cjames317
9/19/2006, 06:10 PM
From today's press conference, this guy could be another JC Watts:
SENIOR QB PAUL THOMPSON
On the apology letter from the PAC-10 Conference:
I'm glad they understand what they did and what they did was wrong, but at the same time it doesn't affect much. That was a big mistake and you can't do much to change that. We accept the apology because it doesn't change much. We feel like we've been cheated. We feel like we got a win and it was taken from us.
I would love to play Oregon again. We've got a bye-week -- maybe we could play them then.
On what he thought happened from the sidelines:
I thought they (Oregon) recovered it. I did see Allen Patrick with the ball at the end but I thought maybe they were fighting and Oregon recovered it and Allen grabbed it at the end, as the officials thought as well. So I didn't really know anything until I came back here and saw it on the news.
On starting well early:
In the last couple of games, we have come out in the second half real efficient and effective. We've been moving the ball and putting up big numbers. We're going to try different things to get us started quicker. That goes with the game plan and with the plays that are called, getting the offense mentally ready to go out and make big plays.
We're going to try a couple things to get out on top. I think the last couple games we have been down at halftime or tied, so we definitely want to come out quicker and continue to do what we have in the second half as well.
It could be a mental thing. We just have to overcome that. We have some young guys out there and it might take awhile to get rolling. It might take a couple plays to add confidence. I think in upcoming games we will improve in that area.
The way we come out in the second half is big-we have the same guys coming out in the second half that we did in the first so I don't know what it is. We're going to try to get plays in early that we feel comfortable with and we're good at executing so we get a good jump. We just need to focus and jump out on the guys.
On this week's focus:
I think we got the bad taste out of our mouths for the most part. Our focus is on Middle Tennessee now. Our first practice back yesterday was good. Everyone was saying 'Let's just focus. What happened, happened and we can't do anything about it, let's move on.' I think everyone feels confident in what we displayed last weekend so we can move on from there in a positive way.
Everyone take it (last week) for what it's worth. Everyone has their own opinion on it but we feel if we take care of our goal that we have set forth on the season, everything should work out in our favor.
We can take a lot from this (Oregon) game. We want to build week in, week out on our previous performance. Our main goal was to not have any turnovers and we accomplished that. We put ourselves in a position to win on the road in a hostile environment. There's a lot to build on. We feel good about where we're at going into the next game.
On Adrian Peterson:
At the end of every run, he's punishing somebody. That gets me pumped up and gets our whole line pumped up. On one play when Coop (Jon Cooper) got hurt, AD had just run someone over and I couldn't decide if I wanted to congratulate AD or check on Coop because I was so excited.
I made sure Coop was okay and then I ran over to Adrian and just told him 'That's the way to finish a run.' That's what he does -- he's done that since he's been here and it's nothing new but it makes defenses a lot more reluctant to go and square up on him.
He's competitor. He gets the ball in his hands and that's why the team admires him-that's why he's a great running back. Sometimes after a play, I want to get in the huddle and talk to some guys but I can't do that all the time. With the clock running down, I have to get the play and get back in the huddle. I'll tell Adrian, 'Get in there. Get the guys lined up and ready to play.' He's definitely a big leader for us.
On Malcolm Kelly:
His ability is great. I think that's obvious. I definitely feel comfortable with him and I've known what kind of playmaker he's been since he's been here. I feel comfortable going to him with the ball and I know that he's going to make plays. That's what he does.
On finishing drives to get touchdowns:
We have to focus. When we get down there like we did Saturday, we've got to focus harder. It was definitely a loud environment and that makes it even more important to focus. We had penalties that kept backing us up and backing us up. I'm screaming out there. I have to be as loud as I can and they have to listen as well as they can. If you get three points every drive, chances are you're not going to win the game.
On running the ball:
I enjoy running the ball and I feel comfortable doing it. I think it puts more pressure on the defense. I would have had more carries but Oregon had a plan for that. A lot of the reads, I handed it off instead of running it. I don't think our game plan is for me to run the ball 10-11 times a game.
On Middle Tennessee State's defense:
They're physical. They've forced maybe 11 fumbles this year and they will blitz probably 50 to 60 percent of the time, so we've got to stay on our toes with that.
