Greg Robinson Transcript (11/22)
Head coach Greg Robinson on if Perry Patterson earned the right to play the entire game at Louisville:
“Perry did a good job. A couple of those balls are completions if they’re caught. I thought Perry competed well.”
Robinson on putting in Joe Fields at Notre Dame:
“He knew exactly where I was coming from. He didn’t disagree at all. I don’t know if he agrees with me, but he understood where I was coming from. I didn’t really ask him if he agreed or not, but at least we communicated. He was very good about it, the way Joe would be. Joe is a competitive guy and wants to play, but at the same time he wanted to do what was right. There was a period of time in that game where it wasn’t right to make the change, like at the start of the fourth series. Then the next opportunity, we were backed up there, it wasn’t the right setting for him to go and get started. Joe will play this week.”
Robinson on the Louisville offense:
“They’re very good, they really are. If you go and look at what they have done at home, I think they’ve averaged 55 points pr something a game. They really are a very good football team. They can run the ball. (Michael) Bush is a big, physical back, but he’s not the only back. The offensive line is big and physical. They have a receiving corps that … we’ve seen some receivers this year now … and this group hangs right in there with the rest of them. Systematically, they use a lot of different people. They mix it up on you. You put (Brian) Brohm in the equation; a guy who has thrown three interceptions and 17 touchdown passes. I think he’s completed 70 percent of his passes. I think he’s second or third in the country in efficiency rating. All of these things lend to a high-powered offense. They’ve been good.”
Robinson on containing Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil:
“You have to do a lot of things, you really do. You have to change your protections, you have to move the pocket around, and you have to do a lot of different things. He’s one of those guys who’s possessed. His intent is to get there. The last guy that I can remember … although, I guess there was the player at Arizona State who was more like an outside backer type, he was an end though who is at Baltimore (Ravens) now … is Dwight Freeney, this guy is putting up those kinds of numbers. He’s affecting football games like that.”
Robinson on the Louisville receiving corps:
“They are a very good group and the thing that is interesting is that they have different styles. They have a young, redshirt freshman who is almost 6-6, 220 pounds. They have three or four guys who are 6-4 or better, and then they have a couple of Smurf types who are very quick. They come at you in different ways.”
Robinson on if he worries about the team losing 10 games:
“I worry about a lot of things. I’m worried about trying to win. That’s really the emphasis right now is trying to find a way to win. This is a good football team that we’re playing. I’m not thinking about losing, I’m trying to think about winning. That’s really where I’m coming from.”
Robinson on Ryan LaCasse’s position:
“It’s what we call our spinner package and I’ve been using it since I was at the Jets. I used it in Denver and I used in Kansas City. Some are more effective at it than others. He’s very good at it. He really is. I had a guy who was a linebacker who I had at the Jets, Broncos, and Chiefs, and he was effective at it. At Texas last year, I really didn’t have a guy who … we used it a little bit because it was good against certain teams. Ryan has a good feel for it.”
Robinson on LaCasse’s impact at Notre Dame:
“He was a factor, obviously. I’d say that there were six or seven plays in that game, if you’re watching, it’s just him, you’re going, ‘This guy’s interesting.’
Robinson on why the position fits LaCasse:
“He’s a fine athlete, it starts with that. Secondly, he has a really good feel for the game. He can grasp concepts quickly. You always like those players who can take a concept and then maneuver with it. He’s made his own little mark in some ways of how to make it work. He’s been good to work with.”
Robinson on the difference between a good player and possessed player:
“I think it starts with love of the game. It’s football players who just love to play the game. Then, the position that they play, they fit. He’s one of those guys, he loves to pass rush. He has more than that in his game. When it’s time to go, he goes and he is coming. He is working. You think you’ve blocked him for a second … uh huh. He’s not going to stay blocked for very long. When I say he’s possessed, he possesses a skill, an intensity, a desire to succeed, to go along with his physical skills, that make him a very difficult player to block.”
Robinson on if he will make changes to the left side of the offensive line:
“We’re still working on that. We discussed it this morning. There are still some options, but we have to see where we’re at today. We’re a little banged up. We have to see how that plays out. We’ve maneuvered some people in there.”
Robinson on if center Justin Outten’s injury has gotten worse:
“I think that’s part of the deal today is to see. I think he’s going toi be able to go out and give it a go today. There’s different things that come into the equation there.”
Robinson on what the team will do for Thanksgiving:
“I start to smile just because we have a football game, but Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving and to me, this is the week of Thanksgiving. We started Sunday night. We had a Thanksgiving dinner, a sit-down dinner. We went into Manley Field House. I thought it was very nice. There will be different things we do during the week to remind ourselves that it is Thanksgiving and to think of those who are less fortunate and to extend ourselves to those who are less fortunate, and then be thankful for what we have. That’s part of this. I think you’ll find that almost everywhere in football. I think coaches and players do a good job of taking that in and realizing some of the obligations and some of the things that we need to think about.”
Robinson on if it is hard to be patient this year:
“There used to be… what was that painting or something… vultures are sitting on that block up there, and they say, ‘patience,’ or something or other, and, ‘I want to kill something.’ That’s about how we feel. Shoot, we want to win. We want to win. We want to taste the fruits of victory again. Patient, you’re right. It’s been hard to be patient. We’re at a point now where we want to swoop in and get something. Anyway, I don’t know if that answers your question but it’s kind of what came to my mind.”
Robinson on if it will be difficult to not win the last game of the season going into the off-season:
“Yeah, there is that. I think it’s been a frustrating season, we all know that. At the same time, I look forward to the future. I really do. I see a lot of good things. The number one thing is that it does come down to wins and losses. At the same time, I can see what we’re building and I think we’re heading in the right direction. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Frustration and disappointment? Yes, but looking forward to the future? Absolutely.”
Robinson on building the program up:
“It isn’t that you have to, you get to. I look forward to recruiting, we’ve been recruiting. We’ve been recruiting for a long time and we’re going to have a nice recruiting class. We still have work ahead of us in that area, but I like where we’re heading in that direction. We just have to really get after it.”
Robinson on Luke Cain and J.J. Bedle:
“I think that Luke will be back. He was close on Saturday to being able to play. He really couldn’t accelerate full speed on that foot, but we’ll see how he is today. He ran on Sunday, so we’ll see. J.J. is still out there.”
Robinson on if being a head coach lived up to his expectations:
“I’d like to flop the record, but I like being a head coach. I like the people who I’m working with, I like my staff, I like the people in this building, I like the support from the administration, I like the support from the community, I like the players that we coach. I think that there’s a challenge ahead and I’m not shy about taking on a challenge. I really do like my job a lot. I do not a lot of trouble getting up in the morning.”
Robinson on the mentality of the team:
“I can go by Sunday. They bounced around and ran hard. There were a number of guys in the weight room yesterday. Sounds like it was a lot of guys. We’ll see. Today is really important. Today’s a day where you get another chance to take a pulse.”
Robinson on if the team is practicing outside today:
“Outside, there’s a basketball game tonight. You know how that goes. It’s supposed to 40 degrees in Louisville on Saturday. That’s the beauty of that FieldTurf. Even last week, Friday, they brushed that thing down and we were out there on it. It took them 40 minutes to do that, and boom, we were out there practicing on it. That’s a real advantage.”
