Postgame Quotes
09/18/11 | Football
OREGON HEAD COACH CHIP KELLY
On Ducks performance...
"I think our guys focused on the task at hand and these are situations that I think sometimes can be difficult and that's what the problem with some teams are is that they overlook opponents. I thought our guys had a great week of preparation, they understood what the deal was. We only had one game this week, and it was Missouri State and they got our full attention. We made mistakes, and you are always going to make mistakes, no one's going to play a perfect game, but I was proud of our guys effort today. That's the big thing we are looking for, every single saturday we go out it's how hard do we play."
On David Paulson..
"We have not forgotten about David, he is a returning all Pac-10 performer. Sometimes it's just how the game plays itself out and you don't know if there's going to be a day where the tight end is featured a lot more or there are other days when the wide outs are featured more. It really just depends on what the defense is taking away and what you're trying to get accomplished. It wasn't 'hey let's stay away from David,' those opportunites arise and I think Darron (Thomas) made some really good reads and a lot of times in the progression today the first receiver was open so we never really got to the second part of the progression. Darron (Thomas) put the ball on people by and large I think he was 10 of 14. It's one of those days where you're not going to get everybody involved, but I still think we got a few guys that contributed and that's the encouraging thing for us is developing that young depth because we know we have a David Paulson and as this season goes along we will have to relay on David a lot."
On readiness for University of Arizona from past two games...
"That's a good question and my only answer is, it's better. We can't schedule another one before we play Arizona. I think the test we had was in the opening game at LSU, and if you watch their game last Thursday night at Mississippi State, I think you realize LSU is a pretty good football team. I loved the way our guys battled in that game. We made too many mistakes ourselves, we turned the football over, which we haven't done in the last two football games, and we hurt ourselves with penalties. We got penalties today, but I don't think they necessarily hurt us. You really clean it up as you get into Pac-12 play, with the two new teams in it, the championship game, and it's going to be an exciting season. I really don't know how it's going to play itself out. By and large the Pac-12 season opens up next week for everybody, and we got to be ready to go."
On Darron...
"Real nice job by him. I was really impressed with his two deep balls he threw back to back, making great decisions on it. I think when we can throw the ball vertically down the field, that's obviously going to add a little bit more to our offenses, that you can't gang up on the run game. Obviously, we feel like we can run the ball, but with Darron back there it allows us to be a balanced football team and make the defense cover the entire field. As we develop more depth out of a receiver, and have some people there that people have to take notice too, then I think it's just going to help us as a team. I thought Darron was real accurate. He's starting to get into a groove and get into a rhythm."
MISSOURI STATE HEAD COACH TERRY ALLEN
Opening Comments
"Obviously the Ducks have an outstanding football team. We knew that coming in. It is very hard for us to simulate their speed. We had a chance to see that from their offense. I wasn't disappointed with how we started the game. We took the opening drive and we scored but the one that caught me, the early straw that broke the camel's back, was the two consecutive post drops that they threw and eventually scored three points."
On the Duck's offense...
"There's no question about [their speed]. Not just the speed of athleticism but the speed they play the game. I'm a big fan of Chip's... and the things he's accomplished here are enjoyable to watch unless you are on the other side."
On the Duck's defense...
"There's no doubt they are solid. Oregon is blessed with their offense. Their defense is more bending and not breaking. You can't out-score Oregon because their defense is going to make you work for everything and their offense is going to move at a remarkably fast pace."
On Running Back Stephen Johnson...
"He's been banged up pretty good. He's been banged up all week and hasn't had a chance to practice much. We tried to have him go in on a couple of occasions but he just didn't feel good with it. We have [Chris] Douglas and it was an oppotunity for Vernon Scott to get in there. I thought Vernon did a nice job."
On their game plan...
"In the first half, offensively, I think we dropped three or four passes. That kept us from having a very nice offensive production. In the second half, it got very difficult when we got behind the chains and weren't able to keep our defense off the field."
On Quarterback Trevor Wooden...
"He's going to keep getting better and better each and every week. He made some very nice throws and some slipped out of his hands. But he's got a lot to look forward to."
On playing two top fifteen teams...
"That's the most important thing and that's my job. We need to keep this football team together. We've got to learn from this experience. We aren't going to face anything in the Valley like you face when you go through Arkansas and Oregon. We're a little banged up from this game. They beat us up a little bit. That's what happens when you play two of these games in three weeks. We'll see what we got physically left.
On injuries...
"I'm concerned about a couple... three guys, actually. But that's to be determined."
MISSOURI STATE PLAYER
QUARTERBACK TREVOR WOODEN
On the game...
"If we had played the entire 60 minutes like the first four and a half, it could have been a bowl game. We got comfortable. We showed what we could do in the beginning."
On playing Oregon...
"They play fast, we know that, everybody in the country knows that. But you don't know how fast they are until you get on the field with them."
On playing two top 15 teams in the first three weeks of the season...
"We compete with everybody. After playing two top 15 teams we should be ready for anything. We have to play all 11 games one at a time. This season could still go the way we want it to."
On what needs to be improved...
"We have to put a whole game together if we want to be the team we say we want to be. We have to play and execute our assignments. Today we didn't execute and the scoreboard showed that."
OREGON PLAYERS
LB Dewitt Stuckey
On playing without Michael Clay...
"I felt like we responded like we should've, we all worked well as a unit and our backups are playing well and fitting in perfectly. "
On talent level of opposing team...
"We didn't look down on our opponent. We don't always hold our level of play to our opponent, rather here at the University of Oregon we hold ourselves to a high standard of what we expect out of ourselves."
DE Terrell Turner
On Missouri State's first drive...
"They came out with a mindset that they could upset us, after that first touchdown that really woke us up as an unit."
On the defense's mindset...
"Our offense will always put points on the board. It is our job as the defense to make sure that we stop our opponents as fast as possible to get our offense back out there."
QB Darron Thomas
On offensive line's progression...
"We want to be known for our ability to power you up front and our linemen are key to that. They have taken on that as a personal challenge this season and they are doing an incredible job."
On keys to Oregon's success...
"Our work ethic is the major key to our overall success. We work hard before practice, during practice and afterwards just to ensure that we are working perfectly as a unit for gameday."
WR Rashaan Vaughn
On expectations for himself...
"I am not close to where I need to be by the end of the season. I need to improve my blocking and route running to become a complete receiver."
On performance past couple of games...
"I have come through and made the bigger plays that I am asked to do, so for that I am happy, but like I said earlier to become as dangerous as I know I can be, I have a lot of work left to do."
RB LaMichael James
On his 90 yard TD run...
"It was a great block by Justin Hoffman, but it really starts up front. The offensive line did a great job for me to get into the open field. Our receivers block really well down field, Justin did a great job blocking for me."
On this being his first breakout game this year...
"No, I haven't been frustrated; it's going to happen against teams like this. As long as we keep winning, then I'm happy, it doesn't really matter as long as we win."
On his confidence going into Pac-12 play...
"I think my confidence is most definitely where it needs to be right now. That takes time; we've been struggling a little bit because of chemistry. It takes time to get that game experience and after playing three games now we're starting to understand reps and we're taking great strides. The offensive line did a great job and our wide receivers blocked down field. Everything's coming together like I thought it would."
On underclassmen getting ample playing time...
"I'm happy some of the younger men got to play in the game today. They practice just like we do and I'm really excited to see some of those guys play, like Tra (Carson) and Ayele (Forde) and some of the other athletes we have on the team."
