|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 17, 2007Lloyd CarrCOACH LLOYD CARR: I liked what I saw up front on both sides of the football. I thought defensively we played well up front. I thought it was our ability to put pressure on the quarterback; that really was the difference. All of the guys played well. I think John Thompson had his best game at Michigan. I thought he really made some wonderful plays. I thought Chris Graham made a big play on a big hit that caused the fumble, the secondary kicked the ball in front of him. So we made some strides defensively. Offensively, it all started with controlling the line of scrimmage up front. I thought the guys on the offensive line really did a great job; and of course Mike Hart; we ran the football extremely well and that made it a lot easier to control the football and certainly to protect the quarterback. So I think we made some strides offensively. I thought we were effective in the passing game. I think our receivers caught five passes, wide receivers, but three of them went for touchdowns. The biggest part of the game I think was the fact that we scored 24 points after taking over the ball inside the 50-yard line. That always makes it a lot easier, and yet we've had some of those opportunities earlier and didn't take advantage of them. I thought Zoltan Mesko continued to punt the ball extremely well. He's having a great year. I thought Jason Gingell kicked the ball well, improved in the field goal protection, extra points. But we've got a ways to go and that's what we're going to be working on this week. Q. What do you think the challenge of the secondary and to the wide receivers? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think Penn State, they have had a lot of great teams down through the years and I think this is an outstanding football team in every phase of the game. I think it is truly one of the best Penn State defensive teams that I've seen. I think their front four, they rotate a lot of guys, and they all have different abilities, but they are all athletic. They are physical. They hustle and they have just been outstanding. And I think the linebacker core is -- I think Connor is certainly one of the best three or four linebackers that I've seen this year. I thought a year ago, he was an outstanding linebacker and he's having a great year. I think Lee is really an athletic guy. They can run. I think their secondary is extremely mobile, quick. They are always going to have eight guys down there to stop run. So it's an outstanding defense. And offensively, they are extremely well balanced. They are running for 217 yards a game and throw one for almost 200. So they are a well-balanced offensive team. They have got a senior quarterback in Morelli, a big guy that's got a great arm. And I think what really is impressive is the skill. They have got four or five guys at the wide receiver position that could hurt you. So, it will be a challenge. You know, there's no question about that, and hopefully we can put some pressure on the quarterback. I think that's really the best pass defense, but their offensive line is good. They are all well-coached, outstanding special teams and this is a good football team, no question about that. Q. What did you see in Ryan? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think Ryan had a great experience in terms of playing in a big game, starting in a big game, in a big rivalry game. So he'll take the experience. He did some very good things. He did some things that need to be corrected. Q. Was passing more the issue or the tackling -- COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think more than tackling, I think it was leveraging the football, constricting the running lanes and keeping the ball inside the defense. And I think we did an excellent job of that. I mean, from the where we were earlier in the season I think we've got some things to build on. I think we had a great week of practice. I think that made a big difference. Q. Do you think there's a chance we could see Chad this week? Is he available? COACH LLOYD CARR: I think he's day-to-day. Q. (About preparing for Penn State). COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, we haven't changed. We're going to continue to do the things that we believe in, and that always includes practices and meetings where we have good focus, where we have good intensity. This team has worked hard. It's just that we have played much more intelligently last Saturday in terms of making sure that every guy from an assignment standpoint is in a position to do his job. And when you keep leverage on the football, you should be a good tackling team because the ball is where you're going to have -- where it's going to be vulnerable to the pursuit of the defense. When you don't leverage the football, you're always going to look like a poor tackling team because the ball will not be where it's supposed to be. It's pretty fundamental to the game. Q. (Inaudible). COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think he's frustrated. I met with him yesterday. It's a tough deal because he wants to play, likes to play and yet when you go and turn the football over, it's discouraging. I think the thing I've tried to tell him is, you know, you can't lose confidence. I think he's getting closer, but we just have to see how he does this week. It's frustrating for Carls (ph). It's impossible to play to your full potential when you have an injury like that, particularly the running back. So we just have to see where we go this week. Q. What did you think of the offensive line? