Opening Statement:
“I thought for the first time this year that our guys played with good effort throughout the game. We didn’t always execute like we would like to, and we definitely didn’t finish the game the way you want to. We had two fumbles in the fourth quarter and had a chance to finish the game and we didn’t. Luckily, we got some turnovers on defense, but there are lots of positives, but there’s a lot of things we can learn from and we need to improve on to get better this week.
“We are playing against a really good football team. These guys [Missouri] are 6-4 and really with the rain game against South Carolina where they had a pretty good lead and if they don’t get two penalties against Kentucky, they are probably 8-2 and they have played the two best teams in our league in Alabama and Georgia better than the rest of us. They are very well coached and balanced offensively. It starts with their quarterback and upfront they have a lot of experience. Missouri has really good tight ends and playmakers on the outside. They also play multiple running backs, take care of the football and make explosive plays. Defensively, they have been good against the run. They have good pass rushers and they give you multiple looks defensively. They have good guys on special teams, good specialists and good returners.
“We need to improve this week, eliminate mistakes from Saturday and eliminate negative plays offensively. We need to create explosive plays and hopefully find something in the run game. Defensively, we need to find some way to affect the quarterback. We have to able to stop the run against these guys and get off the field and hopefully we can create something positive on special teams.”
On Saturday being Senior Day:
“I think the seniors we have, most of them have graduated, and the few that have not are graduating this semester. That is why they came here is to get a degree. If you look back there are some really good times for this group and some times they probably wish they had back. In the last 11 months, these guys have really bought in and they have really tried to do what we’ve asked them to and we are thankful for that. Hopefully some of these guys behind them can follow their lead and the expectations and standards of how they went about their business.”
On discipline after the win against Kentucky:
“We have done a lot of things that a good football team doesn’t do during the game. We had a penalty after a touchdown, we turned the ball over in the fourth quarter and we intercept the ball and pitch it on the ground with a 17-point lead with two minutes to go in the game. We have to learn how to win to give ourselves a chance to win. We have to know how to handle it and those are some lessons we can learn from that.”
On setting a foundation:
“When you look at the big picture that is a big deal, but we are focused on trying to improve today and learn from the mistakes we made Saturday. Hopefully, we won’t make them again and focus on Missouri to find a way to play our best football.”
On what he saw on film:
“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket. We kept him from creating some big plays in the passing game and we kept our edges. We weren’t perfect by any means. We made a lot of mistakes in the game that we need to correct. We can’t continue to make mistakes. I do think our guys played hard defensively. We probably tackled a little better than we had in the past.
“Offensively, there are still a lot of negative plays. There’s plays that, whether we didn’t have the right splits at the receiver or maybe we’re pulling to a backer and he runs through and we don’t have eyes on him. So, there’s a chance we could’ve had maybe a 15-yard play and we got minus four. The quarterback works the wrong side of the field, we didn’t high-point a football, ball security. There’s lots of things. We had some penalties. We had plenty of things that we need to improve on, I can assure you.”
On Bryce Thompson’s injury:
“He got his bell rung. I’m not a doctor, so he’ll go through the standard precautionary deals. He came in and saw me today and he’s fine, so we’ll see.”
On Darrell Taylor’s performance:
“Well, twice they didn’t block him. When they don’t block you, you need to sack the quarterback. The other two times, we had them in long-yardage situations and I think that helped. It helped with them being behind the sticks. I think some of it had to do with not having explosive plays and having a little more ability to stop the run, to put them in some long-yardage situations. It’s much easier to rush the quarterback when they’re one-dimensional.
“Darrell has ability. We’ve been harping on him all year about consistency. He’s learning a new scheme and he’s got a lot thrown at him just like the other guys and he’s going to continue to improve in the duration of his career.”
On if there’s a difference between Darrell Taylor with his hand on the ground or standing up to rush the quarterback:
“No. It’s interesting, though. We play 3-4 (defense) and we stand up and then we play 4-3 (defense), so it depends on the plays that they run. Some of it depends on how comfortable our players are in a stance. We want them to play in a stance that they can be the most productive at, depending on the plays.”
On how they can get the offensive line to be more consistent:
“Not having mental errors, to start with. Some of it is being in the right run of looks. If they have four guys and we have three to block them, that’s not a good look. We don’t need to be running plays into that. There was times Saturday where we got some push and we finished and there was times where we didn’t. Some of it has to do with the backs hitting the holes. The thing about offense, one guy can have a breakdown and it affects the other 10 guys. Defensively, 10 guys can have a breakdown and if you have one guy that can erase that, it can make up for it sometimes. There’s two different sides of the ball there.”
On practice translating to the game and if he knows what he’s going to get come game day:
“No, I don’t think so. I think when you practice the right way and you create the right habits, you do that over a long period of time. You’ve watched us play over the last 10 games. We’ve been really different in all 10 of those games. Some of them we’ve played the right way for certain periods of time, some of them we haven’t. We’re looking to be able to play the right way for 60 minutes. We’re still searching for a four-quarter game.”
On the physicality at the line of scrimmage during the Kentucky game:
“I think our guys are…Some of this is about learning to strain and create the right habits and doing it over and over. I don’t think there’s any team in the country that goes out there and doesn’t want to be physical. Sometimes, the way the other team plays can change the way you think. I thought our guys played the right way from that standpoint. We need to execute a little better on both sides of the ball and I think if we continue to do, that’s something to build off of.”
On how much the extra practice would help if Tennessee were to be bowl eligible:
“The only way you can get better at something is to repeatedly do it over and over, so you get extra practices, you get an extra game. So, I think if you go about your business the right way and work hard during those practices, you have a chance to improve.”
On what Drew Lock has done to help Missouri turn it around:
“Well, just watching him, with the exception of I think Kentucky and Alabama, they’ve scored 29 or more points every game. I don’t know what kind of rough start you’re referring to, but they’ve been pretty productive offensively.”
On Missouri’s offense:
“They’re very balanced offensively. I think Derek’s [Dooley] done a fantastic job with what they’re doing offensively. They’ve been able to run the ball. They’ve been committed to it. Done a really nice job protecting the quarterback and they have lots of experience up front. They have big men, have a good scheme so we’re going to have to play well to have a chance.”
On what’s the first thing he wants to learn about an opposing offense:
“You want to know who they are, what kind of personnels do they play with, what’s their best plays, how do they create explosive plays, who’s their best playmakers. I think that’s what you have to do with everybody. What personnel are they putting in the most? So, you have to know where to spend most of your practice. How do you create negative plays? We have a system we go through weekly of whether it’s their base plays, it’s second and seven plus, it’s red areas, third downs, short yardage, goal line, two minute, two-point plays, four minute get the ball back. So, you kind of have your scenarios that you go through and what did they do. That’s it.”
On his relationship with Derek Dooley:
“I’ve never worked with Derek. We both worked for Coach [Nick] Saban at different times. I know that some of the guys I’ve worked with have a whole lot of respect for him, what kind of coach that he’s been when they worked with him on the staff. I’m watching what they’re doing offensively and they’re doing a really good job. They’re physical in the run game. They protect the quarterback. They create explosive plays. They give you multiple looks. So, it’ll be a tremendous challenge for us.”
On Tennessee’s secondary on Saturday:
“Well, we need to clean up technique in the back end. There’s probably several times maybe there was guys open Saturday, but we had some good pass rush. We need to clean up back there. It was good getting Micah [Abernathy] back and I think we’ll have Trevon [Flowers] back this week so gives a little more competition back there, a little more depth which makes everybody better. It should help with some on special teams. We just have to work on fundamentals and continuing to improve and play the ball, keep them cut off.”
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