Northwestern University Athletics
Weekly News Conference Transcript
11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2009
Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Weekly News Conference Transcript
Opening Statement...
"I'd like to send a big thank you to our students for their support on Saturday, I thought it was a great atmosphere. With a little bit later kick a lot of them have a little bit more fun throughout the course of the day to prepare for the game. I can't say thank you enough to that group of our fan base. They've been really supportive since they've been here in class. I look forward to seeing them back here in a couple weeks as we finish up the home season.
An update on Mike (Kafka), he's feeling better today than he did yesterday and he was feeling better yesterday than he did Saturday. We expect him to go through some things in practice and hopefully a little bit more on Wednesday but at this point we expect Mike to play. The depth chart is listed as `or' and both guys are getting prepared to play. Mike and I just met again after going over some things and he's feeling pretty good considering where he was at on Saturday. That's encouraging. It's good news. I saw Sherrick (McManis) run around a little bit today so I'm feeling good about some of those guys. We'll try to get both of those guys ready to go on Saturday, it's going to be a huge challenge. We're playing a good football team. Kirk (Ferentz) and his staff have done a phenomenal job year-in and year-out. Iowa is one of those teams you can set your watch by what they're going to do from a schematic standpoint. They do what they do very well. They play well as a team, they've been opportunistic with the amount of turnovers that they cause, and up until last week they'd done a good job taking care of the football and they're very sound in the kicking game. Kinnick is one of the most difficult places to play in the country, not only the Big Ten. We'll have to have a great week of practice to prepare to go win there."
On NU's recent success at Kinnick Stadium...
"Well I think we've been very fortunate to make some big, big plays the last couple times, especially last year I think back to the turnover right before halftime in the kicking game that really gave us the momentum. We were down early and that was a huge play, it really shifted momentum into the second half and it was a dogfight the rest of the way with us making a big play on fourth down to win the game. They've been huge challenges and we've found a way to make some plays, we've been very fortunate."
On Iowa's comebacks and second-half scoring...
"Well when you look at their scoring in the second half it's astronomical the advantages they've had over their opponents, I think they're outscoring their opponents something like 100-38 in the fourth quarter. They're resilient, they've persevered, I've read a lot of what Kirk has said to the media after the games and it sounds very familiar to us. There's similarities to the way we've won some football games, you persevere and keep fighting and eventually good things will happen if you believe. They obviously have a good thing going and they're playing at a very high level."
On what went into the decision to keep Mike Kafka from returning to the game Saturday...
"Really we look at it in terms of safety and health and well-being of the student-athlete, that's our No. 1 priority. If he's cleared by our doctors and inspected to be healthy and able to defend himself then he'll have an opportunity to play and help the team win. So that's where we put our focus for Mike or any of our guys that have been injured."
On how much Mike Kafka needs to practice in order to play Saturday...
"Well Coach (Randy Walker) always had that philosophy (that a player needs to practice to play in a game) and then there were always a couple exceptions to a philosophy. I saw Darnell Autry after the game on Saturday -- and I appreciate him being a great sport about getting painted purple because I never would have done that -- but I don't remember Darnell ever practicing once we got into the Big Ten period and same thing with some of my guys. (Nick) Roach and (Tim) McGarigle at some points were "extremely limited" in practice, I think would be a good way to put it. But they showed up on Saturday and played their tails off. We're always going to be smart and safety will be a priority. If they can help us win, great, you're going to play. Danny (Persa) played hard. Can he play better? Yeah but you know Danny gave us a chance to win. I thought he went out there and battled his tail off."
On Mike Kafka's status during the Penn State game...
"He wasn't cleared to play, otherwise I would have potentially thought about putting him back in. After the game someone asked me if Mike was warming up why didn't he go back in and the answer is he wasn't cleared to play. That's a doctor's decision, not my decision."
On who the next quarterback in after Persa would have been...
"Well Joe (Mauro) isn't cleared to play, he's injured. If you mean would I have gone to Evan (Watkins), it just depends on the situation. If Evan needs to step in, he'll be poised and totally prepared to do that. You'd hate to play him for a shoelace or a helmet strap so we need to be prepared for that and we have some contingency plans in place. We have about 74 quarterbacks on the roster so we'll find somebody to take a snap count if it comes to that. But Evan would have been prepared to go in there and finish the game and play into the future. He's been running our offense with the two's for most of the year with Danny. Stay tuned, hopefully we won't have to go there but one of those 74 guys would be in there. It won't be me, I promise you that."
