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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: STANFORD v OKLAHOMA STATEDecember 29, 2011Derek MasonGLENDALE, ARIZONA DEREK MASON: They have won 12 games. I think for them, they are who they are. We are who we are. We don't back down from anybody. Like I said before, we are blue collar. We have always approached it that way. Our offense has always made us better because of what we see. We start by being able to stop the run because that's what we see in practice. From there, being able to defend the pass is just a product of our conference. Our conference does that as good as anybody across the country. So for us, we know and understand who we are, what we are. These two defenses are pretty good. And I think we got a chance to show them in the world and either side of the ball how great we are. So let's go get it. Q. You guys have faced great quarterbacks in your conference. You face a great quarterback every day in practice. How does Brandon Weeden mix in that those great quarterbacks? DEREK MASON: He is great. He has put up numbers. He has done it winning. Any time you can do that, you put yourself in an elite category of quarterbacks. That's what he is. He is older. He is smart. He understands their offense. He runs it the way that coaching staff wants him to run it, and he is a leader. He wins. I think any time you face those kind of quarterbacks, it is dangerous because they look for weaknesses in your defense and they can exploit you. For us, we have to be smart. We have to understand our strengths and weaknesses, make sure we talk, communicate, overcommunicate clarity. It always starts for us with stopping the run. We must stop the run. We stop the run and we defend the pass‑‑ I know it sounds funny because they are throwing for 4,000 yards and rush for over 2,000. Any time you can let a team like this stay two dimensional, you can't stop anything. You are trying to stop everything and you can't stop anything. You have to concentrate on one area and make sure you do exactly what you are taught to do and what we game plan all night long. For us, we understand our plan. Our guys have been great the last few weeks in terms of preparation, and we are ready to go. Q. Talk about Weeden, how good he is. He has the arm strength, accuracy, pro‑style quarterback. Is it his age that's keeping him a prospect like what Andrew Luck is? DEREK MASON: I don't know that. I know he wins ball games. Having been around a guy like Brett Favre and seen that up close in Minnesota, guys who win, they have special characteristics. They find ways to make guys around them better. That's something that's not always in the stat book. I think Andrew Luck is one of the best leaders I have been around. His stats may not bear out, but he is a winner. I take him over anybody in the country. That being said, I truly believe Weeden is a great quarterback who has done his team and his program proud. That being the case, what the NFL has in store for him only God knows. I do know this: He wins. And winning is something that every level, whether it is college or NFL, that's what you look for. You look for guys that have those tank buildings. Because at the end of the day, it is something you don't coach and they find ways to get it done. Q. In stopping the run, when you look at OSU's running game, you might consider a little bit underrated, you talk about passing game, Weeden and Blackmon. What have you seen from the running team and the offensive line? What you said earlier? DEREK MASON: What I said earlier, they dominate the line of scrimmage. They are big, strong, and establish the line of scrimmage. They do a good job of making sure they get to the second level. In pass pro, the quarterback does a good job of getting it out. But they are underrated in the run game. Those guys get to the second level and what they do, they break tackles. For us, we have to tackle. Those guys‑‑ I have seen three and four‑yard runs turn into 10‑ and 12‑yard runs. And when they get in the red zone, they smell the end zone. Their running game is as good as anybody we have faced all year long. The merit can be pushed to the pass game. But if you underrate what they do run‑wise, you can be falling asleep at the wheel. Q. What about the tempo of this offense? How does it rate with the other offenses you face this year? DEREK MASON: Their tempo is right up there, whether it is Arizona, Oregon. Oregon's tempo, high speed, warp speed, whatever they want to call it, it is fast. It is fast. But the one thing about playing Oregon, I don't believe that the tempo really got to us. We understood what they were going to do. Granted, still have to stop it. That's what happens with Oklahoma State. They get you‑‑ you may know what's happening, you may know what's coming. They still make you defend it. They make you get to the line of scrimmage. You reset and get your calls in and play football. For us, we understand who we are facing. We understand their tempo can go fast or as fast as they need it to go. With that being the case, we are going to be prepared to do exactly that. I think simplicity helps you. But you can't be so simple to allow your guys to be sitting ducks. We won't do that. We will be ready for Oklahoma State. Q. Do you feel like with a guy like Weeden, who is better in his decision‑making ability, you need to put more pressure on him than, say, a lesser quarterback? DEREK MASON: We didn't do much in terms of sacking Barkley, but we hit Barkley. And I think, you know, cumulative hits and change of quarterbacks, in view of how he plays the game, these guys have done as good a job as anybody in the country of not getting the quarterback sacked. We need to make sure we can apply pressure when it is called for. By the same token, we understand the sacks won't necessarily determine this ball game. We have to get to him. At times we will get to him, when we do, we need to make sure that we make those hits count. And we will. We want to play a clean football game and have fun doing it. By the same token, we cannot let him sit there and have target practice at our secondary. Won't do it, can't do it. For us, it is critical‑‑ we need to make sure we set edges on the perimeter and put hands on those guys. It will be a physical ball game.  Neither of these two teams are teams‑‑ they come at you. The one thing that needs to be established especially in the run game is how things will be played on the perimeter, whether it is them throwing the ball on the perimeter. There is no shortcut. We have to make sure we match physicalness with physicalness. That's part of what we are with blue collar and that's definitely who they are. I think it will be a great football game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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