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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 30, 2013David CutcliffeCOACH CUTCLIFFE: It's a perfect week for an open date. I stated that before the Virginia Tech game, that if we were fortunate enough to win, it would take a little while to get our feet back on the ground. The thing that made me happiest this week, it didn't take any time to get our guys' feet back on the ground. We practiced yesterday and today extremely well. Really, really pleased with that. Also a good time for an open date. We had eight starters that have been out this week and just unable to practice. I hope and believe that we'll get maybe all of them back for the North Carolina State game, but certainly weren't ready to play anywhere near full speed this week. We've taking an opportunity to rest them after a very physical football game in Blacksburg. With that, I'll take any questions you have. Q. Could you dissect and analyze the pass defense that you just beat this past weekend. How tough is it to make your throws against that type of tight coverage? Does it force a quarterback to even be more precise in terms of the box he has to fit? COACH CUTCLIFFE: I think that man coverage, and they pressed us across the board, is predicated on how good a pass‑rush you have. You better not live in it if you're not going to get to the quarterback. So I think that's the first formula you have to dissect, is are we going to protect the passer well enough to let the routes come to fruition to where you can separate. We really protected the passer pretty well ‑ not pretty well, but real well against them. You have to be accurate as a quarterback. We spend a lot of time in one‑on‑one receiver versus DB coverage, which is all man work. Anthony just didn't have his day. We were not very good in that regard. If you're not very good in that regard, then you're behind down and distance consistently. It wasn't just a very good formula. But, yes, you have to execute. We have always executed well. I believe we will again, given the opportunity. But we certainly didn't on Saturday. Q. It was ironic, you have your quarterback throw four interceptions that game, but he invariably beat Virginia Tech using his feet on that touchdown. Is that maybe a little bit of a wrinkle that a team like a Boston College could throw at them? COACH CUTCLIFFE: Well, it depends on your quarterback again. I think that more and more, as you look at Virginia Tech, what they did with Logan Thomas, a number of people in our league, if you got a guy that can beat you two ways, it's to your advantage. The quarterback run going into the game was a big part of our run game plan. It was executed pretty well. Looking back at it, probably didn't do it enough. Certainly something that I think most of us this day and time do. But whether Chase Rettig wants to run a lot or not, that's up to Coach Addazio and his staff. Q. I was talking to Coach Beamer that he has two freshmen cornerbacks. You played three true freshmen that made great plays. Can you talk about the fact such young guys are playing and having an impact. How difficult is that for a real freshman in the secondary? COACH CUTCLIFFE: Well, when you're getting into zone concepts, a ton of different concepts, it can get tough. One of the things we did, and we knew we were going to play some young people, everybody knew that, it's kind of how you design your secondary. All five players are extremely talented athletically, the two at Virginia Tech, the three we're playing with. Bud Foster has done a great job of using those guys well. We knew going in they're tremendous. The same thing can be said for our guys. Jim Knowles has done a good job with the defensive design to allow those guys to be successful. I think it's the tip of the iceberg. But I can only speak to the three we've got. I think it's the tip of the iceberg for those three. We're fortunate we were able to redshirt. We just signed the best group of defensive backs that I've ever been around. We have some that are redshirting that I think are going to have an impact on our program long‑term as well. Q. Will Monday's averages down two yards this year. On the other hand, you are leading the league in net punting. How much of that is Monday adjusting what he does, or how much of it is better coverage from your team? COACH CUTCLIFFE: Well, it's a combination. But hang time and placement is critical. Our athleticism is so much better. So our punt coverage. I also credit Zac Roper, his hard work, that he's accomplished. Certainly Will is doing what we're asking him to do. He'd like to hit a few of his balls a little better than what he has. But he's gaining ground on that. It's a work in progress. We worked hard this morning on punt protection, coverage. I went out there and worked with him early. I don't want him to strain. We really want to maintain hang time, minimize returns. For example, Stanford last year, you hit a bomb, but they run it back for a touchdown. That changed that game, in my opinion, a year ago. They weren't having very much success on offense. So we're trying to really focus with Will on placement and hang time. He's done a really good job with that. Q. What does it mean to be bowl‑eligible two straight years? COACH CUTCLIFFE: I think it's significant for our program. But it makes me smile, it's great for Duke. It's great for our students, the fan base that's been so loyal, people that have continued to follow Duke football through some lean times. I'm not being humble, but I really enjoy it for that purpose. Then the other is our seniors. My greatest joy comes from we have 11 scholarship seniors, that they will always be the class that was able to accomplish something that had never been accomplished, and that's to help lead a football team at Duke to back‑to‑back bowl games. I'm very happy for those guys. I won't be around when they tell their grandchildren about it, but they will one day, and that's pretty cool. Q. Are you going to be watching the Miami game? COACH CUTCLIFFE: Absolutely. We'll see part of it. I have a speaking engagement Saturday night so it's going to hinder me a little bit. You know what's great about cell phones is that I can get some TV on the cell phone. So I'm going to sneak in some looks there. I should be through early enough to see most of it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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