Greg Robinson Press Conference (October 2, 2007)
Opening Statement:
"We're in our preparation for West Virginia, a BIG EAST opponent. It's exciting. We are also honoring the '87 (Syracuse) football team – undefeated football team. We will have two honorary captains, even though I know there were three, only two are going to be here to a part of it. (Quarterback) Don McPherson and (defensive lineman) Paul Frase will be here. Ted Gregory is unable to be here. It's a great thing to be able to recognize that team. We have a number of players back from that team, which should be pretty darn exciting for all of them to be back and to be honored."
On how many of West Virginia's big plays are because of their opponents guessing wrong:
"I'm not certain, to be honest with you, who's guessing and who's not. I really don't know. When I watch the film I can't really say, 'Oh, he guessed wrong.' I've watched what's going on, but I don't know what people are thinking. It could be they did not do as well on defense, this guy did it better or this guy is a better athlete than that guy and he ran around him. or that guy looks like he did everything he could to put himself in position, but Pat White ran right by him. There are a lot of factors. There are so many factors that come into play and to try and pinpoint this or that when they make a big play – some of it's them doing a great job and sometimes it's the defense not in position. I think that's fair to say."
On the biggest lesson he learned from last season's game against West Virginia:
"The biggest lesson I learned? I think I said it to you on Sunday that you have to minimize. They are going to do something, they are going to execute. Their execution is going to be better at times. Their athleticism all of a sudden pops up. You have to minimize those plays. What looks like could have been a seven-yard gain, if it turns into a 42-yard gain, then we didn't do a good job of minimizing. I believe that is what you have to do. You have to minimize those and take advantage of the times when you're in position to make plays."
Last year, you focused more on (running back) Steve Slaton more than (quarterback) Pat White:
"I disagree with that. We never said we were going to emphasize on Slaton. You can't do that. You don't do that. You defend what they do on that particular play. Sometimes somebody's eyes are bad and they are looking in the wrong spot. Or sometimes Pat White ran around or sometimes they blocked us better than we got off the blocks. That's really what happened. We didn't say, 'Okay, let's stop Slaton.' No way. That isn't how it works. I'm not talking down. I'm just trying to inform you (the media) that it really is that. You have to play with what your keys tell you to play."
On game planning for a 3-3-5 defense:
"It's a three front. The 3-3-5 is they are playing an extra defensive back. What I mean is that it's an Okie front. It's just good old Okie defense and depending on how they set up. Okie, the old Oklahoma three man line, nose tackle over the center and two ends over the tackles. Then you adjust and slide your five underneath guys and three guys behind them – however they do it. That's what it is and sometimes I think it is treated it like it's a three-headed monster, when in fact, it's not really. When their players are better, they play better. I see that right now in their defense. I think they've really retooled a few spots and that's making a difference. They also have done some things structurally a little different than they have done in the past. It still come down to this; when you play coverage you are going to play three deep man, three deep zone, two deep or four across – those are terms that are used. That's really what it all comes down to. The world is basically that. Then you pressure and do different things, zone dog or blitz. Zone dog is where you still stay in a zone defense, but you still bring extra guys or you blitz and play man – those are terms. Their defense is an Okie defense, which is a three-man line as opposed to a four-man line and they cover the center and two tackles with their linemen."
On if the fifth safety is in the box:
"That's what they do a good job of, they mix that. They bring them down, they bring them back. We do some things like that in our four-man. But that's part of the cat-and-mouse game you play."
On if he re-thought his philosophy about the way he uses the running back:
"(Joking) Let me start drawing up here the plays we will run and I'll show you the new scheme – is that what you wanted. (Serious) We might have, we might not have. I'm really not going to sit and talk about what we're getting ready to do other than we know it's important run the football – we know it's important."
On if Illinois game them a glance at what to expect from West Virginia:
"They did things that are very similar. I look at Jarett Brown and he's closer to Juice Williams than he is to Pat White – bigger, still mobile. Pat is flat out (go). I'm not saying Jared isn't a good athlete – he's a very good athlete. When I look at that I see they have some similarities."
