Head Coach Dick Tomey Quotes
September 19, 1999

Today's 7 a.m. practice: "Well, I think we all felt better. It was the best thing to do in that situation. To get out there with a tight group and go back to work to try to do the things better that we haven't done well was physical and demanding. It was good."

"It was a matter of getting up and getting out there with the right look on your face. We worked on fundamentals. A lot of our breakdowns were fundamental breakdowns. No matter where you are in your season, fundamentals are the basis for everything."

"The thing that hurts me most is that we don't reflect things that teams that are well-coached reflect. I'm surprised we're not playing better than we are, but it's hard to win, and it's hard to play well. You can't take anything for granted."

Performance against Stanford: "Good teams do certain things right. Stanford had no turnovers and no tackles for losses. They did a lot of good stuff, and that is just a very veteran football team."

"The turnover area, losses, run defense and a lack of pressure on defense. There are some real discrepancies in those areas."

Brad Brennan's status: "With Brad (Brennan) we are going to apply for a medical redshirt. The earliest he would be able to return would be in four to five weeks. It will be good for him in the future, but it's not good for us right now."

Arizona's defense: "We're not playing good defense. You can win a lot of different ways, but you can't win without playing good defense."

"We have nine returning starters on defense who played against Washington last year without Chris (McAlister), and we're not the same team."

"When you have a great pass rusher, you have a better pass rush. We have been fortunate in the past to have had a number of guys who have been way up in the stats in the conference. Right now, we don't have anybody playing up to that level."

Arizona's quarterbacks: "Our quarterbacks are getting into some trouble a lot. They need to not turn the ball over and avoid taking major losses. Take the TCU and Stanford game. We had way too many turnovers, and they were all quarterback related."

Arizona's season performance: "We are not doing a good job on pass protection, and the quarterbacks are not getting the ball off. On the other side of the ball, we are not getting home on defense. It's a group effort."

"I have a great deal of empathy for what the players are going through. It doesn't diminish my respect for any of these guys one iota. We're trying to be a good team, but we're not. You can make it happen, but it takes a lot of hard work, effort and probably some good fortune."

"We probably overachieved last year, and we're underachieving now. With underachieving, the place you start is with the head football coach who is the most to blame. Everybody has to take their part of the responsibility, and I bear the most part of the responsibility."

"I do not fault the guys we have. They have worked to be better, but we're not better as a team. It's not a lack of trying. In some cases, it may be that we're trying too hard."