Complete Transcript Of Football's Weekly Press Conference
Sep 18, 2007 | Football
Sept. 18, 2007
HEAD COACH Bob Toledo
Opening comments
"We're trying to get better and build this thing up. I'm trying to remain as positive as I can because I think, at this point, that's what we need to be. We need to be positive. We don't need to be negative. We don't need to get down on kids. We're trying to build this thing and get it going in the right direction again. I look at the loss to Mississippi State and this is what I told the kids yesterday: you know, we lose to Mississippi State and I said two weeks ago that they're not a bad football team. They turned the ball over seven times against a No. 1 or 2 team in the country, and that's what made it a bad game. But they went on and beat Auburn.
"We lose to Houston, who are the defending (Conference USA) champions, and try to remain positive. Last year the score was 45-7. This year it was 34-10. Last year they had 621 yards against us and this year they had 505. They had 550 against Oregon, which is a pretty good football team that beat Michigan. Last year, we had 224 yards total offensively against Houston and this year we had 313. And if you catch some of those balls (we dropped), we're in the 400-yard category total offensive-wise. You take a look at (Houston running back Anthony) Alridge - against Oregon he rushed for 205 yards and had 86 receiving. Versus Tulane last year he only carried the ball 5 times and gets 155 yards and 87 yards in reception. This year against us, he carried the ball 18 times for 87 yards and he gets one reception for 49.
"So my point is there are some things that I think we're doing better and I'm trying to stay as positive as I can because I think we are making positive steps. I see some things on the video. We just need to continue to grow and get better. They (Houston) certainly weren't proud to hold the score down, I don't believe. They were trying to score points, so I think we competed well with them. I think we competed well in the second half when we made more plays. We're closer and more competitive than people think we are, I believe."
On the difference between winning and losing
"Really, it's an attitude...a mentality. We have to make these guys believe that they can win, and it's my job to make them believe that. Of course, winning breeds winning. Once you get on a roll and you start winning some games, it gives you confidence to win more games. Obviously, it was a disappointing loss. Nobody likes to lose. Hopefully, we can change that around here soon. But my big thing right now, this week, is we're going to worry about ourselves. I'm not worried as much about the opponent as I'm worried about ourselves and getting better."
On the practice schedule for Tuesday
"Today, it looks like a pretty good day (weather wise). Tuesdays are very physical days. We'll be able to do some things, be physical, get off blocks, tackling and doing all the fundamental things you need to get better. I hate to use it as an excuse, but I think as you get to know me, I don't really make excuses. I'm honest in what I'm saying. I'm trying to tell you what really happened and sometimes that may come out as an excuse and I'm not using it as an excuse. They're just facts. But I really believe that last week, by not practicing on Tuesday, it contributed somewhat to us not performing as well as we possibly could have. I talked to (Houston) Coach (Art) Briles before the game and I said, `Did you practice all week?' And he said `Yes, but we had to go indoors.' So they've got an indoor facility. We didn't practice Tuesday. We were in the Reily Center and then we ended up going to the Dome for the next couple days. But anyway, that's behind us."
On the team's focus for the week
"Right now we have to get ready for Southeastern Louisiana. They're 1-2. Obviously, they're a Division I- AA team (NCAA Division I - Championship Subdivision). We've seen what I-AA teams can do to I-A teams, so I'm going to try and get our guys ready to play. Last week they won 79-7. They beat Kentucky Weslyan. Their quarterback threw five touchdowns, Brian Davis. Their running back, Jay Lucas, scored four touchdowns and he scored on an 80-yard run. He's a transfer student, but he's their leading rusher and leading receiver. He's a heck of a football player. They've got some guys that can make plays. Defensively, they run a 3-5-3 - an attacking, aggressive type defense. They create a lot of havoc so, hopefully, we'll be able to block that, be able to run the ball, and sustain some drives."
