Northwestern University Athletics
Weekly News Conference Transcript
9/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2009
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Weekly News Conference Transcript
Opening Statement...
"Good afternoon everybody, it's great to be home. We'll get our students in Ryan Field for the first time this year and we're looking forward to that environment and that atmosphere. It's amazing we've played three football games and we haven't been to class yet but class starts tomorrow, which means we'll go from practicing in the afternoon to morning practices. Aside from the early morning wake-up, I think moving to the morning is a favorite time of the year for our guys.
Recapping the game, there was a lot to learn from. Defensively, I thought Ben Johnson took a big step forward. I thought he played the best game of his young career. He was active, he made plays in the passing game and the running game and he made plays rushing the passer. I thought that was the best performance I've seen Ben have yet. Offensively, Mike Kafka was outstanding to throw the ball the way he did and manage the game with the amount of pressure that he saw was a big step in his career. I like the way we spread the ball out, we had multiple guys catching the ball. I was very encouraged by the game that Drake Dunsmore played and to have him back as one of our weapons. To see the game Andrew Brewer had along with Jeremy Ebert and Demetrius Fields, I thought that group had a good football game. On offense we need to continue to make big plays and not turn the ball over. Turnovers are killing and us and we just cannot continue to do that and win football games. On defense we need to have an attitude of making big plays while eliminating the big plays we're giving up. To do that we need to execute fundamentally and tackle better. In the kicking game, we need to play faster because there are plays to be made that we just aren't making. We need to do a better job coaching those situations.
We're excited to get home and play in front of our students and get Ryan Field filled up to play a Big Ten football game.
On the status of players who missed the Syracuse game due to injury...
"I saw a bunch of guys who were out on Saturday going through dynamic warm-up today and I'll get my injury report later today. Last week as the week went along guys started doing a little more but just weren't able to get over that hump on Thursday and unfortunately they weren't able to play. Football is like life in that guys get injured and you just need to respond and go play. I thought some very young guys went in there and fought their tails off. Hopefully the cavalry will be coming soon. (Sherrick McManis) didn't practice in full last week, he was limited in practice. (Stephen Simmons) was listed as probable on the injury report I got earlier so we'll see what happens."
On the limited play of Arby Fields against Syracuse...
"We need to put our guys in situations where they can be successful and from the standpoint of the multiple looks we saw and the multiple types of protection we needed, I wasn't ready to throw a freshman off the deep end. We wanted to try to get him more involved and we'll continue to do so but what the game plan dictated and the way things went getting down 17 points, we knew we were going to have to throw it to get back into the game. He's continuing to grow and involve and I'm very proud of the job Arby's doing but he's only been with us about seven weeks. The situation dictated that on Saturday but I definitely see him being more involved in the offense."
On the lack of a running game vs. Syracuse...
"I saw us get down by 17 points and needing to start throwing it to get back in the game. With them blitzing as much as they did, in our opinion it gave us an opportunity to throw the ball vertically down the field, which I thought Mike Kafka did very well. When there's seven or eight guys in the box when you hand it off it's tough to run into a wall. We took what the defense gave us and I thought threw the ball well."
On NU's two new starters, Demetrius Dugar and David Nwabuisi...
"I thought Demetrius and David went out and competed to make plays. Were they perfect? No, I don't think anyone was. I thought they played hard and gave us an opportunity to win the football game. I'm very proud of those two guys, a couple redshirt freshmen. All they can control is that they're prepared and I think after what they went through on Saturday they'll be much more prepared for this week."
On NU's progress through three games...
"I thought we improved in some areas and in others there is still room for improvement. We're kind of like Central Street (in Evanston), we're under construction in all phases of our game. You just take it one play at a time in practice and work to get better. We have multiple guys coming back from injuries who missed spring practice we just need them to work to get better, that's all we can ask of them. The evolution of a team happens week to week. I thought we played better as the game went along and settled down after facing some adversity. We did a great job getting off the field on third down, we need to do a better job on first and second."
On the absence of Sherrick McManis...
"We have to make plays. To (Syracuse WR) Mike William's credit he made big plays. We had chances where we brought pressure and guys were on their own, we had four sacks and made a huge play on that sack to cause a turnover and get a short field to take the lead. Sherrick is an all-league-type player and All-America candidate so it hurts but what we control is guys being ready to go out and play and I thought Demetrius (Dugar) played hard. Jordan (Mabin) learned a lesson that when you get assaulted you have to have a short memory. He kept going out and competing and he just has to trust himself."
On Minnesota's Eric Decker...
"I haven't seen anybody shut Eric down. He's a tremendous dual-threat athlete in that he plays football and baseball. On Saturday we got to see his arm a little bit when he threw the ball to MarQueis (Gray) in the end zone there and there was another time they were going to throw the ball back to Adam (Weber). Those two guys are kind of the dynamic duo, I know they're roommates and they're two of the best players in the league. It's going to be a challenge for us. I think you have to slow them down and make plays when you're in a position to make them."
On what he feels NU can improve on...
