Greg Robinson Press Conference (November 4, 2007)
Opening Statement:
"In reviewing the film I felt it was a game that we had our chances in the second half to get back into the game and win it, but we were unable to get it done. At the same time, I do feel there were some things that we could build on. I really liked the way the defense stepped up and was able to give our offense a chance to get back into the game. I thought they were really competing. I thought that (quarterback) Cameron (Dantley) did a nice job of coming off the bench – I talked about that yesterday (after the game). It was a hard-fought game to the very last play – it was a battle and our guys were competing. That part of it is good to see. Not that it isn’t expected, but I’m just glad with the way it looked."
On how (starting quarterback) Andrew Robinson felt today:
"He’s sore. They’re going to take an MRI tomorrow morning and kind of operate from there."
On how soon Andrew Robinson will return to practice:
"I don’t really want to say anything until I know where he is at. He’s stiff and sore today and some of that is from yesterday. We’ll see how he goes."
On Andrew Robinson’s practice schedule leading up to the Pittsburgh game:
"He practiced Sunday, practiced Tuesday and on Tuesday his back was irritated. Then Wednesday we stopped him early in practice and just had him watch. Then on Thursday he didn’t practice really at all. Friday he didn’t do anything either. We were just trying to rest him and trying to get him to where he was, hopefully, feeling better and I think he felt like he was feeling better. He was still real tight. That was really how the week was which in some cases was really good because it gave Cam a good amount of work."
On how much it helped Dantley prepare:
"I think it definitely helped."
On the special teams breakdown on Pittsburgh’s two long returns:
"On the kickoff return, we had two young guys right next to each other who really didn’t read their keys very well. Like any play you have to be able to adjust and we’ve been pretty good with that all this year really. Our kickoff coverage has been very good, but unfortunately when you get two people out of position that creates a problem. (Kicker) Pat (Shadle) tried to get over there to make a play and wasn’t able to. Da’mon Merkerson did a nice job – maybe around the 35-yard line it looked he might be able to get him, but he didn’t want to over-commit because he felt the guy could cut back on him and it took a little further up for him to get him. On the punt return, our gunner on the left side was getting down the field very well and their returner began to start inside like he was coming back. He kind of gave the illusion that he was going back to the middle of the field and our gunner kind of took the bait and he need to stay on his outside shoulder. As soon as that happen they had a parade of blockers around there and were able to get that thing going. He’s (Pitt punt returner Aaron Berry) good and he’s an impressive athlete."
On if the wind was a factor when SU punted toward the open side of Heinz Field at the end of the third quarter:
"It really wasn’t. I never really felt the wind at all during the game. It wasn’t like some other games that you’ve seen. I didn’t really notice the wind at all much. There might have been a slight breeze, but it wasn’t a factor."
On freshman Max Suter getting carries on offense:
"I suspect we’ll continue to work him there. He showed some things. We know what Max is – he’s quick and he can accelerate. He shifted. He had two or three runs that I thought were very good. We’ll continue to work with him."
On the decision to move him to tailback:
"We decided to see what we had, really, in the bye week. We just wanted to take a look and we weren’t really certain that that was the best thing to do. We came back on Sunday and worked with him some more and he was taking to it pretty good and had a pretty good grasp of what we were doing. That (Suter learning the offense) is what we were concerned about. He was limited in what he could do and he didn’t have the whole package to deal with as he went into that game. After (last) Sunday we said this was the right thing to do."
On the running game not able to get going at Pittsburgh:
"I think your taking this game because up until this game for a number of weeks, we were going along. First of all, I give Pitt credit. They were stacking it up pretty good. There were a couple of things that we didn’t do well in execution. We rushed for 80 yards or something like that and then lost yardage, but I would have expected us to do better than that. You can’t just blame the offensive, even though I thought there were a couple situations where I thought they could’ve done better. I thought there were a couple of times where if we read the scheme, read the blocks, we had big play ability. One was a loss yardage play and the other one was a no-gain play. Some of that is inexperience."
