October 30, 2007
Coaches and players met with the press on Tuesday at the weekly football media luncheon, held at the Bright Complex on the Texas A&M campus.
The Aggies (6-3, 3-2) are preparing to face 5th-ranked Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1) in Norman on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT) and the game will be televised regionally by ABC.
Coach Fran Press Conference Quotes
We were talking earlier about how teams stack up to play the run against you early and then you have to switch to the pass. Do you feel like against Kansas maybe you waited a little too long to switch to the pass?
"That's possible. I think you could look at it that way. Certainly I don't think you want to abandon your strength too quickly and especially in a close game like that. So whether it was too late in retrospect that's easy to say. We had a bad third quarter, I think we ran nine plays. We got ourselves in a difficult situation there."
You got the Texas monkey off your back last year. What would it mean personally to get the Oklahoma one off as well?
"Well that would certainly be a huge win. The last three years games have been decided by a total of 14 points so we've been very close and haven't been able to quite get over the hump. We're not in a small minority when you talk about that. I think I was reading in their press release that they're 51 and 2 at homes since Coach Stoops has been there. Going to Owen Field is always a challenge for anybody, it really doesn't matter who it is. I know that these guys would relish a victory. I think the Nebraska victory falls into the category that you're talking about and an Oklahoma victory would be a special one, too."
Can you talk about how you feel your offensive line is playing right now?
"We didn't play very good in any aspect offensively Saturday night. I think there are two sides to that to try to give a balanced answer that's honest. Number 1, Kansas is good against the run and their front played very well and I had a lot of respect for them going into the game and I have even more now and we didn't play very good. We've been a little up and down and I think Cody and Kirk probably said that, too, I would guess. It's kind of hard to determine exactly why it's that way one week to the next. Nobody has rushed for a hundred yards on Kansas in Big 12 play. I think maybe one team all year long. I certainly thought if anybody was going to do it we would have and I certainly did not think they'd hold us to less than a hundred yards rushing. So they deserve credit for it, and then we deserve you know, to have to say that we got to play better and we have to call better plays and we have to find things that we can do better during the course of a game."
Well the one rush defense that is ranked ahead of Kansas is in Norman.
"Yeah. This week. Thanks for the reminder. This is probably a little more athletic group. Their determination to stop the run is keen. I think this probably is a better defense than any we've faced this year. There just aren't flaws on film that you can find. You have to grind pretty hard to look for things that you can do. I think we had 200 yards rushing last year against almost the same guys, and the year before I think we had over 300 yards rushing against them. I think it gets back to the burden is on us to give our players a good plan going into the game and to execute that plan as well as we can and our players have tremendous respect for Oklahoma's defense so they know what they're going to go up against."
Does it mean anything that they're (Oklahoma) ranked like 71st in the country against the pass?
"It does. Yeah. You have to take note of that. When you work on your plan Sunday and yesterday and this morning, you look for ways that you can use your strengths and use your things that you do against the things that they do and certainly you have to look at those characteristics and hope that you can exploit them."
One of the differences between Kansas and Oklahoma is the fact that Oklahoma keeps throwing more people (into the game)? Kansas pretty much stayed with their starting 11 whereas Oklahoma can throw two or three different linemen at you.
"They've got more depth I would guess. You don't see as many of Kansas' backups when you watch the tape as you do Oklahoma so I think that keeps them fresh and probably helps them."
Fran, what's the main carrot you hold out in front of your guys going into these last three games?
"Our season is still undecided. It still hangs in the balance and we still have great control of where we're going and what can happen."
What type of talent does the Oklahoma offense have? They throw a lot of backs out there and have a lot of weapons.
"They do. I'm not sure I would say there's a loft difference. Each back is a little bit different obviously; but the tailback is going to do the tailback thing. What complicates the issue is that they have three very good tight ends that they utilize very well. Their receivers Malcolm Kelly and (Juaquin) Iglesias are playing very well. They make it really hard to gang up on any one aspect of their game. They can run the ball with success and they can throw the ball with success and they are doing a magnificent job of protecting the quarterback and not putting him in difficult situations and they'll have a good game plan and you've got to find a way to fit into the run game the best you can and still not give up the big plays in the passing game. That's the problem everybody's had week in and week out. It's not easy to do."
Are they the most balanced team you have seen this season?
"Kansas was pretty balanced, but they are right in there with any of those guys we've played as far as balance."
When you look at their losses on film, especially Colorado I guess because it's most recent. What are you looking for as opposed to the tapes where they run everybody out of the stadium?
"How did it happen? What was the key? The same things you're talking about. What was that team able to do that others haven't been able to do? Turnovers enter into I think their losses and I believe I read where they've had four in the last two games and historically they have not turned the ball over a great deal so that probably is a factor that has played into those kinds of games. Colorado played good defense against them and they got down. They got down 24 to seven I believe it was but kept playing and made some plays and got their offense out of rhythm a little bit. It wasn't always pretty what Colorado's offense was able to do but they found a way to move the football and get some points and they got it down to a fourth quarter game and got a stop and then got in field goal range and cashed in on it. I think for us a similar type situation is probably what we're looking at."
All anybody remembers from the Fiesta Bowl is the end but they were gashing all game long and (Jared) Zabransky had a huge day picking apart their secondary. Is that a game you look at?
"Sure. You bet. Already looked at it very closely and looked at it in the summer. Anytime someone has success against somebody you're going to play you look back on it no matter who it is and when it is. We've looked at as many '06 games as we've looked at '07 games so you know you're looking for any kind of morsel of information you can find to help you find a way to do some of the things that you can do within your scheme to move the football."