On what Tulane needs to do to improve
"One of the things that's hurting us right now as we look at is, offensively, we've been in one short-yardage situation in two games. Normally, that happens two or three times a game. We have been on third-and-11-plus nine times. Now, normally, that happens two times a game. So, we're out of whack. We're not getting short-yardage situations because we're not able to run the ball on early downs and we're not completing routine passes. We're getting behind schedule in calling our game. Anybody who knows anything about football is, when you get into third and long, your percentage goes down a lot and that's what's happening to us. We need to run the ball better on early downs. We need to complete routine passes. On third down, you have to convert otherwise you're off the field. I read something about the Saints today, where a Saints receiver dropped a few balls on third down. It's the same thing. It doesn't matter who you are - you can be a high school player, a college player or a pro football player - if you don't execute, you're not going to be successful. So we've got to do a better job with that."
On the team's Players of the Week
"Our players of the game, offensively, it was Casey Robottom. He made some great catches and he makes big plays. My deal yesterday was players make plays. He's a player and he makes big plays. Our defensive player was David Skehan. Our special teams player - he did a heck of a job and he'll be our captain again this week - was Ray Boudreaux."
On the team captains for the game Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana
"Our captains are going to be Ray Boudreaux and Scott Elliott, along with (Matt) Forté and (Antonio) Harris, who are season captains."
On Houston's returned turnovers vs. Tulane's
"Obviously, turnovers are a big part of the game. If you win the turnover ratio, you have a better chance to win the game. I think it's a 5-to-5 ratio right now, but you've got to look at it this way: we turn the ball over and they run it back for a touchdown. We turn the ball over (again), they run it to the 4 yard line. We turn the ball over and they're inside our red zone. We get the turnovers, Skehan had two of them last week, both of them inside the 20 and we have to drive 80 yards. So field position is what's really the difference in the turnover ratio. If you turn it over, you want to get it on the plus side of the 50 and not the minus if you can help it. And we've got to do a better job of covering on interceptions and eliminating interceptions first of all. But I think it's where you get the ball. It's kind of deceiving."
On quarterback play time
"Yes, I think this week, I'd like to get all three quarterbacks an opportunity to play if we can. The next couple of weeks, I'd like to let them play and see how they do. Kevin (Moore) did a nice job. He came in, he said he was a little nervous and a little excited, but he calmed down and threw a nice deep ball, threw a nice slant to (Chris) Dunn for a touchdown. So yes, he'll get more reps. I think the other two have deserved an opportunity to play and they've all gotten better as I've said in the past. We would like to give them all an opportunity this weekend and next weekend to see what they can do. And then we have another non-league game after that. So, again, this (the Houston game) was the game that we had to and wanted to win because it was a league game. We want to win all of the games, but we want to find out who can help us down the stretch to win conference games."
On the dropped passes last Saturday vs. Houston
"First of all, it's a matter of concentration and then it's a matter of getting the job done. Like I said, it's a matter of players making plays. If you're a really good player, you make those plays. So that's just something we need to continue to work on."
On Elliott's dropped passes being right on the target
"All of them were first-down plays. the one down the middle to Gabe (Ratcliff), big first down. The one he throws on the in route to Jeremy Williams was a first down. The corner route he throws is a first down. Four routes, four of them were big first down plays."
On whether he feels the players are over-thinking rather than just going out and playing to their abilities
"That I don't know. That's something you'd have to ask them. We stress every day in practice, you know, looking the ball in and catching the ball. We throw the ball quite a bit in practice and it's just a matter of guys making plays. You see pro guys that get paid a lot of money doing the same thing."
On what positives he took from the loss to Houston
"I think we blocked for the run better. We really did. The problem is we had to get out of running the football because we were done 24-0, so we threw too many passes. When you throw over 45 balls, right now, for us, that's too many balls. We need to run the ball more efficiently and that's what I said earlier. We ran it efficiently, but we got so far behind that we had to try to make it up. So the running game, I think, improved on Saturday. We ran blocks better. Our fullbacks, (Jeremy) McKinney and (Jordan) Stephany, both did a nice job of blocking. Our receivers were throwing blocks - the first game we never left our feet to cut block and we emphasized that. This last week, if you watch the video, our guys were going down field and cutting defensive backs. I think there are some things in the running game that had actually gotten better. The disappointing thing was dropping the football."