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think our offensive line has played well all year. I think we have blocked people well. We've had running lanes. I've thought that they continued to get better. I mean, I think Steve Schilling had his best game and of course, warn I think has got better every game. Kraus and Long have played extremely well all season, and Alex has come back from a tough injury. The good news on the offensive line, we had an opportunity to play some younger guys and some guys that are in backup roles. And that experience is always valuable and it's always valuable to the morale of your team when you get an opportunity to play a lot of players. Q. Will Brian -- (inaudible). COACH LLOYD CARR: I'm not -- I assume so. Q. What was your impression of -- COACH LLOYD CARR: My impression? Well, I think John (ph) played in his best game on Saturday, and he played at a level that hopefully he will continue to play at. Q. What areas did you see improvement? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think he really got to some plays that a linebacker needs to get to. He made a tackle on a screen, he was a little late getting there but made a great tackle. His interception, his pass defense I think was good in that game. But I just saw him attack the football better than he has, and John is a very physical player. He's a guy that he's a tough guy and I think he did a better job with the defense than he has in those first two weeks. Q. (Inaudible). COACH LLOYD CARR: He's no longer on the team. Q. Can you tell why? COACH LLOYD CARR: No. It's not my policy. Q. Will Junior practice? COACH LLOYD CARR: Junior will practice tomorrow. We're excited to get him back in there. Tony Clemens got some snaps which was valuable experience for him. Zion Babb got in there a few plays. So, you know, it was great to get those young kids in there. Q. Even with an injury -- COACH LLOYD CARR: Yeah. Q. Does it put more pressure on a player coming in? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think first of all, it's an opportunity and that's always been what we've tried to do. If a guy came in here during the summertime and reported to training camp in good shape and was able to pick up the things that will enable him to play effectively -- so I think there's more opportunity, and I think this is really a good class potentially. Q. Keeping more veterans -- COACH LLOYD CARR: I'm going to think about that. Q. The quarterback, Morelli -- (inaudible). COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think he's -- I thought he was an outstanding quarterback a year ago. I think he's an outstanding quarterback today. Q. The game being so physical last year, was it more of a you-against-them mentality? COACH LLOYD CARR: Last year? I can't remember last year. I mean, we'll watch the film. Obviously we know this team. They know us. We've played against them and there's not been any coaching changes at Penn State. So you know a lot more about teams that you've played every year, and certainly you always study the previous year's game and try to see. And that's one of the reasons you watch a game and study a game immediately afterwards. You always make notes. You always take note of some things that you had problems with. You take notice of things that went well which you would do if you were going to play them again differently. You know, that's all part of assessing a game. It's not just the performance of the players; it's your performance as a coach in terms of the game plan. Q. What did you end up doing Saturday night? COACH LLOYD CARR: When it was all said and done? We had dinner. Q. As for Chad, you said -- you said last week he was better. What does "better" mean, and when is he able to practice and can he be considered a possibility? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, Chad Henne has got enough experience that he could play without practice. But you know, so those are all decisions that we make as we go forward. Q. About how much of a factor is, the experience or the talent, coming back? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, you know, every medical issue is decided first and foremost by the doctors. But there are injuries, there are situations where, you know, a trainer, a doctor relies on how the player feels. I think, you know, it's complicated by in this case being a sprain. So he's going to know when he's ready. I think the trainers or doctors will do a great job making sure that no player returns when it's not proper for them to return. But a player in a situation like a sprain, we have guys who play every week with an ankle that's sprained. It's really how much -- how effective you can be and how much discomfort you can endure. I mean, that's just the nature of the game. Q. Every game is important, but does it make it a little more difficult, knowing Chad wants to play in that game, against his home state school? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, he's a great competitor and a great competitor hates to miss, period. And of course that is certainly a game that means a lot to him, but yet, you know, you have to know that you can play effectively and so we'll find that out this week. Q. The players talked about how much fun they had in practice, does that carry over to the coaching staff; did you have more fun last week? