Landry Jones learning lessons about playing better

Fourth quarters have been tough on Landry Jones and the Oklahoma offense this season. Against Missouri, Jones was 0-for-7 in the fourth quarter. Jones talked about his last effort out and what he needs to do in order to be a better quarterback moving forward.

Q: What are the main things you're trying to focus on, with your offense, this week?

Landry Jones: Well, the reason why we've been winning a lot of games is because we've been taking care of the ball. We went down there, last Saturday, and had a turnover inside the 15-yardline, then committed another fumble. Those are big plays in the game that you can't have, you can't do that on the road. I guess we're just focusing on finishing when we get down there.

Q: Is there anything more than just concentrating harder to take care of the football?

Jones: Yeah, basically. We played decently, we just didn't take care of the ball. We had some mix-ups and then we didn't run the ball very well. We need to take care of the ball, be able to run the ball and be a more balanced offense. We should be able to take care of business.

Q: Coach Stoops said yesterday that normally a coach gives a quarterback a two-year window to really nail the position down. After that, they expect the quarterback to really minimize the mistakes that can lead to lost ball games. You have a few games left until that "window" is up, how do you think you're progressing in that education?

Jones: I'm just trying to be better every week. I'll have a good game and then I'll have a bad game. Being more consistent is the thing that I'm really focusing on right now.

Q: In high school, did you guys huddle, or did you run a version of the no-huddle?

Jones: We did a little bit of both.

Q: In the past, quarterbacks felt that a big intangible was managing the huddle. Do you, as a quarterback, miss the huddle?

Jones: Not really, I don't think so.

Q: Body language and the way you present yourself is another way you can lead this team, right?

Jones: Yeah, absolutely. You can't walk around this place with your head down and shoulders slumped. You have to carry yourself the right way to become a leader in this offense.

Q: Can you speak to what Roy Finch has added to this offense?

Jones: He's added a lot. He's another running back that is shifty too. When we put him in there, it's hard to find him amongst those big offensive linemen. Once he gets out in space, he's hard to tackle. He can move side-to-side pretty well. He just adds another explosive back to our backfield.

Q: You will lose Demarco (Murray) after the season. It must be comforting to know that you have a guy like Finch back there waiting?

Jones: Oh yeah, it's comforting to know. But we'll definitely miss Demarco.

Q: You must really like having them both out there together?

Jones: Oh yeah, they're both great players. It's tough for a defense to line up against both of them on the field at the same time.

Q: On your interceptions. Did I hear you say that the second one was tipped and the first one you threw it right to him?

Jones: Yeah, that's pretty much the way it looked. I was trying to touch it up, on the first one, and ended up throwing it right to him. That one was definitely on me, and I can't make that throw in a game.

Q: What should you have done right there?

Jones: Probably just throw it over his head or throw it out of bounds. I shouldn't have even thrown it. After watching it on film, I shouldn't have made the throw. I should have probably just thrown it into the stands.

Q: Was there enough time to pump-fake the defender into the air?

Jones: Probably not, I don't think so. In that situation you have to throw it away and play the next down.

Q: Kevin Wilson said that he thought they actually messed up on defense. Did you leave the field, after that pass, thinking, 'What the heck just happened?'

Jones: Yeah, I thought the end was going to rip inside of Trent Ratterree because they had pressure from the boundary. But he swung outside of Ratterree, I had two guys right there and I tried to touch it over him. I just threw it right to him.

Q: On the one that was tipped, you said that you were trying to avoid arms at the line of scrimmage. Is there anything you can gain from that incident or is it just a freak play that happens?

Jones: No, you can gain from it. I just need to touch it up over that guy. Trey (Millard) was open in the flat, so I need to get it over that guy and miss his hands. I can't throw it right through him.

Q: You threw 50 balls on Saturday, how well do you think you're throwing the ball?

Jones: I feel like I'm throwing it pretty good. Up until last game, I took care of the ball pretty well this season. I didn't have too many interceptions and I feel like I've made most of my reads right. Last game, I didn't play the way I should have played, I kind of let down the team by not playing the way I'm capable of. I put us in bad situations on some routes and I missed other things. Up until this game, I feel like I've thrown the ball pretty well.

Q: The last play of the game was a desperation play where you guys were lateralling it around the field. Was that a called play?

Jones: No, we called a run play. Demarco saw Ryan (Broyles) out there and pitched it to him to try and make a play. Ryan then pitched it to me and I tried to get it to Trey but it didn't work out. It was just one of those things where we were trying to make a play, and then maybe get lucky by converting the 2-point conversion.

Q: Would you have liked to take a shot on the fourth-and-10 play where you guys punted?

Jones: It's tough when we're down there on the 7-yardline with 2:30 left. In that situation you hope to punt it, have your defense hold them and then you get the ball in a little bit better field position. It's tough to take shots down there because if you don't get it, then you give it to the other team on the seven. It's tough to stop anyone inside the 10-yardline.