Northwestern University Athletics
Weekly News Conference Transcript
10/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 5, 2009
Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Weekly News Conference Transcript
Opening Statement...
"Thanks everyone for being here. It's a great feeling to get a win, especially on the road. I really thought we played our best game of the year in the kicking game, played fast in kickoffs, we put the ball where we wanted it and covered it very well. Same thing on punt coverage, obviously we had a big fumble recovery by Demetrius Dugar and really that play was kept going by Quentin Williams, a big defensive end who's playing on our punt team. And the way that Stefan Demos kicked field goals was critically important, all those points matter in the game. In the special teams room we talk about everyone just doing their job. Unfortunately, football like life isn't a game of perfect but on special teams it needs to be. Stef really kicked the ball well.
On defense, I like the way we finished. On both defense and in the kicking game, to cause and create six turnovers, that's what we did. Our guys were ripping the ball out. Obviously it was a big pick by Sherrick (McManis) and then to recover all those fumbles that we created, I thought was a big step forward for our defense.
Offensively, it's great to put together a couple 10-plus play drives going but now we need to finish the job. I loved our response to show we're capable of finishing the job on the road. I'm looking forward to coming home and being back in front of our fans and our students for the second time. For us to get back we need to have fun and enjoy the pageantry of college football and I noticed that when we were down at Purdue, their fans were great, they were on me and I had fun with them. It's great to have our students back so we'll have fun with that."
On Arby Fields...
"I've had a lot of confidence with him since day one, he's becoming more confident too. I thought he played a pretty physical football game, protected pretty well and I thought he executed what we're asking him to do."
On Sherrick McManis' interception...
"It was a great play. He executed his technique and it's great to have him back out there. He's a playmaker, he's very physical, he can run with anyone in the country and he's a captain for a reason. It was a big play in the game in terms of momentum and obviously for us to go get points on the board was huge, especially considering what happened the play prior when we got shut out of the end zone. It was a big play."
On Miami (Ohio)...
"The offense is a lot better and (quarterback) Zac (Dysert) is playing well. He's a very athletic quarterback and you see when things break down he's able to make plays with his feet, we've seen that the last few weeks now. Their receiving corps is fast across the board, they're running empty, four-wide, they're getting their tight ends involved, they've got some gadgets that they're using. We faced their offensive coordinator when he was at Duke a couple years ago so we have some familiarity with things they want to do. They have some young guys up front, they're moving the ball. That game against Cincinnati, without the turnover in the end zone they're going in to score to make it a three-point game. This is a team that's improved each week it just hasn't shown up in the win column."
On the status of running back Stephen Simmons...
"When he was working out today I told him the only question I will get asked today is about you so can you give me a response so I can tell the media and our fans what you're going to do. He said, `Yeah, I'm going to play.' It will mean we get one of our weapons back. I thought at the start of the season he ran the ball really well and it will be great to get him back with some fresh legs. He hasn't played in three weeks while everyone else has been grinding through. I like the way Jacob (Schmidt) and Arby have played especially getting Jeravin (Matthews) back in the kicking game. Hopefully we'll also have Scott Concannon back, too."
On the difference in special teams coverage...
"There weren't as many (changes in personnel) as you would think. It was more in our attitude and want-to. We talked all week about wanting to see it in action or we were going to start seeing some changes in personnel in the kicking game. What we do and how we do it works, we just need to do it to the best of our ability. That typically starts with our attitude. It kind of started a little bit at the end of the Minnesota game and we kept it going and we just need to continue that momentum this week. It's taken us too long to get it going which is frustrating but I think we found it and we need to sustain it."
On playing another nonconference game after starting in the Big Ten...
"I don't think it matters. If you watch college football you know anyone can win on any given Saturday. The focus is on us and we aren't playing the way we're capable of playing. We need to get a lot better and it starts tomorrow morning in practice. I thought we had a good workout but there weren't a lot of guys walking around here saying we've arrived based on what the video showed. We have a lot of work to do. We know we're playing a Miami team that's gotten better every week and is very hungry to win so we need to match that hunger to give ourselves a chance to win."
On falling behind in three consecutive games...
"I would have been concerned if we hadn't found a way to win. That was one of those games for us and Purdue that could have gone either way where neither team is playing at the level we believe we're capable of but I thought it was a critically important win to go on the road, not play as well as we can early and then flip it over and give ourselves a chance to win I thought was something we can build upon, gain confidence with and hopefully carry over into practice and this Saturday at home."
On Mike Kafka's running the ball more at Purdue...
