Quotes From Will Muschamp's Press Conference
Monday, November 4, 2013 | Football
Head Coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Monday to preview the Gators' upcoming game against Vanderbilt (12:00 p.m. on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium).
Opening Statement:
“To recap Georgia, I'm very proud of our players' effort. To dig yourself a hole there in a game like that and then continuing to fight and play with intensity and effort and create some opportunities for yourself; I'm extremely proud of them for battling through the game. Defensively, we were just way too inconsistent; giving up 14 points on the first two drives. Looking back at starting fast, it just comes back to putting our players in better situations to be successful as far as our looks are concerned and the things we're carrying into a game. We were very erratic on third down, especially on the last drive - we couldn't get off the field. We played better in the second half and made some things happen in the game to create some momentum for our team, but we were just way too inconsistent. Offensively, I did think we improved running the ball as far as with the running back position, but obviously the quarterback run certainly helped us. Protection was improved, we just have to create more explosive plays. It's very difficult in our league to put together 12 or 14 play drives consistently, and certainly we need to continue to create some explosives. Special teams, I thought were solid. We had one explosive return, and I thought our coverage units were really good in the game; we've continued to make some improvements there. So I'm disappointed; we need to finish. We had our opportunities late in the game and we didn't get it done and that falls on my shoulders. We have to get over the hump in those situations. We've had our opportunities in several games going back to Miami and LSU, where we had some opportunities to cut it and have a chance to win the game and we just didn't get it done and that's on me. So we'll get our players to finish these situations and get over the hump and that's what we're going to work to do.
“Homecoming is this week. We've got the Captains Dinner Friday night, which is something I always enjoy - seeing a lot of former players come back. Gator Growl will be a lot of fun. This is our first home game in over a month, and it seems like it's been forever. We got Vanderbilt and James Franklin is a guy I've got a lot of respect for. He's done an outstanding job; he's a really good offensive football coach. I think Jordan Matthews is one of the better players in all of college football; regardless of how you cover him, he catches the ball and makes a bunch of plays for them with reverses and different things they do. They do a great job of getting him the football and featuring him, but I think he's just an outstanding player. But multiple offensively in a lot of different looks and the things they do. Bob Shoop, their defensive coordinator, is a guy I've got a lot of respect for. They've got seven seniors on defense and we certainly need to be prepared for their looks and what they're going to give us. So it's a 12:08 kickoff here in the Swamp; we're looking forward to getting back home.”
On slow starts on defense:
“Well I think it has certainly impacted the game as far as how we've relied on our defense in some obvious situations, but you know, you don't put your finger on one thing and say 'it's this.' We got cut out of a gap on a long run with (Todd) Gurley the other day; we gave a third down conversion but we had good coverage on the play. It was a nice throw and a nice catch, we had pressure on the play and they hit the long run. So that was obviously a killer on that drive; and then we bust a third down. We had an opportunity with exactly the look we want, everything we look for and what we wanted and didn't get it done. So those first two drives were extremely disappointing, so we just have to go back and put our guys in better situations to play, and that's on us as coaches. We have to put our guys in better situations to feel more comfortable and react, as opposed to think in some situations. That's the best way I can summarize it, because in every game it has been a little something different whether it's on the front end getting cut out of a gap or the back end not coverage with the right leverage. Thinking about the Missouri game, we just need to coach better.”
On trying to use bowl eligibility as a way to motivate players:
“No. I mean, motivation is what you saw in the second half, those guys playing for each other. We have a close-knit football team, a team that has got character, and you wouldn't have seen that in the second half if that wasn't the case. So our guys, they'll play. They'll play hard.”
On ways to speed up the long offensive drives:
“We wanted to help ourselves with protection in the last ball game, because of the multiple looks they gave to get us in the right protections or in the right run looks. So we're going to continue to look at those things to help us. We did some tempo in the game trying to get on the ball, and it helped us on a couple runs and a couple throws. So we'll continue to mix some tempo along with some look back at some things.”