On the importance of winning the Southeastern Louisiana game as a I-A team
"It's very important. We need to learn how to win. I think you look at their team, and again, I'm going to emphasize to our guys, because they're I -AA doesn't mean they're bad football players. They've got a lot of JC transfers. They've got a lot of four-year transfers. They won 79-7, and when you score 79 points, you're doing something. I just watched their video and they've got some guys that can make plays. I've been on the other side of that spectrum where I was a big underdog and playing someone that was supposed to beat you and went in and won. Their intensity level is going to be unbelievable because No. 1, they are playing a I-A team and No. 2, they're coming to the Dome and that motivates you right there when you're an opponent. Our guys have to match their intensity, particularly, early. We need to get off on a good start to be able to be successful Saturday."
On the last time he had to do a year-by-year comparison to keep the student-athletes' spirits high
"I can't remember that. Like I said, I'm trying to find positives in things right now and that's what I did. I want to show them that they're not that far from being a winning football team. We weren't picked to win a game in the league or whatever, but we're going to win some games."
On what he makes of teams in college football copying the spread offense
"Well, there's something to it. It spreads you out, it isolates you and it makes you use the whole field. It's not clogged in there. So, there is something to it, but you have to have those types of players to run that system. You've got to have a quarterback who's kind of running quarterback and you've got to have a bunch of receivers. You've got to recruit to it and you've got to want to do that. That's not my philosophy. We do parts of it. As you can see, we've run some three- and four-wide receivers and done some of it, but that's not my philosophy. I'm more of the West Coast offense and I think if we would've completed some passes and done some things this last game, the game would've been more competitive. I think we have seen, on film, that we are getting better. So, it's what I know and it's what we do. I think that offense is great. It puts a lot of pressure on your defense. I went home last night and watched the Tulsa/BYU game and that was a heck of a game. They scored quick, too, and put a lot of pressure on the defense. The defense was on the field a lot. BYU had 600 yards, too, so it gets back to your defense. (The spread offense) puts pressure on your defense. We're trying to help our defense right now, but, we don't help them when we're dropping passes."
On if the Superdome is readily available to Tulane for daily practices
"Yes. When they're (the Saints) are not around, its easier to get in there. But now they're starting to paint and do things for the Saints and it makes it a little more difficult. They were gone the first couple of weeks so we had that, but that's not the answer. If the answer was that, I'm sure the Saints would go in and use it all the time because what happens is you're limited on field space. We really go from the 35 yard line to the goal line, so you're not running around full speed like if you were out here (at the Westfeldt Practice Facility). You can't go very far. In other words, you can't throw out these balls. You're limited to what you can do. Out here, you've got a little mini field and you've got a big field. You can spread guys out and you've got more room to do things."
On going to the Superdome if there is bad weather
"If it rains ahead of time, we can do that. What happened last Tuesday is we went out, stretched, did some snap drills and a few individual drills, and then it just poured. So the easiest thing to do is just to go into Reily, but we can do that. There's an expense to doing that, too. You have to pay for buses, which is very expensive. So it's an economical thing as well."
On overlooking opponents
"We can't overlook anybody. We have to show up. We have to show up and play, and play with great intensity to be able to compete with them."
On the importance of scoring early and not letting teams hang around
"Last week, the first play of the game, we got around to what I thought was an excellent play. They (Houston) were in two-deep coverage and we put the tight end out, flankers out, split end was out, and the two safeties parted like the Red Sea. And we had Ray Boudreaux running right at the middle linebacker, who was the middle hole guy, and he looked like he was going to block him. (Boudreaux) avoided him and we didn't complete the pass. If we complete that ball, it's a 50-yard gain and we're down maybe to the 20 yard line. So things like that cost you. You want to get off to a good start and use a play that you think is going to be a great play, and then you don't execute the play. That ball was thrown short and to the left. We could've laid it up a little bit more and Ray could've caught it. He might've even scored. The two safeties had gone outside the hashes. If nothing else, it would've been a big play and it would've gotten us off on a good start. Instead, we got an incomplete pass and now its second-and-10."
