Postgame Quotes
October 15, 2005 | Football
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Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
TEXAS TECH HEAD COACH Mike Leach
On taking out Danny Amendola
"We were playing a lot of snaps and, as it went on, it was just a chance to rest him."
On playing the blitz
"We were better at it. We were never bad at it. We played well at it early. At Nebraska, we were impatient late in the game. We were trying to make more then what was provided to us. The blitz gives you options but it also limits others. We can still improve on it."
On the defense (Sylvester Brinkley and Dwayne Slay)
"Those guys (Brinkley and Slay) were all over the field. Slay's hit to cause the fumble was the turning point in the game."
On the game
"In the first half we played well but we weren't really in sync. We were tough on the 50-yard line but not on the -20 (in the Kansas State Red Zone). We played well at key times. We needed to stop losing on offense but the defense rose quickly. The turnovers helped us a lot."
"We still have plenty to improve on. We had a good second half. There are some things from the first half that we need to do differently. I was happiest about the improvements we made from last week. We are playing together but there is still plenty of hard work to do. I'm hoping for a full and productive week of practice."
"Teams are still emerging and they are coming together on all sides of the ball simultaneously."
On Joel Filani's performance
"He has a tremendous amount of ability. He has some of the best hands on the team. He's always had talent; he's tall and fast and his hands have really developed. The success he's had has put his position into prospective for him. He's realizing it's the simple things. His level of confidence has really increased, the Nebraska game really contributed to that. He's putting things together at the right time."
On Eric Morris' performance
"I would have like to seen him get the ball more but he did a good job overall."
On Cody Hodges' performance
"I think it was the best game he has played since he's been here. The whole unit was working together, especially at receiver, and it improved Cody's playing. He's improving a lot overall and he's getting a better feel for what the receivers are going to do. He's getting better at adapting to different situations."
On Jarrett Hick's performance
"He got everything under one roof for us today and he contributed early."
On Taurean Henderson's performance
"His performance was really impressive. It could have been a bigger day for him if he didn't have yards for loss. He's the most multi-dimensional player I have ever had. We ask a lot at his position and he's done it all for us."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK Cody Hodges
On blocking for Joel Filani
"He is a great athlete. We have a ton of athletes on our team that can catch the football. Anytime you have four different receivers with over 100 yards, I think it says something about your offense. If they want to start keying on Joel or on some of our other guys, our other guys are going to be open. I think we have proven to be a lot of challenges for a lot of defenses."
On the overall game
"I had two interceptions, so obviously it wasn't real good. The first one I was trying to make too much happen and the second one I held on to the ball too long. Overall, I felt I played well, but the guys in front of me blocked well and the guys who were catching the football deserve a lot of credit as well. Obviously, we aren't perfect and we can work on it and we have another chance next week to do that."
On going to Austin to play Texas undefeated
"We are happy to be 6-0. We haven't had any losses. We have worked really hard and as a team we have stayed really focused. We have tried to not get caught up in too much hype or too much criticism for our schedule. We have to handle this season one game at a time. And we are going to enjoy the Kansas State game tonight, watch film and make corrections tomorrow and next week it is all about Texas."
JUNIOR RECEIVER Joel Filani
On his confidence after the last two games
"They have definitely helped out. I have had pretty good games. Cody (Hodges) has been finding me and getting me the ball and I am grateful for that. There were a few plays where I got sucked up. I knew they were going to play man, so no matter whom they cover we can always go to Jarrett (Hicks), Robert (Johnson), Danny (Amendola) or whoever.
On his struggles his first season
"I probably didn't come out as strong as I could have. I don't have any excuses. I was a little unfocused and maybe a little homesick. I worked really hard to make sure I got my mind right. It was definitely a little frustrating, but a lot of the guys helped me through it and the coaching staff definitely had my back."
SENIOR RECEIVER Taurean Henderson
On defense sparking offense
"I think that our defense has been doing that all season. They were making plays out there and I am really proud of them. Offense got it going by scoring in the second half and we were able to make plays down field and put the ball in the end zone more."
On breaking the NCAA record
"It was a great feeling. But the thing that is most important to me is as long as we win the ball game. Coach Leach says every day to go out there and do your job. That is what I try to do every time I get the opportunity to touch the ball."
KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH BILL SNYDER
On keeping their dignity after the loss
"I'm not thinking about dignity right now, but what happened to us and how it happened and what we need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. We had our opportunities, as bad as the score was, we did have the opportunities in the ball game to make a difference. We didn't take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves, and that's us. And what has been said over a period of time, they are an awfully good offensive football team and (Cody) Hodges really did a nice job today."
On the team turnovers
"When I said to not let this happen again, I'm talking about the things we did that negated the opportunities that presented themselves that gave us a chance to be more than just in the ball game. The turnovers and penalties were part it. Those are bad things that happened that shouldn't happen. The penalty that we got on the blocked punt was a major, major play in this ball game, even with the score what it was. The two back-to-back turnovers which came right along side that penalty, were major in this ball game, those were opportunities that we had to make a difference in the ball game and make it a different ball game than it was."
On Tech quarterback Cody Hodges
"His presence and his poise over an extended period of time, there were times early, particular in the first half that maybe we left a little uncertainty with him in regards to what we were doing. But he fought through it and threw out of it and even if we didn't confuse him a little bit, he still managed to make the plays."
On putting the loss behind and preparing for Texas A&M
"That is the nature of athletics, you get knocked on your back, do you have enough character, toughness, pride and discipline about you to get off your back and go take care of what lies in front of you. As I said before, we will find out whether we have some character to this football team, whether we really have the disciple to get it behind us."
On Tech's offense hard to stop
"Once again, I think it is a collective thing, if your offense is going to give that unit four down territory and that's almost any place on the field. If they are in the middle of the field all the time, yes it probably is pretty difficult for anyone to stop. If you can get some field position and you give them the three and four yard completion and you tackle them when they catch the football, then eventually they miss one of them and that is like somebody trying to run the football on every snap and now you end up with that fourth down. If you can get that fourth down on their end of the field, rather than our end of the field, then you have a chance and I thought we did a pretty decent job of that the first half, although we did give up two big plays in the first half and one of them led to a touchdown and the other led to a field goal. We can't afford to do that against that football team because they are going to get their completion, but you can't let them have the 45-yarder down field."
KANSAS STATE DEFENSIVE BACK MARCUS WATTS
On the game
"It was a tough task, we just gave up too many big plays and they played a great game."
On the Tech offense
"You think you have them covered and they are open. A team like that you know you have to limited their yardage and not give up too many big plays."
KANSAS STATE FULLBACK VICTOR MANN
On his impressions of the game
"We played good in the second quarter and in the first half but we just didn't come out of the locker room with any fire and we didn't get the job done as a whole team. Our special teams got the kick-off return, but at the same time, we didn't hold them like we needed to do in the second half to get a win. They played us hard and they were the fourth quarter team today and we were not."