On linebackers struggling due to offensive lineman coming at them:
“I was referring more to the Missouri game. If you're in what we would call a three technique, and you're covered on the guard; your job, unless we're in movement defensively, is to strike the guard. And you want to demand a double team from the guard and the tackle or some combination of front-side or back-side, unless it's just a strait zone scheme and it's a one man block. In too many situations in the Missouri game, we didn't strike the guard, and we get what we call slipped - the guard goes straight to the linebacker and you've got a 310 pounder blocking a 230 pounder, it's usually not a good ending. So, when I talk about as far as playing blocks up front, that's what we've done well here. We didn't against Missouri very well at all; at LSU we got reach sometimes on the edges, but when you have free runners on your linebackers, you can't play like that and it's really hard. We did a better job in the Georgia game, we got cut out of some gaps here and there and (Todd) Gurley made a couple nice runs; he's a good player. So those are things I thought we did a much better job with playing blocks in the last game.”
On how many more deep routes were called after the completion to Quinton Dunbar:
“Off the top of my head, we had two incompletes on the sideline to Quinton (Dunbar), we called another similar double post look two other times - one in a seven man protection and we gave up a sack and on the other Tyler (Murphy) ended up scrambling on the play and got a positive play out of it. So just off the top of my head, I don't have the stat sheet in front of me, I'd say another eight or 10 shots in the game. That's just what we were looking for; we had others called in the game that maybe the progression didn't take it that way based on the coverage.”
On teaching point for the deep routes that were missed:
“Again, it's not one thing; you don't put your hand on it and say 'this is it.' I mean, whether it's from a route running standpoint, they take away by coverage or they roll up on it, you have to be able to check the ball down or go back to the other side of the protection. We had an over route open late in the game that we missed, we need to hit that ball; that would have been a big-gainer and possible touchdown. So I mean it's different things, but when we get those opportunities we have to cash in on them.”
On penalties in key situations taking care of themselves:
“No, that's something we coach every day. Obviously we're not doing a very good job, it's something we emphasize, something we talk about. We talk about how it's an emotional game, there's going to be some things that we have to learn to walk away from those situations and it's something I'm going to address with the team again today.”
On status of Director of Player Personnel position on the staff: “
John Haskins resigned about 10 days ago or so, two weeks ago, and we have an opening right now, but I'm busy coaching the team, I don't have a whole lot of time.”
On when the position is targeted to be filled:
“I don't have a timetable at all.”
On how the empty position affects recruiting:
“We'll be fine. It's an administrative role that can't evaluate tape and those sorts of things, so we'll be fine.”
On Kelvin Taylor progressing in areas other than running the ball:
“He's done very well and that's been the step forward. I talked to Fred (Taylor) about it on Friday and as far as his protections and things are concerned, he's done a much better job with those things.”
On Kelvin Taylor being the guy moving forward:
“I mean he pretty much was on Saturday.”
On lineup changes this week at linebacker:
“Jarrad Davis is a guy we need to play a little bit more, but right now, I think Antonio (Morrison) and Mike (Taylor) have been solid. We'll get Darrin (Kitchens) back in there a little bit and get him more reps inside. Alex Anzalone is a guy that keeps coming along, and we have to continue to press him to give more and Neiron Ball has been playing on the outsid,e but he's a guy that plays inside in sub situations. So that combination of guys and play Jarrad Davis more.”
On Tyler Murphy playing through the A/C sprain in his shoulder:
“Well in the Missouri game it was a big effect, there's no question. He missed the whole week and he wouldn't say it, but he was under a lot of pain going into the game. I certainly think it has improved from there as far as the wear and tear in the game, and taking some shots. Obviously it has affected him; he won't say it but it has.”
On Murphy's shoulder injury affecting him throwing the deep balls:
“Certainly the accuracy from the deep ball standpoint will be affected, but the first throw looked good, so we just have to continue to take our shots.”
On Louchiez Purifoy's game and season:
“I thought he played well. The third down slant was defended very well; they had a pick route called out of the backfield and we worked on when it came off on (Todd) Gurley in man coverage, and made a nice play on our sideline. The sack was obviously a huge play, he came free on it. I think he continues to progress through the season and play well. I think the wrist obviously slowed him down a little bit; it was a little bit more serious than most people know, but he's come around and continues to improve and play well.”
On Louchiez Purifoy's wrist injury being a lingering issue:
“No, I think he's worked out of that now. I mean in the open week it was still a little bit of an issue, but as we've worn on, he's done better.”
