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BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN v OREGONJanuary 6, 2011Mark HelfrichGLENDALE, ARIZONA COACH HELFRICH: Everybody was in their seat five minutes before the first special teams meeting. The morning after we arrived. So all those things point to guys that are focused that learn from maybe last year we didn't prepare with that edge. And they don't want to let that opportunity slip by them. Q. I know you are not in your late teens or early 20s like the guys on the team. COACH HELFRICH: 19 1/2. Q. Sorry. I misread you. I got something wrong on your bios. COACH HELFRICH: It is the hairline. Q. Cliff Harris was quoted of calling it "the natty" way back when. It has kind of taken off a little bit since then. How do you feel about that term and the way the team approaches it, that from a looser standpoint? COACH HELFRICH: I hadn't thought of that one. That's one I have not thought of. I have never used that term, but I can try to work it into the lexicon. But it is -- again, our guys have done a great job. And I think Coach Kelly has done a great job of balancing fun with really hard work. And our guys are a fun, fun group to be around. We are a fun coaching staff to be around. And that has just kind of, again, been a great chemistry lesson for all of us. Q. Can I get you to call it "the natty"? COACH HELFRICH: Not yet. It has got to come out naturally. Q. When you watch tape for them, is it unusual for a guy like -- you play a lot of great players. Does Fairley jump off the screen more? COACH HELFRICH: Sure. I was trying to describe him the other day. I was in the Pac-10 and coaching at Arizona State, we had Terrell Suggs playing against Oregon's Haloti Ngata. And he is kind of combination of those two guys because he's a big, he's fast, he's physical. He's technically very sound, and he plays in a great system. So, you know, he's another guy that -- and we've had the misfortune of coming up against a guy like Stephen Paea or Guy Price at UCLA that command a lot of attention. It is just the misstep by one other guy trying to do somebody else's job that the talent around him then comes into play. They have got a great system. It is not just Nick Fairley. Their front is outstanding, all four -- and they play a lot of guys, kind of like our defense that rotate in and out. He certainly makes the freak-show plays that are on highlight films. Q. How have you seen them watching film all season progress? COACH HELFRICH: I guess, comparing them to anybody at times, they are playing up to the level of their opponent and just maybe at times taking some coast-it-type moments. But nobody can run the ball against them. Everybody is trying to trick them or throw the ball in different ways or do those things. But when you can dominate run defense like that -- it is just like on offense, if you can run the ball, you can do anything. On defense, if you can stop the run, you can kind of do anything. Sometimes the numbers are misleading. I mean, they are an outstanding team. They have great scheme. They are very balanced in what they do, and they have got great players. That's what we're dealing with. Q. One thing they have they been particularly adept at is second half, like the Alabama game. COACH HELFRICH: Mm-hmm. Q. When you watch it, is there certain adjustments that stand out to you? COACH HELFRICH: Definitely. There's timing. Alabama game, at first they weren't pressuring them as much. And it became kind of a drop-back contest and them doing some different things. And then they started evening up with a lot of different fronts and games up front. They have been outstanding. That's something we take a lot of pride in ourselves in terms of having a second half mind-set, a finished mind-set. I know they were taking some heat like we were at times of being a slow-starting team. It is all slow and miss. You are not going to get 52-0 against everybody in the second quarter. That's is not realistic. And, again, the final score is what has mattered to them just like it has mattered to us. Q. Something has got to give since both teams have been half teams? COACH HELFRICH: I guess. I guess, yeah. Q. How much has working with Chip changed you philosophically as an offensive coach? COACH HELFRICH: Philosophically, there is kind of -- I guess not drastic philosophical changes. We have been lock-step in a lot of ways of how we approach trying to score. What we've done is just try to do everything that a lot of people do faster. They are trying to implement our deal and play faster on our guys. We are in a situation right now where our guys believe 100% what they are doing. We got really good guys doing it. And the chemistry of all that coming together has brought us where we are. Q. How much different is the game planning than it was when you worked at other places? COACH HELFRICH: It is not that much different. People say that we don't have as much in our package as some people. And some people talked about going to a game of 300, 400 plays. I don't know how that's possible. You cannot practice that. You can't be great at that. We have got great players that we are not trying to -- we are not trying to magically come up with some spoof. It is just like them. They've got obviously one elite player and a great cast of supporters around him. And our guys are kind of the same mold. But it is not that different. Q. Looks like Auburn's offense has come into the front lines. What kind of respect does their defense command? COACH HELFRICH: Watch five plays of film and you will immediately have respect for their scheme, for their players. They're big. They're fast. They're strong. They tackle well. They do a great job more so than anybody we have seen all year balancing what they do, meaning pressure, meaning coverage, field blitz, boundary blitz, strong, weak, all that stuff that you like to get a percentage on a guy. And that's not possible with these guys. Q. Is there any defense that you have seen in the Pac-10 that compares to Auburn? COACH HELFRICH: You know, directly, no. I mean, Cal is an outstanding defensive team with a different style of talent. The great SC teams in the past are probably the closest representation of just the size, the speed, the strength of these guys. You know, we don't see these guys on a weekly basis for sure. Q. In a perfect world, how many seconds lapse between snaps for your offense? COACH HELFRICH: Just the right amount. We don't have one of those things of we want to get it off in X amount of time or anything. Sometimes we will try to go really fast. Sometimes we might try to change it up a little bit. Probably very similar to Gus and some of those things of what they do, and obviously they have done it really well. Q. What is it like watching that run up and down the field where everything that you do is working? What is that feeling like? Linemen