TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
BaylorBears.com: Meet the Press - TCU
Watch Press Conference
Head Coach Art Briles
Opening statement...
"Last week's game against Buffalo I thought we really played well as a team early in the football game, which is critical. I thought we came out with a lot of energy and played with a lot of emotion and played fearlessly on both sides of the ball and special teams. Those are bright spots. We've still got a ways to go. We understand that as a team and a staff. I thought we were better the second week than we were the first week and we need to be better this week than we were last week."
On the defensive line...
"If you're good up front then you're going to have a chance to have a good defense or offense or whatever you've got. But I think it also falls into the fact that I think we are a pretty fast team defensively and those guys are playing really physical. I think all of that kind of intertwines together in what we've been able to do. I think we've been good in the red zone. It's hard to score in the red zone so it's a place when you get an offense down there you've got to rise up defensively and I think our guys have done well so far. That's very encouraging."
On the play of junior IR Kendall Wright...
"Kendall was Kendall. After the first game I took the heat for that because we held Kendall out of our scrimmages. Our timing wasn't down together and we knew there might be an issue and there was. I think just from a repetition standpoint at that level of speed there was a decided difference from week one to week two. Hopefully now we're on the same page and we're rolling. It's good to see. Kendall has really worked hard to get where he is now and it was good to see that it paid off for him. He is our most experienced offensive player. "
On the rivalry with TCU...
"If I said `SWC' (our players) would have no idea what I was talking about and rightfully so. Is it a rivalry? I didn't think it is. When did it begin and how long has it been going on? I guess a long time playing throughout the Southwest Conference for years. If we're looking at it that way then you've got a bunch of rivalries because we've played a lot of teams through the years. It's an attractive game from a fan standpoint in that it's regionally located. We're 80 minutes from there and they're 80 minutes from here. It's a lot of the same people wanting the same thing."
On the play of Sophomore WR Terrance Williams...
"I'm not sure he is under the radar anymore because he's done so well the first couple of games. He actually finished up pretty well last year against Texas Tech. He returned some punts and stuff for us before the end of the season. Terrance is guy that may have had as good of a camp as anybody that we've had on the offensive side of the ball because of his effort and attitude. He's a full-tilt guy every day in practice. He's a guy that's obviously a perfectionist and really wants to do well every play and do it at a top level which is a really good quality to have. He's doing a lot right now - kickoff return, punt return, and a lot on the offensive side of the ball. He's done well and will continue to do well."
On the Baylor's offensive production...
"I don't know how many guys caught the ball (against Buffalo). The only difference between week one and week two might be in week one we took a couple of more shots in different areas. (Week two) we kind of stopped throwing the ball toward the later part of the game and maybe stopped some other guys from getting a catch or two. But scheme-wise it had nothing to do with that. A lot of that is dictated by what the other side of the ball is giving us, in terms of who is getting the ball on offense."
On what he likes about TCU...
"They are very sound on both sides of the ball. I've always been impressed with them offensively. I like what they've done schematically for a while. We're talking six, seven or eight years. They throw the ball well and they run a little option and stuff. Andy Dalton is a four-year starter that really does an outstanding job for them. He protects the football and is a very accurate passer. He went to Katy High School and won a lot of games. He's been around and done a lot for a long time. He was Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year last year. Defensively, I think when you talk TCU, everyone thinks great defense. I think that's the thing that comes to mind. That's what makes them so impressive now is that they are really good on both sides of the ball. They're always going to be good defensively; that's always kind of been their trademark. It's what they've hung their hat on particularly in the last eight-to-10 years. They are just a good, sound football team with guys that play very hard with a lot of confidence and believe in what they're doing."
On freshman PK Aaron Jones and the kicking game...
"I was pleased to see Aaron do that because I thought we carried on a little momentum after the punt return was called back. I think he's been steady. That's kind of what we expected out of him. (Derek) Epperson was exceptional. I don't like to punt the ball that many times but I thought he was really good. One time we flipped about a 62-yard field position change and that was critical. Our gunners did a great job of getting down the field and making those guys fair-catch the ball a bunch. I think we've been adequate thus far."
On the pass defense...
"I think that's good. It's determined by the pass rush. Of course the best pass defense is the pass rush. It's hard to throw lying on your back. We're getting good pressures on the guys. I thought the Buffalo quarterback played exceptionally well. He got rid of the ball pretty accurately. They schemed it up where he could get the ball out of his hands pretty fast. Completing less than 50 percent against a scheme like that is pretty impressive for us defensively. Coach (Brian) Norwood is scheming up some good stuff to put ourselves in position to have some success. TCU will have some play-action this week so it will be a little bit different look than what we saw last week against Buffalo."
On the Approach Against Top 10 Opponents...
"(I) don't even look at it that way. It's just people on our schedule that we're supposed to line up and go beat. I don't get caught up in what's thought outside of their city limits."
On the balance between rushing and passing...
"Ratio-wise I'm going to guess we're about 50/50. I would say that's ok. It's always going to be dictated by what the flow of the game is and what we're able to get and the score on the board and what needs to happen. In a perfect world, I would say 55/45 - pass over run."
