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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 8, 2008Rich RodriguezTHE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Impression of the offense after watching the film? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I think we made some steps at times. I think we were a little bit closer. Watching on film, there were a few more moments like, gee, we're just close to making a big play or a touchdown play, more so than the first game. But also disappointing in some of the execution issues. I thought the guys' effort was pretty good. I thought they're starting to understand not only what we do but how teams are defending us. But we still got a lot of work to do. It's very frustrating at times, but, again, we have to be patient and understand there's not just one issue that has some growing pains, it's really every position that's got growing pains. Slowly but surely our guys will get it, I think. Q. Any update on Mark Ortmann? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, doesn't look like he's going to be able to play. Dislocated his elbow. He's got it in a sling. He's more than likely out for this week. With an open date, hopefully he'll be back for the next one. With three guys up front, probably the position we could afford to lose a guy the most, just simply because of experience and depth. But that's where we're at. We're going to move guys around. We'll move Perry Dorrestein, who has some experience, practiced pretty well. He'll be over there on the left side as will Bryant Nowicki, who came in last week, and true freshman, Patrick Omameh. Q. What about Greg Matthews? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Greg will be better. He should be able to play this week. Q. Mike Shaw? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Mike should be okay. He just pulled his groin slightly. Didn't do much in practice yesterday. Today they're off. Mike should be practicing tomorrow. Q. Terrence Robinson? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Terrence is getting better. Hopefully he'll start running next week. After the open date, we'll see where he stands. Q. You got a sense from players that Notre Dame is a game they really, really want to win? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Oh, yeah. I mean, you hear about it. Again, you don't have to be coaching here to know that. Notre Dame, you understand there's some traditional rivalries throughout the country. I like to say every Big-10 game is a rivalry. But we've got the three natural rivalries with Ohio State, Michigan State, Notre Dame. We're probably one of the most unique schools in the country that have three that are that intense. There's no question that Notre Dame/Michigan is a great rivalry and has been throughout the years. Q. You've coached in rivalry games before. Any change in approach at all during the week? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I don't think so. I think it's probably an easier game for both teams to get excited in preparation. You don't worry about the games. Most teams at this stage are going to be excited for that game when game time gets there. What you want them to do is get excited in their preparation, maybe spend a little extra time on their own watching film, getting ready to go. I would hope that our guys would do that. I'm sure their team is doing the same thing. Q. You've talked about different coaches around the country who you're close with. Do you have any relationship with Charlie Weis? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I met him was it last year? I think it was last spring before my last season at West Virginia. We talked a little football. I didn't know him beforehand. We didn't talk a whole lot. But we talked a little bit of football, talked a little bit about the profession. Most of his career had been in the NFL. Mine had been at college. So we talked about comparisons, differences between those two. Q. How much of their game did you get to see and impressions? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I missed the first part of it. By the time I got home, got to see the second half of it. I got there right at the time when San Diego -- they stopped San Diego on the one, it was a turnover, Notre Dame kind of took control of the game after that. So I saw the last half of it. They seemed to be pretty excited at the end, which they should have been. Q. What is the challenge this team presents? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Notre Dame is going to have a lot of talent. They recruited very well in the last couple years. I have not quite compared their depth chart this year to last year, but I think they were very, very young last year, especially offensively. I think most of those guys are back with a year's experience. I think they have seven or eight guys that will start on defense that are back. So they're more experienced than they were a year ago, which is I think is well-chronicled. I'm sure they're playing with a little more confidence right now. Q. Obviously a lot of people looked at Jimmy Clausen, knew about him in high school. When you look at him now, do you see things that he's developed? