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ROSE BOWL GAME: TEXAS v SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

December 31, 2005

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

Q. Coach Carroll, good morning. I wonder if you paid any attention to ESPN matching your team against the all-time great teams in modern football history. Are you a little concerned about them creating some additional motivation for your opponents on Wednesday?
COACH PETE CARROLL: No, I haven't been able to see that. I heard that it's on. I don't really understand how they can even do that. But I guess it's all for fun.
I would think that Texas has a tremendous amount of motivation building into this game just as we do, and they don't need any more than that. If that helps them, then that's okay. I can't do anything about that.
Q. For Oscar, the two freshmen in your group, how have they progressed? Do you still think of them as freshmen at this time of year?
OSCAR LUA: I think they've progressed in a great fashion all year. They've been called upon throughout the year and they've performed at exceeding levels. They all started at one point in the season, and I definitely don't think of them as freshmen now. They've all put in their work, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga. They're outstanding athletes that can handle themselves in the field and are more than capable of performing at this level, so absolutely not. I think that they have a continuing role with the team, and they're no longer freshmen on our team.
Q. Coach Carroll, when you're scheming and looking at videotape of a quarterback who's as mobile as Vince Young, can you explain the difference that it is when you're screening compared to obviously a drop back quarterback?
COACH PETE CARROLL: You deal with more than one play at a time. You deal with a play that starts as a drop back pass, then winds up and can be a quarterback draw or can be a break contained roll-out type of pass, so there's really three opportunities, the original play and then when he takes off and runs or moves out and throws the football. You can imagine it's hard enough defending one play than defending three plays, and you don't know which one you're getting after it starts.
So there's the deception part of that, and the vulnerability really shows up when the quarterback has great speed and running ability. That's why I've always maintained that the really mobile quarterbacks are the most difficult to defend. Like I said, it's hard enough to defend the design play, let alone the ones that happen after the fact. Guys that are real creative like Vince, he makes the right choices and does the right things at the right times. When the run is there, he makes it. When he needs to pull back out of a scramble and throw the football, he does that, as well. So it's very, very difficult.
You've noticed the emergence throughout professional football of quarterbacks that are more mobile. There's always been mobile quarterbacks and they've always been special because of that, and it's because it gives you such a hard time.
Q. Texas has won so many games by such large margins, they haven't had to show much offensively. Does that make preparation tougher?
COACH PETE CARROLL: In the early parts of those games they weren't holding back. We've seen them in every game this year, so -- and games from last year, as well, to see that they've been extended and they they've come out of the chutes. I know the they didn't always know they were going to be ahead. I would think that we've seen most of what they have.
I know in our situation we're the same way. You can't afford to hold things back because you think you're going to win easy, and that doesn't happen. In this preparation you might see something different than what they've done. That can always happen. Other than that, I'm not concerned about that.
Q. Pete, how do you teach, if it's possible, forcing turnovers? You guys are great at it; where does it come from?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, it comes from, I think, tremendous emphasis and belief in it. I think for something like that to be so consistent, you have to have a really strong belief of how important it is, how significant it is, and then you have to find a million ways to emphasize it and keep coming back to it on a really constant basis. Every coach talks about turnovers, but it's how well and deeply and strongly you emphasize it is that which will give you the consistency.
Our guys are riddled with the thought of having to go get the ball at all times in everything that we're doing. It's the number one emphasis in the program for us.
I think that's how you teach it. That's the way I've done it, and it comes in all kinds of different forms, whatever it takes to get the emphasis across.
Q. For Darnell and Oscar, what kind of look has Fred Davis been giving you on the practice field simulating Vince Young, and is this guy so unique that it's going to take some adjustment when you get on the field because it's hard to approximate what this guy can do?
DARNELL BING: I think Fred Davis has given us a good look. He's big, fast and strong. I think he's doing well with it. We also have Mike Coleman out there doing the same thing. He's been banged up throughout the season, but he's back now and he's doing a fine job. He's big, as well, has speed, and he likes to run people over. They give us a good look out there.
