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ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO: OREGON v WISCONSINDecember 29, 2011Chris AshChris BorlandCharlie PartridgeMike TaylorPASADENA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the first half of the Wisconsin defense. We have co‑coordinators Chris Ash and Charlie Partridge, then we have linebackers Chris Borland and Mike Taylor. We will have no opening statement and go right to questions. Q. Any of you who would like to weigh on this, please do: The back‑to‑back losses in the middle of the season and the way it went down, how did that not only affect your season, obviously you had to battle through that, but then how did you sort of keep the wheels on the bus and keep moving forward? CHRIS ASH: Well, I think it was easy for us because of the type of kids that we have in our program and who we have on defense. We've got great character kids here. They believe in what we do. They believe in each other. They stayed the course, didn't waver one bit. It actually made us stronger. We came out of those two losses, it hurt, but it made us stronger in the end, and that's why we're here. CHARLIE PARTRIDGE: I think the other thing it allowed us to do was really fall back on our process. I think these guys and they can attest to this, as well, we really take every day for what it is. Really truly, it's a cliche, but we do try to live it, take it one day at a time. As gut wrenching as those losses were, like Chris said, we learned from it and took the next day and came back to work. Q. For the players first and maybe for Coach Partridge, talk about the challenge of the Duck running backs, Barner and James, of course, maybe De'Anthony Thomas, what kind of challenge that you'll face as a linebacker. CHRIS BORLAND: Well, I think most obviously people understand that they're fast, and that's going to be a challenge. But they also have great cutting ability, so we're going to have to have good pursuit from everyone on the defense, and then tackle well. It'll come down to fundamentals when you face guys like that. Q. Chris and anybody else who wants to weigh in on this, one of the Oregon running backs described you, Chris, as like a human incarnate of a Badger. Would you describe your play as that, and anybody else that would want to weigh in on his style of play, as well. CHRIS BORLAND: First of all, thank you. That's a great compliment from that guy. I don't know whether or not that's a good description of how I play, but we do try to get after it on defense. Not always the most talented or fastest guys, but we play hard. We play as a unit. Thanks again to that guy. That's a pretty funny comment. Q. Mike and Chris, can you talk about Oregon's offensive tempo, and I'm sure you've already been working on what you're going to face in the game as far as like how fast they run plays, and there's certain times during the game where they will step on the gas all of a sudden. How do you guys deal with that and just talk about that in general if you would. MIKE TAYLOR: Yeah, they like to run their offense real fast. They'll try to get their plays back to back to back as fast as possible, and what we've got to do is just work on that throughout practice and just work on our conditioning and mainly just being mentally and physically tough and knowing what they're going to go and being ready for when they do that. CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, they like to especially speed up their tempo after a big play, so cutting down on the amount of big plays we give up will help keep us out of that fast speed tempo. Q. For Mike and Chris, the third quarter is you guys' best quarter, I think only 35 points all year, and no one has ever‑‑ only one score in the first drive coming out of halftime. What do you attribute that defensive success to right after the break, right after halftime? CHRIS BORLAND: I think there's a number of things that factor into that. Good coaching because you come out of halftime after making adjustments, so that definitely helps. Then I think we're conditioned well and tough, so we're conditioned to play a full four quarters, so coming out of that second half we have plenty of energy and are tough. We get ready to play in the second half. MIKE TAYLOR: Statistically, too, I think the second quarter is probably the worst quarter as you probably know from Michigan State, Ohio State, but after the second quarter, giving up points like that, you just come out, you have an edge to you, and you want to come back out and kind of get the game back, so that's probably why. CHRIS ASH: The thing I'd add to that, too, is these guys have done a great job during that later part of the first half and going into halftime and up to the third quarter of taking the adjustments. We've all been places where every game you're going to have to adjust, there's going to be new things and these guys do a great job of taking the coaching and applying it right to the field when they get back out there. So huge credit to these guys. Q. For the players, the national perception seems to be that this game will finish 55 to 48.  Is that a slap in the face to the defenses on the two teams who have been very good this year at times? CHRIS BORLAND: It's motivation for us. No defensive player wants to be involved in a game that's referred to as a shootout. We're taking that to heart, and we're preparing the right way, getting ready to show up. MIKE TAYLOR: We know what they're capable of. They're very well‑‑ that's what they've done all year, and it's up to us to kind of slow them down and hopefully stop them. If we just focus in on our keys and tackle and be responsible out there and just play together as a team, hopefully we can do that. Q. Chris, a lot of the talk obviously so far in this press conference has been about tempo, and they do have the highest scoring offense in the nation, but last I checked, obviously your offense is right there, 45 points per game. Going up against them in practice, is there anything that's helping you guys out, or does it give you a good look every single day