University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower's Weekly Press Conference
9/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Opening Statement:
"We were generous in the game. We made too many mistakes, too many dropped passes. We never did anything to create any field position. We got backed up in the second quarter especially. We made some critical penalties. They hurt us in the game. We made one on a kickoff return that backed us up, and we made a few offensively. I think we gave up too many big plays defensively. We played really well in spurts. We had some missed assignments in the secondary and we didn't cover like we're capable of. You can't give a good football team like that those opportunities, and we did.
We did a lot of good things in the game. We ran the ball very well in the second half. We had two long drives in the fourth quarter to get into the red zone, but we didn't score any points. We've got to score points. There were some bright spots. Martavius Prince and Vontre Mason both had good games defensively. Brandon Sumrall did some good things. I was impressed with Damion Fletcher. He was poised for a true freshman in that environment. He played well for us. We've got to do some things better up front and we've got to get some better play from our wide receivers. I was disappointed there. When you play good football teams that blitz and play man-to-man, you've got to make some big plays. We really didn't have any in the game. The kicking game was solid. I thought Britt Barefoot had a good game, two kickoffs with one in the end zone and one we tackled at the nine-yard line. He had one punt that wasn't good, but overall, a 45.8-yard average. He did a good job.
We've got to get better. Our effort was good in the game, but we didn't make plays to give ourselves a chance to win. I know we're capable of being a good football team. I'll know more after this week. This is a big week for us. We've got to improve and get some things cleaned up."
Players Of The Week:
"On offense it was Damion Fletcher. He played 52 snaps, graded 80 percent. He had 18 carries for 89 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He caught two passes for 38 yards. Defensively, it was James Denley. He played well in the game. He played 29 snaps, graded 79 percent and had five tackles and one assist. He gave us great effort. On special teams it was Britt Barefoot. He had four punts for a 45.8-yard average. He also had two kickoffs, one for no return and one for a nine-yard return."
On Southeastern La.:
"I think they are a very good team. They have a lot of experience and a lot of returners. Defensively, they can run. They're going to blitz a lot. We've got to get ready for three and four down fronts and a lot of different blitzes. They're an experienced defense that runs well. You look at this football team, they blew out McNeese State last year. They beat a good Stephen F. Austin team. They were in the game against New Mexico State, it was 23-15 until late in the game. They played them tight. I think they're a good football team. They're good on defense with a lot of returning players, with a lot of juniors and seniors. They have experience. Offensively, they spread it out. They are doing more two-back than they did last year. They primarily spread it out and get rid of it quick. They're an up tempo, fast, no-huddle team. We've got some challenges there to work on. We need to improve this week. We've got to get better and score points. We've got to do things better than last week."
On If It Was First-Game Mistakes:
"A few of the penalties, I couldn't see to be honest. I'm not going to be too tough on the players for that. But the dropped passes, there's no excuse for that. They weren't rookies out there doing it. We've got to play better. Our tackles didn't play well offensively. Travis Cooley played well, but our tackles have to play better, along with our receivers. Jeremy Young did some good things, and I thought Stephen Reaves did as well. We missed some reads and some opportunities. For the most part, both of them showed a lot of poise. That was good to see."
On The Facemask Penalty:
"I don't know what happened. I didn't challenge it. The replay came from up top. I questioned them that you can't challenge a facemask call. What was funny, the player stepped out of bounds, but the ruling is that if the whistle doesn't blow and you have a penalty at the end of the play, even though he stepped out of bounds, there's a penalty. The whistle should've been blown. You can see it pretty clear on the tape that he stepped out of bounds. If the whistle is blown and it's called right, there's no penalty. They marked the penalty off five yards initially, review it, and then mark of 15 yards. I don't know."
On If Damion Fletcher Starts:
"Yes. We will start him."
Fletcher Getting Stronger:
"We made some adjustments at halftime that helped us run the ball better. He did a good job, and a really good job for a true freshman."
On The Development Of Ryan McKee:
"He's got to play better. He didn't have a great game against Florida. He's going to be a really good player and I think he's a good player. He's come a long way in a year. We didn't redshirt him last year. He's one of the only true freshmen to play on the offensive line over the years. He's got good ability and good size. He's got to be good for us."
On Any Other Changes:
"Not really. Reggie Scott has done a good job for us on special teams. He's a walk-on and we're going to get him more involved."
On Darren McCaleb's Missed Field Goal:
"He just pulled it a little bit. He had plenty of leg for it. He just missed it. That could've been a big play in the game. It would've been 14-10, we had a little momentum. We missed on some scoring opportunities."
On Jeremy Young's Interceptions:
"On one of them, it hit Chris Johnson in the chest. It bounced up in the air. It was a good throw. He had the one bad interception. The other was third and long, and they intercept it on the 13-yard line. You've got to punt on the next down anyway. We took a shot. He was late on a few throws. If he's on time, we makes some plays."
On If Operating In The Shotgun Formation Was To Help Young's Strengths:
"Yes. They blitzed so much in the field, we felt we were better off in shotgun. That's something we've been doing a lot of. We really didn't do anything different than what we have."
On How Many Flat Out Drops:
"I can't remember. I think there were four or five. Damion Fletcher had one on a screen. If he catches it, it would've been a big play. Shawn Nelson had one, but it was a penalty play. Chris Johnson, Josh Barnes both had one. There was another one somewhere."
On More Passes Than Runs In The Game:
"Some games, you go in thinking you need to throw it more. Florida's front seven is very good. That's the same group that allowed 90 yards rushing a game. But when you get behind like that, you've got to play catch-up. We want to be balanced, and I think we were for the most part, until we had to play catch-up."
On If The Play Of Fletcher Surprised Him:
"I guess so. For a true freshman, nothing fazes him. He isn't intimidated. He's poised, athletic and has learned fast. I didn't expect this."
On Injuries:
Yes, but we have some strep throat going around. We've got 10 guys out. I read that it was going around on campus. We didn't have anything last week. All of a sudden on the weekend, it's popped up. I don't know how many of those guys will practice tonight."
