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Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript - October 16, 2005
Head coach Greg Robinson on what the coaching issues are this week:
“When I referred yesterday to turnovers, I do believe it’s coaching. Just like after the first three weeks of the season, and we’re the #1 ranked team in America in turnover ratio, I think that’s damn good coaching. I do. I know how hard we stressed it. In the last three weeks, we’re minus seven. If I’m going to take credit for being the #1 team in the country, the last three weeks, the ball security has been a major issue and I take personal responsibility for that. I’ve already begun to put time in to evaluate that and to come up with remedies to get back on track in regard to turnover ratio. I don’t know if that’s specific to what you were asking me yesterday.”
Robinson on coaching issues regarding offensive execution:
“I suspect there always is. I go back to the football game. We come out of the blocks and make a run for seven yards. Make a run for a yard and a half. Third and short we don’t make the first down. Did they do better than us? Did we miss a block? That’s all relative. We come out the next series and we complete a ball, that to me, was a four or five yard gain that very easily could have been a 20-yard gain if we had executed it exactly like we had done in practice. When I see it on the practice film done well, I say we executed that on the practice field, so I don’t see that as coaching. I think they have prepped it well. We come run back the next play and we bust a run out; 12-yard gain. And maybe more, it could have been longer, and the ball is out. I already told you I take responsibility for that. That ball, it wasn’t a hard hit. It was a strip, but that’s a good play: well-designed, out. It’s an arm reaching out. I don’t know how many yards this play could have been. That’s the end of the series. We come back the next series, and on first down we throw the ball. A person is wide open. I say that having pinpoint precision passing is very important. That ball might have been off center, but it was catchable, and we don’t catch it. It’s wild. We come back on second down, we run a sprint out, and you know what? We had another guy wide open. I don’t know how accurate the ball was, but it was catchable, and we drop it. That’s third-and-10, and it’s hard for everyone..
”What I’m trying to say is ‘Wait.’ I think what we’re all doing, we have a tendency to… people want it to work. I understand that. I understand the frustration of our fans. I understand the frustration of our coaches. I understand the frustration of our players. We all want it to work. But everybody kind of takes their shot in the dark; maybe it’s this, maybe it’s that. But really, it’s a little bit of everything. We know that. Really, what it is, is people have to vent and get their thing out. That’s how I see it. Perceptions are created. I try like heck to keep that to a minimum, because that’s when things can get goofy. It can get out of whack. I can just keep going. I’m sorry that I’m rambling now but I’m just trying to give you a perspective of the way that game unfolded. Defense goes out, first drive, they’re boom boom boom. Then, all of the sudden, we hold them up, and boom, a big play. They missed a field goal. I don’t know if I’m answering what you want but I’m telling you where I’m coming from. I think coaching is part of it. I think players making plays have to be responsible for their actions. I think it’s all of the above. I don’t feel like anybody is trying to wash their hands of anything. But, right now, the biggest issue to me is that we’re minus seven in the last three weeks. You cannot win. That’s minus 2.3 a game. Minus 2.3 a game, by the stats, 80 something percent of the time you’re going to lose. I have all of the breakdowns. I worked for Dick Vermeil. Trust me, I have all of the stats on it. But, you know what? I believe it. I’ve seen it.”
”What I’m trying to say is ‘Wait.’ I think what we’re all doing, we have a tendency to… people want it to work. I understand that. I understand the frustration of our fans. I understand the frustration of our coaches. I understand the frustration of our players. We all want it to work. But everybody kind of takes their shot in the dark; maybe it’s this, maybe it’s that. But really, it’s a little bit of everything. We know that. Really, what it is, is people have to vent and get their thing out. That’s how I see it. Perceptions are created. I try like heck to keep that to a minimum, because that’s when things can get goofy. It can get out of whack. I can just keep going. I’m sorry that I’m rambling now but I’m just trying to give you a perspective of the way that game unfolded. Defense goes out, first drive, they’re boom boom boom. Then, all of the sudden, we hold them up, and boom, a big play. They missed a field goal. I don’t know if I’m answering what you want but I’m telling you where I’m coming from. I think coaching is part of it. I think players making plays have to be responsible for their actions. I think it’s all of the above. I don’t feel like anybody is trying to wash their hands of anything. But, right now, the biggest issue to me is that we’re minus seven in the last three weeks. You cannot win. That’s minus 2.3 a game. Minus 2.3 a game, by the stats, 80 something percent of the time you’re going to lose. I have all of the breakdowns. I worked for Dick Vermeil. Trust me, I have all of the stats on it. But, you know what? I believe it. I’ve seen it.”
Robinson on how the focus will get back to ball security:
“That’s the thing that we’re working hard on today. Even last night, we were trying to assess it. You’re competing against each other for so long and we really are emphasizing ball security, and it’s offense versus defense, our defense is working the offense. Now, all of the sudden, you kind of get into the season and it’s more scout work (to prepare for the opponent). We still compete, but, it isn’t like it is in training camp. You can’t do that. Somehow we have to create that kind of world again. We’re making the plays on the turnovers. We had three turnovers yesterday. Quite frankly, seven is not unrealistic at all. Eight we had a chance for. We talked Friday night with the defense that five has been our record and that we can break it. Ask those players, we have talked about it. We talked about it Friday night. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. It should have been. It should have been six, seven. It could have been eight. I’m talking easy. That’s a good thing, too. That’s a good thing.”
