Tulane Green Wave Prepares for East Carolina
Sep 11, 2002 | Football
Sept. 11, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University improved to 2-0 on Saturday with a road victory over Conference USA rival Houston. This weekend, the Green Wave travels to East Carolina for another tough road battle. Head coach Chris Scelfo held his third weekly press conference on Tuesday morning in the Hall of Fame Room of Tulane's Wilson Center.
Opening Statement:
"It was a good win for us Saturday, but there is a lot of stuff we need to improve on, starting this week with East Carolina. To go on the road and come home with a conference victory is really big for our program. We needed a good start and we're off to it and the confidence that our players are building week by week is evident. The mentality of our football team right now is very positive. I think our players really executed Saturday on defense and played as hard as they could and that was key for us. Offensively, I think we executed at times very well, but we put the ball on the ground [fumbled] too many times. That's correctable and I see our offense starting to gel. J.P. [Losman] made progress Saturday and obviously if he continues to do that, that will jump-start our offense. Our offensive line has got to continue to improve; we knew that was going to be a problem coming into the season and they have a tremendous task this weekend against East Carolina. Our kicking game had a couple breakdowns Saturday that I was very disappointed in; we take a lot of pride in it and that is one phase that we have to execute every single time the ball is snapped."
What do you do about the inconsistency on offense?
"I do not think we have been inconsistent, but we have a brand-new quarterback, four brand-new offensive linemen. I think we are doing what we need to do to win right now. There have been many times I have stood up here after we had 500 yards and scored 40 points and lost. The bottom line is to take care of the football right now and be productive. They went down and scored Saturday and we answered the challenge right away to get back up on top of them. There have been a lot of positives, but we have been so used to putting up four or five hundred yards every week that I think we've got a little spoiled. We're not capable of doing that at this point, but we will work to get there, because obviously that is a good benefit for our football team. I think our kids are playing better; they made improvements from week one to week two, we just have to keep improving."
What is the confidence-level of this team and what does that mean?
Confidence plays a huge part; togetherness plays a huge part. Right now our kids feel very good about themselves, but one game does not make or break a season; this is a journey we are on, and I say it whole-heartedly, not coach-speak. It is a long year, we have 10 weeks left. To stick together and play together and to gel together is obviously the key for our success."
How different is this East Carolina team to the ones you have played in the past?
"They are a very similar schematically, in all three phases. They have some new people plugged in there. I think their quarterback is excellent; I think their running back is as good as we'll play this year. I think defensively they are faster than they were last year. They have put the ball on the ground nine times in two weeks and that is the reason they are 0-2."
Do you think that whoever wins the turnover battle will win the game?
"I think that is evident in most games. If there is a big discrepancy in turnovers, then whoever wins it [the least turnovers] will win it [the game]."
The defense has been playing better, what do you attribute that to?
"We have some confidence right now and we have some leadership over there; we have six or seven seniors that have been there. They had to feel good about themselves Saturday, creating the havoc that they created. We have some guys who have been through the wars and have grown up. We talked about it in preseason camp, we expect to be better on defense because of the guys we have there."
What has been the difference with Lynaris Elpheage so far this year?
"Lynaris has really practiced well since camp started. I think he is really focused. We put a lot of pressure on him last year, after last season, to be consistent, to do it the way he has been taught to do it, and to play every play. Every play is important to him and I think last year he let down on some of that, right now, he hasn't. He has played every play; he realizes the importance of it, and that is a sign of maturity. He is a true junior so this is the year we expect him to be good."
The defense is doing well, but what does the defense have to do better?
"We're giving up way too many yards rushing. We've got to play better run defense. Obviously our linebacker situation is critical to us right now. We have to fight through it, we have to get better there. Our defensive line has to pick up the slack; I don't think our defensive line played very well Saturday. We have to play a lot better than that to give our defense a chance."
Is there a different mindset on defense which has enabled them to make big plays?
"That is something we have worked on and Coach Schumann and the defensive staff have really worked on it, about playing every play. The other night was a great example of what we've been preaching. They drove the ball 85 yards and got inside the red zone to the five and they turned the ball over. That is assign of improvement; that is what we have to continue to stress as coaches and the players have to understand how important each play is, because four or five plays during the course of the game decide the game, and you don't know what those four or five are until after the game."