On putting too much on Sophomore WR Terrance Williams...
"I don't know if `worry' is the right words but it's something we keep an eye on because he is very active on the offensive side of the ball. There's probably not a more critical position than your punt return guy because you have to be alert, confident and under control. Terrance has all of those qualities. And you have to throw kickoff return in there, too. He can be panting a little bit. We have to do a good job of making sure that he's not out of breath too often."
Sophomore DB Chance Casey
On the Baylor defense...
"We're just out there trying to make sure we don't give up any big plays and let nothing get over our heads. (We try) to keep the ball in front of us and make a big hit. We're doing some things right; we haven't had the ball thrown over our head and we haven't had any big passing plays. As far as turnovers, I know Mike (Hicks) had one against Buffalo. We're working on having a few more takeaways, but other than that, we're feeling pretty good."
On defensively preparing for TCU...
"I haven't been able to watch a lot of film on (TCU) yet, but Coach Briles is saying what we need to do is stop the run. I'm counting on our D-line and our linebackers to do that and once we do that, then we'll just have to start airing it out."
Junior LB Elliot Coffey
On the performance of the defense...
"When you talk about our defense specifically, we have not allowed a touchdown yet and, as far as I'm concerned, we're going to work hard to not allow a touchdown this season. That is the point of the defense: to stop people from scoring."
On playing No. 4 TCU this Saturday...
"I think it definitely tests how deep we are and how focused we are. (We need) to be focused every play and make sure that we're playing our game and our defense all four quarters."
On hearing the hype about other teams (specifically TCU)...
"Hearing about other defenses does what it does, but it's all about us in-house. We encourage each other and we don't look at outside sources for our own emotion and energy."
Junior IR Kendall Wright
On the season thus far...
"It feels good to be 2-0. The energy that we've felt the past two weeks with the crowd and (the `March of the Bears') helps us a lot."
On the support from Baylor fans and the `March of the Bears' before the game...
"It fires everyone up; it means a lot to us. The last two years, we'd come out (to Floyd Casey Stadium) and there would be a couple of people tailgating. But now, we get there and Coach Briles tells us to take our headphones off and get off the bus and we get to walk through a huge crowd of people. We've never seen that many people at a home game before! Just seeing all those people shows that we have a lot of people with us and not against us anymore. It feels great."
On not clicking with Robert Griffin III in game one...
"We were just a little bit off. Coach Briles says it has to do with me sitting out of some scrimmages. Plus, Robert (Griffin III) hasn't played in a year and his arm has gotten stronger so I had to get used to catching his passes. We went out there last week and practice hard every day. We practiced everything at game speed."
Watch Press Conference
Head Coach Art Briles
Opening statement...
"Last week's game against Buffalo I thought we really played well as a team early in the football game, which is critical. I thought we came out with a lot of energy and played with a lot of emotion and played fearlessly on both sides of the ball and special teams. Those are bright spots. We've still got a ways to go. We understand that as a team and a staff. I thought we were better the second week than we were the first week and we need to be better this week than we were last week."
On the defensive line...
"If you're good up front then you're going to have a chance to have a good defense or offense or whatever you've got. But I think it also falls into the fact that I think we are a pretty fast team defensively and those guys are playing really physical. I think all of that kind of intertwines together in what we've been able to do. I think we've been good in the red zone. It's hard to score in the red zone so it's a place when you get an offense down there you've got to rise up defensively and I think our guys have done well so far. That's very encouraging."
On the play of junior IR Kendall Wright...
"Kendall was Kendall. After the first game I took the heat for that because we held Kendall out of our scrimmages. Our timing wasn't down together and we knew there might be an issue and there was. I think just from a repetition standpoint at that level of speed there was a decided difference from week one to week two. Hopefully now we're on the same page and we're rolling. It's good to see. Kendall has really worked hard to get where he is now and it was good to see that it paid off for him. He is our most experienced offensive player. "
On the rivalry with TCU...
"If I said `SWC' (our players) would have no idea what I was talking about and rightfully so. Is it a rivalry? I didn't think it is. When did it begin and how long has it been going on? I guess a long time playing throughout the Southwest Conference for years. If we're looking at it that way then you've got a bunch of rivalries because we've played a lot of teams through the years. It's an attractive game from a fan standpoint in that it's regionally located. We're 80 minutes from there and they're 80 minutes from here. It's a lot of the same people wanting the same thing."
On the play of Sophomore WR Terrance Williams...
"I'm not sure he is under the radar anymore because he's done so well the first couple of games. He actually finished up pretty well last year against Texas Tech. He returned some punts and stuff for us before the end of the season. Terrance is guy that may have had as good of a camp as anybody that we've had on the offensive side of the ball because of his effort and attitude. He's a full-tilt guy every day in practice. He's a guy that's obviously a perfectionist and really wants to do well every play and do it at a top level which is a really good quality to have. He's doing a lot right now - kickoff return, punt return, and a lot on the offensive side of the ball. He's done well and will continue to do well."
On the Baylor's offensive production...