Robinson on executing offensive plays during the game:
“One play in particular that I am thinking of, we got it completed, but it could have been better because of certain things that didn’t take place. I think on that particular play, somebody tried too hard. Went beyond and got out of control. Lost control of his body and didn’t make the block that he wanted to make. It was that clear because I know the person. I know how hard he is trying to do things right. I clearly believe that. That’s what it was.”
Robinson on working on securing the ball:
“I say we’re working on it, developing it. I don’t have a crystal ball. I do know this: I know how to be a good turnover team, and I do know how to secure that football. We’re going to get back on that. Wherever I have been, and it isn’t just me who says it, we have always turned the ball over and, for the most part, we have secured the football. We’ve always gotten turnovers. We will continue to get turnovers, but I know this. In Kansas City, we secured the football and I know why we did. Priest Holmes doesn’t fumble. He doesn’t, and it’s because it’s just constant. I don’t know that I’ve been constant enough. Trent Green doesn’t throw interceptions. In the real good years in Denver, we were high in turnovers and low in giving them up. Even at the Jets. What is the remedy? We’re working on it, and we’re going to be improved in that area. If nothing else, we are going to be improved in not turning the ball over.”
Robinson on Perry Patterson and Joe Fields adjusting to the new offense and will the coaches have to wait until they can recruit their own players:
“I don’t know how people can say two or three years (for the West Coast offense to work). That’s just talk. We have these guys. Let me tell you, some people have said, and I say some people, some people in this room, have said that we have overestimated our talent. Oh? I want to know when I overestimated our talent. Anytime I was ever asked to make a prediction on what our team was going to be, I always said that I don’t make predictions. The only thing that I ever stated is that our goal is to win every game that we went out to play. I believe that. As far as me talking positively about people, darn right I do, because that’s what I see in them. I’m not going to sit here and talk down Perry or talk down Joe. I see improvement in those people. I saw a jump from the spring to the summer. I’ve seen something. Are they totally adept? You know something? They’re becoming better at it. Perry, at the beginning of the season, I felt he was further along than Joe was. That’s obviously why I made the choice to go with him. You know, it takes more than just the quarterback. It does. C’mon. It takes it all. It takes the line. His (the quarterback’s) job is to disperse the ball. That’s what the job of the quarterback is in this offense; to disperse it and let them do their thing. Joe (Kowalewski) catches a ball for 11 yards, what was that gain? Thirty-something yards. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. Tim (Washington) catches a ball for a three-yard gain and turns it into a 17-yard gain. Damien (Rhodes) takes a ball and it’s a 12-yard run. It’s out. It’s going more. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. You (the quarterback) disperse it. Hey, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. That’s the way it’s supposed to function. I’m not going to say two or three years. I don’t know that. When we get our own people in? That’s nebulous. This is what we have and this is what we’re working with and we’re going to work to get them to where it’s flowing properly. As I said, there are parts of things that happened. Yesterday, in the design, the execution, it was all there. Tim Lane dropping a ball. Can I get upset at Tim Lane for dropping a ball? Not really. Golly. I’ll tell you why, he busts his tail. He makes plays all over the place. He even got a play over in Connecticut that they retook that I wondered about why they did. But, it was a heck of a play. Doggone it. No, I feel frustration for him because I know it killed him. Alright? When Nick (Chestnut) drops a ball, this young kid is doing everything that we are asking him to do. But, he’s a young kid just wet out of high school. He caught two passes and they were touchdowns. But, I know Nick. I promise you tomorrow, you can’t keep him down. He’ll be out there working as hard as anyone on that football field. It’s all you can ask. My point is, we were running the right routes, we were creating the spacing, we’re wide open. Good call, good this, good that.”
Robinson on if he is preparing one or two quarterbacks this week:
“It will be two. I’ve thought a lot about that. We’re just going to keep on plugging. Keep on plugging.”
Robinson on whether or not he will consider using starters on special teams:
“We do. Kellen Pruitt. K.J. (Kareem Jones). Tanard Jackson. Nick’s (Chestnut) like a starter. There’s a number of starters. Anthony Smith. It’s usually more defensive players than offensive players on special teams. Steve Gregory is returning punts. Our kickoff return guys, I kept telling you we’re getting better. It is. I think we’re displaying that we’re using a number of starting football players. We use them.”
Robinson on offensive guard Jason Greene, who left the team last week:
“I’ve still not talked to Jason. I’ve extended myself to him, but he’s not ready to talk. When he’s ready, I’m more than willing to sit down with him. That’s his choice and I understand that.”
Robinson on if Joe Kowalewksi had a new injury on Saturday:
“He banged his knee but I think he is okay. He banged his knee when he hit the turf on that pass and he stayed in. He went, and it didn’t feel right so he came off. From every indication, he’s doing alright.”
Robinson on if Tommy Harris will return:
“I don’t know that. I don’t know.”
Robinson on keeping the team confident:
“That’s probably the biggest task of all. I like our players. They’re resilient. I’m not going to take that lightly and I’m not going to assume that it’s all huggy-kissy and all that. No. We all have to dig in. I talked to our team. Pitt was 1-4. They were 1-4 and one time ranked 23rd in the country. They hung in there, now all of the sudden, they won two in a row. I guarantee you they didn’t feel very good. I think that we have those kinds of people. Like I say to you, it’s an issue; one that we’re sensitive to.”
