Quotes Head Football Coach Mike Leach
November 06, 2000 | Football
Nov. 6, 2000
On the Texas game
"It was about like I thought - don't turn the ball over and stop them. We need to do a better job on kickoff and kickoff return."
On Texas running back Hodges Mitchell
"He's pretty darn good. I know that maybe he hasn't had as flashy a year as he did last year, but I really though he was good last year. He was clearly good the other night."
On the defense wearing down
"No, not really. We've given up a lot of yards because we don't stop people. If we stop people, then we don't give up too much yardage. It's that time of year. Everyone is going to be worn down some. I don't think that's what our problem was. We didn't have trouble stopping them late. We had trouble stopping them in the first quarter, so I don't think it was a result of being worn down."
On the lack of penalties
"We didn't get too many penalties. I'd rather have a whole bunch of penalties and win the game. We didn't have too many. We've stressed that and it's good to see we've improved."
On protecting the ball
"Welker's was almost a freaky fumble. It comes to him and it bounces off of him and it's appears like he pushes at the guy. One was just a bad snap. [Baker] just got stripped. One was on a reverse, and we're a whisker away from breaking that huge, if we just block that linebacker and get a piece of him. Up to this point, we've done a really good job of protecting the football, one of the best teams in the country with regard to that. It didn't turn out that way this past week."
On John Norman
"He's doing really well. He's a multi-faceted guy. We even have him back to run punts. He's played well at linebacker, and has made quite a few plays throughout the course of the year."
On going to a bowl game
"I think it would be really significant. That's kind of benchmark for any team, any year to go to a bowl game. I think it's really significant from that standpoint. I think the other way that it's significant is that it allows you to practice longer. It allows your young people to get better, and the ones you're playing with to get better. A lot of teams will work the guys they haven't been practicing so much during that time."
On Oklahoma State
They blitz quite a bit. They're a big, physical team. They've got good players, and I know their record doesn't always indicate it. They have basically the same people they had last year. I thought physically one of the best teams I faced last year. I think they're a good football team as far as their athleticism."
On approaching each game the same way
"I think the biggest thing is to treat them all the same. Once you get to the point where you can truly to do that, you're going to be pretty good because you don't have all the peaks and valleys. The last couple of games, I think we've done a pretty good job of that. Our biggest problem right now is being consistent. Even last game, we made enough plays to win, but we almost made enough mistakes to lose. At the end, we both averaged the same amount of yards per play. We just had less plays. But I think our approach to the game is good."
On Wes Welker
"I think he's done really well. A true freshman, a lot of people looked past him. The impressive thing is not just the fact that he's found a role on this team, he keeps expanding it at a pretty steady rate. I think he carried us in the early part of the game against Texas, and continues to get better. We need some more Wes Welker's out there when it comes to recruiting time."
On Matt Heider
"I thought he really played a good game. Their two defensive tackles were really strong. He went against [Casey] Hampton all day and did really well, and had a pretty consistent performance. Not only did he play well, but he was challenged by arguable their best defensive player."