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Coach Johnson Holds Weekly Press Conference 9/29/2003
Coach Johnson Holds Weekly Press Conference Coach Johnson will address the local Nashville media every Monday of game week. Click below for audio of the press conference, transcript, and game notes for the upcoming game. Bobby Johnson Press Conference in preparation for Mississippi State
Opening statement?
“Well, I think everyone knows the story. We played pretty good football for about 58 minutes, then did not play very well for the last two minutes and that cost us the game. So, another lesson learned. I hope we won’t repeat that. We had some good things going — this is a team (Georgia Tech) that almost shutout Auburn, and we were able to move down in the fourth quarter and get a score to go ahead. I think we’ve made some progress, but obviously not the complete progress that we wanted.”
On the VU offensive line?
“[Kenan Arkan] is getting closer, but we cannot say for sure that he will play this weekend. Brian Stamper had a very good game. I was really proud of Brian. He did some things that a freshman cannot normally do. He picked up a lot of stunts, a lot of pass-rush schemes. Just one game of experience really helped him. And Tom Sorensen played well for his start going in a freshman. They (Ga. Tech) are pretty good on the defensive front and their linebackers are pretty good, so those two guys were under a lot of pressure and did very well. [Steven Brent] is getting better. It helps to have depth everywhere — we will be happy to get all of those guys back and have our choice of when we can play certain players and who goes in at certain times. That is certainly a luxury that we don’t have right now.”
On the overtime interception against Ga. Tech?
“Their safety made a great play. We had been running that set a good bit that night and he was very aggressive on the pitch. We figured that they thought we would be running the football in that situation, and hoped that he would come up on the pitch. But he made a great play. Jay (Cutler) probably should have not thrown that ball, or waited just a little bit later, because Norval (McKenzie) had about another 10 yards and he might have gotten past that guy. But that is easy for us to say. Jay is sitting there, looking at and trying to make a play. He threw it; he probably shouldn’t have. But I’ve done a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have.”
On the collegiate overtime format?
“I think it is very fair. It makes you run your offense and your defense, because it is on the 25-yard line and you can get first downs. It is far enough that if one team doesn’t score, the other team probably doesn’t want to just try a field goal on the first play. I think it is well thought out and equitable. It is the best thing going. I’d much rather have it our way than the NFL or high school formats.” On his team’s outlook? “It is as good as can be expected after a loss like that. If you look at the whole game, we had a lot of positives. The end wasn’t positive, but most of the game was pretty positive. We had some guys playing extremely hard on defense. I think Moses Osemwegie and Dominique Morris. The other people were steady. We’re getting better on defense — getting more aggressive. Offensively, we had some good drives — two at the end of the half to tie it up and one good one at the end of the game. When we tried to get close for the winning field goal, I thought we had good execution. Certain parts are getting better — certain parts still need a lot of work.”
On defensive improvement from a year ago?
“Well, we hoped to improve, obviously. Last year was pretty tough. Offense and defense are a function of each other — if your offense keeps the ball, your defense plays better statistically. Some of the statistically great defensive teams had wishbone offenses that kept the ball all of the time. There is give and take there, both ways. But we are much sounder, more aggressive, and we play with a little more purpose than we did last year.” On his team’s attitude? “Well, we’re mad because we should have won that game. We had it. It was up to us to win that game. We had done enough, up to the two-minute mark, to win the game. We just didn’t do it in the last two minutes, so we’re extremely angry. At the same time, you don’t want to ignore the good things that you did to get into that position. It’s a balance. I don’t know exactly how to balance it. That’s a tough thing for a team that is trying to get any kind of a win. Again, we try to be positive. We encourage our players to keep improving. If we do improve, and keep improving at the same rate we have been, I think we are going to be all right.”
On making plays near the end of the game?
“I was telling them the whole time, ‘Let’s tackle, let’s win this thing, let’s go out and be aggressive.’ Basically, that’s what happened. We were trying to be aggressive. They (Ga. Tech) dropped back to pass and we were trying to get in there. A guy took an inside route to try and make a play. He (Ga. Tech QB Reggie Ball) went outside of us, broke contain and had an open field. Now you can’t come back and tell them, ‘Well, don’t be aggressive. Just sit out there and make sure he doesn’t run around.’ Then they have all day to pass and we’ll be accused of being in a prevent defense.”
On moving on from week-to-week?
“I like the way we practice on Sunday. Win or lose, you have to go on to the next one. I think that’s the best way. We analyze it. We watch the film. We talk to them about it, see what we did right and what we did wrong. Then we go out of the practice field and try to get ready for the next game.” On “learning how to win”? “I don’t know if that is a learned trait or not. You keep getting better and learn how to be a good football player. And I guess if you get enough of them together on the same team you’ve learned how to win. We made good calls. Executed, at times, very well. We did enough to win the game, except for probably one play. But that’s what it takes.”
On what the team will work on this week?
“Vanderbilt. We’re trying to make ourselves better. We have to expect to get Mississippi State’s best game. We can’t sit here and just hope that they’re down. They’re not going to roll over, I guarantee you that. We’re not going to roll over. It’s a situation where most people think that both teams are uninterested or unmotivated, but I think it’s the opposite.” On Mississippi State’s problem? “I don’t know. We don’t try to solve other teams problems. We try to attack their problems. I think they are just like us a lot of times. I think our Mississippi game, their Tulane game, or our Georgia Tech game and their Houston game — very similar circumstances. There’s no telling what the difference would be if they had beaten Tulane or beaten Houston. But they’ve got good players. I know we’re worried about size and speed matchups, which is always a problem for us.” On focusing on the opponents’ weaknesses? “Well, you focus on it and see why people are able to do certain things against them, but you don’t want to go against your strengths. You are very fortunate if a team is struggling against the same things that you do best. I think we are fairly balanced, so I don’t think we are going to throw it 50 times and try to beat them that way. We’re going to have to do what we do best. We like to run the ball. I think Jay proved that he can pass. He threw a couple of outs from one hash to the other sideline that were tremendous. We’re not afraid to throw it.”
On the VU passing game?
“Brandon (Smith) and Erik (Davis) are certainly very helpful. We have guys that can stretch the corner and make him respect the deep throw, and then break it off for a catch on the sideline. Chris Young has helped. He’s caught some short balls and made some good plays, picked up some extra yardage when he has had the opportunity. Marlon White is another guy who can earn respect deep. And the tight ends, when we have them healthy, add another perspective to our passing game. Even the backs, I think they have caught the ball well. Obviously our biggest problem, especially against TCU, was protecting the passer. That’s something we have to be concerned about, especially with a young offensive line.”
On starting quickly against Mississippi State?
“I’d like to start quickly every game. Yeah, it would help. Whichever teams starts the quickest will have an advantage psychologically. But, we started a game (against Ga. Tech) with a fumble on the kickoff, got down 10-0 and then came back and tied it by the half. I was very proud of the way our guys came back after adversity. Last year, I don’t know if we would have done that.”
On changes since the athletic department was re-aligned?
“I have seen a lot more vice chancellors around trying to be extremely helpful. They’ve been to recruiting functions and volunteered all kinds of help. Not that we weren’t getting that from the previous organization, but I think they are sincere in wanting our team to get better, and I think we will continue to get that support from them and the entire university.” “I don’t think it has hurt us. Some people have told us that they understand the situation, but they have seen the wrong message being sent out by the media. I talked to the father of one of the top quarterbacks in the country and he said he thought it was great that we weren’t afraid to do something and take a leadership role. None of our commitments have even hinted about looking elsewhere.” |
Coach Johnson Holds Weekly Press Conference
