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ROSE BOWL GAME: TEXAS v SOUTHERN CALIFORNIADecember 31, 2005Will AllenGreg DavisLimas SweedPASADENA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Coach, if you could go ahead and have an opening comment and then we'll take questions from the group. GREG DAVIS: Well, actually we're excited to be here, or to be back. It's been a wonderful experience, and the people of the Rose Bowl and committee, our host and everything, have just been wonderful. They've gone out of their way to make everything about the trip run smoothly. Our players have had a great time. Practices have gone well. We have great respect for USC. Having won 19 games, and to think that they've won 34 in a row is just unbelievable. So we have great respect for what they have done and what Pete and his staff has accomplished. Their defense is very athletic. When we look at those guys, we see speed. I think both of their defensive ends, our tackles, Jonathan Scott and Justin Blalock will have their hands full with Lawrence and Rucker, and the inside guys who will be dealing with some of those, our inside guys have good quick moves. What you see is athleticism. The linebackers, there's been a bunch of linebackers that have played and all of them can run and they're very athletic. I'm very impressed with the safeties, Darnell Bing and Scott Ware are guys that have been around and they use them in different ways, both in support and pass rush and coverage, so they do a great job. We are excited about being here and our players are having a lot of fun and enjoying the hospitality. Q. Will, can you talk about the satisfaction of how last year ended for you coming back and being named all-American and just this whole run that this team has enjoyed? WILL ALLEN: It's been a great thing. The fact that we came back and we came to Pasadena last year, and Coach said, you know, this is the first step to getting here next year. We fought hard through off-season, took a big step last year winning a big game here and worked hard through the off-season, like I said, and throughout the season it's been our main focus, take it one game at a time, and we knew our ultimate goal was to end here. We've taken it step by step, and everybody has done their job, and that's what the coaches are telling us now; if everybody just does your job and plays with confidence and goes out there, then we'll be fine. Q. I have a question for Will and for Limas. What's it like playing with Vince out there when you make those incredible plays and what's he like in the huddle with you guys? LIMAS SWEED: Well, Vince is a great guy, fun guy to be around a lot of the time. In the huddle he may call a play and may crack a joke and have everybody laughing. He sort of takes control and just makes the situation a lot easier, loosens up things for us and helps us relax and have fun. WILL ALLEN: I think Vince is the kind of guy that gives a team a lot of confidence just because when he comes out there, you know that he's a guy that can make a play. We've seen it in practice, we see it everywhere. He has the ability to make three or four guys miss, and when you're playing with a guy like that, it just makes you feel a lot better. I mean, we have a much easier time pass protecting because defensive linemen are told to contend so they can't let him get by. It just makes the offense go by a lot quicker when you have a guy that's mobile and a dual threat quarterback. Q. Limas, what did the play against Ohio State do for your confidence? LIMAS SWEED: It was definitely a confidence builder, playing on a stage like that and making a catch like that. It helped my team to see -- it definitely was a confidence builder, made me feel great that I was able to help this team out. You know, overall I think the catch really helped me out. Q. Limas, does hearing how good USC's offense is for this entire month make you guys want to even go out there and show how good you can be as an offensive? LIMAS SWEED: I think obviously, like Coach Davis said, we respect SC. They have a great offense. We feel we have a great offense, as well. We don't have to go out there and prove our offense is better than theirs; we're definitely not thinking like that. We're going out there and sticking to our game plan and playing, just doing what we do best. Q. Greg, the Trojans have had their struggles defensively, some ups and downs. When you look at them, what do you think their problems have been against Fresno and against Notre Dame? Where do you think they might be vulnerable, without giving away sort of the game plan? GREG DAVIS: I wouldn't expect a lot from this answer (laughter). You know, they had some injuries early and they lost some great players. But I think -- someone asked me the other day about they're 75th in the nation in passing defense. They throw the ball extremely well. They're ahead so much, teams are out of their game plan so they're taking shots that other teams might not take because of the score in the ballgame. And when you play a 12-game series, a 12-game season, you're No. 1 in August, there's going to be some ups and downs. We would like to think that we could go out and play 12 in a row and play at a peak level every time, and certainly that's what we're shooting for. We're shooting for our guys to play with passion every time they go out. But there's going to be some ups and downs, and those ballgames that you mentioned, a couple times they didn't play to their standard that they're accustomed to, and I think we'll see the very best of it. Q. Greg, can you talk about their blitz tendencies and just kind of what they present from what you've seen on film? GREG DAVIS: Well, they play certainly different kind of structures, and one of the things they do is they involve Darnell Bing quite a bit in different areas. They involve him with the outside backers and with inside backers and bringing him off the edge, and many of their blitzes are fire zone in nature. When you turn the tape on, you would expect to see the fire zones and all the things that you hear about in Sunday ball because of Pete's background. I mean, that's what you see. And then they involve from the other side with the weak backer and using the free safety blitz, and they have the ability to zone behind that or to play man-to-man behind