Greg Robinson Transcript (10/4)
Head Coach Greg Robinson on what improvements his team made against Florida State:
“We might be better right now. We didn’t perform in the game to the best of our ability. We could have played better. We could have done some things better. Every team can say that, but we dug ourselves a hole that was hard to get out of. Did we grow from that game? I think we did.”
Robinson on tight end Joe Kowalewski’s status (should injury):
“He got some work yesterday. He is going to practice today. Is he going to play on Friday night? I don’t know that yet. We’re going to have to see to what extent he can get things done. Yesterday we weren’t fully padded. He was running around, doing some things, and catching balls. We’ll see better today.”
Robinson on the offense missing Kowalewski:
“Joe is an experienced player who catches seven balls in a game (against Virginia) and did other things that were important in that game. I think that we can still function when Joe isn’t there. Would we love to have him in there? Absolutely.”
Robinson on offensive tackle Kurt Falke (who was injured against Buffalo):
“Kurt won’t make it. He was out there yesterday (at practice) and doing a good amount, but he won’t be ready to play.”
Robinson on Falke coming back:
“I think that there is a good chance that he will return next week (for Rutgers game).”
Robinson on taking positives from the Florida State game:
“First of all, we played a very good football team. We battled with them and walked out of there very healthy. In a game where you have heat and then a gifted team that’s flying around, and there is a lot of hitting going on, I like that we came through that. It isn’t like we are broken down and worn out. I remember back in 1983, we went to Nebraska and came out of there with about seven guys that were done for the year when I was at UCLA. In the second half (against Florida State), I saw things on the offensive side of the ball that I liked. I saw things throughout the course of the game defensively. I really thought that they took the challenge of Florida State. We didn’t have the success that we wanted to have. There were some things to build on.”
Robinson on his team’s stronger performance offensively in the second half vs. the first half:
“Funny you ask that. I’ve been trying to figure that out. I think I have the answer, but I don’t think I’m going to tell you what it is (smiling). Being in a night game I think is really going to help us. (laughing) We’re kind of a team that starts at four o’clock in the afternoon on offense. Being it’s an 8:00 game, shoot, we might be on the down slope (laughing). I don’t know. We’ll see on Friday how that goes.”
Robinson on personnel changes in the offensive line:
“We changed when Kurt (Falke) got hurt. Right now, I don’t know that we have the type of depth to say that we’re just making changes. The line did not play well, and they know that they didn’t play well. They mix and match, and that’s the whole line. I don’t think there was anyone walking out of there saying, “Well, I had a darn good game.” I really don’t. I think there are some that played better than others. They know that they have to do better.”
Robinson on moving Carroll Madison to center:
“Carroll is playing left tackle.”
Robinson on if the Connecticut game is a ‘must win’:
“They’re all must wins from this point on. We have to win this game, absolutely. Is that what a must win is? I guess. I didn’t go in there and tell them that this was a must win. This is the next step and we need to have success to achieve what we want to achieve.”
Robinson on adding new people for returns:
“I hate to say it right now at this point in the week. We worked on things yesterday. I think coaches have a tendency to do this, is that it’s the players. I don’t know that. How many times did I get Kareem (Jones) to get in the end zone and tell Curtis (Brinkley) not to bring it out? Haven’t done it. Haven’t done it with Curtis enough. I put that on me. Ball security? I put that on the players. Steve Gregory drops a punt and gets smacked in the face. I put that on the hold-up. That guy was down the field without putting a glove on him, and that was two guys. You have to take each situation and evaluate it. With J.J. (Bedle), the wind took that ball. So often, you see it with young players that just get focused on what they’re trying to do and they lose sight. All of the sudden, he lost that ball. But, I give him credit for his tenacity to get back into the play and find a way to get that ball back. Are we working different people? Yes. I always want them to feel that it is competitive and that there are no minted players on our football team.”
Robinson on who is getting looked at for returns:
“I have Tim Washington back there (on kick return) and Steve Gregory on kickoffs. I have Curtis (Brinkley) catching punts. I have it rotating. We’ll just see how it comes out. We still have two more days to keep working. I want to see a sense of urgency from everybody. I want them to show me how bad they want in. We as coaches keep working to make sure that we don’t have the mishaps that we had the other day.”
Robinson on kick returners Curtis Brinley and Kareem Jones:
“The fact of the matter is that they are what we have. On one of the returns against Florida State, on Kareem’s, we’re one block away from that thing being big. On punts, we’ve had a hard time getting balls that are returnable. The guy either skied it out of there or it’s off to the side. Just like the guy from Virginia the game before. We haven’t really had anyone that’s been very consistent in the punting world. That’s been a bit of the problem for the return, but really not so much for the net punt other than the guy last week that boomed a couple of those.”
Robinson on Brinkley’s desire to make a big play:
“We can’t turn the ball over. That’s a focus. I think it was a case of trying too hard. He caught the ball seven yards deep, and now he is doing everything he can and got out of control with the ball. He got hit, and boom, it came out. There is a maturity to Curtis that I see. I think he will learn quickly, I really do. The risk-reward, I’m not into that. I’m into low risk-high reward mode.”
Robinson on if he has a kickoff rule with regard to when to return one out of the endzone:
“I don’t say across the goal line. But, if you’re seven yards deep, there should be someone telling you to not bring it out. We didn’t execute. That’s no different from another guy not making a block on offense or missing a coverage on defense. We didn’t execute the play. Again, I say to myself, we flopped Curtis and Kareem because Kareem was in the game at the time at tailback. He was the one in practice getting more of them. When we switched them, Kareem wasn’t really focused on going in there and holding him up.”
Robinson on the technique of stopping a returner in the end zone:
“Get over there, scream at him, and stop him. We don’t have some tricky way. I mean that. I think everyone knows what that is.”
Robinson on the difficulty of evaluating Connecticut:
“They played Buffalo and we played Buffalo. They beat them 38-0, we beat them 31-0. That helps me.”
Robinson on the strengths of Connecticut:
“You can just look at it statistically, and they lead the BIG EAST in just about everything. I think they’re #1 in the nation on third-down defense. They lead the BIG EAST in total defense. On offense, they’re right at the top of everything, right up there with Louisville. They have a well-balanced football team. I think that their offense has been very functional for them. Their quarterback (Matt Bonislawski) has a strong arm. I like (Terry) Cauley the running back, and Bonislawski can run the ball. (Jason) Williams is a good receiver. I like the tight end (Dan) Murray. He’s a good player. I think they are well-coached at the offensive line. On the defensive side of the ball, they fly around. They do a good job. Their third-down defense has sophistication. It creates problems. Their linebacking corps jumps out at you, they have some speed there. Their young secondary is playing well. That’s how I assess their team. (Larry Taylor) is a quick, little hiccup who returns punts for them. They also slip him in there on the offense as a running back or receiver. They try to utilize their talent pretty well.”
