University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Larry Fedora Weekly Media Conference Quotes...Oct. 4, 2010
10/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2010
Larry Fedora Weekly Press Conference Transcript...Oct 4, 2010
Opening Statement:
"After getting a chance to evaluate the film from Saturday night we were very pleased in the way the team played and to get a win. We played with a lot of passion and excitement, guys flew around and had fun Saturday night. That's what it is all about. We played Southern Miss-style football. I was pleased with the way the defense played and I think there were seven of the 12 series they forced three and outs. Offensively, early on, I really like the way we moved the ball and were finishing drives but there were a few penalties there I would like to have gotten back which killed some things. On special teams, we made another big play with the blocked punt, but we cannot win games by snapping punts over people's heads (leading to a safety) and giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown. We have to get better in that area and we will. Overall, I was very pleased with the way our football team played."
On the penalties in the game:
"It was a combination of things throughout the game. Some of them were over aggression, some were the way the flow of the game was allowed to go and then some were just stupid, bonehead mistakes."
On the health of the team:
"We just did not feel like it would not be worth what we could get out of DeAndre (Brown) in the game. We are day-to-day this week (with him), but a lot closer that we were last week. He just has a lot of pain that he has to be able to handle, which affects the way he runs. Obviously, if he cannot run effectively then he cannot help us.
"Quentin (Pierce) felt a lot better this morning that he did last Monday, I am not sure what that means because he has been rolled up on that same leg in every game. It is going to be one of those deals where it probably is not going to heal this season and he is going to have to play with the pain, and he has done a great job of that so far.
"I think Joe (Duhon) is day-to-day right now. He is questionable at this point for this week. If he cannot do something pretty effectively tomorrow and be ready to go full on Wednesday, then he probably will not go against East Carolina."
On TE Johdrick Morris:
"If you remember last year, early in the year, he was having a heck of a season then he got the concussion and it took a while to get him back. Even when he got back, he was not the same person until we got to the end of the season. Unfortunately, the injury was what kept him from playing like this last year.
"He has done a great job blocking this season, 90 percent of that is will. He has developed the will to want to be a good blocker. Probably 5 percent of that is being an athlete and having good feet and he has that. He has done a good job blocking so far."
On the play of the defense through the first five games:
"We have some speed on defense and have some guys who can run. They guys up front have done a great job of bouncing plays and making teams run east and west so our guys can run them down. Really right now they are playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of trust in each other. It is fun watching them play right now.
"We see the same thing in practice. One thing we do, we pride ourselves in practicing hard and they know that anything less is unacceptable and have been practicing hard each and every week. But at the same time, they know that we are not going to play a game on Tuesday or Wednesday and we have to build it up throughout the week. It does not mean we do not practice hard but that we are going to build it up as we go and explode on Saturday.
"Not only (about our) defense, but the game is all about momentum, no matter what phase of the game it is. If you are playing well and putting game after game together, you just start rolling and getting confidence. Guys start believing in each other and there is just a little more pep in their step. They know that each guy will get the job done and make a play when we need a play. That is true in all three phases of the game."
On East Carolina:
"They have a total change of scheme and personnel basically. They had 28 seniors last year and most of them were starting so it's a totally new team. It is Ruffin McNeill's team and those guys know what it takes to win a conference championship and we have to go through them.
"Offensively they are a lot like Texas Tech was. They are doing a lot with tempo. Defensively, they are doing more then they did at Texas Tech."
On the East Carolina Offense:
"I think that ECU is really good on offense, there is no doubt about that. They throw the ball around and have done a really good job this season with it. Now whether it's the biggest test this year or not, we know that ECU has won the conference each of the last two years and if we want to win the East we have to go through them. So it's a big game for us. It's a big game, because it is the next game.
On having a balanced offense:
"I think it is critical. We have to continue to do a great job just moving the chains and making sure we are converting in those critical situations on third down that we are converting. That is what moves the clock. We do not sit back and say we are just going to eat up the clock, that is not what we do in this offense. We want to move the chains and score points and if we continue to do that we will be successful in that area."
On how things have settled in year three at Southern Miss for Fedora:
"You are seeing the guys grow up and grow into what we want them to be. We have seen some flashes off it the past couple of years but it just takes time. The guys are maturing and the only negative thing right now is the injuries. Like I said at the beginning of the year, if we can get healthy and stay healthy, then I thought we had a chance to be a good football team. I also said at that time that I thought the defense would be the strength of our team and I still believe that at this point. It will also continue that way throughout the season."
On last year's ECU Game:
"There is no doubt our guys remember, because we believed that we were going to go in there and win that game at ECU. We played well, but made some mistakes. We put the ball on the ground going into the end zone and had the PAT blocked and returned for two points when we were about to go ahead. There were things that went on in that game that we controlled and did not handle well. I am sure our guys remember that situation."
On the defense turning the corner:
"It is rewarding to know that all of the hard work that Coach Bradford and that staff have put in are paying off. I hear something every day about `wow you are blitzing more' and doing this and that, but we really are not. We are doing the same things and doing the things that we have believed in from the start. The guys are just growing up and growing into the system. They understand the system and are playing well with confidence. They are having fun playing the game and that is the way it should be."