What do you remember about the game two years ago with Stephen (McGee) coming in when Reggie (McNeal) got hurt?
"I don't remember exactly what the score was when Stephen came in but we were behind. I'm guessing maybe two scores. I remember thinking "well, redshirt freshman, this is going to be interesting." I think anxious for him that this was a tough situation to have to put him in but kind of also excited to see just exactly how he would respond. None of us really knew at the time. It was kind of exciting to watch."
Can you talk about Mark Dodge and what he brings to your team leadership quality wise?
"Well, Mark obviously being older I think is kind of a little bit of a real rock for us as far as consistent day in, day out leadership, work ethic, character. You can depend on him. His teammates know that. He's going to give everything he has on every play. He's played banged up several games. The Fresno State game he kept going back out there. I didn't know if he was going to be out of the game a couple of times in that game and so just his resolve and resiliency and great. I think all those characteristics I mention have permeated our defense let alone our football team and guys are motivated by people like him. They see what he goes through and what he does and I think emulating him is something that's easy to try to do or want to do."
Even though y'all don't mathematically control your own destiny anymore Oklahoma State has almost as tough a schedule as you all do coming up. Are your guys kind still thinking that if you win out you could definitely win the South?
"I'm sure that our guys are. We don't talk a whole lot about the next three games or as much of those implications as you would think. I think the players know where they're at. Their focus and what we've tried to do to manage things is, and you know we can't play Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas all at once thank God but we can play Oklahoma this week. I know that sometimes you all don't want to hear that clich?, but it really is the only thing that we can do right now is just focus on this week and one game at a time and it's kind of been our mantra all year to be 1-0 each week and so all of our conversation has as coaches been on getting ready to play this game."
I was going to ask you last week after you left Martellus (Bennett) came in and said some things I mean, I'm sure you read the comments.
"No, I haven't. I heard about it, though."
Okay. What did you make of his assessments? How do you deal with that with a young guy like him?
"I really haven't thought much about it. Martellus is Martellus and we all know that and we all understand where Martellus comes from and how he thinks and our team and everyone is very accepting of Martellus and very understanding of who he is and very respectful of that. I don't know anybody that has any cause for any concern."
Do you sense any frustration with him maybe about how he's been used in this offense through your conversations and interactions with him?
"No, he really hasn't said anything about that. He has very high goals and high aspirations, which are good, and any time you have those you have a chance to be disappointed. He's had to fight through some more injury problems this year than he has before and it's a source of frustration for him, it is for any player who goes through that. It's had some effect on him and his play. I think in his career he hasn't had to deal with anything like this."
What about the NFL aspect of him? What would you advise him to do after this season is over?
"We'll contact the NFL advisory committee and they'll give us an accurate status for where he would stand. We would contact some general managers and some scouts and we'll go through the process of gathering all the information to give to him and his family to make a good decision and certainly if Martellus is a high draft choice, you remember LaDainian (Tomlinson) we did that with him and I've done it with several players. LT after his junior year it came back through the advisory committee that he would be a second to fifth round draft choice so LT's feeling was I'm better than this I'm going to stay and elevate my status and obviously made a great decision. He was the fifth player taken in the draft the next year and financially was a tremendous decision for him. We want Martellus to do what's best for him and to achieve that goal this year if he can and if not next year if he has to."
Is Earvin Taylor kind of a steady rock for you guys? He's not real flashy or anything?
"That's a very good way to put it. Earvin is somebody that ever since he has been here he's going to work his tail off every day at practice, always going to know his assignments and going to play on special teams. It's not a lot of flash to his game but it's a lot of solid play and you can depend on him, you can count on him day in and day out, game in and game out. I think as coaches we really appreciate that about Earvin and he probably doesn't get as much recognition as he really deserves. I think he kind of falls in that Chris Alexander category that they're kind of unsung heroes sometimes on this offense that are pretty consistent, good football players that if we didn't have them we would miss."
I want to ask you about Alton (Dixon) too. It seems he's been kind of the learning curve on how to be a safety blitzer. It's been kind of an up and down process where he comes all around Nebraska's tackles then he gets beat up pretty good by Kansas' tackles. How do you think he's been in that role, y'all are clearly putting him in a role to make plays?
"I think you're accurate in your assessment in sometimes he gets picked up on blitzes and hasn't been able to get all the way to the quarterback and then sometimes he has. I think all in all Alton's had a good year. The one guy we lost last year was Melvin (Bullitt) who obviously was a pretty good football player. He's with the Indianapolis Colts today and he had a very productive year with the change in defense last year for us. We always thought Alton would be the guy that took his place but Alton hadn't been out there as many snaps as he's played this year and I think you have to give Alton a pretty good grade. He's a guy that's made a lot of plays for us. He hasn't made every blitz play but a lot of plays for us, done a lot of different things. He was a great special teams player for us last year. He was our special teams player of the year. He's not playing on quite as many this year. But boy, his attitude and spirit that he brings to practice every day and his determination, it's got some evasive qualities to it to everybody else and overall we're pleased. We know that he can get better and we know that he probably will."
It seems like one of his best plays this season was when he broke through that receiver group and made that play.
"Saturday night. Yeah. That was a great play. He got a great read on that. Maybe the coaches had him well prepared for what may happen in that situation but he got a great read, a quick read; and he busted through the blocker and made a heck of a play right there and I think that's characteristic of Alton. He's made a lot of different plays. That one stood out for everyone to see, but for us there are a lot of plays that we would say probably fits into that category that maybe hadn't stood out as much to you or to a fan watching the game but for us to see some of the things he's done. I'm real pleased with his year and real excited about his future."