On the young offensive line and pass protection:
"It’s been noted that some of our younger guys had some issues and they did, but they played a lot, too. I kind of take exception when you (the media) single out people. This isn’t pro football and some of these guys haven’t been playing much. Some of those young players did a lot of good things in that game. What happens is, is one or two plays a player might make a mistake and it jumps out. I can’t tell you that there isn’t inconsistent play at times with the young players, but I also think there is a lot of progress that has been made with them. I like where we’re going with those young guys, and that’s not to take anything away from the other guys who are in there. They are playing for a reason and I think they’re going to be really good players. They just have to stay at it, keep working and hopefully we’ll see development the next week."
On areas of the game improving and others falling off:
"Some of that you would have to credit to the opponent and I would put some of it on inexperience. When you have young people out there, you’re going to see moments that you’re going to really like. You have to be ready that there are going to be some misfires, as well. On the offensive side of the ball, there were five freshmen – three linemen and two backs who are freshmen, and, three of those guys are true freshmen. I don’t want to make excuses. You’re asking the question. I think that those things have to do with it. We had some young guys playing on the defensive side of the ball, a couple of young linebackers. Early in the game, I thought they were wearing the wrong color jerseys, but as the game wore on they got better and all of a sudden began to feel better. Their game play became better and they got better. I think that’s what it comes down to and in some cases some guys might not be good enough with the people they are going against. You have to give the other team some credit as well. In the special teams area, we’ve been very good. I’m not going to single out people, but they were young people, who were inexperienced at what they were doing. They have done well at times. As a matter of fact in the gunner situation, even in that game, a play had been made. Some people have to kind of have to go through a mistake sometimes to learn."
On how long it takes until inexperience stops being a factor:
"I’d like it to be a lot less than that. You know the answer to that as well as I do. I can’t really tell you that. Every person is a little different. Some take a little longer and some from the get-go are ready to go. That’s how it is, but all you can do is try and bring them along."
On sophomore linebacker Mike Stenclik:
"Mike hasn’t really played for us (before the Buffalo game). He’s inexperienced, but I like what he’s doing and I think he’s doing a really good job. Early in the game he had some issues, but he got back on track and as the game wore on he played pretty darn good. Mike is a good hitter and he’s an instinctive player. Pitt was doing a lot of different things, but he warmed up."
On redshirt freshman linebacker Parker Cantey:
"He started the game and early on I was beginning to wonder about the jersey he was wearing, but Parker came around and Parker did some real good things. He played aggressive, but he’s still has a lot to learn right now. Don’t get me wrong, I like when I watch him out on the field. He’s going to be a good football player."
On giving themselves chances to win:
"Both sides of the ball kept competing. We’re coming along – I know that. You people (the media) get tired of hearing it, but I can see it. That was a competitive environment. They were all out, as well were we. Look at their touchdown catch, that guy went up over (cornerback) Nico Scott. That was a heck of a play by Nico – he was all over it – but that guy just happened to be three , four , five inches taller than him. I like the way he competed on that play. You keep giving Nico some shots and he’s going to keep getting better and better. There is a lot of that. As a fan, and I’ve been there and I know the other side of it, you want it now and I understand that. It just doesn’t always go presto. Sometimes it just really catches and once you kick in it’s amazing what can happen.
"We had a real good friend of mine speak to the team on Friday night, Frank Gansz. Frank Gansz is a great football coach. He was a special teams coach in the NFL, he was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs at one time, he was an assistant coach at Navy, Army, at UCLA. He is also a military historian. He was talking about situations where – quantum leap. He gave the story about breaking the sound barrier – Chuck Yeager and those people. He talked about how the English got that thing up to 680 miles per hour and all of a sudden the plane just disintegrated. Then over here in America they got it up to 680 miles per hour again and all of a sudden that had to shut it down because they could tell it wasn’t going to make it. Everyone said it was impossible to get to 700 miles per hour. All of a sudden the design and the guy that kept telling these young test pilots that this is going to work. They went out there and boom, they broke the sound barrier, more than 700 miles per hour. Within three weeks they took it to 1,600 miles per hour. That’s what can happen. You get to a point and you know you are there and all of a sudden it gets to going. In the meantime you get these highs and lows.
