Scelfo Holds First Weekly Football Press Conference of 2006
Sep 5, 2006 | Football
Sept. 5, 2006
Transcript in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NEW ORLEANS, LA. - Tulane football head coach Chris Scelfo held his first weekly press conference of the 2006 season on Tuesday morning in the James W. Wilson Center in advance of the team's season opener on Saturday at the University of Houston. The Green Wave and Cougars (1-0) will play at 6:00 p.m. CT with live video available on CSTV All-Access at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
"We had an open date last Saturday and gave the guys some time off, which they really needed to get their legs back underneath them. We came back yesterday and had a good long practice. We worked on a lot of situational stuff. I thought our practice could have been better yesterday, but after you have a couple days off you've got to get them back into that routine.
Houston has been a team that's really had our number the last three years. We've played them just about everywhere I think: Tad Gormley, and Roberts Stadium and in Lafayette, I think. It's been a while since we've been over there. Our kids should be used to traveling, so that shouldn't be a factor in the game.
What should be a factor in the game is how we control their quarterback offensively for Houston, and defensively how we maintain the edges of the perimeter people. Their safeties, linebackers - both inside and outside - are very good. We've got to be able to run the football when we need to, and protect the passer. I expect them to blitz us a lot and we'll have to do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage. I think the game is going to be one up front on both sides of the ball. We have to get off blocks on the defensive line and the offensive line has to maintain blocks. That's pretty much where the game will be won or lost.
From the standpoint of the kicking game, I feel good about it going in. It will be interesting to see how Ross reacts when the band is playing out there on Saturday night. As it is with our linebackers and safeties, this is the first time those guys will be out there. Some of those offensive linemen haven't played much. So there's a lot of unknowns. You can simulate everything you want in practice, but until the game happens ... you've got to make those adjustments and speed of the game is very important. We're playing and experienced football team, one that has a game under its belt. From an operations and clock management standpoint, the speed of the game is going to be very important.
[Having a game under your belt] always gives you some operational corrections that you can make from game one to game two. Obviously, they've got that advantage. Other than that, you know how your kids are going to react. We don't know how our kids are going to react. Regardless of whatever level you're on, you're not sure what's going to happen in that first game. That's what's keeping us up at night.
Extra days? They know what we're doing and we know what they're doing even though we didn't get that Rice [versus Houston] tape. It's not the preparation, it's the reaction. Game reactions. You can't simulate that. That's where I think playing a game helps you.
I'm very satisfied with [how the team's conditioning has progressed]. We're going to have to roll some people in. Houston is going to be warm and humid. We're going to roll some people in, but I feel a lot better about our conditioning today than I did Aug. 10.
The biggest question is how they are going to react Saturday night. We're opening with a preseason conference favorite. And how we react to that is going to be the deciding factor for us. We've got some guys who've been there before in a lot of situations, and some guys that haven't. So that's the biggest thing right now is I'm not sure how they are going to react. Some are going to become stars Saturday night and some of them are going to have to regroup.
We've got to be able to run the football. All the success we've had around here is when we've been able to maintain a running game. I think we've got a good running game. We've just got to go out there and execute and play with the passing that we need to give our backs a chance.
We've got a lot of talent at receiver. Those guys have done well during practice, in camp. It's been very encouraging to me. Our offensive line is a working process and it will be. Our defensive line ought to be good. I'll be very disappointed if they don't play the way they are capable of playing on Saturday."
On Playing 12 games in 12 weeks this season
"Our team went through that last year, playing 11 straight the way we did, on different days of the week. I don't think we'll be affected by that. Open weeks give you a chance to catch your breath, get somebody healthy that hadn't been, give you a chance to make some personnel adjustments. But it's been so long since we've played a game, I think it's way to early to think about how that's going to affect us in October and November."
On the freshmen class
"I think we've got a good freshmen class. We've had some misfortune at linebacker the past several year. We lost four of them from one class, and then we lost three to graduation. That's a need for us there. Some situations its talent, and some it's need. Everyone who's on the two-deep will play on some sort of team. With the defections we had last year with four guys leaving the program after the storm, with the graduation losses we had, it's imperative that these kids have to step up now."
On the post-Katrina training camp
"I've seen a more business-like approach and more appreciation for Tulane and being able to be here, practice here and go to class here. I haven't seen that chip on the shoulder yet. I'd like to see our team develop that attitude. I haven't seen that yet."
On Senior QB Lester Ricard
"He had a good day yesterday. I've seen Lester go out there and have some bad practices and then complete 85 percent of his passes on game day. He's one that I'm interested to see how he performs. He's got to have some help, too. I've said this before, a quarterback gets way too much credit and way too much of the blame. He's got to have to some help. Our receivers have to get open, he's got make the right checks. Our line has got to win the line of scrimmage for him to have the opportunity to be successful."
On Senior DL Michael Purcell
"Michael's a guy you never hear anything about. He never says nothing. He's probably overcome as much as anyone personally that we've had in this program for eight years. I'm not saying this because he is here in the room, but he's a guy that knows his role. He knows he may only get 20 snaps on Saturday but he makes everyone of them count. He practices with a passion and that gives him a chance to play. He's too small, he's too slow, he's too weak. But when he goes out there, he makes the plays. And that's `want-to.' And you can have a good team if you've got enough guys like that."
Is this a bowl-capable team?
"Absolutely. I see enough talent and I want to see that `want-to.' We open with three straight on the road against real good opponents, but it's a 12-game season. Regardless of how you slice it, our players have to take them one at a time and let it play out. Win or lose on Saturdays, we've got to put that game behind us because it is a 12-game season. That's the way we have to approach it."
