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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Quotes from David Cutcliffe Press Conference
11/22/1999 | Football
Nov. 22, 1999
Quoting Ole Miss Head Coach David Cutcliffe
"We went back to work last night and thought we had a good practice. We accomplished a lot. As for Romaro (Miller), we are holding him out of practice. We are doing everything we can to get him ready. He is not going to be available to the media this week due to his time restraints. We'll know more later in the week."
On quarterback David Morris: He will be running with the first team. It won't change anything that we do, but he will get all the snaps as long as Romaro is out.
Is there a possibility Eli Manning will play? No. Going in to the 11th game, I don't think that will be an option
Who will back up Morris? We're still looking at some things, and we are going to keep that to ourselves for now.
Will Romaro be mentally ready to play? He is sitting in on all the meetings and is preparing to play. When he's not on the field he is watching tape and studying the game plan. He spent all day yesterday rehabing and studying film.
What is the biggest concern about his ankle? The main thing is that he is able to protect himself and be able to move around. From a throwing standpoint, it is tough whether you are left or right handed. The mechanics are very important and we won't know where he is until we get him back on the field.
How important is it for Romaro to have is mobility? It's very tough if you don't have a mobile quarterback, especially against a defense like Mississippi State. If Romaro's not able to move well he won't be out there.
Talk about Mississippi State's defense. (Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator) Joe Lee Dunn does an outstanding job. It's a good scheme, but the biggest problem is that his players know how to play. They play smart and with a lot of energy. They chase the ball well. They help each other and know where the help is coming from and that is something that most people miss.
How comfortable are you with David Morris? The experience from last year really helped him. His preparation has been good all year. He is very comfortable with what we are doing and he has had a lot of work with the first team.
Talk about your defense. Our defense has been outstanding all year, especially against the run. They have suffered a lot of injuries and overcome a lot of adversity. They have been very well coached. We have had some outstanding games and they have gotten better each week.
Talk about your first Egg Bowl. It's a very intense rivalry. It's certainly one of the best rivalries in the nation. Since the two schools are so close as far as geography, that adds to the intensity of the game and recruiting and everything else.
How difficult will it be to run against Mississippi State? We've got to do what we do best. We will try to be a balanced team. We won't make any drastic changes. We'll take what their defense gives us and try to make some plays. It will be a great challenge to run or throw on their defense.
After watching film do you think you can run on their defense? You never know until you get out there. They are the No. 1 defense in the nation and it will be a great challenge for us.
How did you grade the defense after the Georgia game? We didn't do a good job on either side of the ball. We didn't hold the ball on offense and kept putting our defense on the field. Our defense would have liked to stop Georgia sooner and not let them hold the ball. We did a good job holding them out of the endzone and they put us in a position to win the game. We could have played better, but we didn't play bad.
Do you like playing on Thanksgiving night? I like it on Thursday night. It's a short week, but it's a great opportunity to showcase a great rivalry. We're the only game on that night we look forward to the opportunity.
