Patterson Holds Weekly Presser
10/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU football coach Gary Patterson held his weekly news conference Tuesday in the Four Sevens Team Room.The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs host Air Force Saturday at 7 p.m.
Included below are excerpts from Patterson's meeting with the media.
Opening Statement ...
"We're moving past a very physical game last week against BYU. It was a great battle with Air Force last year in Colorado Springs. This is probably the best Air Force offense I've seen since we've been in the Mountain West."
On spending extra time in practice preparing for the triple option ...
"Anytime we play a different type of offense than what you'd normally see, we spend more time on it. Around four weeks ago, we started working on Air Force. We do it in the spring. We do it in two-a-days. We started on Sunday night with the last five or 10 minutes of practice."
On the challenge of facing a triple-option offense ...
"A triple option makes you get better with your eyes and your feet. You can't take false steps. You've got to get your eyes in the right place or they'll go play-action pass as a secondary play and run by you."
On Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson ...
"Anytime you're facing a triple option offense and an older quarterback who can run and really does a good job of throwing, it creates a lot of problems. We understand we've got a lot of work to do."
On Air Force in other phases of the game ...
"They play great defense. They're very intense and have a really good secondary. They also play well in special teams. We know the task at hand."
On the play of TCU safety Tekerrein Cuba ...
"He's stepped in for Alex Ibiloye. I've always said to win championships, somebody is going to have to step up. It was very important for that guy to be him. He's one of those guys who has stepped up and made a difference."
On the defense's recent success ...
"I think they've started to believe in each other. We lost a couple good players from last year. Early in the season, we could run around but we gave up a couple big plays. I said, in here, that we had to hunt together. That's what we had to do and that's what we've started doing. I thought the SMU game proved to the players when we start doing and listening to what we're supposed to do, and we played together, that we had an opportunity to be a lot better than what we'd shown. Since then, we haven't given up the easy play."
On this year's defense compared to last season ...
"I knew we were going to be older. We had more difference makers with the two guys (Jerry Hughes, Daryl Washington) who were special last year. We had a lot of guys who hadn't played a lot of football. I said in the spring we might not have the high-level guy, but we were going to have a lot of guys who played awfully well."
On the play of Wayne Daniels ...
"Wayne Daniels is playing very well. He's playing like we expect a senior to be able to play. It's hard to compare him against a Jerry Hughes. Wayne, Stansly Maponga and Braylon Broughton, really the four or five guys who have played, have given us a pass rush. We're only at 19 or 20 sacks, but we're not playing a lot of plays. A lot of that also has to do with our offense. I've made Wayne a captain. He's been a captain the last two or three weeks because of the way he's held himself and the way his leadership has been. I'm excited about what he's been able to accomplish."
Players Mentioned