it. But I think they use the blitz judiciously, at the right times. They're not a team that you would go into the game and say, "Wow, they are just a huge blitz team." They're a team that uses it to offset what people are doing. In certain ballgames they've used it more than others. But they're very effective with their blitz package. Q. With all the focus on Reggie and Matt and Vince, is Jamaal Charles kind of a wild card in this game, kind of the forgotten guy? Talk about his health, because he's had the ankle throughout the season. GREG DAVIS: I think Jamaal Charles is well and has practiced well, and we've got several backs that we feel like are ready to play in Selvin Young and RT and Jamaal. But Jamaal is totally well, has had a good preparation both in Austin and since we've been here. He's just a great young back, and he's only going to get better. He's got vision, he's got speed to break it when he gets out, and he's a much tougher runner than you would expect when you first look at his frame because of his balance. I think the future is extremely bright for Jamaal and we look for him to play well on the 4th. Q. Greg, how rewarding has it been this season being the offensive coordinator of a team with 50 points a game? GREG DAVIS: Well, it's been a lot of fun, and these guys have made it fun. A lot has been said about Vince being loose and all those kind of things, but this has been the best chemistry we've had in the eight years that we've been here. Everybody talks about that elusive deal, the chemistry, but I think our players would tell you that this has been outstanding. It all started in the summer. I mean, not that what we did when we got back in the off-season and spring training, obviously those things are important in laying the foundation. But what our guys did in the summer, the core and the chemistry that they developed really carried on into August. They've made it fun. We've got guys that can make plays, and yet at the same time they're not worried about -- and Billy Pittman is a prime example. In the championship game, I don't believe Billy caught a pass. But it was Limas's day; he caught five for over 100, Billy didn't catch a pass. You go in the dressing room, Billy is dancing around, jumping on people's backs, and not caught up in what did I do today but more in what did we do today. Q. Greg, if you could talk a little bit about Dave Thomas' evolution as a player just since he arrived in Austin and maybe Vince's comfort level this season going to the tight end. GREG DAVIS: If you look up student athlete in the dictionary, there will be a picture of David Thomas. He has graduated. He is an outstanding person, and he's a great player, and he plays on all of our special teams, has worked on deep snapping since his freshman here. Whoever is coaching our deep snapping is not doing a good job because he's not deep snapping for us yet (laughter). But he wants to get on the field and wants to help. Having a guy like that was really beneficial early in the year before our receivers really started stepping up. David has been in the offense for four years now and he understands the parameters that he can use to get open and what areas of the field he can work. We will miss him greatly when he's gone. Q. And Vince's comfort level going into this year? It seems Vince has used the tight ends quite a bit this year. GREG DAVIS: Yeah, I think he was comfortable last year with both, but there is a comfort level knowing where he's working in the middle, and sometimes he's a third look for Vince where he's downfield looking for Limas, for Billy, and knowing that David is going to be working open against backer coverage underneath, it's a tremendous feeling. Q. Will, can you talk about your performance last night in the Beef Bowl and those of your fellow offensive linemen? WILL ALLEN: Well, we probably didn't play to our standard as Coach would say because I think they cut us off at two. That's probably the best thing for our team, though. We didn't want guys overeating, but most of the offensive linemen had over one. We'll leave it at that (laughter). Q. Greg, Will touched a little bit on how pass protection can be easier because linemen are trying to contain Vince. How does his mobility, I guess, affect defenses that you see? GREG DAVIS: Well, there's different ways obviously. I think sometimes that it's easy for people to say, you know, wow, Vince is such a great athlete and that's why he doesn't get sacked. I would just ask you to look last year at the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL that got sacked was Michael Vick. I think that makes it way too easy to say he's a great athlete; these linemen up there, their job is so easy, because that's far from the case. What you see sometimes is line integrity. Sometimes people don't twist as much as maybe they had coming into our ballgame because if a twist gets caught up, it gets -- could create a problem. You see backers spying in different ballgames. You see down linemen spying in different ballgames. Great players alter the game even when they're not making plays. Great receivers force defensive guys to kick coverage even when they don't want to. So Vince alters the way people play. Those kind of things are what you see on tape sometimes. Q. You've had the lead so early in so many games this year, you haven't had to show a lot. Is it safe to say that the play book is wide open? GREG DAVIS: Well, we have some things obviously that we haven't used yet and some things that we haven't used a great deal. We'll try to do whatever we have to do to move the ball. One thing you have to be really careful of is when you have a month off, the tendency is -- coaches are all mad scientists. They go in their labs and they turn the lights off and they don't shave for two or three days and they come out and they feel like they've got the answers to the world. The truth is these are the guys that win the games. It's much more Johnny and Joes than it is Xs and Os. But when you have a month, if you're not careful you'll do too much. You'll try to add too many different things. What Mack has really harped on to our staff and to our players from the very beginning is let's beat us; let's do what we do and put -- just put that out there and see where it falls. Q. Greg, could you tell us how much USC film you