going up against that offense? CHRIS BORLAND: It does, and obviously they're two different styles of offense, but the caliber of players is really high, and we go ones versus ones a lot, so that's great work for us, just going against guys like Russell and Montee in our line. We do that all year, and I think that prepares us well for big‑time games like this. Q. For the coaches, sticking with the tempo thing, have you guys changed the tempo that you guys are practicing at? A lot of people have talked about other teams changing what they do from the regular season to play against the Ducks because of how fast they get their snaps off. CHARLIE PARTRIDGE: Well, I think the first thing, we have gone against a lot of no‑huddle teams throughout the course of this season, so what we do practice wise throughout the course of the season is really no different than what we do right now facing Oregon. We have made some minor adjustments to our practice structure, maybe the length of sets and doing some more pursuit drill to get our guys running a little bit more than normal, but we've really gone against a no‑huddle quite a few times this season, so we've got a plan that we feel good with. The players believe in it, and we just keep going with it. Q. For Mike and Chris, you guys kind of share that common bond of having to overcome injuries throughout your career. Has that brought you guys closer together, and is the success that you guys have had together as a unit this year just been the result of the fact that, yes, you're both healthy and on the field at the same time? CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, I think I can attest to the fact that being next to Mike for the last few years, seeing what he's had to go through, has helped me coming back from injuries. I think he could say the same thing. It's brought us closer. We've been looking forward to playing together for a while, and this year it was able to happen. I hope we've contributed to the team. I think both of us had a pretty solid year, and just fun to play next to a guy like Mike. MIKE TAYLOR: Thanks, Chris. I think when you're obviously injured like that, you're away from football for quite a bit of time, you just realize how much you miss playing, especially with guys like we've got on our defense, just how fun it is. Chris and everyone else who's on the defense, whether practice or in a game, it's just fun playing with all those guys out there. It's just been fun all year. Q. Coaches, can you talk a little bit about preparation time? You don't have just a week to prepare for these guys, you have a month to prepare for them. Can you talk about the difference that makes for you in terms of getting ready for what they do? CHRIS ASH: Well, it helps a lot. If you had to prepare for this offense and the normal game week, it would be very, hard very, unless it's something you see every day from your offense, and I think that's why they have so much success, because it is hard to prep from the tempo, the types of plays and just the talent that they have on the field. So having the extra time definitely helps. There's pros and cons to it, and we're all hungry for the game. We wish it was today. And the other thing you've got to be careful about is trying not to do too many different things. We don't want to be lab rats through this time and try and come up with all these different exotic things to do against Oregon's offense. We're going to do what we do and try to do it the best we can, but I'm glad we've got the extra time. CHARLIE PARTRIDGE: The other thing it's really added is it's allowed our scout team quite honestly to help them prepare to show that tempo that we're trying to emulate in practice. I think you guys would agree, those guys have really gotten better through the course of our prep, and hopefully that will pay off on the 2nd. Q. Chris, it's been a long road for you to get back here and get healthy and be in this position. Did you have some doubts along the way that maybe you'd be able to come back 100 percent at some point in time and be in this situation? What does it mean for you to be at the Rose Bowl where you had to sit and watch last year? CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, at times I got a little discouraged, but never thought that this wasn't a possibility. Luckily I've been able to stay healthy, and for us to be able to get back here for a second straight year and for me to be able to play in this game, it means the world, and I'm really excited for it. Q. Mike, as a Wisconsin kid, what are your favorite Rose Bowl memories, and what is it like to be a part of this tradition? MIKE TAYLOR: Definitely favorite Rose Bowl memory is just Ron Dayne just running over everyone and anyone in his way. To be from Wisconsin and play in the Rose Bowl, just growing up in Wisconsin, you just kind of‑‑ you put Wisconsin and the Rose Bowl together based on what we've done in those first Rose Bowls with Coach Barry Alvarez, and to be able to play in it two years in a row has been unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep having more success like this. Q. Everyone talks about how high scoring a game it is. Do you guys look at it and say, hey, you know what, let's get a takeaway or two and let's be the determining factor or the game changers? MIKE TAYLOR: Definitely. I think on defense they're going to be running around a lot, and if we can kind of force a turnover, get on interception to stop them, get the ball back to our offense, I think with our offense being able to score a lot, if we can get a turnover for them, that would be great. CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, I think turnovers would be huge. We don't like the idea of it being a shootout, so turnovers, three‑and‑outs, and just getting off the field. If we can get the ball in our offense's hands, that will go a long way in helping us win the game. Q. Mike and Chris, could you talk about Oregon's quarterback Darron Thomas? The Oregon offense has been pretty good about protecting him. They haven't given up many sacks at all. How do you guys go against him