On Dan Persa's performance...
"When you look at what happened to Dan on Saturday it was really his first time into a game in the heat of it. There were some shots that he missed by not maybe getting rid of the ball on time, he made some big plays and he was our team's big playmaker of the game. He made four big plays for us. You have to give credit to Penn State, they kind of suffocated some things, we gave ourselves a long field because of some gaps in the kicking game but at the end of the day I thought Danny gave us a chance to compete. I think he's going to get better and he has a really bright future as a quarterback in our football program and if it's his turn to pick up the flag and carry us he'll be ready for that scenario."
On winning the turnover battle vs. Iowa...
"I think it's critically important each week, I don't think it changes week to week. It's one of the priorities of our defense, taking the ball away. We haven't been very good the last two weeks but we'd been pretty good all year. For whatever reason the last two weeks we haven't been able to the get the ball. We've had the ball on the ground a couple times and haven't been able to recover those fumbles, we had the ball in our hands a couple times and didn't pick the ball off. You keep ripping and stripping, catch it and keep beating that drum."
On Iowa's Ricky Stanzi's interceptions vs. Indiana...
"Well a couple of them were deep balls when they're taking their shots downfield and Indiana's player just makes a play. They were a couple lay-out interceptions that were just great plays on the defense's part. I didn't focus as much on the negative plays as the positive ones, when he came back and hit the over route, then hit the go route and you just say, `There you go.' It's just like our game where two plays, two quick scores change the momentum of the game. On the flip side, the defense had the ability to get that big play as Indiana is going into score and it's a 14-points swing. You come up with two big plays and it's 21 points in a matter of minutes. That's the reason why Iowa is where it is, they've been opportunistic, making some big-time plays to give themselves a chance to win."
On Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki...
"We tried our hardest to keep Tony here in Chicagoland but unfortunately for us he chose otherwise but for him he found the right fit. It's been a tough road for him and to see the way that he's persevered ... He's a tremendous young man, I remember getting to know him and his family from the western suburbs. He's had a great year, an All-Big Ten and All-America-type year."
On the opportunity to play a team ranked top-five in the nation...
"Well I think you've been around long enough to know the focus is all us. We've got to find a way to improve and make a few more plays down the stretch. I was proud of our guys on Saturday, we were right there and gave ourselves an opportunity. They made a couple plays and we didn't. You look at our game, you look at Indiana-Iowa, you look at Minnesota-Michigan State, there were some big plays and all three of those could have gone either way but the team that won found a way to make some big plays in critical moments. Lombardi said there are five or six plays that make or break every game, you just never know when they're going to come. We just have to find a way to make those plays the way we did against Indiana and Purdue."
On OL Brian Mulroe...
"A couple weeks ago he became healthy. Going through spring practice he was our starting guard before he got hurt. He's very athletic, understands the position very well and he continues to get stronger as he rehabs his injury. He's been doing better and he's been cleared for about two and a half weeks."
On the play of the offensive line against Iowa...
"It's critical. We're going to have execute fundamentally and technically. They're going to make some plays, they always have and always will. You just have to avoid the big negative plays and you have to avoid turning the ball over. They're very sound in what they do. I know that Norm Parker has been going through some health issues, we talked about it as a staff and we'd like to lift him up in our thoughts. He's a tremendous coach and a great man. I had an opportunity to spend some time with him at our May meetings and it's got to be tough but you can see the players at Iowa are playing with his spirit even though he was up in a box. They play great defense and they're one of the best in the country because of his leadership."
On Dan Persa's athleticism and physical tools...
"Danny can make all the throws, there's no question he's a perfect fit for our offense as a dual-threat quarterback. He can run it well. He understands the concepts of what we're trying to do, I think he has a really good arm. You saw some of the throws he made early in the year and you all come out to practice, he makes all the throws we ask our quarterbacks to make. It's hard. You look back to last year when Mike Kafka had his opportunity at Indiana, I wouldn't say it was perfect. Didn't he throw the ball 30 yards backward, if I remember correctly? Then I came here on Monday and everyone is saying `Oh my gosh, how are you going to compete?' Dan went out and played his tail off and gave us an opportunity to compete. He has played in some games but hasn't been in as much as Mike. He's played in some big games, I think he played in some state championships there in Pennsylvania."
On Arby Fields...
"We have competition in that room and a couple of those guys are playing pretty well right now. At the end of the day we have a good problem when those guys have to come to practice and compete. Arby's doing a good job, he just has good competition."
On the discussion among the team about bowl games...