On any other injuries:
“D.J. Humphries will be out this week, but other than that we should be fine.”
On Ahmad Fulwood becoming more involved in the offense:
“Yeah, he caught a nice slant the other day. He went over the middle on a slant play, had a couple of other things dialed up for him; we had a breakdown in protection on one and on the other they rolled the coverage that way. We wanted to try and get him the ball in those two situations, but they were just able to take it away in that situation. He's going to be a good football player; he just has to continue to play fast and block well on the perimeter and he's going to be a really good player.”
On Ahmad Fulwood playing more the rest of the season:
“Yeah, he played 28-30 snaps the other day, so he's continuing to get more snaps as we move forward.”
On assessing Antonio Morrison and Mike Taylor's play and Morrison's play at mike linebacker:
“I don't know that it has been a learning curve; I think he's done a decent job. He missed some tackles Saturday, but that was uncharacteristic for him. He had the first drive down on the goal line, we had a free hitter at the point of attack and we have to make that play; a screen pass on the second drive coming out, we had a missed tackle on that; and I think there was one other in the game that I thought was pretty critical that we needed to make that. But again, I think Antonio (Morrison) has been steady, I think we put a lot on the mike linebacker as far as directing our defense and front-wise and movement and things we do, so he's got a lot on his plate. I think Mike (Taylor) has done a nice job when he's slid in there and played some in the middle, which is more his natural position. But again, I've been pretty pleased with the steady play of them. I think it's a little unfair at times, especially in the Missouri game, it's hard to play. If we don't play well up front and you don't play blocks, it's very difficult. Our front played better the other day as far as playing blocks and keeping them off the second level.”
On Trenton Brown's performance:
“Well I think we improved and I think Trenton (Brown) did some nice things. He's a big man, he's a large body, it's hard to get on the edges on him, and I thought he protected well. They got him one time on the hold, which was a good call; they bent the edge on him there and he got his hand locked around the guy on his shoulder up there. But again, for a first start going into that environment, I thought he played well.”
On being more discouraged by the beginning of the game or more encouraged by the second half comeback:
“I'm just discouraged about the disappointment of losing the game. You know, if you put yourself in an opportunity to go win the game, then you need to go do it. And that's what I'm disappointed with.”
On why the kickoff was deferred to the second half given the slow defensive starts:
“Well a lot of it, it's game-to-game. Number one, it's not something we always try to do, sometimes they win the toss and they defer or they take the ball. But the other situation on Saturday and the last ball game is there's a wind factor. We wanted the wind in the fourth quarter. And sometimes the wind comes in through the stadium from the North side to the South end zone, and we wanted to make sure we got the wind in the fourth quarter Saturday. It's a game-to-game thing.”
On any advantage to playing common opponents to Vanderbilt from a strategy standpoint:
“More than anything is schematically what the other teams do. I mean if you play a team that maybe you have a common opponent with but they don't do what you do on defense or special teams or offense or whatever, then you're not going to pull much from the tape. Depending if you're playing a defensive team that has an odd front and you're an even front team, they're going to block things differently based on that. So it depends on the scheme more than it does the common opponent.”
On the second half against Georgia being the best out of the three-game losing streak being encouraging at all:
“No. The point is to win the game and we didn't do it, so we just need to build on the positives and correct the negative things and move forward.”
On kicking Frankie Velez from the 30 and in and Austin Hardin from the 30 and out:
“We're going to look at it again this week. It has been really an open competition through the week, and Frankie (Velez) has been more accurate inside and Austin (Hardin) outside. And we're going to continue to look at it.”
On Brad Phillips being in the mix:
“Not at this time, those guys have kicked a little better and performed a little better in practice.”
On moving forward with the simplified offensive plans:
“Well we need to continue to improve, and I think we made some of the improvements we needed to. We improved our protection and ran the ball better, so we have to continue to create some more explosives. When I say simplifying, I think more than anything, instead of taking eight or nine run concepts into a game, you take four or five. So you're able to better block the looks and give up less negative plays which we did. So those are things to me as much as anything.”
On offensive line rotation when D.J. Humphries returns from injury:
“That's a practice-to-practice, gam- to-game operation. Again, we have to continue to get the best five out there, and at the time if that's the best five, that's what we'll do.”
