Nov. 2, 2009

Watch Coach Wannstedt's Press Conference

Coach Wannstedt Press Conference

November 2, 2009

Syracuse Week

 

Opening Statement:

"As I told our players, it was good to get back at it yesterday. They were obviously off Friday and Saturday and we brought them in here yesterday. They had good meetings and a good spirited practice and kind of got back into the routine again. I think when we start talking about and looking at Syracuse, if you look at the statistics, there's two things that stand out. Number one, their defense is one of the top (in the league). They are the top rushing defense in the Big East, seventh in the nation I believe. Derrell Smith is second in the Big East in tackles for loss. They also have the number one receiver, Mike Williams, in the Big East. So they're doing a lot of good things. If you took two teams in our conference and said what teams have the most tradition over the past 50-plus years, it would be Syracuse and Pitt. If you look at the Pitt-Syracuse scores over the past 30-plus years, the deciding point difference in a lot of those games was about seven points. Our players know most of these guys. We've competed against them. Last year, we had to fight from behind to win the game up there. We all remember that. They're playing better now. They are much improved. They are well coached. I think that Doug Marrone has these kids believing in the Syracuse tradition. They're giving phenomenal effort in all three phases. Last week against Cincinnati they were in position to tie it up right before the half when they threw the interception. Who knows if that doesn't happen? So there's no question that they are an improved football team. They've got talent. They're well coached. Our players understand the importance of the game, being a conference game. It's going to be very important for us to have a great week of practice. We've got to go out there and approach it the same way that we have every other week. Take it one day at a time. Keep our focus on the job at hand and go from there. I'm confident with the leadership we have that we will do that."

 

On what the new coaching staff at Syracuse has done:

"They have changed. There are changes in all three phases. Offensively they give you a lot of different formations, a lot of different personnel groups. They'll go three wide receivers, to four wide receivers, to two tight ends. I can see the NFL influence. They work for matchups. They're going to move the wide receiver Mike Williams around and try to put him in position to make plays. They've got two outstanding running backs. Antwon Bailey and Delone Carter both do a nice job of running the ball. They're both tough guys. So you can be fooled a little bit. They're going to try to spread you out and then they're really handing the ball off to try to pound the ball inside. It's a good scheme. They know what they're doing. Defensively, they're mixing in a lot of pressure. We've got to be ready for a lot of different looks from our offensive standpoint. They create some problems, some mismatches that we've got to be ready for. In terms of special teams, they have the number one punter in the conference, the number two punt returner in our conference. So, they're doing a really good job on special teams also."

 

On concerns about losing momentum with the bye week:

"That's always a conversation piece when you're coming off the bye week. We practiced last night and we looked fast last night. We were well rested and our guys were moving around. I think there's a little bit of a trade-off. As long as our guys' minds are where they are supposed to be and we approach it in the right way I'm confident that we will continue to move forward."

 

On the injuries:

"The guys that were on that list, everybody practiced last night. Unless something would happen in the next couple of days, we should be pretty much full-speed, ready to go. The one guy that hasn't been healthy for the last couple of weeks was Elijah Fields. He played some against South Florida. He is much improved and he'll play this week, there's no question about that. We'll take it day by day with him and see how much he can do. That's why Jarred Holley is in there. We'll practice them both and they'll both be ready to play."

 

On Jarred Holley:

"You talk about a bright spot for the future. We knew he was an outstanding player when we recruited him, coming out of a great program out in Easton. The guy played almost every position on offense in high school. He played quarterback, wide receiver, running back and the same thing on defense -- he played corner and safety. He's a very talented, smart individual. No one ever expected him to play this much as a redshirt freshman. You combine that with the fact that no one expected him to play at safety. He was a cornerback until about three weeks into the season. After Andrew Taglianetti got hurt, we moved him from corner to safety. He's done a great job of making the transition and that's a really bright spot for us in the future."

 

On moving Dan Mason to outside linebacker:

"We really did it because we felt with his athletic ability and his speed that he gave us a better chance to make plays out there than Steve Dell would. We have Shane Murray and Steve Dell as the two alternate linebackers and from a speed standpoint and an athletic standpoint Mason's just a lot faster and more athletic. So that position is out there covering down a lot in space and we felt like, from a team standpoint, that he would give the team the best chance to help us in the event that something happened. I expect him to play some this week outside."

 

On Cameron Saddler returning kickoffs and potentially returning punts:

"He will be the starting kick returner with Ray Graham. It's a possibility (that he will return punts). We're trying to get him back to where he was from a confidence standpoint of just catching the ball. Health-wise, he's fine. It's crazy how when you look at the Big East statistics Aaron Smith is third (in return average) and we really haven't had a big return. The priority always is handling the ball first. So, you've just got to be careful that you don't do something to try to give your return game a spark and then it turns out to hurt you. Aaron's done a good job of catching the ball. "

 

On using Elijah Fields as a linebacker:

"We did that against South Florida. He played most of the Notre Dame game. It depends on personnel groups. If we get three wide receivers, as physical as Elijah is, we have no problem playing with two linebackers and him in the game. He can handle the run and it also gives us a lot better coverage guy than a linebacker. So will we use it this week? Sure we will. How much and when, that will be determined. He would replace Greg Williams. I could see us using it every week, no question. We probably would have used it more, but he's been banged up, limited."

