Gary Patterson News Conference Recap: Tuesday October 8th, 2013

(This story is original content of GoFrogs.com)

TCU football coach Gary Patterson held his weekly news conference Tuesday in the Four Sevens Team Room.
The Horned Frogs host Kansas on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Included below are excerpts from Patterson's meeting with the media.

Opening Statement ...

"Week six, the University of Kansas. Second straight week in the Big 12. We get a chance to come back home and play. We need to find a way to win."

On TCU's schedule being ranked as the nation's most difficult ...

"We knew what we were getting into. We knew what LSU and Oklahoma were going to be like. Texas Tech was a bit of a surprise. They played well. We're still very close to being able to win some ball games. The kids are playing hard. Somebody asked me about the defense yesterday. I like them because they like each other, and they play hard for each other. Offensively, if you look back over the last three seasons, we've started slow each year. You just have to get ready to go."

On where TCU ranks in the national stats ...

"TCU has two wins and three losses. The key is to win ball games. That has always been the motto. For me, it's not my first rodeo. I've been through all this before. The worst thing that could happen is for people to panic. We're in a society of instant success. At the end of the season, we'll see where the chips fall. You just have to understand there are a lot of different things that add up to everything that goes on. No panic here. That doesn't mean I'm happy. Everything usually goes down from the top. Let's go see if we can find a way to beat Kansas."

On how much involvement he has with the offense ...

"All the time. We talk about it in the spring. I defend them. We do team emphasis, so I get a chance to watch them during practice. There's also a lot better defense being played in the league this year. You just have to keep it all in perspective and go with it. Does that make me happy? No. We need to score more points. If we would have made Oklahoma kick field goals, we would have won that ball game. When we won at Oklahoma in 2005, we beat them 17-10. We scored the same amount of points Saturday, but we held them to 10 in 2005. You have to give Coach (Bob) Stoops, (OU Defensive Coordinator) Mike (Stoops) and their staff a lot of credit."

On whether he's ever had better cornerback play ...

"Five times we've been the No. 1 defense in the nation. As a whole, that back five group is probably as good as we've ever played. We lead the league in sacks, and I'd probably tell you that at least 50 percent of them are coverage sacks."

On whether he's ever had a team where the secondary makes the line better ...

"I don't know if that has ever happened. I don't think we've ever been as good against the level of competition that we've played. Our front isn't getting enough credit for us being able to play five in the box, getting to stop the run and do some of the things they've been able to do. When you think about it, you lost a Stansly (Maponga) and Devonte (Fields) hasn't played very much. We've been plugging guys in. No one knows who Mike Tuaua is, and he had a sack against a tackle that Stansly couldn't get a sack against last year. Terrell Lathan also had a sack. Maybe it was because we made them hold the ball longer, and they got it because of a coverage sack."

On whether the offense is better in practice ...

"They have probably given us more problems than a couple offenses we've played. They did in the spring, and they've done it in the fall. The key is for us to do it on game day."

On transferring practice play to games ...

"You have to get to where you're just reacting within what you're playing. That is one of the things we've had a conversation about. We teach simplifying it, so we can play faster. That is one of the things we're going to try this week, getting it within the game plan and streamlining it to where we can play faster when you see all the looks that you do. One of the mistakes made by coaches is when you're very good at what you do. you keep trying to come up with one more answer because you think that one more answer is going to be the answer. If you don't get the chance to rep it enough, it doesn't work. Sometimes it is better to take a step back and whatever you do, do it well. Make sure they can handle whatever they give you in plays that you run and how you do it. That is one of the secrets we have on defense."