"There's a ton to work on. I watched more football than I care to watch on Saturday (waiting for the game) and I don't know if I've seen one team put together a complete game. It's early in the year and I think everybody is taking pieces to the jigsaw puzzle and starting to put them all together. What you went into the season with has changed because of injuries, the play of some guys who you thought might not have a role and now they do have a role, so there's a lot of different pieces. How do you improve? You stay the course, keep working fundamentally and technically and keep working hard. Play together, play with emotion and have fun. I think that's an area we can improve in, having fun. Guys will work hard at it. We're excited to get back to practice."
On the reason for falling behind 17-0...
"I didn't sense (that it was a lack of focus). We've got to hold on to the football, other times we had a chance to get off the field and we missed some tackles in the open field on the scramble play, if we hold them to a field goal we're down 6-0 and we haven't played well. What I'm really proud of is that we came back and responded. After the game I said a team with lesser character would have folded up the tent and said get the bus ready, we're going home. Our guys kept fighting. We got the ball across the 50-yardline with about a minute to go and a chance to win the football game. I think there's a lot to build on from that."
On the play of the wide receiving corps...
"I can really just let their play speak for itself. They're playing hard. Kevin Johns does a great job coaching that group and they've done a great job buying into what we're trying to do. We're moving guys around, asking them to have multiple roles and I'm proud of the job they're doing. We're adding more guys into the mix finding combinations that work."
On NU's defensive play...
"I've got to give Syracuse credit. They did a lot of misdirection and a lot of things to play with your eyes. I thought we settled down as the game went along, we had to adjust a few formations, but there was nothing we hadn't practiced, nothing that we hadn't shown the guys. I think we have some guys where it's their first time in some situations. I thought our guys took to the coaching and we started to play a little bit better football. When you limit the big play with an aggressive attitude, usually good things happen. We got a few turnovers and missed a few more. They put the ball on the ground seven times and we only got one, not just on offense but in the kicking game. We had a chance to get an interception on the first series, they go down and get three points, it's a different game. Syracuse is a totally different football team than they were in week one. We saw that evolution and were prepared for it. We just didn't execute early and it's on us as coaches to give our guys an opportunity so start fast, which we did the first two games. I'm not ready for wholesale changes."
On whether Mike Kafka sometimes holds the ball too long...
"No Mike's just trying to make a play. I'd like to see him trust himself and trust the concept. On the first play they came out and gave a little bit of a different look against our empty backfield than they'd shown on tape. We were in cut protection and they were in man-free coverage, we just hadn't seen it. We saw it later, picked it up and it was a non-play. To Mike's credit that didn't define his game. Mike just kept playing, took what the defense gave him. And I thought he played one of the best games I've seen a quarterback play here in a long, long time. He just needs to take care of the football and he knows that.
On Jordan Mabin...
"It just seemed like every time Syracuse went vertical Jordan was the guy on the play. That was the first time I saw him out there where he had a chance to make a play and wasn't able to. I have all kinds of video from last year early in the year when he made those plays. As a corner you have to have a short memory, take pride in your technique and believe in yourself. We had a great conversation after the game, he's excited for practice tomorrow, he's a great young man and a competitive player."
On Mike Kafka's run vs. throwing ratio...
"I'd like to just see us taking what the defense gives us. We want to put our players in the best formations to execute the plays. Based on some of the things they were doing, the quarterback run play was good in some situations and not as good in others. We try to sprinkle it in appropriately. To Syracuse's credit, they beat us in some one-on-one blocking situations. When they were dropping eight in coverage, Mike did a good job making the right decision. I thought he managed the game. Being the Big Ten Player of the Week is great but I think if you asked him which he'd rather have, he'd say the 'Cats winning by one. He's playing better each week and I'm proud of him."
On the decision to punt on fourth-and-short late in the game...
"Absolutely, at that point in the game I thought there were three possessions left in the game. I knew we were going to get the ball back again and I just didn't want to have something happen where Syracuse has a short field. We did a great job executing that play and playing for field position, we wanted to get the ball back and go down and win the ball game but unfortunately it didn't happen."
On what can be fixed in the short-term...
"Ball security is something we work on every day and we strive for 100 percent ball security every week and haven't had it yet. We're minus-1 in the turnover ratio, that's why we've lost a game and been in some close games. We talk about the decision-making process for our quarterbacks. On defense it's going straight to the football. We've had other opportunities on defense and in the kicking game to get the ball and haven't done it. We just have to stay the course. We've got six takeaways, which is ahead of where we were last year, so we just need to stay the course."
On linebacker Ben Johnson...
"Ben played a hybrid safety position in high school and he was very dynamic with the ball in his hands. What we saw on tape was a tremendous athlete, a young man that was raw as a football player in the position where we wanted him to play, which was at linebacker. We felt very strong about his character and we felt that as he got in the weight room, got stronger and played the position that he was eventually going to be the player we thought he could be. You just saw it. He played fast and physical and let it fly and usually when linebackers do that good things happen."
On how safeties could have helped out the cornerbacks at Syracuse...
"We could have had a little better underneath coverage by the safeties and the linebackers. That's just a matter of being too close to the line scrimmage, being eight yards back and missing the ball where if you're 10 yards back you tip it and intercept it. There were some rundown situations where you have a job to do but lack of discipline and technique and all of a sudden we're giving up a 66-yard touchdown. Those things are going to happen. But as a team we need to rally around it and respond and I thought we did that. It was a good environment, a great first road test. Obviously I don't think we started the way we wanted to but we responded and gave ourselves an opportunity to win."
