Coach Fedora Weekly Media Conference Quotes...Nov. 23, 2009
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 23, 2009
Southern Miss Head Coach Larry Fedora
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Opening statement:
"We played well in a lot of areas. We made quite a few plays in the game that we needed to make. Eventually, we started to play well in all of our areas. The thing I'm most proud about is the way we finished the game. I was very concerned going in (for the rain delay) with 13 minutes left in the game and seeing how we were going to come back and how we were going to respond after sitting in there for 45 minutes. We came back and gave up a big play, but stepped up in the red zone. I was proud of what our defense did there and how they finished the game. Going into the game and the last 3-4 weeks have been about finishing and I was proud of how they finished. There were some big things individually from some of our guys. Peter Boehme had an excellent game and really did a great job for us with field position and everything with his punting. DeAndre Brown really played a great game for us. Not only in his receiving but he did a tremendous job blocking. (Tracy Lampley) continues to make plays for us. Our kickoff return team had some big plays. Overall, it was just a great win for us that we needed to get."
On adjustments made at halftime:
"The biggest part (of their success in the first half) was not being able to substitute and get our personnel groups in the way we wanted to in the first half. What we did was just decide that we were not going to change personnel groups. We were going to play it no matter what personnel they came into the game with. I think our guys settled down then. They weren't as anxious trying to get a call in versus (Tulsa's) tempo. I thought in the second half we handled it a whole lot better."
On the benefit of a strong kickoff return team:
"That's been throughout the season. Both those return teams have done a tremendous job. They've put us (in some good field position). The punt return that Lampley got 27 yards on was a safe situation where we stuck him back there because they still had the quarterback in the game and punted the ball. We feel pretty good if they are going to have five offensive linemen out there trying to cover with him out there. Both of our return teams continue to make big plays for us. That's hidden yardage in a game. Those are huge chunks of land, or terrain, that we get to pick up in those types of situations."
On what former Golden Eagle QB and current General Jeff Hammond said to the players before the game:
"I wish (the media) could have sat in here or filmed it because it made the hair of the back of your neck stand up. There's no doubt why the man is a general. The way he commands respect and the things that he says are just unbelievable. I didn't say a word afterwards other than 'Let's Go' because I didn't want to bring (the players) down and anything I would've said would have brought them down. There's no match to what his message was."
On the team controlling its own destiny:
"Yeah. Here we are at the end of November, I believe, now because they told me it was Thanksgiving this week. We're exactly where we said we wanted to be. We wanted to be playing for it at this time of the year. Again, I'm proud of the players because they are the ones who put us in this position. I'm proud of our coaches because they are the ones who have put the hours in and their families are the ones who've sacrificed so they could put the hours in. They've done a great job of putting us in this position. We know we're going to have to go out there and play our best game of the season, and we're due because we haven't done that this season yet."
On how the team has handled the season thus far:
"The thing that pops into my mind is adversity. This team has had a lot of adversity this season of all different kinds from season-ending injuries, some very heartbreaking close losses, the tragedy we had to deal with, and probably a lot of people on the outside maybe giving up on them. Whether or not people think that affects them, it does. Our guys have been very resilient and have persevered. They have stayed focused. Again, I commend the staff for keeping the guys focused and keeping their eyes on the prize. It's been about the goal and not the obstacles. Once you focus on the obstacles, you forget about the goal. I think they've done a great job of keeping the blinders on and focused on winning the East."
On crediting other players on the return teams:
"Oh, all of those guys. If I could go back and show you, there were some great blocks (on the returns). Great blocks on everyone of those returns. We're knocking people on their back. The guys did a phenomenal job. There's a couple where a guy might miss a block but he goes and gets another block. Again, it goes back to them knowing (Lampley and Freddie Parham) can make a play. It just gives them that much more energy because there's hope. 'If I just stay on my guy a little bit longer or go a little bit harder, this thing can do the distance.' I think that's why those guys have done such a good job.
"I think that's why (Tulsa) squibbed it that one time, that's why they bounced it one time, and that's why they sky kicked it that one time, but Lampley still got over there and got it and brought it back to almost the 40-yard line. He almost broke that one. Obviously, (the return teams) are very dangerous and can go at any time so it creates a problem for opposing kickoff teams. They have to be creative with where they put the ball."
On East Carolina:
"This is (Head Coach Skip Holtz's) best football team. They are very, very talented in just about every area. They are big. They can run. The quarterback is in his sixth-year. He is really making plays for them. You take the Virginia Tech game out and about the last four or five games, they're averaging 40 points a game. They feel like they're clicking in all areas on offense. They're the No. 1 defensive team in the league. Their special teams are very, very sound. They are very well coached. He has done a tremendous job recruiting for that program and getting good players in there."
On having a 7-game winning streak at East Carolina:
"It's just a stat to be honest. It's not something we've focused on because it's all been about being 1-0 (at the end of the week). If you're 1-0, you're OK. The whole focus has been on being 1-0 (each week) and finishing. That's this week. We've got to finish. That's what it's all about.
"They haven't talked about it. I haven't talked about it. If you really think about it, 2007 or 2008 have no impact on this game, much less all those years before. I really don't think what happened in 1994 (the last time USM lost in Greenville) is going to have much outcome in this game. They're going to have a great crowd and this game is for everything. They're going to play their best and we're going to need to play our best."
On a player having multiple 90-yard touchdown receptions:
"I don't know (how rare something like that is.) It's not something I've kept up with. I know when (Offensive Coordinator Darrell Wyatt) called it, before Martevious threw it, he was already saying 'We've got another one' in the headset. He felt like it was there and it was. He was very comfortable with the call and the guys just executed it."
On play of DeAndre Brown:
"Yeah, I think (it's a 'shot-in-the-arm' for the offense), and it's a 'shot-in-the-arm' for him also. Just knowing that he's back and he's finally back to where he was. I would have to say he's beyond that, because for him to be where he was, he would have to be 218 lbs. and he's 238 lbs. now. He's bigger. He's stronger, and he's just as fast."
On any similarities being this season's ending and last season ending:
"No because we're not finished yet. Maybe after the season is over, that will be something that I can reflect on, but we've got so much work to do and we still have to win three games."
On Thanksgiving plans:
"[Laughing] Practicing. My take on that is you have to make sure you're thankful every day because if you have a game that week, it's hard to focus on Thanksgiving."
On opposing team's using a passing offense lately:
"We've got to do a much better job against it. Maybe that's what East Carolina will try to do, I don't know. I know Skip believes in running the football and always has. I still think that's going to be what they'll try to do. I think they'll be balanced. I don't think, and I may be surprised, that they're going to come out and try to throw it 50-something times a game. Who knows what the situation will be. I think they're make up might be different."