OSCAR LUA: I think it's the same thing. Fred Davis kind of gives us more of a size aspect to simulate Vince, and Michael gives us more of the running ability that Vince has, trying to break tackles and running around really fast. So we're getting a great look just having those two guys back there servicing our defense. I think we're more than ready to see Vince Young in our preparation with our two guys back there doing it for us.
Q. Darnell, could you comment on the Texas receivers? Vince gets all the publicity, but the receivers have come a long way this season. Have you seen the progression this year of how the receivers from Texas have gotten better?
DARNELL BING: Yeah, they have pretty good receivers, they're fast, they're capable of catching deep balls and making things happen after catching the balls. I think we have a big challenge with this game. Our corners have to make sure they stay on their man, our safeties have to make sure we stay back, so therefore we won't let any deep balls occur.
Q. Pete, with the turnovers that you were just talking about, can you talk about the risk versus reward with that, and is there a point where guys, you don't want them to be overly aggressive because they might get beat?
COACH PETE CARROLL: No, I think that other coaches think that. I don't think there's ever a time when you can emphasize that enough. For years, old traditional conservative coaches would say that you have to make the tackle first and then go get the ball after you've secured the tackle. Our guys don't hear us talk like that. That's not something that we think of. That's not to mention or slight the fact that you have to tackle well. But I think your awareness has to be on it at all times constantly to get the effect that you want, and they have to learn how to do that in a dual sense; you've got to make a play and you're playing the football.
But traditional thinking is exactly what you said, make the tackle first, the second guy goes after the ball. That's not good enough I don't think.
Q. Coach, the Texas passing attack was considered the weak link, the problem area last year, and you've seen it progress quite a bit over the last year, both Vince at quarterback and the receivers. Would you talk about that?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, there's no question that there's a difference from last year in this year's passing game. Both Pittman and Sweed are making plays all the time if you give them a chance. They made their plays last year, but now you see Vince much more on rhythm, much more confidently delivering the football, getting guys in stride and making plays after the catch. The high efficiency that he obtained this year in the passing game is a very downfield-oriented game; that's extraordinary.
Most of the guys that are efficiency guys are the dink-and-dunk guys. That's not what they do. They stretch the field, work it and expect their receivers to make plays well down the field. So that complement has given them an extraordinary mix of their run game and their ability to stretch it, and it makes all kinds of space for Vince when he needs it. They've grown a lot from last year. They're just much more efficient, and as all quarterbacks do, they get more confident with their players in the system.
Q. Does that change the way you would have defended them a year ago compared to today?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, it might have been a little easier last year, but it's not anymore. This is as hard as it can get. He's completing 60-something percent of his passes and his picks are down, numbers are way up in touchdowns, yardage per catch is huge, and the receivers are just striking. Thomas, too, does a fantastic job in the middle of all that. He's a heck of a receiver and they go to him and use him a lots. It's not even an offense where you can focus on wide receivers or shut down the tight end or the backs coming out. They've used everyone in great fashion.
This is a wide open, well-designed and very well executed offense right now.
Q. As far as your pass rush, how difficult is it to strike a balance between really going hard after the quarterback but also containing him and not like getting out of lanes?
COACH PETE CARROLL: This is as difficult as it gets. This is as hard as it gets for the emphasis of the pass rush. You make a good move and you come clean and then he shakes you and he's gone. You have to rush with the control that gives you a chance to get him.
The other side of it is he's so strong that you can get a great shot at him and he can shake you and spin and let you fly off him, and then he's out and going again. It's as hard as it gets. This is as hard as it gets on any level of the tackling of the quarterback. There's nobody that's more difficult than this guy that's playing I don't think. We're taxed tremendously by his ability and also by the style that they put him in.
Q. Do you ever get nervous about playing freshmen?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Nervous, no. Coach Grant used to say for every brick you play, you lose a game. I basically agree with everything he's always said and taught over the years, but I don't think that's anymore. I think that we have come to a point with our freshmen that our expectations are so high for them when they approach our program, and as they enter the program, they're expected to come in and play. We pass that message on to them clearly through the recruiting process. It's not a recruiting ploy; I want them to come in with the mindset that they have to prepare to play, and our coaches think exactly the same way, and our players on our team know our freshmen are coming in to play. They feel that pressure coming from the new guys, and they have to fend that off by the way they perform. It's all designed to have the highest expectations for all of our people but also to create the competition that brings out the best in us.
