Football Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 23, 2000
John Cooper quotes
“We’re very pleased with the win this week. We thought our wide receivers did a great job getting open and Steve [Bellisari], of course, did a great job throwing the football. The coaching staff chose Reggie Germany as its offensive player of the game. Offensive linemen were LeCharles Bentley and Darnell Sanders. Defensively, we recognized the entire team again this week. I felt like we played good team defense for the most part, particularly until the game was decided in the fourth quarter.
“We came out of the ballgame in pretty good shape, injury-wise. We played Derek Combs and Chad Cacchio. Ricky Bryant was a little banged up and did not practice yesterday. I’m not sure what his status will be. Tim Cheatwood was a little bruised yesterday, but other than those two guys, it looks like everybody’s in good shape and should be ready to practice this week.
‘We’re playing a really good Purdue football team, as you know. Not only are they a good offensive team, they’re a very good defensive team in my opinion. They’ve changed their strategy a little bit on defense based on what we’ve seen in the films so far. They’re playing much more of a pressure package this year than they did last year. They’ve had seven sacks in their last two ballgames. They don’t hesitate to come at you up front. They are putting a lot more pressure on the quarterback than they did a year ago.
“[Purdue quarterback Drew Brees] has all the qualities you’re looking for in a great quarterback. He’s got great vision and throws what I call a catchable pass. He’s very accurate, uses good judgement and sees the field well. I imagine the next quarterback at Purdue also will have a lot of yards because they throw the football quite a bit. Drew Brees is a great competitor and I think that’s what separates him.
“Purdue had a great week against Michigan. Michigan had a lot of yards against them in the first half and was leading, 28-10, at halftime. Purdue came out the second half and pretty much shut down Michigan’s offense and really got after them on defense. They’ve lost to Notre Dame and Penn State. They’ve won a couple of games late, they beat Wisconsin and Michigan, so they’ve pulled off a couple of victories against some good football teams.”
“We will have a good week this week. The attitude is good, the work ethic is good and the chemistry is good. We’ll practice very hard Tuesday and Wednesday, have a light practice Thursday and a short walk-through Friday. We’ll fly out to West Lafayette Friday night. It should be a good ballgame this week.”
Chad Cacchio
On the game against Purdue this week:
“It’s definitely a big game for us this weekend. There’s a lot riding on this game. Every game is a big game from here on out. Right now we’re really focused on Purdue and how to beat them now.”
On how his injury is healing:
“I feel pretty good. I’m not 100 percent. I’m getting there. I’m getting better every day, so hopefully I’ll be ready when Purdue comes around.”
On Purdue:
“They play hard and that’s one thing we have to be concerned about. We are going to have to match their intensity. That’s something they do extremely well. We are going to have to execute, just like we did against Iowa. We went out there and made plays. You can’t really worry about the other teams, you have to go out and do your job. That’s what I think we’re really trying to focus on in practice this week.”
David Mitchell
On Ohio State’s defense against Purdue:
“I think Drew Brees runs the ball a lot. But, I still think we have great defensive line and we can contain him. That’s our main goal. “
On how he looks at the game this weekend:
“This will be a defensive-type of game. Brees throws the ball on every play and it gives us the opportunity to make plays. I think I look at it as a challenge. I just go in and hope for a lot of chances to make those defensive plays.”
More on Brees:
“I think he’s a great quarterback, actually. Going against him last year, a lot of times he would be right on the receivers. I think he’s a real confident player and he’s a real active passer. You know he’s going to make big plays.”
Rodney Bailey
On what Ohio State needs to do against Purdue:
“Play as a team. If we play together, good things should happen.”
Joe Cooper
On what Ohio State needs to do compared to the game against Purdue last year:
“We have to go in and try to do even better this year against them. The offense works well together, especially up front. They block well and the receivers get open for Brees. We have to go in today and put some schemes together. We practice them (the schemes) throughout the week and put them in situations they (Purdue) don’t want to be in. This is the biggest game for us this year and I’m pretty sure it is for them, too. Both teams are going to be very hungry, so you know going in the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win.”
On what makes Purdue a dangerous team:
“The offensive line is a big part of it – blocking people just long enough for Brees to get the ball off. We have to make them pay for it this week. He’s going to try to get rid of the ball quick and I don’t think he likes to get hit. We are going to really challenge him physically just as he’s going to challenge us mentally. It’s going to really be a war this week.”
