University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Football Coach Jeff Bower' Weekly News Conference
11/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Head Football Coach Jeff Bower?s Weekly News Conference Opening Statement: ?I thought our players played hard in the game. I thought our effort was there, and we played with some emotion in the game. I thought we played well in the first half. In the second half, we gave up two big plays, the long pass where we didn?t play the ball in the air very well, and the long run by Williams. For the most part, we didn?t tackle very well. Sometimes it was missed tackles, other times it was poor angles. I thought Players Of The Week: ?On offense, it was Antwon Courington. He played very well. He played 58 snaps and graded 87 percent. He had six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Michael Boley is the defensive player of the week. He played 76 snaps and graded 92 percent. He had seven tackles and six assists. On special teams, it was Brandon Sumrall. He did a great job on punt team, beating double teams and getting downfield to make two tackles.? On TCU: ?They are a 4-5 football team coming off a disappointing loss to On Injuries: ?I think we?re fine and didn?t sustain anything serious in the game. Marvin Young did not play very much in the game. He is not 100 percent with his toe and was very limited in the game. Other than that, we just had some minor injuries, but no one will miss practice time this week.? On The Chop Block Call Against Travis Cooley: ?It was a terrible, terrible call. I don?t mind being vocal about that one. I called our commissioner about that call. What we did, we were zone blocking and were trying to get our center up to the linebacker. They grabbed Addaryl Edwards by the pads and turned him back into that guy. Addaryl was trying to escape to get to the second level to block the linebacker. When you zone block, you have some defensive lineman that will grab and hold you to prevent you from reaching the linebacker. That?s what happened. It was a bad call. I?m not saying it was the difference in the game, but it was a bad call that cost us four points." On Almond?s Interception Throw: ?He was supposed to set up. He got out of the pocket and had good protection. I don?t know why he didn?t set his feet.? On The Secondary Playing Off The Ball: ?We were a little softer in this game. Some of that was by design, but the negative was we didn?t come up and tackle well. We should have, and we gave up too many yards after the catch.? On Why The Running Game Didn?t Produce The Entire Game: ?It was a lot of things, I?m not sure you can pinpoint it. We need to play better upfront. I thought Travis Cooley and Chris White played pretty well, but we?ve got to get five of them playing well in the game. We missed a cut here or there, but you can?t put your finger on one thing that happened. That?s got to be our strong suit offensively. We?ve got to be able to run the ball, and we need to be more effective doing it.? On What He Sees From TCU: ?They move the ball and score a lot of points. They are good in the kicking game and have a good punt returner in On Michael Boley Being Hurt In the Game: ?I think he strained some ligaments in his elbow, but he played with it for the rest of the game. I think he?s fine.? On Changing The Personnel In The Secondary This Week: ?I don?t know yet. We?re going to look at some personnel this week. It?s too early to make a decision right now, but we?re going to look a few guys there this week.? On Coverage By Howard Overby In the 68-yard ?He knocked one down in the end zone earlier, but that play was an easier one to make. I know we tried, but it didn?t happen.? On Putting The Losses Behind: ?You get tested, and you?ve got to be tough mentally. It?s a new week and a new opportunity. We?ve got an opportunity to win this game and two more. I think you?ve got to look at those things that can help motivate you. We played hard in the game, and I was pleased to see that. That?s what I want to see more than anything else for this coming game, is to get ready to play the way we did with that kind of effort. ?You?ve got to lean on your seniors and your leaders and good leaders will go out and have a lot of energy today at practice. It?s contagious. That?s what we need to do. What?s happened has happened to you, and you?ve got to learn from your mistakes and go forward. That?s what I?m expecting the team to do and I?m sure they will.?