Our freshmen that played for four years, we played over 40 freshmen in the last four years in their first semester. That comes from not because we want to do them a favor; it's because we believe in the fact that they can contribute and we demand that they show us that they can, and then when they develop a role for themselves, then we fit them in so they can help us. We're looking for a kid who's a championship kid as a freshman. We've found it year in and year out and had great success. The thought of that not only helps those guys to play but it also helps their depth for what happened during what happened during the season at the linebacker spot where Oscar had to take a break and Keith Rivers had to take a break. These guys were ready to play because they've been counted on to play since the day we recruited them.
Do I get nervous, no, I don't think that way at all. I'm looking for the fast development of our young guys so they can help us create the depth and the competition and the excellence in their play that they bring to the program. It's a different way of looking at it.
Years ago when I was in the NFL coaching, I would have fought every GM and every personnel guy, no, we're not going to play these rookies for the old mindset that they're going to make mistakes and get you beat. I don't see it that way anymore. I see the opposite, that you need to take your guys and push them to the front and have them live with expectations that they're going to play. I don't want a coach that says, "Oh, he looks like he's going to take a couple years." I want to keep sending the message to these guys that they need to be in there and we're going to find a way to put them in. It accelerates the communications and the process and we've seen great results and we've reaped great benefits.
I can see why people go the other way, that's traditional thinking, but I don't think that way anymore.
Q. This is a question for all three of you. What are your New Year's plans tonight? Coach Carroll, have you given restrictions on curfew?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, I'm hitting the streets tonight (laughter). We have, as we have had in the past, a team party and get everybody together. We like to celebrate the new year like everybody else. There will be some dancing and some music and some games going on and stuff like that. Everybody will be kept in-house and in great order, as well. But we want to have fun. We have plenty of time before the game to enjoy it. So we'll have some friends in and have a good time with it.
These guys don't get to answer that question (laughter).
Q. Oscar and Darnell, everybody is kind of expecting a shootout in this game. If you're a defensive guy, you don't want to hear that. Are you guys in the back of your mind saying this could end up being a shootout, just looking at it?
OSCAR LUA: When you face an offense of this caliber, I think that's definitely in the mix. I mean, as a defensive guy, all we can do is just go out there and execute what Coach Carroll has set forth for us. We really don't have the capacity or any leniency to be able to think that way because we have to execute our game, our game plan. We have to be 100 percent on what Coach Carroll has to do. We have our hands full with the great running backs and Vince back there; Ramonce Taylor and Jamaal Charles are great running backs that we have to control. I mean, the sidelines are part of their team and we have our hands full with these three guys, so we don't really have time to be thinking about that that much.
Q. Pete, against Notre Dame and Fresno this year the tight ends both had very big games. Can you reflect back a little bit on perhaps why and take a look at Texas's two tight ends, Thomas being an all-American guy, and the challenges that presents for you?
COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, their tight ends are capable of having a big game, and they do enough things with them, big downfield-type of throws to give them a chance to do that. It's up to Darnell to do a really good job on those guys, so we won't ask him. But he'll be in the area quite a bit.
I really don't ever worry about any one guy in that regard. You've got to stop the tight end because particularly on this team they have so many things going on. But when the game starts, if a guy starts to get hot and they really go to him, we have to find ways to adjust and not let that happen.
But going in, we have a lot of concerns, and we'll have to see where the emphasis of their attack goes to. If it goes to the tight end there, then I'll be talking to Darnell on the sidelines trying to get him squared away. We have thoughts of things that we have to do to deal with them, and that's not the focal point of our game plan because it's spread across the board so we have to deal with it. We have to adapt as the game goes on and develops.
Q. Pete, can you talk about the difference with Vince maybe between last year's Rose Bowl where he ran and may have had one of his best running games and obviously as a passer he's emerged quite a bit? Do you kind of focus on that game or discard it a little bit?
COACH PETE CARROLL: No, he's capable of taking off at any time. In that game in particular, Michigan did a lot of good things. They played well in a lot of aspects of their game plan. But Vince broke them down and took off and made some plays that they couldn't handle, which he's done whenever he looks like he wants to, all year. But the development of their throwing game has made them more difficult.