"I think it was combination of things. We felt like some of the things they were doing schematically we can take advantage of and then I thought Mike took what the defense gave him. There were some times their defense was a little over-aggressive and lost contain with their pass rush and Mike was able to run, which is a good sign. When he does run it gives us a true dual-threat with our quarterback. If you think back to the Minnesota game last week, I think he had eight big running plays and six of them were not by design. Mike just made a play. It's encouraging to see him have the confidence to go out and make things happen and I thought he made some good choices. There were some throws he'd like to have back but Mike's playing really well, he was our player of the game and he's managing our offense very well. He's just continuing to get better."
On NU's ability to stop the run vs. Purdue...
"I thought it was passion, aggression and the ability to tackle. We're giving up around 118 yards per game rushing and I don't think there's a cavernous hole in the dam, I think it's just explosion plays that we've given up that have hurt us. That typically comes from not being aggressive and fitting properly, not attacking the line of scrimmage as defensive linemen. Then not tackling and swarming in the secondary. I thought the last two second halves we've done that a little better and we need to be more consistent with that. Once we do I think we'll get our rushing yardage under 100 yards per game."
On the play of Nick Roach with the Chicago Bears...
"I'm very proud of Nick. I'm not surprised that Nick is having a great career with the Bears. Number one he's an extremely intelligent football player. I'm assuming he knows all three (linebacker) positions and he's also been playing in the kicking game for them. That's what he did here for us. He's really bright, understood concepts, fundamental and technique and he did what he was coached to do. Number two, he's really athletic and he plays football the way you want guys to play. He plays with passion and emotion. He's a great teammate, he doesn't speak a whole lot but when he does guys listen. He's a great guy to have in the locker room and I know the Bears are proud of how active he is in the community giving back the way he did when he was here. We couldn't be more proud to have a Northwestern graduate with the Bears, the team we root for and love every Sunday. Am I surprised? No. I`m just really proud of him and I know he's really happy to have an opportunity."
On the play of the offensive line...
"No one is playing really well right now and I'd say the collective group needs to play a whole heck of a lot better right now for us to run the ball and play the way we're capable of."
On linebacker David Arnold...
"We've got competition at that position, that's why he's starting right now, and I thought he played really well on Saturday. Not that Ben (Johnson) isn't playing well but we've got competition and we're going to put guys who are playing well consistently out on the field. I thought David stepped up and played really well in the kicking game, he was active and flying around and it's good to have him back. I told our coaches a few weeks back when we were having some injuries that they just had to stay the course, the cavalry's coming. I thought David was part of that. He's a playmaker for us, it hasn't been a yellow-brick road for him but he stayed the course and really stepped up, I'm proud of him."
On winning four of the last five Big Ten road games...
"I think we like playing on the road. It seems like we always play well on the road. Guys have good focus and they understand that we're going there for a business trip. We get them there a little bit earlier in the day so maybe I need to change our routine when we're here at home. I thought we've been pretty unflappable our two road tests; we haven't started the way we wanted to but we kept battling and given ourselves in both games to win. Fortunately for us on Saturday we got the job done."
On causing so many turnovers...
"It's something we've been preaching forever, about ripping and stripping the ball. You look at the interception by Sherrick, he stepped in front and made a big play. David Arnold slapped the ball out, big play. Brian Peters pulled the ball out when that was reversed, Brad Phillips comes in from the side and rips the ball out. Those are all big plays that are caused by guys going in and executing the technique that we talk about. We just need to keep stressing it. On defense you might give up some big plays but when you can get the ball back to your offense the way we did you give yourself a chance to win. The ball was on the ground seven times against Syracuse but we didn't get those plays, we got one in the Dome. You get just one of those and it's maybe a different outcome. You just stay the course. We've been going for the ball all year and it came out on Saturday and we had a lot to do with that."
On safety Brad Phillips' play vs. Purdue...
"He was our player of the game for the way he responded. It didn't start great for him but he just stayed the course and didn't let a bad play dictate the way he was going to play the rest of the game. That's what seniors do. He kept his attitude and played with a chip on his shoulder and I thought played his best game of the year. He's getting healthier and healthier. You can't diminish the fact that he had offseason surgery. He missed a lot of time in the offseason and it's good to get him confident and flying around. He's a guy who's made a lot of plays for us in his career and I thought played his best game of the year on Saturday."
On settling for field goals vs. Purdue...
"It's just execution of fundamentals, technique and concept. We had plays to be made and we have to make them. It's pretty simple, pretty cut and dry. There were plays on the first series where we should walk it in if we execute. We missed a couple shots and catches but when we didn't get the points as six we got them as three, and we gave ourselves a chance to win the football game. We got the job done."
On the possibility of using his personnel in a Wildcat package (and naming it)...
"Yes. Will it come up and where? I don't know but stay tuned. I'm not that creative so we'd probably just call it some crazy formation. We usually let our guys name our packages so they can remember them so whatever's easiest I guess. I'd rather just block people and run the ball I don't care how we do it."
