University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Jeff Bower Weekly News Conference for Nov. 7
11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -
Jeff Bower's Weekly Press Conference 11/7/06
Opening statement:
"I thought we played pretty well in the game, and we really needed that win. Hopefully, we'll gain some confidence from it offensively. It was a really good first half, scoring on 5-of-6 possessions. We didn't play as well in the second half; we started out poorly in the second half. The first three plays, we had missed assignments. We didn't convert some third downs where we had open receivers, but I think overall it was a good game. Tory Harrison did a nice job. I thought we played better out wide. Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. That's a good team that has moved the ball on everybody; they had almost 500 yards on Marshall. I thought we played the pass pretty well - 12-for-34 is what they completed. That's good defense. We didn't give up as many (big) plays as we have, and that was one of our goals and objectives defensively. We've got to do better in our coverage units. We kicked the ball better; we punted better. It was a good win for us."
Players of the week:
"On offense, George Batiste played 63 snaps, graded 79 percent, and had eight pancakes, three cuts and three knockdowns. He really played well and played really physical. On defense, Jasper Faulk played 65 snaps, graded 88 percent, and had three tackles, an assist and four passes broken up. On special teams, Jasper Faulk had three returns on punt for 35 yards. He did a good job with all of that rugby punting; they were punting the ball different places. He did a good job of positioning himself to get the ball and a couple of times keeping it from rolling and them getting big punts. I thought he played well in the game."
Injuries:
"No major injuries; Chris Johnson banged up an ankle. Brandon Davis hurt his shoulder, but there's nothing that will hold anybody out of this game. We should be in pretty good shape there."
On Tulane:
"Tulane is 3-6, but has played a really difficult schedule. They're very good on offense and have moved the ball on everybody. Their quarterback's (Ricard) playing really well. The running back's averaging 100 yards a game and it's a good group of receivers. They've spread it around; they're very good on offense. Defensively, I think they're very active with a lot of movement. We've got a lot of things to prepare. They make it tough from a preparation standpoint, and they're always a good home football team. You turn the tape on, and you're impressed at how hard they play. During the Auburn game, they had two receivers that had over 100 yards. They had a back with over 100 yards, and I know that's a good defense there. It gives you an indication of how good they are on that side of the ball."
On the missed assignments in the beginning of the second half at Memphis:
"It's hard to tell, and I don't want to term it `sloppy' play because it was one guy here and one guy there. We just had some miss assignments there, and I don't think it was anything else. Then, on the third-down conversion, we had two receivers that were really wide open, but we just don't get the ball to them. We didn't execute as well as we did the first half."
On how to get the offense to stay consistent:
"Practice"
On if Cooley's return made an impact on the team: "I think it was a big impact:
"He's an intelligent player, physical and he's played so much football. He's got experience. I was really proud of him; he sucked it up. He's a tough guy. I like players like that. Chanove is another guy. You don't know this, but Chanove banged a knee against knee in Wednesday's practice and didn't even practice Thursday. It bloomed up. He busted a bursae in there, and I had my doubts about him. He played and did well."
On the running back situation:
"We're going to do like we did; they both played pretty well. For whatever reason - I guess luck of the draw - whenever Tory was in there, there were some big holes. Damion didn't have that when he was in there. They both ran well. Damion had some missed assignments in the game, which is unlike him. He's got to bear down and improve on that. We're going to play then both."
On Stephen Reaves' playing time:
"We wanted to get him some time, and we'll do it again this week. I don't know when we'll go tell him, but he's going to play. That's the plan."
On Jeremy Young's performance:
"He played well, especially in the first half. He missed some throws there in the second half. There's no doubt that toe is bothering him. I studied him on tape, and he's having a hard time shifting that weight. Some of the throws sailed on him a bit, and I think that's from not being able to shift all of the weight on that front foot. He did a good job and made a big throw to Perine. Perine was about four or five yards behind the guy, and we didn't firm up our protection. There's a guy right at Jeremy's feet and by the time he got in the position to throw, Perine was so far down the field. Anthony did a good job of coming back and getting the under throw."
On waiting for Perine to do something big:
"Yes, and he played better in the game. Our receivers have been the most inconsistent players on our offense. When they come to play, it makes a difference in your offense. I thought those guys did a good job, and I thought Perine played hard in the game."
On if the team played harder because of the loss to East Carolina:
"I think so. If you've got any pride to you, and you're used to winning, and expect to win and want to compete for a championship. I thought maybe that played into it. Plus, there was a lot of respect for Memphis. I know they've had a tough year with injuries and things like that, but they're still an offensive football team that's given everybody problems."
On Memphis changing their defense after the pass to Jonathan Palmer:
"That was a read. It had to be a busted coverage. It was a read."
On Gerald McRath's performance: "He's playing well. When he's been in there, he's played. When you play teams that do a lot of the things we've seen the last couple of weeks, that's a little bit more his game, more so than Jerome Lyons. That's why he's getting more play. Jerome is probably a little bit better against power teams and things like that; a true middle linebacker."
On what to look for when recruiting linebackers:
"You're always looking for guys that fit that position. I think that we'll continue to put an emphasis on speed. You like to have a bigger guy in there that can run, but speed is the most important thing."
On if they will put an emphasis on recruiting from JUCO:
"In certain positions, I think we will. We'll look at some guys there in junior college."
On what makes a defense good:
"I think if you hold somebody under 300 yards, you play pretty well defensively. You're going to be rated pretty high in the country."
On playing in the Superdome:
"I think everybody's a little bit better at home. You've got the crowd on your side and familiar surroundings. They've always been a good team in the Dome."
On holding teams to 21 points or less: "I think we've been solid there. There's always an area that you want to continue to improve in. The think we did this past week was to limit big plays in the game. Even when the big 6-foot-8 guy goes up over Jasper; I think Jasper tried. We should've had a safety back there, and we should've had some help back there. We improved on that."
On the questionable call in the endzone: "It wasn't a catch. You've got to come down and control the ball after hitting the ground. It's not a new rule; it's an interpretation. It's happened to us a couple of times this year."
On drops in the endzone:
"We did it again this game. We've got to catch that ball.