The fact that he can take off and run is always there. He'll do that at any time. That's there in his back pocket if he needs it. There's a lot of times he's sitting back there checking out the field and he's had space because the line does a great job and he's ripping the ball in the secondary, and it's kept him in a normal rhythm most of the time. I don't think they care how it happens, they just want to move the football and score and they'll take whatever they can get. But they're much different than they were a year ago because of the throwing game.
Q. For Oscar and Darnell, I'm curious, you have been behind at halftime a lot this year and you've had dramatic second halves and it's coaching staffs making adjustments. How big a source of confidence is that when you have scary halftimes and Coach walks in and things turn around completely in the second half?
DARNELL BING: It's not that much of an adjustment that we'd make during halftime. We basically just come out and do the same thing. It's just the fact that we go out there and execute it just a little bit better than we did in the first half. Coach Carroll pretty much sees what they're doing in the first half and he lets us know where they might go with the ball or what he sees and where he thinks that might go if you're not going there. So we're basically just go for that, and we pretty much call the same plays and make things happen from there.
OSCAR LUA: I think it's one of the bases of our program, which is finish. I think that our team just executes that really well. I think Coach Carroll does a great job of coming at halftime and telling us what their tendencies have been in the first half, and we execute from there on. I don't think we make any special adjustment, we don't throw any new defenses or anything like that. It's just executing our plays a lot more and just learning what they've done to hurt us, and once we take that away from them, we just execute a lot better.
COACH PETE CARROLL: You guys ask about these halftime adjustments. I told you we don't do anything, we just keep playing. No one believes it.
Q. Darnell, as one of the leaders of this defense and one of the few older guys on this defense, how has this season been for you? The defense has had some ups and downs, there's been some injuries and a lot of different guys playing different positions around you. What has that been like for you and have you had to take extra responsibility for helping some guys along?
DARNELL BING: It's been different. The last two years I wasn't really the guy that would speak a lot because I had Jason Leach back there helping me out. This year I felt like I had to speak a little bit more than I usually do.
Then with the injuries and stuff happening, we had a lot of guys come in like Josh Pinkard, he plays safety now, he's converted to corner, he's doing a very good job. I think that just the guys that we have, we have a lot of young guys that's capable of being out there, so I feel comfortable with them, and I think it's going well.
Q. For Darnell and Oscar, obviously your offense has a lot of great players, but specifically what's it like going against Reggie Bush in practice?
OSCAR LUA: It's hard (laughter). I mean, Reggie Bush, he's just an amazing player. He can do everything. If we try and guard him inside out, he'll just run around us going outside. We're lucky enough not to face him as much as other defenses do. We got him for like 30 plays at the end of practice, and those 30 plays are a handful if he's back there. The guy is amazing. He can shake and bake and he's got blazing speed. It's tough on a linebacker, which obviously we don't have that type of speed. And in Matt, if we focus too much on Reggie, we've got Dwayne and Dominique that will just torch us downfield. It's tough, but it's a really great aspect of our program, we get to see such a high-powered offense in preparing for Saturday's game.
DARNELL BING: Reggie, he's an awesome player. He has speed, he's capable of doing anything possible. You guys have to give credit to the offensive line, too. They put the holes there for him to just see whatever he wants to see, and he just makes things happen from there. It's hard to just try to stop him because he has great vision, and he might see a hole and then you might be there, and he might just bounce outside with his speed and you just can't do anything with it.
Q. Pete, when is the last time that you used three scout team players to simulate one player in practice?
COACH PETE CARROLL: We've never done that before. We forgot about -- when we were talking about the quarterback makeup for this preparation, Mark Sanchez has done the majority of the throwing. It hasn't helped us very much in the play action game here because they can tell who's in the game in practice, but quite frankly, it took three guys to do this. That just shows you about the kid that we're going against. We have great respect for him, and our guys have worked real hard to try and simulate what we'll see, and we'll try and find that at game time. We'll have to adjust for game time. There's only going to be one guy back there doing all that stuff. Right now it's a little bit easier for the guys in practice.

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ROSE BOWL GAME: TEXAS v SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

December 31, 2005

Darnell Bing

Pete Carroll

Oscar Lua