University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Football Coach Jeff Bower' Weekly News Conference
9/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Head Football Coach Jeff Bower's Weekly News Conference
?We?re glad there is going to be a game this Saturday. We know who we?re working on this week. This time last week there was a lot of uncertainty, and we didn?t know what was going on. We gave our players off Wednesday and Thursday, and then returned to practice Friday and Saturday, before giving the players Sunday off. We?ll resume practice today for Tulane. The time off gave some of our players time to get healthy and get over some nagging injuries. We will go hard in practice this week to get ready for a much improved Tulane team.?
On Tulane:
?Tulane was much better in their second game than their first game. They threw the ball well and their running back is averaging over five yards a carry. They have experience on the offensive line. Roydell Williams is a difference maker at wide receiver, but he has been hurt a little bit. He didn?t play last week and he has not caught a pass this season. They will try to get him the ball. Defensively, they are playing well. They have 12 sacks so far this year. They?re playing three true freshmen at defensive line, but they have experience at linebacker and in the secondary.
?They?re not giving up a lot of yards. They always play well in the Superdome. We weren?t very successful two out of the last three times in the Superdome. It will be a tough challenge for our players. The biggest thing is that it is a Conference USA game. It?s our first conference game. We haven?t played in a few weeks, so we?ll have to get ourselves ready to play. I expect the players to be ready to play. We need to have a good week in practice. Preparation is everything. Our players need to get focused after not playing last week and be ready to go. We as coaches need to do the same thing.?
On Being Concerned With Having Only Played One Game:
?You can?t do much about it, and you try not to think about it. We just worry about what we can control and that?s getting ourselves ready to play.?
On Tulane Not Playing Last Week:
?They are in the same situation we are, but they?ve played a few more games than we have. I?m sure they got out of a routine like we did. The way it all worked out, with us being able to give our players some time off, was good.?
On Tulane?s Offense And The New Quarterback Operating It:
?It?s the same. There may be one or two different things, but it is basically the same. They?ve always had a good offense. They?ve always had good quarterbacks.?
On Being Concerned With Stopping The Run:
?Yes. We?ve talked about it from day one that we need to do a better job against the run. So far, we haven?t shown that.?
On Where Howard Overby Is A Back-Up:
?Howard is behind John Eubanks. James Nelson is behind Caleb Hendrix.?
On Playing In The Superdome:
?We weren?t ready to play down there two years ago, and that?s my fault. I?m going to work hard this week to make sure that doesn?t happen again.?
On How The Game Two Years Ago Was His Fault:
?I don?t know, but I guess I just didn?t do a good job. I?ve got to do a better job and we as a coaching staff have got to do a better job. We?ve all got to be responsible. The players have got to do a good job of practicing this week. I say that over and over, but preparation is everything. If you want to play well on game day, you?ve got to have a great week of practice.?
On If The Atmosphere In The Superdome Is Tough From A Lack Of Attendance Standpoint:
?Not really. We?ve always had a big crowd there. I hope a lot of our fans will make the short trip down to the Superdome. It would be great for us. We don?t play a home game until October. This will be the closest thing to it. Our fans have always been great as far as traveling down there, and I?m sure this year won?t be any different.?
On If The Team Is Anticipating The Second Game:
?I hope so. I?m looking forward to seeing the players today to see how we respond in practice. We know we?re going to play. That?s the great thing. There was a lot of uncertainty last week. There is no uncertainty this week.?
On If Any New Injuries Have Been Sustained:
?No. We?re good from an injury standpoint.?
On John Archie:
?He?s coming along well. We may get him back in the next two-to-three weeks. He has worked hard in his rehabilitation, and has made a lot of strides.?
On If A Medical Redshirt Will Be Taken On Seth Cumbie:
?Yes. We will do that. The surgery went fine, and he?s doing well. I saw him Saturday at practice. He?s doing well, and he wants to come back, and it?s just a formality of applying. His situation will be similar to Corey Yates.?
On If John Archie Will Still Be At Linebacker:
?Yes.?
On Recruiting In
?We will recruit down there this weekend. We?re going to hit south
On Recruiting More In
?There are good players down there. The coaching is good there. I think playing Tulane in close proximity down there is good for us. We?ve managed to get some players from that area, and we?ve made some in-roads.?
On If Anything Was Accomplished Last Week:
?Yes I think we did. We didn?t practice long on Friday and Saturday. We wanted to go short and fast, and get a great effort. Our Friday practice wasn?t good, but I think that was because we were off on Wednesday and Thursday. The team picked it up on Saturday. We?ve finalized our game plan for Tulane.?
On The Calling Of Player Numbers On Penalties:
?I don?t like it. These kids are amateurs, and I don?t think you single them out. I think it could be detrimental to some of these kids. They?re still kids, and they?re young. Because of that, there is a chance that there could be some repercussions and some negative feedback. I don?t think the players are deserving of that.?
