University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower's Weekly Press Conference
9/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Opening Statement:
"It was a good win. We played well in the game. It was solid effort in all three phases of the game. We stopped the run, which was our objective going into the game. I thought we had a lot of balance on offense, but ran the ball extremely well against a talented defense. For the most part, the kicking game was solid. We had a good kickoff return and we had a punt return negated by penalty. We had two low blocks on the play. That is uncalled for. You've got to play up high. We had a few unsportsmanlike penalties, which concerned me. One of them, gave them great field position which they scored on. We've got to eliminate them. Those are not smart plays. We've got to be smarter and eliminate those penalties that can be crucial. It was a good performance and I saw a lot of guys do some good things."
Players Of The Week:
"On offense, we gave it to our entire offensive line. We rushed for 261 yards and did not give up a sack. The one sack that we had, it was a running back missing protection. They really did a good job. On defense, we had co-players of the week. Martavius Prince played 56 snaps, graded 80 percent, had a tackle, two assists, an interception, three quarterback knockdowns, a half sack and two extra efforts. He really played well. Jasper Faulk played 56 snaps, graded 88 percent, three tackles, one assist, three pass breakups and an interception. On special teams, it was Brandon Sumrall. He had a return for 49 yards on kickoff return."
On Preparation For The Week And UCF:
"I thought our guys played. There are areas that we need to continue to improve in. in getting ready for UCF, we're going to work a little bit today. They have the same team as last year. They have everyone back, with nine starters on each side of the ball. They have a lot of experience. We all know that they became a very good football team last year. This game, along with the Tulsa game, are pivotal games I think. They are the two teams that played in the championship game last year and they are on the road. We've got to get ready to go. We've got to continue to be the best prepared team every single day. That's the key to being successful on game day. We've got to have another great week of practice to get ready for UCF. They are a good football team."
On Preparing Any Different Now That Conference USA Play Starts:
"No. You prepare the same, no matter who you play."
On Injuries:
"Larry Thomas, I don't know about him. He had a pretty good concussion. I would say he's questionable for this game. We'll know something more definite today. Sean Merrill hurt an ankle, but he didn't have any swelling and the x-ray was negative. We will probably hold him out today and see how he comes along. He should be fine. Ladarius Webb has a bruised foot. He probably won't do much today, but he should be fine. Chris Clark had some cramps. We've got to put more fluid in him. We can't drink for them. They've got to do it. You're at the point in the season now, where that shouldn't be happening."
On Damion Fletcher's Unsportsmanlike Penalty:
"You really can't see on tape. I don't know what he did. He made some kind of symbol with his hands. You can't draw attention to yourself. They got Sean Merrill for 15 yards for retaliation. He was guilty. Most of the time, they only see the retaliation. That's what they saw. It could've been offsetting, but I guess they didn't see that."
On The Offsetting Pass Interference Call:
"No. I haven't seen one like that before. I know the defense was a good call. You can't see on tape where it was on offense. I'm not saying it wasn't, the referee had a better view than what you can see on tape. You can see that there is some contact, but you can't see the hands or anything like that. I'm sure it was a good call."
On Jerome Lyons:
"He had that knee injury. He had a bad knee and it has been a long recovery for him. I think he's getting closer to being 100 percent. From a speed standpoint, I don't know if he's at the same speed before the knee injury. He's just come on and has gotten better. He played well in the game. He's a smart player and is instinctive. I think he is a physical player. He played well."
On Gerald McRath:
"James Denley is playing well, Gerald isn't doing bad. Gerald just doesn't look like the old Gerald moving around. I don't know if it's the hamstring. He played 17 snaps in the game and James got 25. Gerald played pretty well. He had a tackle for loss, a flush and a half sack. He did a good job."
On If Martavius Prince Has Been A Surprise:
"No. We expect a lot out of him. We had high expectations of him coming into the year. He's a smart player. He's grown up and has played better than he's ever played. He can play better, but he's done a good job and has played consistently well so far."
On What Improvements He'd Like To See:
"I liked our effort. We need to be more consistent, more than anything else. We need to play better with our eyes on defense. We made some mistakes back there and our eyes got us in trouble. The first touchdown, we're supposed to have a guy in the middle of the field, but his eyes were off and he got out of his area. We've got to eliminate those breakdowns. Offensively, we didn't give ourselves a chance to make some plays, because we had a bust here or there. We had some missed assignments. That's where I want to see us improve."
On If The NC State Win Increased Expectations From The Outside:
"I don't know. I'm just worried about our guys. It's ok to have high expectations of yourself and this football team, and I think our players do. But you have to keep things in perspective. It's a long season. I think we beat a talented team that is obviously struggling. We had a lot to do with that based on how we played. We're now playing two teams that are playing in the Conference USA championship last year, so you're finding out more about your team. UCF has about everyone back. Our players need to be smart enough to understand that preparation is everything. How you perform on game day is based on how you perform throughout the week. That's what we need to continue to take care of and do a good job in. There are always areas where you can improve. We need to continue to do that."
On Ball Security And The Larry Thomas Hit:
"Ball security in the game was better, although we did have the one fumble. I can't blame Larry Thomas on that. He was out. He just went limp when he got hit. That was a heckuva lick. I didn't see it, but I heard it. It was a big time lick. It even bent his facemask. He got hit right on the side of the temple. That's a vulnerable spot there. I hope we are going to get him back for this game. We need to."
On Who Moves Up Behind Damion Fletcher If Thomas Can't Go:
"Conrad Chanove will be second then CJ Barrows behind him. We're going to keep working Tory Harrison. You'd like to keep the redshirt on him, but if Larry can't go, we'll have Tory ready to go just in case."
On The Extra Days Before Next Tuesday's Game:
"We're pretty healthy. We're going to do a few things today. We're going to give the players off on Tuesday. I don't know about Wednesday. I'd like to do some things on Wednesday. It's still early in the season, it will give us a opportunity to work on some things to get better."
On If He Expects To See More Men In The Box On Defense Based On Damion Fletcher's Success:
"We haven't had this situation in a while, where we've run the ball as well as we have. So yes, you're going to see seven or eight men in the box based on the formation. When that happens, you'll have more single coverage out wide. Throwing and catching becomes more important. Then it might be more of a throwing game."
On Play Calling:
"Jay Johnson is making the calls. I sit in some offensive meetings when I can. Jay and I talk. We have input from the offensive staff. I suggest things at time. Jay has done a great job. I thought he did a good job last year calling plays. The difference now, is that we have a running game. We've got a running back that is getting further than the blocking is getting him. When you can run like that, it makes it easier to call a game. It makes your play action more effective. Running the ball makes those things look better."
On Damion Carter:
"He's playing better. He really is. That was a big-time catch in the third quarter. I thought Anthony Perine gave us really good effort. He had seven knockdowns in the game. We're playing with good effort. The running back makes the wide receivers play with good effort, because we're getting into the secondary more than we have. They know they've got to be on top of their game blocking."
On Bobby Weakley:
"He played well. I was proud of him. He did a good job of blocking out in the edge. Conrad Chanove did some good things. He makes plays, the little guy does."
On Confidence Not Getting To Cockiness:
"You like to develop confidence. Again, I think you've got to be smart. You've got to lean on your older and more mature guys that have been in the situation before. Every week is a new week. I go back to the preparation. You better come back to earth quick and get ready for the next game. We're playing a good football team at their place, and it's a league game."
On UCF's Stephen Moffett:
"He's a playmaker and a good quarterback. He has a lot of experience. They are doing the same things they're doing last year. He spreads the ball around well. He's a good player and an athletic quarterback. He can pull it down and run. He had a good year for them last year."