"I don't know how many guys caught the ball (against Buffalo). The only difference between week one and week two might be in week one we took a couple of more shots in different areas. (Week two) we kind of stopped throwing the ball toward the later part of the game and maybe stopped some other guys from getting a catch or two. But scheme-wise it had nothing to do with that. A lot of that is dictated by what the other side of the ball is giving us, in terms of who is getting the ball on offense."
On what he likes about TCU...
"They are very sound on both sides of the ball. I've always been impressed with them offensively. I like what they've done schematically for a while. We're talking six, seven or eight years. They throw the ball well and they run a little option and stuff. Andy Dalton is a four-year starter that really does an outstanding job for them. He protects the football and is a very accurate passer. He went to Katy High School and won a lot of games. He's been around and done a lot for a long time. He was Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year last year. Defensively, I think when you talk TCU, everyone thinks great defense. I think that's the thing that comes to mind. That's what makes them so impressive now is that they are really good on both sides of the ball. They're always going to be good defensively; that's always kind of been their trademark. It's what they've hung their hat on particularly in the last eight-to-10 years. They are just a good, sound football team with guys that play very hard with a lot of confidence and believe in what they're doing."
On freshman PK Aaron Jones and the kicking game...
"I was pleased to see Aaron do that because I thought we carried on a little momentum after the punt return was called back. I think he's been steady. That's kind of what we expected out of him. (Derek) Epperson was exceptional. I don't like to punt the ball that many times but I thought he was really good. One time we flipped about a 62-yard field position change and that was critical. Our gunners did a great job of getting down the field and making those guys fair-catch the ball a bunch. I think we've been adequate thus far."
On the pass defense...
"I think that's good. It's determined by the pass rush. Of course the best pass defense is the pass rush. It's hard to throw lying on your back. We're getting good pressures on the guys. I thought the Buffalo quarterback played exceptionally well. He got rid of the ball pretty accurately. They schemed it up where he could get the ball out of his hands pretty fast. Completing less than 50 percent against a scheme like that is pretty impressive for us defensively. Coach (Brian) Norwood is scheming up some good stuff to put ourselves in position to have some success. TCU will have some play-action this week so it will be a little bit different look than what we saw last week against Buffalo."
On the Approach Against Top 10 Opponents...
"(I) don't even look at it that way. It's just people on our schedule that we're supposed to line up and go beat. I don't get caught up in what's thought outside of their city limits."
On the balance between rushing and passing...
"Ratio-wise I'm going to guess we're about 50/50. I would say that's ok. It's always going to be dictated by what the flow of the game is and what we're able to get and the score on the board and what needs to happen. In a perfect world, I would say 55/45 - pass over run."
On putting too much on Sophomore WR Terrance Williams...
"I don't know if `worry' is the right words but it's something we keep an eye on because he is very active on the offensive side of the ball. There's probably not a more critical position than your punt return guy because you have to be alert, confident and under control. Terrance has all of those qualities. And you have to throw kickoff return in there, too. He can be panting a little bit. We have to do a good job of making sure that he's not out of breath too often."
Sophomore DB Chance Casey
On the Baylor defense...
"We're just out there trying to make sure we don't give up any big plays and let nothing get over our heads. (We try) to keep the ball in front of us and make a big hit. We're doing some things right; we haven't had the ball thrown over our head and we haven't had any big passing plays. As far as turnovers, I know Mike (Hicks) had one against Buffalo. We're working on having a few more takeaways, but other than that, we're feeling pretty good."
On defensively preparing for TCU...
"I haven't been able to watch a lot of film on (TCU) yet, but Coach Briles is saying what we need to do is stop the run. I'm counting on our D-line and our linebackers to do that and once we do that, then we'll just have to start airing it out."
Junior LB Elliot Coffey
On the performance of the defense...
"When you talk about our defense specifically, we have not allowed a touchdown yet and, as far as I'm concerned, we're going to work hard to not allow a touchdown this season. That is the point of the defense: to stop people from scoring."
On playing No. 4 TCU this Saturday...
"I think it definitely tests how deep we are and how focused we are. (We need) to be focused every play and make sure that we're playing our game and our defense all four quarters."
On hearing the hype about other teams (specifically TCU)...
"Hearing about other defenses does what it does, but it's all about us in-house. We encourage each other and we don't look at outside sources for our own emotion and energy."
Junior IR Kendall Wright
On the season thus far...
"It feels good to be 2-0. The energy that we've felt the past two weeks with the crowd and (the `March of the Bears') helps us a lot."
On the support from Baylor fans and the `March of the Bears' before the game...
"It fires everyone up; it means a lot to us. The last two years, we'd come out (to Floyd Casey Stadium) and there would be a couple of people tailgating. But now, we get there and Coach Briles tells us to take our headphones off and get off the bus and we get to walk through a huge crowd of people. We've never seen that many people at a home game before! Just seeing all those people shows that we have a lot of people with us and not against us anymore. It feels great."
On not clicking with Robert Griffin III in game one...
"We were just a little bit off. Coach Briles says it has to do with me sitting out of some scrimmages. Plus, Robert (Griffin III) hasn't played in a year and his arm has gotten stronger so I had to get used to catching his passes. We went out there last week and practice hard every day. We practiced everything at game speed."
