Mizzou Links, 11-26-13: Tackling Manziel, getting stops in the redzone, and aiming for 34-0

Tackling Johnny Manziel is hard, redzone defense is good, and the only thing better than 33-0 is 34-0.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Nov 26, 2013, 5:20am CST

We'll talk about basketball later today in Study Hall, of course.

1. Four days to A&M

MUtigers.com: Mizzou Football Media Day Quotes - Nov. 25

Head Coach, Gary Pinkel

Opening Statement...

"As usual, we are preparing normally like any game week. It's a little different for the players since they don't have school right now. They were excited about playing this game against Texas A&M, and we worked really hard to be in this position. We are a good football team, and when you are competing for a championship you have to beat good teams. Our focus as always is that we play our best football game. I wanted to mention Coach Frank Lauterbur who passed away a week ago. He used to be the head coach at Toledo. He was a good friend of mine, and a colleague. He passed away last week in Toledo. He was a great coach at Toledo. He also coached at Iowa, as a head coach. He broke a lot of records while at Toledo. I think he had three undefeated seasons there. When I coached at Toledo that is when he became a good friend of mine. He called me for about seven years the night before every game. The guy had a tremendous amount of wisdom. He came out here a lot. He came out during spring football, and I had him out here during two-a-days. He would be sitting in meetings all day long, and hang out on the practice field. He would also come out here for a game or two for years and years, until he could not travel anymore. Anyways, I love that guy. I have lost a lot of coaches, and friends of mine in the last couple of years. Just to Frank Lauterbur I love that guy, I lost a great man and a great friend. I would also like to thank you to our fans. Our fans get it. When we came into the SEC we heard so much about the SEC and the fans and that's true the fan base is awesome. Our fan base is pretty awesome themselves. We've traveled so well this year, and we topped it off Saturday night at Ole Miss. Obviously, we have the game this week where the students will come back early, and it's sold out and the ZOU will be wild and crazy. I am really appreciative on what they've done. I'm looking forward to this football game against Texas A&M."

On this team being able to control its own destiny...

"I wished we got help, and it was over about four weeks ago. We talked about it in the beginning on how it's about us. It's all about us. That has kind of been the theme we've had this whole year. We got into November and we are 10-1 with one game left and our players get what it takes and it's still about playing well."

On any specific game plan for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel...

"He's a great player, we all know that. I don't know if you ever truly stop him. LSU did a good job though. Everybody will say do exactly what LSU did. I don't think every team and every player is perfect all the time. He's such a great player. If you watch him game in and game out, then you see the consistency on how he plays and the way he does it. You have to contain him the best you can, and you have to score points on offense. There is nothing magic about this. I think we are playing against a pretty good defense. We're certainly going to be tested with this guy. He's a better player than he was a year ago, and he won the Heisman trophy. His pocket presence was excellence, and he reads defenses better. If you are defensive player, it's definitely a challenge. You have to be a competitor, so let's go out and battle and compete and see what happens." [...]

On the importance of the offensive line's health this year...

"There's no question about it. Every single guy has started the entire season. Last year, we only had one guy that finished the whole season healthy. There is no question about it. The ability to get better each and to consistently practice and communicate with one another is big. The eight-minute drive we had at the end of the game against Ole Miss was about our offense line, our running backs making the plays necessary and doing the things necessary to finish the game. Our football team is a lot better than it was 10 weeks ago. No question." [...]

On anything that particularly stood out last weekend at Ole Miss...

"The redzone. I think we have been a really good redzone team, and we kept on battling. It's not about yards, it's all about the points. The plays we made on the one-yard line and the five-yard line were huge. They (Ole Miss) had a 19 play and 85-yard drive, but came away with no points. Then we blocked that field goal. Later on, they had a fourth down throw that they made, and we come out of that with no points too. You have to have good players, good coaches and you got to make plays. It's nice to have a team that is so good in the redzone."

The Trib (Behind the Stripes): Missouri Media Day Notes: Matching up with Manziel
The Missourian: Missouri football recognizes pressure of Texas A&M game
KC Star: MU has to hold down A&M’s Manziel
Post-Dispatch: Tackling Manziel easier said than done
PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Monday Media, 11/25
Fox Sports MW: Pressure mounting for Mizzou? Pinkel feels it every week he says
Fox Sports MW: Columbia will be rockin' when Johnny Football comes to town
Mizzou Network: 1 on 1: Gary Pinkel Previews Saturday's Matchup vs. Texas A&M

Where's Mizzou headed in bowl season?
PowerMizzou: Bowl Breakdown

Mizzou Links, 11-26-13: Tackling Manziel, getting stops in the redzone, and aiming for 34-0

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1. Four days to A&M

2. Award tour

3. Former/Future Tigers

4. What's better than 33-0? 34-0

5. WHATNOT

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