You just keep fighting the fight and there are so many examples of that. Right here in our conference, Rutgers, you go study their history. Go study the history of UConn. Those teams are the 'envy teams' as some would put it, but they’ve had to fight the fight as have a lot of others – Louisville and South Florida, as well. That’s how it works, but I know that we just have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep recruiting the kind of players that we’re recruiting and it’s going to continue to get better."
You just keep fighting the fight and there are so many examples of that. Right here in our conference, Rutgers, you go study their history. Go study the history of UConn. Those teams are the 'envy teams' as some would put it, but they’ve had to fight the fight as have a lot of others – Louisville and South Florida, as well. That’s how it works, but I know that we just have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep recruiting the kind of players that we’re recruiting and it’s going to continue to get better."
On the decision to start Andrew Robinson and replace him with Dantley:
"If I were to do it again, I would put Cam in there from the get go. I could tell that Andrew wasn’t 100 percent and that he wasn’t really feeling well, but as I mentioned he threw a couple of balls in there and I thought what the heck. Then he ran the one keeper play where they called a penalty, but he was banged around a little bit. I thought he handled it pretty well, but I could see the way he was moving around the huddle. It was kind of how he was moving in practice a little bit. On his drops, when you study the film now, you see that he’s not setting up. It’s easy to talk about now, hindsight is 20/20, because I felt good about the way Cam practiced last week too. If wishes were horses – you know how that goes."
On retiring Larry Csonka’s jersey during the South Florida game:
"I go back to the College All-Star Game at Soldier Field. The college all-stars used to play the NFL Championship team in a preseason game. The college team was beating the Green Bay Packers and I remember Larry Csonka, this big, burly running back from Syracuse, coming around the left side and here’s Herb Adderley, an all-pro cornerback, coming up to tackle him. Csonka delivers a forearm so hard that he flips Herb Adderley over and he (Csonka) gets a 15-yard penalty while running with the football. I enjoyed watching him play more than anybody I had ever watched. Even when he was with the Dolphins, and I didn’t like the Dolphins, but I loved watching him play. He was unbelievable with the way he was just a battering ram. He’s out there in Alaska doing his thing, but is an Ohio guy and I think it’s great that he’s coming back. He hasn’t been back in quite awhile. I talked to him last year and we visited a little bit and he seems like a good guy. He loves his fishing and hunting and all that. I think it’s great. Anytime we can get these great people, who have done great things, to be around and be a part of the program is great."
On South Florida:
"They are a good football team and I know right now they are kind of bitten. The last three weeks it came down to the end. We know that they are a good football team, offensively and defensively. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but it’s great. The challenge is can we get back and get the fight again. Easy to say, but we have to strap it back on and get to work. We just got done with practice just a few minutes ago. I look forward to it."
On the changes to the defense:
"As I watched Michael Holmes playing safety, I thought that every week was new learning for him. The safety position takes some work. Here he had been a corner for us, but the West Virginia game was a limited plan because it was specific to what they did and he played very well. Dowayne (Davis) is out there playing corner, and not that he isn’t a good corner, but I know he would be comfortable in there playing safety and I know that Mike Holmes’ true position is a corner. He can play out there and I thought it would make a lot more sense to swap these two and get Dowayne in there who knows what the heck is going on and can talk to other guys. Mike is leaning on Joe (Fields) or he’s leaning on Jake Flaherty or Dowayne is over there on corner trying to help him. You really like the communication to be starting from the inside out. I think it will make sense to continue to play that way."
