|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 23, 2013Steve AddazioCOACH ADDAZIO: We're on the road. We're playing a very, very good North Carolina team. On offense they're averaging over 410 yards per game. They have two quarterbacks in Bryn Renner and Marquise Williams, play‑makers like Eric Ebron that had an outstanding game against Miami. On defense they have guys that can really get to the quarterback and make plays. Tre Boston, their free safety, is outstanding. Dominique Green, Darius Lipford, Norkeithus Otis. I'm very impressed with their personnel. Obviously played at a high level last week. You can see why people felt so strong about North Carolina this season. They have a lot of tremendous players. It will be a great challenge for us. We need to go on the road and win a road game. We're looking forward to that opportunity. I'm open for any questions. Q. In recent weeks, they've gone to a two‑quarterback system with Williams and Renner. Can you talk about the problems that presents. COACH ADDAZIO: Both of them can throw and run. One has a little more emphasis on running, Marquise. Bryn is obviously more throwing. They're both very accomplished quarterbacks. Very capable to lead their football teams. You've got to prepare for a dual threat kind of situation. It just adds another component. Q. The thing that made them so dangerous last year was having Giovani Bernard, a great runningback. They've struggled to replace that. Can you talk about their running game, what you see from that. COACH ADDAZIO: I think they're a real diverse offense that utilizes a lot of play‑makers, throwing the bubbles, handing the ball off, the drop‑back game. They're spreading the field and making you defend the whole field, using tempo obviously as a weapon. I think their run game is outstanding really. They've played some really good football teams now, some very good defenses. Kind of like us, sometimes when you play those good teams, it affects you. It affects your stats, it affects your play sometimes. I don't think people always take into account those things. I know they've played a lot of very, very talented teams and talented defenses. When you play those games, that can come back to you later in a positive way. I think they're very, very good offensively and they're very balanced. Q. Jameis Winston, I wanted to go back to your game you had with them earlier if the season. Talk about your game plan going into that game, how it was to hold him in check. COACH ADDAZIO: I feel like that might have been seven years ago now. Obviously he's an outstanding player. We were able to put a lot of different looks and a lot of different blitzes, a lot of different things at him. That's just the style of play that we have. We had some success with that. But he's such an outstanding player, he found a way before the half to get to us. So that's very, very evident. I just think when you play a great football team, it starts with defense.  You've got to be able to play defense. You have to be able to get off the field and run the ball. Anytime you play an outstanding team, those two pieces, along with special teams, become very, very big. Q. What may be one of the toughest things you think other teams may have to focus on? COACH ADDAZIO: You got to get him on the ground. He's a strong guy. He's hard to sack. Like anything else, when you play a good quarterback, you're trying to disrupt a good quarterback, get him out of a rhythm.  It's really, really important. I think in addition to that, when you have a chance to get him on the ground, you have to wrap‑up and gain tackle, because he has good strength and escape‑ability. I think those are important pieces. Q. Any advice for Coach Doeren going down there this weekend? COACH ADDAZIO: I've got no advice for anybody. I'm worried about my own game right now. God knows, we've got a big enough challenge. I'm not in the habit of giving out advice. I'm in the habit of worrying about what we've got to get done, what's in front of us. This game comes at you so hard and so fast, you got to keep your focus on what's important, what's in front of you. I'm just not one to think I have any answers for anybody else. I'm worried about the Boston College Eagles. Q. Regarding the next obstacle for you here, going on the road. Do you think after having two tough road games, two tough environments, the best part apart from getting a week off is getting back on the road for this team to try to get over the hurdle of having not won on the road? COACH ADDAZIO: It's a big emphasis right now. We need to go do that. It's part of having a good season, is the ability to go on the road, play well, be able to win a game. There's such great home‑field advantages. That's what's in front of us. That's what we're focusing on, calling attention to. What goes into that is being able to execute at a high level, guys doing their job. Those things all go into that. So keep your focus, do your job, sustain and play with great energy, go win on the road, which is difficult. Q. Why is it so difficult, in your estimation? COACH ADDAZIO: Because when you go on the road, you're fighting the crowd noise. That's an element. The stadiums can affect your communication. You don't get the same momentum shifts that you can get sometimes when your home crowd is behind you and they create that great positive environment for you and stress the opposing teams with their noise, with their enthusiasm. You're on the road. You're on a plane. You're traveling. You're outside of your comfort zone. I think what it takes is great maturity, senior leadership. You have to have that maturity. You got to play great defense so you don't get yourself out of a game early. You have to stay in a game so you get a chance to fight throughout the game. Those are all pieces of it for me. Q. You practice with a lot of noise, preparing for that. Do you think having been in the caldron of Clemson and the noise, that hostile environment, kind of hit home for this team on how to work in that type of environment? COACH ADDAZIO: Yeah, I don't think there's any question. We prepared real hard for Clemson. We had a few issues where we were losing track of the clock. We had to use some timeouts that we wish we didn't have to use. I think it's all experience. So we're right back at it again. We're utilizing that crowd noise at a very, very high decibel level right now. I think the other thing I like about it, you get in these team periods, the coaches can't monopolize them. The players have to create their own energy in the huddles. Everyone has to be accountable for knowing what they're doing. People can't stand behind them and correct them when things are going on. It forces a guy to play within himself almost on an island out there. You get a sense of who can get it done. I kind of like that piece of it. Then, of course, I think you have to prepare for that environment so when you hit it on Saturday, it doesn't faze you. Q. You mentioned Eric Ebron earlier. Coach Fedora was talking about the problem he presents. He can run away from guys his size. When you put a guy with speed on him, he can overpower him. Can you talk about how you approach playing him? Do you do different things? Do you have somebody with the physical skills to match up with him? COACH ADDAZIO: It's hard to match up with that guy. That guy's a great player. He's a big, strong, fast, physical guy with tremendous ball skills. I think it's the ability to change up your coverages, the ability to try to disrupt them. But he's a heck of a football player. Those mismatches, when you get those guys, you can't say I'm going to get a better cover guy on him. You have to worry about the fact in the run game he can get mismatched and overpower you. Those guys are invaluable. I've been around those kinds of tight ends in my career. They're really valuable guys to me because they play dual roles. People can't personnel you, package you as easily. He's a weapon for them. He's a heck of a football player, a guy that has got our complete attention. Q. Andre Williams leads the league by a wide margin in carries, obviously in yardage too. Is Myles Willis coming to the point where maybe he can take some of the load off of Andre Williams? COACH ADDAZIO: Yeah. He has and will continue to. Myles has really developed quite well, is an explosive player, kind of a complement to Andre because they have different running styles. Myles, he's really quick and has sharp cuts. Andre is a big, strong, powerful, fast guy. Myles is a little more elusive. They complement each other a little bit. We have complete faith in Myles. You have seen Myles in the game and you'll continue to see him even more in the game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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
|