"I think when you get to this point in the year you have to reassess your goals and assess where things are based on performance. We'll talk about the standpoint of goals and some objectives we have but at the end of the day it comes back to the No. 1 goal we have which is to consistently prepare for the opportunity. I talked this morning about the best advice I heard when I sat in those chairs as a student-athlete, that a lot of people outside this room forget what you did in September and October and only remember what you did in November and after. We have a great challenge this Saturday, we hoped to have a significant month in November and it is. We'll be prepared."
On Zeke Markshausen's option to throw vs. Penn State...
"He got the ball on the reverse and had the option to throw, saw coverage and made the right choice. Usually when you give a guy the option to throw or run when it doesn't say `quarterback' after their name they throw. He made a decision to tuck the ball and run and he got some yards. Give credit to Penn State to cover it."
On how the team can build momentum after a loss...
"We have a lot to play for. We have a bright future ahead of us. You focus on what you can control and put it into work. It starts today, I thought the attitude was right. Guys understand what happened on Saturday and they aren't very happy with the fact that we didn't get the job done on Saturday. We have a good football team when we play the way we're capable of. That's our goal and our mission this week. We have to go out and play the way we're capable of then worry about the next one after that. I think we have a lot of momentum, guys are eager to play and eager to get better."
Northwestern Quarterback Mike Kafka
On his approach to practice this week...
"Yeah, my mindset going in is that I'm going in and playing."
On any concerns...
"No, not at all. I mean it feels pretty good. Tomorrow I'll run around a little bit on it and see how it feels and kind of take it day by day, and Wednesday we'll do a little bit more to where on Saturday it feels pretty good."
On what happened...
"I just kind of tweaked my hamstring a little bit and I think, as far as going back in, I didn't really think that I could push off it and I was just honest with Coach Fitz and just told him that I really couldn't drop back and roll around and scramble like I really wanted to. So our best bet was putting Dan in. I think he did a great job though."
On if it is the same hamstring as the one he injured in 2006...
"Yes, well it's not the same spot, it's a different injury."
On coming of game while in rhythm...
"It was definitely pretty hard, but you know we have a lot of guys that have to step up, and coach Fitz always praises it, just go in and grab the flag and keep on moving. I think guys did step up, we just have to keep on carrying that along into next week."
On hamstring injuries in general...
"Yeah I think, without a doubt definitely doing the treatment and just to rest and be able to get off of it for a little bit. Have a couple of days off running wise so, I look forward getting back out there and practicing and getting ready for Iowa."
On the play of backup quarterback Dan Persa vs. Penn State...
"I think Danny played hard, and that's all we ask him to do. He got thrown into the fire a little bit and it was good for him to go out there, and he made a lot of plays to tell you the truth. When we go back, a lot of things weren't his fault. Like (David Arnold) said, it's an eleven-man operation, everyone has to be working. And obviously when you're the quarterback, a lot of it falls on your shoulders, and that's the responsibility that we take, and we understand that. So I think we go back, Danny and I take the offense together and make sure we're all on the same page and make sure we're all growing to get better every week."
On if Dan Persa is a faster runner than he is...
"I don't think we've ever raced, but he's a pretty quick guy. I can't tell, I don't know what to tell you until we race. I guess we'll have to find that out later."
On arm strength...
"I don't think we've ever challenged in a throwing contest either."
On Stefan Demos' throw on a broken punt...
"It was a huge play, it was a nice momentum swing to get us into halftime I think it was right just before half. So it was a good heads up play by him. Bobble the snap a little bit and he went out and made a play, and Mark Woodsum made a great play also. I don't think he'll be taking any snaps in practice, maybe long-snaps."
On hypothetically going back in...
"I don't know what I could say, it's Coach Fitz' call the entire way but I know that he trusts me to let him know if I'm feeling right or if I'm not feeling right."
On if he felt like the team had a better chance to win with Persa...
"I just didn't feel like I could run around or do the things that they needed me to do offensively and Danny is obviously healthier right now, so yeah, we with that. It was coach Fitz's executive call. I don't disagree with it."
On bowl games...
"I think if we start talking about that then it becomes a distraction. We just have to worry about going out and playing the best football we can play this week, and it starts tomorrow at practice. I think tomorrow will set the tone for the rest of the week."
On if teammates have been talking about bowl games...
"Not that I've talked to. The people that I've talked to are not really concerned about the bowl games and all of that other stuff, because like I said it's become a distraction, and it really doesn't mean much right now."
