energy that those guys are playing with right now."
On getting pressure on Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill...
"Ryan is a very good football player. I think Jerrod Johnson is as well. They have two really good quarterbacks on their football team. I guess the change kind of provided a little spark and it has certainly done it. Ryan is actually a guy I've known since his high school days at Big Spring. He's very competitive, very intelligent and a guy that just has the ability to make plays. He's a multi-sport athlete coming out of high school and is a (player) that guys will rally around a little bit. It is imperative that we get him out of a comfort zone. I think a lot of that can be done by our crowd in the stadium. When you can't hear or talk to the guy next to you, it's different and it makes a big difference in the football game. That will be something that we'll have to use to our advantage this Saturday is our home crowd."
On the challenge of preparing for Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill...
"The thing we do have now is two complete games on him, which does help. Like I said, Ryan does have the ability to ad-lib, and that's what I think gives him a good opportunity offensively. They've been running the football really well the last couple of weeks. They've got good people. They've got a good staff and they've got really good personnel. It's going to be an epic battle. It's two really good football teams going at it really wanting the same thing. That's why people show up and raise their hand and blow the whistle. It's going to be an exciting atmosphere."
On the performance of Senior RB Jay Finley...
"I think it took a couple of weeks for him to get his confidence back to where it needed to be. He's hit a few runs, gaining a little confidence, and our offensive line has done a really good job over the last month and a half. All of that goes hand-in-hand. And with the ability to throw the ball and Robert (Griffin III) running, it creates some pretty good gaps for him up front. The thing that is so unique about Jay is that he is a fierce runner now. He's got the football and he's mad. That's a good thing. He runs mean with the ball and he's got a great ability to stay low and make a cut with his shoulders down and that's hard to do. Most of the guys have to be up when they move. That's why you'll see him shoot through the middle of the field like he does because he is so fast and so low."
Senior CB Clifton Odom
On last week's loss to Oklahoma State...
"Last week was just bad. There's no way getting around it. We played against a good team and we could not afford to make the mistakes we made early on. Confidence-wise though, we know we are a very good team so we know we just need to go back to the fundamentals and play the game we know how to."
On the rivalry against Texas A&M...
"You always hear everyone around campus and it seems like everyone at Baylor has a pretty strong rivalry against Texas A&M. Today was the first day back at classes this week and everyone keeps talking to me about A&M coming (to town). They play us tough every year and it's always a hard-fought game and we still have kind of a bad taste in our mouths from last year so we'll definitely be thinking about that."
On needing the support of the fans...
"This is my senior year and I've seen the atmosphere around here change so much. Going to the stadium and the walk before the game we do, it is completely different. I am very confident in our fans that they are going to show up and show out and be an extra defender for us and be loud the whole game and disrupt their offense. These last two games have been away and we are so happy to be back in our house."
Senior DT Phil Taylor
On the upcoming game against Texas A&M ...
"We are going to have to just go out there and really play. We're not about to underestimate them and I know they're not going to underestimate us so we've got to be ready to play."
On the loss last weekend to Oklahoma State...
"We just have to clear it (from our memory). We can't dwell on the loss. If we do, we'll bring that into next week and won't play well so we've just got to go in this week and practice and not think about it."
On moving past the Oklahoma State loss and bouncing back...
"We just learn from our mistakes and just move on. We talked about it yesterday and now we won't talk about it again."
Senior FS Tim Atchison
On bouncing back from the loss against Oklahoma State...
"Things definitely didn't turn out the way we thought they would or how we wanted them to. We're about to go play a good team this week that is on fire right now and it is going to be our job to come out of this with a win. We cannot dwell on the loss; we've just got to press on, move forward and learn from our mistakes and try and make the best out of that loss."
On the confidence of the team...
"I don't think our confidence is shattered. We still feel like we can matchup against anybody. After the (Oklahoma State) game, we all got together and talked and one thing we talked about is getting together more on our own time and watching film so we can all be on the same page. When we're all clicking, I don't think that we can be beat. We just need to go back to the fundamentals and focus on the little things right now."
Sophomore QB Robert Griffin III
On the loss at Oklahoma State...
"They came out and had the home field advantage; their crowd was really into it and they played well on defense and then scored enough points to win the game. That is our job to not worry about them anymore and go into Saturday, worry about us and get back to doing what we do."
On bouncing back after the Oklahoma State loss...
"It is a staple of our leadership. I took a lot of blame for the game. That is what I am supposed to do because I'm a leader. We didn't play well and things didn't go our way. It doesn't matter who made the mistakes; we lost the game and that is that. I will take that on my shoulders and I will make sure that everyone is ready to play this weekend."
On specializing the offense against the A&M defense...
"I don't try to avoid anyone. (Von) Miller is a great player, very quick, but we've got great players of our own. We've got Danny Watkins on the offensive line and numerous receivers on the outside that are perfectly capable and strong."