when he's doing ball fakes and he might run it, he might throw it, those kinds of things? CHRIS BORLAND: He's a great player, and they use him really well. Their plays they don't really allow him to get touched, and when teams do get a free shot, he's so athletic he can avoid it. So I think you're just going to have to be on your keys the whole game. He does a great job with their play fakes and he's perfect for that scheme. We need to focus on our keys and take care of our responsibilities because he can hurt you if you don't. Q. Mike and Chris, last night at the Beef Bowl, which you guys are about to go to, an Oregon offensive lineman did the Heimlich maneuver on someone, saved his life. Have you guys been practicing your Heimlich maneuvers in preparation for tonight? CHRIS BORLAND: I haven't been practicing the Heimlich maneuver. We're just going to chew more slowly, I think. Just make sure we get it down. I don't know if anyone is an eagle scout on our team, so we'll have to be more careful. Q. Mike, you go against Montee Ball in practice, you've seen LaMichael James on video. How would you contrast the two? There's differing styles, I guess, there. MIKE TAYLOR: Well, first of all, they're pretty similar as far as speed and athletic ability. Montee can run, he can move, he's got speed and he can move laterally like that. Same with LaMichael James; he's smaller but he can beat you with his feet. When tackling him you've got to make sure you come into balance and really focus on keeping him in front of you. If you miss a tackle, hopefully the rest of the guys on the defense will rally to the ball. Q. For Charlie and Chris, it's an unusual situation I would assume having co‑coordinators. How has that worked out this year? Were there rough patches? CHRIS ASH: It's been awful. Usually you go to work every day and you want to enjoy the people you're with, and I really don't like him very much. No, it's been great. It's been easy. Honestly, Charlie and I have known each other for quite some time. We've been friends for a long time, all the way back to our college days. We've coached at other places together. When you've got that kind of friendship and respect for each other and you've got similar beliefs and philosophies on how things are going to be done, it's really pretty easy. CHARLIE PARTRIDGE: Yeah, I agree, and I do like him, I'll tell you. But it's been good. Chris is the coordinator and Chris is the guy that's going to make the calls, and my role has been to do everything I can to assist him in any coordinator duties and help lighten the load for him, and he's done an unbelievable job, and hopefully I've helped assist him this year, and we've done some good things, so I think it's worked out pretty good. Q. For Mike and Chris, there's another Thomas on the Oregon squad, De'Anthony Thomas, the young freshman. Can you talk about him, what you know about him? Have you seen a lot of tape on him? MIKE TAYLOR: He's kind of their all purpose back. They can line him up at running back, receiver, they can motion him around a lot. He's kind of their slash man, does everything, kick return. You've just got to be aware where he lines up and certain formations what they can possibly do. We've just got to key in on what he's doing and where he's at on field. CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, I think Mike is right. He's the type of player that you identify where he is pre‑snap every play just because they do different things with him and because he's so good. He's got a lot of speed and cutting ability and vision, so he's definitely someone we're keyed into. Q. When we were talking to some of your offensive teammates yesterday they were talking about the leadership and that rough patch in the middle of the season and how the leadership sort of stepped up and sort of just rallied everybody around. Was that true on the defensive side of the ball, and can you just speak to that? CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, it was very true defensively, and honestly those two losses I think a lot of the responsibility may have fallen on the defense. We didn't play as well as we wanted to. I think externally people thought that game, those two losses, was a catastrophe, but within the team, we just remained poised thanks to guys like Aaron and Pat Butrym. Mike stepped up, too. He's a pretty quiet guy, but he was vocal during those two weeks, and it helped us to bounce back. MIKE TAYLOR: I think any time you win, especially those first five games, six games, it's easy to lead when you're winning, but when you're losing you really find out who your leaders are, and guys stepping up, speaking out, and to go through two weeks like that, and it was hard for me, it was hard for the team. Sometimes you've just got to stand up and say something, and those two games were probably the biggest games to do that. Luckily we kind of rebounded and we were fortunate enough to make it back here. Q. Mike and Chris, much has been said about Oregon's new look helmet, the new look uniform that they're going to have at the Rose Bowl. Have you guys seen what the new sleek, modified Wisconsin jerseys look like for the Rose Bowl? CHRIS BORLAND: If you've seen Travis Frederick or Rob Havenstein, they're not going to look anything but sleek no matter what they wear. We really don't get too much into that. We just like to play the game of football. I don't really care what we wear. Q. Chris and Mike, I'm curious if during the season you watched Oregon play at all, if you just saw them on TV. A couple of your teammates yesterday said they watched them and were impressed. Did you guys ever see them just as college football fans? CHRIS BORLAND: Yeah, I saw the USC game. They lost that game, but they played well. I know they almost came back. It was impressive to see how quickly they could put up points. I know they had a special teams score in that game, and I think they lost by about three or so. But they came back in a flurry. It was pretty impressive. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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