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I did not watch him much last year because we didn't play them. The only thing I can judge it on is a little bit of their games that we got on film, which I haven't watched a lot of yet. I watched a couple. You know, he was a true freshman. He's no longer a true freshman. He's bigger, stronger. I'm sure he understands the offense better. A lot more comfortable. Any time you put a true freshman or inexperienced quarterback in for the first time, they're gonna have some growing pains. I think now he's probably obviously a lot more comfortable. Q. Do you think he'll be a guy, if you get pressure on him, you'll get in his head? COACH RODRIGUEZ: From what I've seen, judged on the last game, he seemed pretty composed. Seems like he made some really nice fake throws, touchdown throws. To me he looked pretty good last game. Q. Do you think the defense, your defense, has taken on a mentality they need to keep the score down? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I would hope our defense would have that mentality if we're scoring 50 points a game or if we had a veteran offense, I would like our defense to have the mentality, they're going to get three-and-outs, make big plays, all that. But, you know, do we rely on them more now than we'll have to in the future? Probably so. If we get an opportunity to make a play or an interception that could change a field position or score points, those are things that we're really gonna need. That's where we're at right now. I think our guys understand that. But I think they have confidence. They've seen our offense do some decent things in practice and a couple things in the game. So it will come. Q. What does the film show about why those big plays that you're talking about Saturday were missed? COACH RODRIGUEZ: It's just execution. Some of it was technique. Sometimes you don't step into a throw or you don't quite run the route or there's a mis-step in protection or something technique-wise. Sometimes you're just a little off. These guys aren't perfect. They're not going to make every play. We'd like them to be as close to perfect as possible. But they're trying as hard as they can. We work pretty hard on fundamentals to this day. Yesterday was normally a day where we'd practice, correct mistakes, do a little bit on Notre Dame. Half the practice it still seemed like we were doing some fundamental things. We got to do that until we get it right. Q. Anything new at quarterback as far as rotation? COACH RODRIGUEZ: No. We may start off the same way we did last week with Steve and Nick, Steve going first. It's or because it really is or. Both those guys are still there in the mix. Like I said, if one guy would emerge and play to the point where it's just him, he's playing at that level, that would be good. Our concern is that whoever is doing the snaps, we can execute the system. Q. How important is time of possession to you in terms of statistics? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Well, it's only important from a standpoint of they only give a unit rest, particularly your defense. If our defense has to play 85, 90 plays as opposed to, you know, 50 some plays, it's a lot different. That's the one thing about time of possession, that's one of the things about our offense. We only had 53 plays because we didn't get enough first downs. If we get some first downs and start getting a rhythm, you know, any offense is going to be better, but particularly ours. Q. Steve said on Saturday that the ball was going to the right guy, now he just needs to get it there. Is that what the film showed? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I think he was making some pretty good decisions. I think sometimes he rushed it. You know, sometimes there may have been another guy that would have been an easier throw for him to make. But, you know, one thing I said, these guys are particularly -- particularly for really 15 practices in the spring and 20 some in August, you know, for less than 50 practices and no pre-season games, really just two games, those guys have picked it up mentally pretty well. Now it's just a matter of being able to apply that knowledge and their abilities and making the throws when they need to make them. Q. Did you ever get an explanation about the replay? COACH RODRIGUEZ: No, I haven't. We're going to try to find out about that. I didn't know there were do-overs. I know when you're playing in the backyard or something, Redo it. Or you're on PlayStation, you can push that reset button. I didn't know there was such a thing in Division I-A. I'll have to get that cleared up. Q. What is the schedule right now for implementing the offense? A little more each week? COACH RODRIGUEZ: There's no question we've got to do more offensively. But we've got to balance that with what we can execute. We're trying to slowly put that in. We won't get our entire package in at all this year. I mean, there's just no way. Eventually we've got to have enough in there to keep teams off balance, I hope. Q. Can you talk about Mike Martin, what he's been able to do? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Mike followed up I think an outstanding pre-season camp with playing pretty solidly. He didn't play a lot of plays. I think 15, 16 plays. He's a high-motor guy, made the nice sack. He's a very active player. He's going to be -- I mean, he's already a very good player, but he's going to be outstanding before his career is over. For a true freshman to play on either line, and on D line with the strength, the things you're required to do, he's come -- he's already strong and quick enough. He was a well-coached guy in high school. He plays and practices like a veteran. I've really been impressed with him. You could see it a little bit this summer. Mike (indiscernible), when he came early in the summer for his workouts, he said he was jumping out in front of the line, winning some of the sprints, all those kind of things. We were pretty excited about him. Q. Does Kevin Koger still have a chance to play this year? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. We were talking about. I told the team I wish we could play more guys. Before the coaches have confidence to put them in there, we got to make sure that everybody's ready, both mentally and physically. And Kevin is a really, really sharp guy. That's why normally for freshman there's so much to learn, but Kevin has learned pretty quick. There's still a chance for Kevin because we think he's about ready mentally and physically he's pretty close, too. We don't have to make that determination. We got a couple good ones in Carson, Mike Massey. But Kevin is right there on the edge. Q. Outside of not getting hurt, taking all the snaps in fall camp, what has Sam McGuffie done to put himself in position? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I think he's an explosive player. He makes people miss, which he did a few times in the game. He's got the capability of making big plays. He played pretty well. Made a few mistakes as you're going to expect. I thought he and Mike Shaw both did some good things, gave us a little spark at times. I think Sam is so conscientious, so eager to get better and learn, as the season goes along, he'll get better and better. For a true freshman, two games in, he'll get better. Q. Any chance Charlie's "To hell with Michigan" will find its way to your bulletin board? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Might. Let y'all have a little fun with that. It was another news thing for the summer for people to talk about in the slow days of the summer. Q. What kind of progress have you seen out of Stevie Brown? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Stevie played pretty well. He's an active player. I think there's still some things where he's got to get better at. He's got capabilities of making some big plays. I thought safety play was pretty good. Charles Stewart played pretty well. Brandon Harrison I think has been outstanding. He's been all over the place. We've got three pretty solid guys right there at safety. Q. What are those things you said that people should probably get better at? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Do you want to make this negative (laughter)? Stevie, he's plays some, but he didn't -- for a veteran guy, he doesn't have a whole lot of experience. Just the recognition of some things probably is the biggest thing for him as any guy that's really playing for the first time extensively has to have. But, again, he's another guy that likes playing. He works hard in practice. I think he'll be fine. Q. Will you have to make many adjustments offensively for the way Notre Dame blitzes? COACH RODRIGUEZ: They do blitz a lot. I haven't played against -- I think Coach Tenuta is a new defensive assistant. I know they have Corwin there as well. I think you can see, judged on the first game, Coach Tenuta's influence. He loves the zone blitz. They blitz them from all different angles, all different type of guys. You have to be prepared for all that movement. Played against that defense in a Bowl game when he was at Georgia Tech a couple years ago in the Gator Bowl. We seen some of the things that he had done in the past. They love to blitz, bring pressure. They bring it from all angles. If you're not executing, if you're not picking up the blitz, they're going to put you in long yardage situations. We really got to get ready for that this week. Q. Ever been to Notre Dame? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Played there my first year at West Virginia. I think it was in October or something. I don't remember the score. 30 something, 20 something. We got beat. It was raining, wet. Grass was real high. I think Coach Davie, Bob Davie, was the coach there. First year at West Virginia. Q. When you were growing up, is that something you watched? Notre Dame was on TV a lot. COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, back then there wasn't a lot -- like now, everybody has a show, all that. Back then there wasn't as many. Notre Dame was on. I don't know if I got it all the time. We didn't get a lot of stations down in West Virginia. My wife only got two. They watched Andy Griffith quite a bit. Her dad wouldn't let her watch Three's Company. I think it was on. I think it was on a few times. Saw a few of the Notre Dame highlights. Back then, I never imagined I would coach in that stadium, anything like that. Q. You weren't a Notre Dame fan, per se? COACH RODRIGUEZ: No, no. That's a fair question. I didn't grow up a Notre Dame fan. Q. Donovan will be back? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, Donovan, and (indiscernible) are almost ready to have a rotation with Martavious Odoms back there as well. We may even give Boubacar a look back there as well. But Martavious and Donovan were going to be in the rotation. We just kept Donovan there because of the experience. Martavious will probably take some reps as well. Q. The linebackers got shuffled last week. How did they grade out on film? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Okay. You know, I think Obi has been pretty solid. I thought John Thompson played a pretty solid game. We're really excited about Jonas Mouton. He's making some mistakes for a young guy out there. He plays with great energy. Made a lot of plays. Jonas, I think it was his first start. He was pretty active. He's probably one of our most athletic linebackers as well. Q. Obi and Thompson on the field at the same time, Obi is the strong side. Why did you decide to switch that up? COACH RODRIGUEZ: We talked about it. I always believe that you don't -- if you move two guys, you may weaken one position to try to strengthen another one. That's not necessarily the case there. But Obi, I mean, he's set in the middle. He knows what he's doing. That's where you need some calmness and leadership. So I think it worked out pretty well. Marell Evans, Austin Panter are still in the mix. Got some other guys to roll in the nickel packages. I liked the way they lined up this weekend. Q. How much improvement did you see from the offensive line? COACH RODRIGUEZ: I saw them making steps. I told them such. It was two, sometimes three guys not quite right. A lot of times it was just one guy. It's not effective, especially in our system, unless all five are getting it done. There's a lot of precision to it. More than anything, we want them to be able to play fast and a little bit more aggressive, pressing the line of scrimmage. We got a little bit better at that this weekend. We got to get a lot better on it this weekend coming up. Q. With the quarterbacks, has there been a general sense that you've had when you've decided to move one in and one out? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, usually after a few series, maybe we need a little spark. That was kind of more the theory, give a guy a chance to sit back, kind of see what's happening. Sometimes when you watch a series or two from the sidelines, you can kind of sit back and watch and get a better grasp for how things are going. Not been anything defined. It may or may not change in the future. The only thing about Steve and Nick both, when they're in there, they're seeing the game, they understand what's happening. There's no panic in them. I think, again, now they've got a couple games' experience, they're going to keep progressing, as the guys around them will. Q. Do you think if one emerges, it will be easier on the offense? COACH RODRIGUEZ: No, I don't think so. I think there's a fair question. Both of them, you could put not only what they can handle but what everybody else around them can handle, too. When you got some young guys in other positions, you don't want to use it. You want all 11 going the right way. That's the biggest difference in offense. You got to have all 11 go the right way. Maybe receiver running the wrong route over here, doesn't think he's a factor, it could change the whole complexion of a play. We're going to install as much as a group we can handle. I think we're okay with our installation but we got to do more at times. This is not a good week probably to install a lot because of all the blitzing, all the different looks they get. We'll try to figure it out. Q. Given the plays that were called, the situations that Nick was put in on Saturday, was it tough to get a gauge on how much more he progressed between week one and week two? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Well, not completely. I mean, we didn't have as many throws at the end of the game there, trying to run the ball some. But I don't judge it just on a game. I judge it on how their technique -- on what they're doing, if they're continuing to be coachable, if they're making some of the same mistakes in their brief time each week. If they're not making the same mistakes, maybe it's a new mistake, you're not happy, but at least it's a new mistake, they corrected the old one. That's the thing we're looking for. Not just those two, but every position. Those guys can truly be in the point where they're correcting what they need to correct and slowly getting better. Q. Is Carlos going to be back this week? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Carlos was in a white shirt practicing for the first time Sunday. That's been the first time in weeks he's not been in a different colored shirt. Carlos can help us a little bit. So we're hoping he'll be full go. He should be full go for Saturday. Q. Is he still a little bit behind the other four because he hasn't had the reps? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, simply because he hasn't had the reps. He's a pretty sharp guy. Hopefully this week he'll have a good week and be ready to go. Q. Justin still working with the quarterbacks at all? COACH RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, Justin is playing some in the slot, too. He's helping us out at the receiver position. So he's doing some work with the quarterbacks, some with the slot receivers. Q. Is Feagin the third quarterback? COACH RODRIGUEZ: No, David Cone is the third quarterback. Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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