Stoops takes to the airwaves

Bob Stoops talked about the decision to play Landry Jones over Sam Bradford, who was cleared to play, on ESPN’s College Football Live.

Here’s what he had to say:

Why Landry over Sam?
Well, watching practices through the week and where Sam has progressed to, we just feel it’s the right thing to do. He’s just not quite where he feels comfortable enough, or that we feel comfortable enough that he’s totally ready to go.

We love what Landry’s been able to do, we have a lot of confidence in him. We just felt it’s the way to go for this game.

Will Sam Bradford dress against Miami?
Probably not.

How far away is Sam from being in uniform and taking the field?
That would be speculation. Just don’t know. It’ll be a another week similar to this week, once we keep progressing, toward getting him more healthy and back on the field.

What does Landry Jones do to make trouble for Miami?
I think what matters most, is there’s been all this attention on the quarterback and who it’s going to be, but what really matters is all the players around him and how they’re going to play. In the end, if you’re not protecting the quarterback, and if you’re in first-and-20, due to penalty, or if you’re not establishing some kind of run game, or if your receivers aren’t getting open, it doesn’t matter if Sam Bradford, Superman or Landry Jones is in there, you’re not going to do well.

To me, the main issue is are the players around him going to perform and play well and give him an opportunity.

Do you shorten the playbook with Landry Jones at quarterback?
Really, not much. A little bit, but overall, over the last couple of weeks, we always have had plenty of offense going into the game. And we will again this week. Sam, obviously, with his experience, can handle a little bit more, but it isn’t like we’re shortchanging anything.