Fisher Meets Media at Weekly Press Conference

Fresh off a 28-14 win over Mississippi State in Starkville, Jimbo Fisher visited with the media during his weekly press conference on Monday.

Select quotes from Monday's press conference:

Opening statement: After evaluating the film,  I'm very proud of the way our team played. We played hard, we played physical and we won a road game in the SEC which is always tough. I know we had some issues going into that place for quite a while from A&M and getting a win there, so it was very good win. Anytime you can do it followed up from a so-called big victory, but it is just a win. Learning to play with some consistency, but still a lot of things to fix in all areas offense, defense special teams, we're nowhere close to the kind of team we need to be. 

We're a work in progress. Got to continue to growM understand how to play situations, play smarter at times, play more physical at times, play with more skill at times, but evaluating the game I thought the defense did a great job. Our front was able to create pressure, and would get six sacks in the game from either the front guys or simulated pressures and different blitz packages we were able to come up with, and still leverage the football in the secondary very well. Didn't miss a lot of tackles. Had one on the touchdown drive that they got that was a miss tackle, but overall defense played an outstanding football game, to be able to create two big turnovers. Got one back in our end zone Myles made a great play on, and then Jayden Peevy would be able to create one and set up a score with a pressure, and would pick it up and him, Clemons, Buddy and Micheal that created it. 

We got to block a punt in special teams, which is great. We also had a critical penalty in a couple plays. Punt return game was pretty good, Ainias actually dropped one on that same one too. So, three penalties and a drop punt, we got backed up. We had a couple nice punt returns, gave us some room. In that regard, I thought we punted the ball very well, controlled field position, and hit a couple around I think the 10-yard line, 11-yard line, 9-yard line. Did a good job in that regard. So we handled those aspects. 

Offensively, I don't think anybody played well any group, I don't think the O-Line played well and the running backs I don't think they played poorly, I think we could have played better in all facets of what we did. But we capitalized and we were good in the Red Zone in good short-yardage, physical situations. Ran the ball well at times, made some big throws, but the thing we did do is we answered with a big drive after we had the turnover on the bounce play. Was very big to answer back. A big 2nd-and-10 Kellen and Chase hit it a big pass play. We were able to execute in that drive to answer back. 

So our competitive nature and things are there, and we have a lot of room to improve in all three phases in what we're trying to do, and we need to do that this off week. We have to get better. We have to get healthy. We have to again heal up some bumps and bruises, nothing major, and then we've got to get better this week so we can go down this run and and play each game one game at a time. We have to take them one at a time, because that's the kind of football team we are. We've started to have some success because we've ignored what people say, what they do, how they do it. Don't worry about the  scoreboard, win your space, play physical, play tough and that's what we've got to do each and every week, this weekend and from here on out, starting in two weeks with Arkansas.

Freak injuries on celebrations: You gotta have joy. I tell them to make sure you're not having so much joy we can't get lined up with all the no huddle that goes on today. That's the biggest thing I worry about, we get so emotional that you can't get lined up the next play for no huddle especially when you're on defense when you do those things. You work too hard not to show good emotion to be able to have a good play, so you got to have some emotion, but you also can't get so emotional. I believe this, showing emotion is good, being emotional is bad. Anytime you're emotional you're a play behind, whether it's offense, defense, special teams whatever. It is because you're still dwelling on it, whether it was good or bad on the last play. And so we try to keep those things and just try to be smart and try and remind them, try to point those things out. It's hard to say hey guys, don't don't enjoy making a play. This game is so hard to prepare for and to play, the rigors of playing football and the physicality of practice, not to enjoy the moment you have success on the field. But you've got to keep it in temperament and pray to God you got don't get hurt."

Bye week bigger than normal to get younger guys more reps: We're gonna have to keep developing our guys cause we got six SEC games coming up we're going to have to build depth. Some of these guys I think are getting ready to play. We can really emphasize some situations we put them in this week, so to say it's any bigger, I don't think it's any bigger, but I think it's extremely important that we get we get better this week and our young guys really developed.

Peevy winning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week: Jayden's success is because it started in the offseason. I expected Jayden to have a good year, you don't ever know until they do it, but I think his offseason has been the best offseason he's had. It's amazing when you're totally invested in everything, not that you weren't invested, but the total investment, that total commitment of liking everything that goes with ball, not taking days off as far as knowing I'm just getting through it today, I'm working hard. He has been tremendous in the offseason. That goes for anything, when you invest in something so much, man it makes it hard to give up, and it becomes hard not to play hard when you get those opportunities. I think he has really matured and grown. His leadership has been very good, his whole demeanor, and it's showing on the field now.

A run-first team: We have to have balance. I didn't think we played great up front. I thought we played very average in that game, I thought we could play much better in how we did, how we ran the ball. You gotta have balance. I don't want to throw it, I don't want to run it, I want to do both. I always have and always will. And there's times you got to run the football, you gotta run short yardage, goal line, Red Zone, tight zone, last four minutes of the game. You have to run it when they know you're going to run. That's when you're a tough football team, and we're learning to do that. We're running on short yardages and getting down around end zones and running the football, checking and running good naked play-action game. The last couple games you see we've been able to take the air out of the ball. And we did it last week on a turnover. Got the field goal, took the clock against Vanderbilt, we got to run the clock out the last five minutes. Last week we took the last five minutes of the game out as we knelt down at the goal line. We're learning how to do it then in different ways and different forms and higher percentage passes, those are things you have to do. We're learning to run it when you have to. The rest of time is when the numbers say and what the matchups are, so we have to be balanced. We're getting better at that. But still, I go back and watch the film and there's still a lot of yards we're leaving on the field.

Forming an identity as a team: Yeah, I'm hoping we're molding it there. But you gotta see that we're still leaving too much on the field. Like I say, I think we've won some games but we still haven't played close to our capabilities. I think from a competitive nature hopefully we'll compete in games and not look at the scoreboard and we'll worry about results that will play. That's the nature I want to depend on, that we're going to be relentless in how we compete, how we play, and what we do. And no matter what happens the previous play we're playing the next one, and stay in the game and be able to make critical plays and learn to play critical moments better. That's what we have to do and learn how to understand that it's expected to play well and you should play well, and how to play well. And that's hopefully what we're developing more in the progress and trying to grow into.

Message to team about avoiding the headlines and clippings: Yeah, it's all garbage, it's all poison. Right now we need to worry about next week and how we get better this week, and then get ready for Arkansas and play and don't worry about the scoreboard. Win your space. You can't worry about what y'all say, I don't mean any disrespect to any of y'all, y'all are going to write your story and say what you're going to say. We have to play. We're in a results-based world in what we do and how we prepare to play, and you can't believe the poison that's out there, good, bad or indifferent. What matters is what's in that room and what you believe with your players, coaches and organization, and you play the next play, play to win your space, put your dominance on somebody else. Put your will upon somebody else in play and that's what we need to stay focused on and not anything else."