Syracuse Coaches' Quotes
September 27, 2003
Carrier Dome • Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Coaches' Quotes
Head Coach Paul Pasqualoni
On controlling Toledo's passing game:
"We had hoped to be able to slow it down. I can't say that we anticipated that they would only score seven points. But one of the objectives tonight on defense was to bend, slow it down, and try not to break."
On the defense:
"I have to evaluate the film and see exactly how we played. But what I like about the defense is that they're playing very hard and they're trying awfully hard to do the right thing. I think the execution is something that has to be evaluated on the film and graded, but I think that we're playing better in that regard. I'm not going to say that we're playing as well as we're capable of, but we're playing better."
On Walter Reyes' performance:
"If they don't tackle him, he's got so much speed that he can out-run the backside defenders on the cutoff angle. Fortunately, he ended up with the ball on two of those, and out-ran the defense to the endzone. As a coach, every once in a while you hope he can kind of pop out of there. And he didn't really pop out of there – he ran through there – there was a hole that he ran through, and he just kept running. He has a great feel for it. He has great vision. I think he has a clear understanding of what the blocking scheme is in front of him, and he's kind of waiting for the blocks to be made. He's doing a very good job at that, which is obviously a sign of maturity."
On setting the tone early:
"I thought the first play of the game was a pretty significant play in the fact that it was an inside running play, and I think it sent a message to Toledo that we're going to run the ball inside. I thought Darryl Kennedy's hit on the opening kickoff was excellent, and I thought that first play was very good."
On the decision to not kick in a fourth-down situation:
"My feeling was that I didn't want their offense on the field – I wanted our offense on the field. So, we were willing to take a little bit of a gamble on the fourth-and-one in an effort to keep our offense on the field."
On stopping Toledo's running game:
"We were expecting them to run their offense, and their offense has a lot of screens in it. So, you have to stop their running game, you have to stop their screens, and hope you can do well on the deep ball. I thought we did OK with that. The key was that, in the first half, we kind of stopped the run. They had 40 yards at the half, rushing, so we were kind of doing OK there, which then allowed us to play a little bit heavier in the coverage."
On the upcoming off week:
"We need the off week. We've been going hard since August, and it'll give Joe Donnelly and Jamel Dumas a chance to see where they are. It will give Damien Rhodes and Johnnie Morant another opportunity to rest up. It'll give everybody a chance to rest their legs a little bit and refresh themselves."
Offensive Coordinator George DeLeone
On Toledo:
"We have tremendous respect for Toledo. This wasn't a game that we were surprised that they had played well and defeated Marshall and beat Pitt. We've been studying this team for a long time, and we prepared for this game, as coaches, for a year. This wasn't just another game for us. We worked hard. The players made a tremendous commitment on it – we had made a commitment to this thing since preseason camp. I thought our kids played with great confidence tonight because of it."
On the game:
"Our offensive line and our offensive team today was committed to run the ball. Our offensive team was committed to handle the stunts and blitzes that they had done so well against Pitt. The Pitt game really had no bearing on what we were going to do today. We try to play our game, and we're always going to be good at Syracuse if we can run the ball because it's going to set up so many other things."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Rippon
On the defense's performance:
"It's another step. The flywheel cranked a little bit again. There were some things out there that weren't where they have to be. But the thing that has been consistent has been the effort, every game this year. The kids have come into the system and played with confidence. We have some good players, and they're starting to play with some confidence and learning the structure of the defense."
On defending the pass:
"We knew he was going to throw it a ton. The biggest thing that we have to get done is, I want to see the yards after the catch. (Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski) is at 70 percent for a reason. But, we didn't give up the big play on the screen – that's not scorching you down the field, the bootleg is not scorching you down the field. It helped that the offense put three on the board right away, and then they played keep-away for the entire half. That's kind of nice. That's a team win."