On (running back) Curtis Brinkley's health:
"I think he is where he is. We're this many weeks into the season and I don't know how much he is going to change physically. That would be my guess. I think he's pretty much what he's going to be right now."
On the dimension (running back) Noel Devine brings to the game for West Virginia:
"He's a good player obviously. I'm not understating what he is, but (Steve) Slaton is good. They're both very good. He (Devine) is a quick-twitch athlete with fine speed. I'll tell you he has power to him for a player who's not very tall. He's a compact football player who is gifted."
On what South Florida did well in its' victory against West Virginia:
"First of all, the quarterback (Matt) Grothe did a nice job of throwing a ball over the top of them for a touchdown. Their defense did a good job of turning the ball over. Statistically, they (WVU) still put 400 some yards on South Florida, but it isn't about yardage – it really isn't. That can be so misconstrued. I go back to our Louisville game, I think I made the point that our first 11 series on defense they scored 14 points. We turned it over three times and all of those kinds of things. It doesn't matter how many yards they had. Well, that’s the same thing, South Florida, yeah they (WVU) made some yardage but they didn't score and they (USF) took the ball away from them. To me that was probably the biggest factor in the game this year and the game last year against South Florida. If I'm not mistaken, South Florida stripped the ball and scored with it against West Virginia last year."
"First of all, the quarterback (Matt) Grothe did a nice job of throwing a ball over the top of them for a touchdown. Their defense did a good job of turning the ball over. Statistically, they (WVU) still put 400 some yards on South Florida, but it isn't about yardage – it really isn't. That can be so misconstrued. I go back to our Louisville game, I think I made the point that our first 11 series on defense they scored 14 points. We turned it over three times and all of those kinds of things. It doesn't matter how many yards they had. Well, that’s the same thing, South Florida, yeah they (WVU) made some yardage but they didn't score and they (USF) took the ball away from them. To me that was probably the biggest factor in the game this year and the game last year against South Florida. If I'm not mistaken, South Florida stripped the ball and scored with it against West Virginia last year."
On (quarterback Pat) White and (running back Steve) Slaton's speed:
"They are football players – they really are. White can throw the football and he is tough; he knows his offense. He's a good player and that's what it is – he's a good football player who is physically gifted, but I think it goes beyond his physical gifts. I think the same thing about Steve Slaton. He has physical abilities, he plays the game well in the style of offense that they are in."
On if the current team can look at the 1987 team as a team in '86 that underachieved and then went undefeated a year later:
"I would never tell our team that that team underachieved. I would guess they were a work-in-progress. As they grew and experienced more, they got better. Quite frankly, when Donnie (McPherson) and Paul (Frase) come to talk to our team on Friday, they will make that very clear. I know Paul really well and I don't think Paul looks at them as being underachieving; they were just developing. Even with talking to Coach (Dick) MacPherson, I think he felt that way too. I'm not going to say about our football team that we are underachieving. I just think we are a work-in-progress. We have an opportunity to play another game to see if we can learn from our past and develop and take another step to where we want to get to."
On what the team accomplished in 1987:
"It's absolutely a tremendous thing to see what perseverance did for a football team. Down to the last play of the last game and they were that far away (holding fingers close together) from taking away that tie (in the Sugar Bowl), too. So to get that done and I can tell you this; to win 11 football games in a row like that is quite an accomplishment – and came that far way (holding fingers close together) from winning 12. Yes, it's a great statement to our team, you just keep working. As (Syracuse All-American and NFL All-Pro) Tim Green told them a few weeks ago about how his group went through adversity after adversity after adversity and his thing was to keep getting up – keep getting up. Eventually it will come. I have to believe that."
On an update on (running back) Delone Carter:
"He's doing very well. He's in a running program right now. I can't tell you that he's all-out full speed running, but he's running. He's in excellent condition. The hardest thing for Delone is fighting the demons that haunt him at times that he can't be out there with his teammates and playing and helping the football team. He'll get through it. That's a tough thing for an athlete."
On if Carter will be able to practice in the spring:
"I don't know that. I think in December they're going to really test him again. That's the indication that I got. From there we will know a lot more."