watched, going back three years, just this year? GREG DAVIS: We've gone back a long time. We've watched the last two -- we watched the Oklahoma game obviously from last year. We watched every ballgame that they played this year. We watched the Michigan game from the year before, the Rose Bowl game from the year before. We didn't put all those games in the computer obviously, but we looked at them, just trying to get a look at what they do and how they play different style offenses, what do they do in the ballgame late when they have to make a play. I'm sure they've done the same thing. But we've tried to do our homework in terms of what they have done in ballgames in the past, not just -- Q. Not Pete's NFL games? GREG DAVIS: No. Q. Four Limas and for Will, can you talk about the positive things about Vince and his mobility and being able to keep plays alive? Was there a situation where you had to learn maybe run routes a little longer, being able to improvise or learn to necessarily block a little longer or understand that rushers may be coming at you from different angles? WILL ALLEN: Last year I think the Rose Bowl was a perfect example where you'd see Vince maybe a couple guys miss and take off downfield. I think one thing we've learned in the offensive line is to keep up with the hustle or make time for the blocks. If you can just get in a guy's way, Vince can keep running. I think Coach McWhorter has done a great job instilling that mindset of not quitting and keeping on guys, and it carries over with Vince's style of play. LIMAS SWEED: Vince is such a great athlete; like when he's running the ball, you may be assigned to one guy, but he may cut back across the field. As a receiver you just have to keep doing your downfield blocks and keep standing on your guys. But as far as the passing game goes and running the routes, you know, he may scramble, so the only thing I've learned from that is just learn to keep yourself alive and stay open for him. Q. Greg, your group drastically cut the number of fumbles from early in the season. I was wondering did you guys do anything to address that, and if so have you had any kind of refresher course during the time period? GREG DAVIS: We told them to quit fumbling (laughter). We knew that was not good (laughter). Selvin wasn't well early in the year. We probably made a poor decision as we look back as a offensive staff trying to get Selvin on the field too soon, and he wasn't well, and when you're not well you're trying to protect yourself, and that's totally our responsibility; it wasn't Selvin's. And then Jamaal was a young guy, and so -- but obviously turnovers, and SC does a tremendous job, they lead the nation in turnovers, taking it away. We just kept harping to our guys, ball protection, how to protect the ball, when the strips are coming and those kind of things. As we got better and the season went on, we did a better job protecting the ball. It's always something that you've got to harp on. Q. Greg, Texas high school coaches are somewhat copycats but Texas high schools started running the wishbone. Is the zone read the sort of offense that can be adapted on any level or is it specific to just a general type of athlete at quarterback? GREG DAVIS: I think the zone read can be run obviously with quarterbacks that are not like Vince, but you need a mobile quarterback. The play itself is not some huge, complex deal. It's a very disciplined, assignment-oriented play. Obviously the better mobility your quarterback has, the better play it can be. Quite a few high schools are running it now in the state when I watch recruiting tape. Q. Limas, are you licking your chops just a little bit knowing that that the Southern Cal secondary has had some struggles this year? Are you kind of excited about what you might see? LIMAS SWEED: Well, to be honest with you, every game I'm really licking my chops to go out there and make plays. For this game, yeah, I'll definitely be ready and definitely licking my chops just ready to go out there and make plays on the game, as big as this one is, the biggest game there is, I'm just ready to go out there and play. Q. Greg, your thoughts about Mack Brown kind of changing, being a little looser, Vince Young being allowed to be a little looser, how much has this helped you being the offensive coordinator, having this kind of loose mentality, a little more free-wheeling? GREG DAVIS: Well, I think Mack has always been pretty loose. I heard somebody the other day say, "You've got your swerve on" to him. I'm not sure he's always had his swerve on. That may have been Limas that said that (laughter). Vince has brought a looseness, and your leaders do that. Your leaders do that, and he's a very loose guy. He's helped set the tempo for all of us because that's the way he plays. Our dressing rooms are really interesting (laughter). Q. Music? GREG DAVIS: It's all over. At different areas you'd find all kinds of music. Our guys have a good time, and what they've done a great job of, and some teams can't do it, they've done a great job of coming out of a very loose setting and then focusing, and that's a tribute to them. Q. LA is a fun town. Any New Year's Eve plans for the players tonight? WILL ALLEN: Sleep, lots of it. I think today is the first day that we've actually had the whole day off. We've got events scheduled for the last couple of days, so I think most guys are looking forward after practice today to catching a long nap and kind of -- I think a lot of guys' families are coming in tonight, so a lot of guys can catch dinner with their parents and hang out. GREG DAVIS: I think we have dinner with SC coaches tonight (laughter). LIMAS SWEED: I'm with Will on that. After practice I'm going straight to sleep (laughter). Q. Greg, what are your tips for withstanding eight years as offensive coordinator in one of those places where there are hundreds of people who are armchair offensive coordinators? GREG DAVIS: You haven't counted lately (laughter). It's part of it. I mean, you know when you get in this business that the highs are extremely low and the lows are extremely low. You get into it because you love the game, and that hasn't changed, and it won't change. So we're just out there having fun and staying away from things that you can't control.
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