 

On the difficulty of the final four games:

"There really hasn't been much thought or conversation about that. It's Syracuse. We have a big conference game and we need every ounce of focus and energy for this week. Then we'll just take the next one and continue that. That's kind of been our mindset. I think that's the type of football team that we are, from being able to handle things and prepare the best way and deal with them."

 

On the offensive line:

"Our offensive line, we've stayed healthy. The players with the least amount of experience, Lucas Nix and Robb Houser, these guys have stepped their game up. The guys that have some experience, Joe Thomas, he's really worked hard to improve from where he was at. I think it's a nice combination. They've grown to communicate, trust each other, and they're really working very well as a unit. The communication is really good. You can do so much from a physical standpoint at this point in the season, but from a mental standpoint, new things are happening week to week and I think Tony Wise has done a great job with these guys. He really has.

 

 "Jason Pinkston was coming off shoulder surgery. Robb Houser was coming off a broken leg. We moved Joe Thomas from tackle to guard. Lucas Nix is only a first-year starter. John Malecki, this is his second year playing on the offensive line. He's played for four years, but not on the offensive line. So, those guys have done a very good job."

 

On the development of Mike Shanahan:

"I think every player has their strengths and weaknesses. Mike is a tough guy. He's got really good hands and he's a smart guy. He's not going to go out there and run a 4.5 and he knows that. When the ball is in the air he has a knack for using his body and his hands, and he's awfully smart, he's going to be in the right spot. I think he plays to his strengths. I put him and Jarred Holley in the same category. He's another guy that we really weren't counting on this year. Now he's getting a lot of playing time and that's just going to help us down the road."

 

On Jonathan Baldwin and Mike Shanahan utilizing their basketball skills on the football field:

"I think that's something that you can't coach. Some guys just have a knack for going up, using their bodies and catching the ball at the high point and some guys don't. Mike and Jonathan can make those difficult catches and I think it's because they have great body control and they have great hand-eye coordination."

 

On Syracuse using two quarterbacks, Greg Paulus and Ryan Nassib:

"They've been bringing Nassib in for certain situations. He's kind of their wildcat guy. He's their option guy. He looks like he has a strong arm throwing the ball down the field. Paulus is more, because of his experience and his maturity, more in control of things out there. We're going to see both. We could see Nassib a lot more. That would not surprise me. We'll be prepared for both."

 

On Syracuse running backs Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey

"I think that Bailey is more of a receiver. They move him around a little bit more. They'll flex him out of the backfield more. They'll put him out in some empty sets as a wide receiver. Carter is probably a little stronger, more of a true running back. Bailey looks like he can do a few more things. Both are very talented. Both run extremely hard. You have to tackle both of those guys and get them on the ground."

 

On Syracuse's run defense:

"They get their safeties involved. They're going to get up there and they aren't going to give you any easy runs. They pressure some, first of all. They'll play man coverage and they bring the safety up and get the extra guy in the box. They make you block their safeties."

 

On expecting trick plays:

"You're always looking for the fake in a situation kicking-wise. They're looking for something from an offensive standpoint, going for it on fourth down. That goes both ways. It can be a momentum setter for your offense, but it can also turn the other way on you. Whether that's a part of their thinking, I don't know. We're prepared for the fake in the kicking game and the trick plays on offense every week. It's just the norm."

 

On leading the country in sacks without much blitzing:

"Very few are from blitzes. We don't blitz much. I bet you we only blitzed 10 times in the past five weeks. A lot of those sacks are coverage sacks. If we can get two guys back there covering one, the quarterback is going to have to hold the ball. So there's a trade-off. It's really a matter of what you believe in and what you're most comfortable with doing. Not to say that we are going to blitz this week. We'll mix it in, but we don't do it a whole lot."

 

On the importance of eliminating penalties and turnovers:

"I remember telling our players. I've been in games, I've coached in games, where we've had no turnovers and no penalties the entire game. It doesn't happen very often, but I have been a part of those games. That's what we strive for. We try to go there and the number one thing we talk about is protecting the football. From a penalty standpoint, our players have done a really good job. Early in the year we were committing some foolish penalties. We've pretty much eliminated those. I would like to think that the players understand that a couple of those scoring drives on defense or a couple of those drives where we didn't score on offense -- and I can think about the NC State game -- there were penalties involved on both sides of the ball. When they scored at the end and us not having a chance to score were because of penalties. You'd like to think that as the season goes on and some of these things that you go through, that you learn from them, and the players understand the importance of penalties and turnovers."