Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript (Sept. 23, 2008)
Opening Comments
“Our honorary captain for this week versus Pitt is an outstanding football player, Kyle Johnson, who was a two-time captain, which is unusual. He also had a number of years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos. He earned his undergraduate degree here at Syracuse and came back and received his MBA from the Syracuse Whitman School of Business. He's just another example of a person who is a great role model for our football team. We're looking forward to having Kyle come visit with the team on Friday. He had a chance this summer to visit with the team for a short period of time, but it'll be great to have him back.
“In getting ready for Pittsburgh, it's very exciting. This is our oldest rivalry in the BIG EAST, all the way back to 1916. The series is tied at 30-30, so we have a rubber match coming on Saturday. On top of that, it's the first game in the BIG EAST which is exciting for our football team. It's one that we're looking forward to and I really hope we can get our community to come on out and support this team. This team can use all the support they can gather up and I think it will be a great football game. So I make that appeal.”
How much would it have turned the season around for the team last year if you could have beaten Pitt?
“I don't know if it would've turned the season around. It would have been a great win, to win on the road in the BIG EAST. We really had to overcome some adversity at quarterback. Andrew (Robinson) was hurt and Cam (Dantley) had to come in. I thought the defense did some really good things in that game. We just came up short. It would've been nice, but it wasn't to be.”
What do you learn from those types of games?
“That was last year. This is this year. I'm always a little concerned to assume something because of this or that. You learn their personnel. The offensive players, we know who (Greg) Romeus is, we know (Scott) McKillop better and we know who (Aaron) Berry is.
“They're guys who jump out at you. On the offensive side of the ball, you know those receivers. You know both of those tailbacks, McCoy and Stevens-Howling. So you have a better feel for what you're up against. That's probably as much of what you can gain from the game. On the offensive line, those two tackles are gone, so these are different people we haven't run against. I think those are the things you can maybe gain the most from.”
How good is (Pitt linebacker) Scott McKillop?
“I think he's a very good player. I think he fits well in their scheme. He's a try hard guy. He plays hard and he gets around the ball. I think in some ways, he and Jake Flaherty have similar characteristics. They're both hard-nosed, tough guys that show leadership and kind of run the show in there.”
Daryl (Gross) got raked over the coals pretty good on ESPN…Could we get your reaction to that?
“That's Daryl's business. I'm not an athletics director. I don't think it's my place to comment at all. If he thinks it's necessary for our program, that's his choice. Daryl is a friend and I'm very supportive of him and he's very supportive of me. That's how I see it.”
But you did react to it in this article … You stated here that you understand where Daryl's coming from. Do you wish Daryl would not have said anything like that?
“Daryl's allowed to do that. He's the athletics director. He's my boss. He can say what he wants. Quite frankly, there hasn't been the progress, yet, that needs to be. I'm the first to say that. I've said it since day one. I thought at Northwestern, there were certain things that were good. There were certain things that weren't. The same goes for the Akron game. In Penn State, we were against a tough foe there and we were injured. So, we really haven't had a chance to display a lot. I thought the other day (against Northeastern) there were some things we could gain from. But what we really need to do is go out and win a football game that's meaningful to everybody else. There's no better opportunity to open the BIG EAST up at home and to play Pitt. That's how I look at it. The rest of that stuff is really more your world than it is my world. My world is to coach and not to make comments about this or that. I understand our fans and our community. I know what they want. And let me tell you, I'm hard at work trying to get that done. Our football team is hard at work trying to get that done. I give our football team a lot of credit because they're tough-minded guys who are still fighting the fight to get better. In my own opinion, this football team is going to get better. I've seen it begin to happen. I don't lose sleep over that other stuff.”
All this stuff can't make your job any easier, though, right?
“It doesn't make it any harder, either. I'm not here to worry about all that. I can't control all those things. You have to understand that. My life is about doing the things I control. What I can control is coaching this football team. I'm really excited about going out to practice today. I've been excited all week about it and this is an opportunity for us. This is a great opportunity for us, and that's what's exciting. I don't see it as any other way and I'm not going to let something get in the way of that. This is all about coaching this football team to win a BIG EAST football game –
the first BIG EAST football game.”
Do you think you still control your fate?
“I don't know how to answer that, really. All I'm concerned about is winning a game and winning this game this week. I suspect I could look at it like that, but really all I'm worried about is beating Pitt and not controlling my fate. This is not about me. This is about our football team and I want our football team to win. I want it for all of us. I want it for our community. That's what I want. I want to win the game against Pitt for all the reasons that it entails.”
Have you made a call on whether or not (running back) Averin Collier will play this season?
“I haven't made a call on that. Averin is talented and he's a gifted guy. I think he's back to 100 percent, but we haven't determined yet where we stand with a number of our freshmen yet. I think we could be playing some of them, but I don't know if you really gain playing them right now.”
Pitt is last in rushing in the BIG EAST. Is that because of their rebuilt offensive line or because when teams look at film, they decide have to stack the box to LeSean McCoy?
“I would suspect that has a lot to do with it. Against Iowa lot of safeties were getting downhill on him. Buffalo was the same way. They got out on Bowling Green and then all of a sudden, things were reversed and they had to go into a throwing mode the whole fourth quarter of that game. I think defenses have tried to cheat on him. When I say cheat on him, I mean they stack the box.”
How would label the play of your offensive line this year?
“I think it's been good. I think it's improved. I've seen steady improvement. Against Penn State, they went against a formidable defense and weren't as successful as a result. I thought at Northwestern, they did some good things. Against Akron, they were very good and last week they were good.”
How much of a credit goes to Mitch (Browning) for that?
“I think a lot should go to Mitch and I think a lot should go to Chris Wiesehan. I also give credit to our players. They're growing up for the most part. Ryan Durand and Corey Chavers have been around quite awhile and I look at those other young players in (Tucker) Baumbach and Bart (Ryan Bartholomew). Jim McKenzie has brought himself so far to where he is right now. Those players deserve a lot of credit for their hard work and development. I do think the coaches have done a nice job of working with them. It's all part of that.”
How about (tight end) Mike Owen?
“Mike Owen is a darn good blocker. Between him and (fullback) Tony Fiammetta, they bring a different dimension of blocking and receiving and touching the ball. They've done well with that. But they block for real. Tony's right in there as well and had some outstanding blocks. Some that have gotten attention from NFL scouts. His game has become pretty complete. And Mike, he's no longer a defensive player playing offense. He's turned into a tight end.”
How big of a challenge will it be for your offensive line given Pitt's pass rush?
“They do a good job. It'll be a test. It'll be interesting to see how we stand up against it. They can generate some heat.”
Will (running back) Delone (Carter) play this week?
“We'll get a feel today. He ran yesterday. We need to kind of just work it through. He wasn't in pads running, doing all that. We'll just wait and see.”
Is Cam (Dantley) still the starting quarterback this week?
“Yes. I thought he played well last week. He was very efficient. He did a good job running the ball a couple of times and he did a lot of things to keep it going.”
How important was it to get the win last week?
“It was a good win. It was just good to win. It was good to do some things we can hang our hats on. There were some things we can learn from in that game. All-in-all, we needed that. Now it's time to go to work against Pitt.”