faking injuries, guys bending over in the first quarter gassed. COACH HELFRICH: That's weird. That's been bizarre. But, again, it is something that our guys have -- they have been very resilient in their approach to some of those things of some -- shall we say, unconventional means of defense. But we don't expect that. And if something like that comes up, our guys will play through it. When our guys get clicked in, there is a great sense of confidence. Our guys believe -- again, they believe 100% in what we are trying to do. And then they believe probably even a little bit more so in themselves and the guys around them to execute. Q. Can you take me inside a film room and characterize what that's like? COACH HELFRICH: We have a lot of fun. We have got a great offensive staff, and we are locked into them more so obviously than as a full group. Steve Greatwood is our O line. Gary Campbell, quick start on our running backs. Scott Frost causes white-outs and a couple of other guys. We have a lot of fun. We are very much on the same page. At times obviously there will be some disagreements on this, that or the other. It is a great group to be around. And I think our chemistry together when we go to the field or to the media room, the players feed off that. This has just been an incredible team to be around from that standpoint and the staff. And, obviously, being undefeated, everybody is better looking and taller and smarter and all that stuff. It's been a lot of fun. And I think that's translated. Q. The student-athletes talk about intensity but that there is a lighter side to Kelly. Give me an example of that, something you see. COACH HELFRICH: Yeah. Chip's just done a great job. He is very demanding, absolutely, 100% high-expectation guy and then find a way to get there. That's what our guys have done. But at the same time, that can be fun. They know where that line is. They know it is not gray. It is very black and white. And I think all of his actions from last season to this season have nothing but verified that. At the same time, we have a great time doing what we're doing. And, again, when you are winning, whatever you do is the right thing to do. When we have done it, our players, they're off the field. Academically have been outstanding. Their behavior has been outstanding. All the things that you want to kind of reinstill or instill in a team, our guys have proven you can win doing that at the highest levels. Q. What is it like to be an offensive coordinator for a head coach who is so identified with the offense? It is almost like you are under the radar. A lot of people probably don't even know your name. COACH HELFRICH: Sure. That's fine, that's fine. I can get coffee. I do dishes. I do all kinds of stuff. No. Again, we have a great relationship. And our team, our offensive staff, all that stuff, I think one of our pillars is that old John Wood saying, "It is amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit." There are a lot of guys like that. Q. What does Darron Thomas mean to this team? Has he exceeded your expectations? COACH HELFRICH: I don't know if he has exceeded expectations. Darron has been awesome. Ever since he was named a starter, the most important thing about this team I thought was that next practice. He had his best practice of his life. And even more impressive, Nate Costa had probably the best practice of his life. Those are two guys on opposite ends of the emotional spectrum the night before that both come out and have a great day. That's important from Nate of, "Hey, I'm still here" and Darron of, "Let's go, let's move on." He's constantly -- he is not a naturally vocal guy. He is not a naturally outspoken guy. He is very smart. He is very tough, and he is a guy we need to become a more vocal leader. He has just gradually -- will grow more and more into that role. Q. The players on both teams are starting to say they are tired of waiting, they are anxious to play the game. What about the coaches? Are you getting tired of the wait, or does it not bother you guys as much? COACH HELFRICH: Hadn't really thought of it that way. We are just so ingrained into, okay, this is the day before the game and now it is this day before the game. We just try to stay in that mode as much as possible. It is different obviously because you are not on a weekly cycle that you are used to, but we'll adjust. Q. Can you talk about dealing with Nick Fairley. They had a tough time in the SEC with him. That kind of player, you talk about watch Auburn five plays and you get a feel for him. What about watching five plays of Fairley? COACH HELFRICH: It is five very scary movies probably. The guy is awesome. He is outstanding. Again, he's tough. He's physical in terms of speed, strength, technique. All the things that you don't want to see as an offensive guy, he's got. We're not going to sit here and single block him all day. We are going to try to change up as we have with most guys of his ilk. Sorry, we haven't played anybody like him. But we got our hands full. Q. Would Paea be the closest thing to him that you have seen? COACH HELFRICH: Yeah. He is the Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata, are kind of the guys that he has morphed into and created one human being of that caliber. He's big, fast-- big and strong but he is really fast and athletic. When he makes those plays and splitting the LSU guys, three guys, and causing a fumble, that's something that constantly plays in your mind. Q. Are you losing sleep about it? COACH HELFRICH: Well, sure, sure. Q. Is it tougher in this offense for the quarterback to read the pre and posts in the snap reads? COACH HELFRICH: There is a lot of pressure on a quarterback anywhere. There is obviously ways you can limit that. Our guys have done an awesome job of being adept at that kind of stuff. We are never going to ask a guy, Hey, you have to do this, a square peg in a round hole type of deal. Darron has been great and our guys behind him, knock on wood, are capable as well. Q. The offensive line deals with some pressure, too. They don't have time like some lines do to stand there. How do they compensate for that over the season? Is it a lot of preparation? They are a bunch of sharp guys. Are they capable of dealing with that? COACH HELFRICH: Yeah, our guys in general, they need to be able to do that, exactly right. We try to get our guys and we try to talk fast, we try to think fast, we try to play fast. Everything that we do practice-wise is -- our mantra is it is game speed or it is watching. To get that started from day one as they arrive as freshmen to get them in the mode of "go now" and then do it faster and then faster. And then to deal with a guy like Fairley, you don't want to sit there presnap and be going, oh, my God, we got to make all these gigantic adjustments. End of FastScripts |
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