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I look like I'm having a lot more fun, don't I. (Laughter). Q. Well you said last week in practice -- COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I've always told our teams that, you know, the hardest part, toughest part playing at Michigan is the expectation. That's also the most fun part. And you know, pressure is an ally. The enemy of pressure is stress, and stress, you know, you see it because if you're stressed out, you're afraid, you're doubtful, you're without confidence, you're worrying, all those issues. But I always try to remind our players, you play the game because you love it, because it's fun. And it's fun to play with a bunch of guys that you know and that you enjoy being around, and you also enjoy the opportunity to represent the University of Michigan; and to play against great competition. You know, those are fun things, and it's easy to lose sight of. And I think it's important in any circumstances to look at the positive, and that's what we try to do as coaches last week. The opportunity that we had to play in that game was not going to come again this year. I mean, you get one chance. You don't get to do it over. So let's approach this like we do every game. We don't have to be concerned or worried about anything. It's a game. And I think when you approach every situation like that, you do enjoy it more. That's not always easy to do. Q. You said on Saturday -- speaking before the game, what does it mean to players, former players will come and say words of encouragement -- COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I've always tried to tell our team, regardless of the circumstances, we've been in tough situations before. I've always tried to tell them, the great majority of Michigan fans support them through the good and the bad. I mean, that's just a fact. And it's easy to lose sight of that because the appearances are that everybody is against you. And that is never the case here. So they don't -- you know, I think they take -- I think, for example, when our players were there outside the locker room, I think I had told them they were going to be there, because I with was informed sometime on Friday; and, you know, because they are part of our family, you know, there's a Michigan family. There's a Michigan football family. Those guys have played the game. They know what it's like. They know what it's like when things are good. They know what it's like when things are bad. So they were there simply to say, hey, we're with you. We know what you're going through and keep fighting. So when you get that kind of support, when you know that there is great support out there for you, it means a lot. There's no question about that. Q. Were you losing confidence at that stage? COACH LLOYD CARR: I don't think confidence -- lack of confidence was not an issue. I think in terms of young players, inexperienced, it was a factor, and it always is because the young player, you have to gain confidence through hard work, through a great attitude and through success. And so that's how you build confidence. Q. Not to harp on Chad, is it fair to say it's a game time decision? COACH LLOYD CARR: I can't tell you what's fair. I can just tell you that I'll see how he does this week. And ultimately I will decide depending on what I see, depending on what I see. Q. Talking about Warren, what did you see with him? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think he's done a wonderful job. He had a very good training camp. What I love about him, and I can tell you, I've had Marlin Jackson; I've had Ty Law and Charles Woodson; I've had Leon Hall. I've had some guys that came in here as true freshmen and started. And to a man, the common denominator is competitiveness, the type of mental toughness that they don't get down when they make a mistake, they just keep playing the next down. And Donovan has shown I think very good resilience. He's got a wonderful attitude. He's aggressive. And he'll learn some things as we go forward here. But I would say we're extremely pleased with the way he's competed. Q. Do you think Morgan, has he made progress from the preseason? COACH LLOYD CARR: Well, I think Morgan has been extremely motivated and I think Saturday he made some very good plays in there. I have confidence that he will be able to take all of the things that he's learned in his career and have the kind of year that he wants to have. I have confidence that he will do that. Q. (As the coaches with the most tenure) -- COACH LLOYD CARR: The oldest, is that what you meant? (Laughter). Q. Do you guys feel more of a relationship over time because of that, getting closer? COACH LLOYD CARR: You know, we don't -- we are I think what I would say is that I've always liked Coach Paterno. I've always admired what he stands for, the way he runs his program. And as an individual, I like him. I like him personally. I like him -- I admire what he stands for as a coach. I think he represents our profession in a way that makes us all proud to be coaches, and his success speaks for itself. Great to be with you. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|