On scripted plays
"We scripted 15, but let me explain some of the scripting thing. What happens on scripting is you script 15 plays to get you into the game and to utilize different formations. But that's for normal downs. What happens is, then you get your third down play so we have a third-and-one-to-two - a short yardage play. We know what play that's going to be. The kids practice it and they know it. My daughter could call the play. Third-and-three, it only happens one time a game. Now, it's happened twice in two games which is unscheduled. And then we have a third-and-four-to-six play, a third-and-seven-to-10 play, and a third-and-eleven-plus play. So what I do is, I start with a script. We've got the first two plays of the game. We're going to run them unless we're coming out of or into the red zone or green zone. We'll do that offense. But if we're in the middle of the field, they know what the first play is going to be and they know what the second play is going to be. Now, the third play if we made a first down, is going to be the third play on the script. If we make a first down, we do that play. If we don't, we go to that third-down sequence, whatever down distance that is. If we make the first down, then we go to play three and then four. We make a first down, we continue the script or go back to the third-down situation."
On how the Green Wave prepares for each opponent
"We do everything on videotape. We're looking at their formations, how they defend formations and so on and so forth to get a game plan. We kind of script it to see if they're doing what they've been doing. And obviously, the first two games they did exactly what we thought they would do. But that's why you script. When you script, it takes the emotion out of the game. I've seen some coaches go into a first play and they don't even know what they're going to call. All of a sudden they're looking around, and `ughh...we'll run this play.' It takes that emotion out for you and it makes you more organized. When the kids practice on Thursday, we rehearse our game plan we rehearse the openers. We run those opening plays against what we think we're going to see. On Thursday, they'll say, `third-and-one or -two...we're running this play.' It's no secret. So it gives them confidence too to know what we're going to do getting into the game."
On wide receiver Jeremy Williams and right tackle Pete Hendrickson not starting this weekend
"They're limited in what the trainers told me this morning. They're limited in what they can do with the ankle (Williams) and the shoulder (Hendrickson) but, hopefully, they'll be able to play."
On whether or not he was surprised with Casey Robottom's play
"No, no because I said coming out of spring I was really impressed with him. We went three receivers with him and Williams playing along with King. So, no, he had a great spring. The problem is he pulled up. He was injured in fall camp and that's what hurt him. But I've said that if I have bet my house on throwing the ball to anybody in this program, I'm going to throw it to Casey Robottom."
On if he is feeling impatient about getting his first win at Tulane
"I hate losing like everyone else, but again, I'm here for the long haul to kind of build this thing back up. I'm trying to create some confidence and I'm just trying to remain as positive as I can. I think if I lose confidence and I'm not positive then who's going to be? So, yes the glass is still half full."
On if he thinks the team is more responsive to the positive comments than tearing into them
"Right now they do. I don't want to say I'm treating them with kid gloves because I've gone after them pretty good in meetings and stuff, and I pointed out some things that probably embarrassed some guys. But I think, right now, we need to remain positive and that's why I'm trying to show them how close we are to really being a more competitive football team. I'm not saying we should have beat Houston, because they probably were better than us. But on the other hand, it could've been a closer football game if we would've done things right. The play where (running back Anthony) Alridge kept the ball and rushed for a touchdown, I mean, I showed that play (the day before) at practice. We practiced that play. We executed the play on defense in practice. And then I showed the play and I showed why we didn't execute because we missed a tackle, we overran a guy, we had three guys loafing, we had one guy in the backside that ran past the missed tackle. You can't do that. This should've been a no gain and instead it's a 49-yard touchdown. There was no gain in practice. Why shouldn't it be in the game? So those are things as a coach I'm trying to get us better, but I'm trying to give us confidence as well."
If Casey Robottom is the type of player Tulane can continue to get if it continues to recruit thard in the New Orleans area
"He along with a lot of other people. Andrew Neirman is only a freshman and h was not being recruited by Tulane. We got him, he's starting for us, and I'll tell you what, he's a good football player. Devin Holland wasn't being recruited by us. He started for us last week at safety. My point is there are a lot of good football players and you just have to go find them. Casey is one example. I think another good example is a guy Matt Forté. He's pretty good, too."