SENIOR QB PAUL THOMPSON
On the apology letter from the PAC-10 Conference:
I'm glad they understand what they did and what they did was wrong, but at the same time it doesn't affect much. That was a big mistake and you can't do much to change that. We accept the apology because it doesn't change much. We feel like we've been cheated. We feel like we got a win and it was taken from us.
I would love to play Oregon again. We've got a bye-week -- maybe we could play them then.
On what he thought happened from the sidelines:
I thought they (Oregon) recovered it. I did see Allen Patrick with the ball at the end but I thought maybe they were fighting and Oregon recovered it and Allen grabbed it at the end, as the officials thought as well. So I didn't really know anything until I came back here and saw it on the news.
On starting well early:
In the last couple of games, we have come out in the second half real efficient and effective. We've been moving the ball and putting up big numbers. We're going to try different things to get us started quicker. That goes with the game plan and with the plays that are called, getting the offense mentally ready to go out and make big plays.
We're going to try a couple things to get out on top. I think the last couple games we have been down at halftime or tied, so we definitely want to come out quicker and continue to do what we have in the second half as well.
It could be a mental thing. We just have to overcome that. We have some young guys out there and it might take awhile to get rolling. It might take a couple plays to add confidence. I think in upcoming games we will improve in that area.
The way we come out in the second half is big-we have the same guys coming out in the second half that we did in the first so I don't know what it is. We're going to try to get plays in early that we feel comfortable with and we're good at executing so we get a good jump. We just need to focus and jump out on the guys.
On this week's focus:
I think we got the bad taste out of our mouths for the most part. Our focus is on Middle Tennessee now. Our first practice back yesterday was good. Everyone was saying 'Let's just focus. What happened, happened and we can't do anything about it, let's move on.' I think everyone feels confident in what we displayed last weekend so we can move on from there in a positive way.
Everyone take it (last week) for what it's worth. Everyone has their own opinion on it but we feel if we take care of our goal that we have set forth on the season, everything should work out in our favor.
We can take a lot from this (Oregon) game. We want to build week in, week out on our previous performance. Our main goal was to not have any turnovers and we accomplished that. We put ourselves in a position to win on the road in a hostile environment. There's a lot to build on. We feel good about where we're at going into the next game.
On Adrian Peterson:
At the end of every run, he's punishing somebody. That gets me pumped up and gets our whole line pumped up. On one play when Coop (Jon Cooper) got hurt, AD had just run someone over and I couldn't decide if I wanted to congratulate AD or check on Coop because I was so excited.
I made sure Coop was okay and then I ran over to Adrian and just told him 'That's the way to finish a run.' That's what he does -- he's done that since he's been here and it's nothing new but it makes defenses a lot more reluctant to go and square up on him.
He's competitor. He gets the ball in his hands and that's why the team admires him-that's why he's a great running back. Sometimes after a play, I want to get in the huddle and talk to some guys but I can't do that all the time. With the clock running down, I have to get the play and get back in the huddle. I'll tell Adrian, 'Get in there. Get the guys lined up and ready to play.' He's definitely a big leader for us.
On Malcolm Kelly:
His ability is great. I think that's obvious. I definitely feel comfortable with him and I've known what kind of playmaker he's been since he's been here. I feel comfortable going to him with the ball and I know that he's going to make plays. That's what he does.
On finishing drives to get touchdowns:
We have to focus. When we get down there like we did Saturday, we've got to focus harder. It was definitely a loud environment and that makes it even more important to focus. We had penalties that kept backing us up and backing us up. I'm screaming out there. I have to be as loud as I can and they have to listen as well as they can. If you get three points every drive, chances are you're not going to win the game.
On running the ball:
I enjoy running the ball and I feel comfortable doing it. I think it puts more pressure on the defense. I would have had more carries but Oregon had a plan for that. A lot of the reads, I handed it off instead of running it. I don't think our game plan is for me to run the ball 10-11 times a game.
On Middle Tennessee State's defense:
They're physical. They've forced maybe 11 fumbles this year and they will blitz probably 50 to 60 percent of the time, so we've got to stay on our toes with that.