Head Coach Doug Marrone Press Conference Transcript (Nov. 2, 2009)
Opening Statement:
"I put a lot of time and thought into this. I'd like to make a statement about (graduate student quarterback) Greg Paulus. I took some time yesterday, last evening and this morning and really wanted to write some things down, so if I look down at the notes it's because I want to make sure I get it correct.
“I have never seen an athlete at any level, including the NFL, work as hard mentally and physically as Greg has worked since he joined us here at Syracuse. Really, what he's accomplished is extraordinary. Maybe it can't be fully appreciated because most don't know just how difficult it is to play quarterback at a Division I program. In the era of video games and virtual reality, it's easy to believe that throwing a pass, reading a defense, avoiding a sack is as easy as the push of a button that any of us can do. The problem about it is that it's not that easy. We can't do that.
“Despite the turnovers and mistakes Greg has made, that any quarterback makes, he's exceeded expectations at every level. I think Greg is a victim of his own success. We have seen him make great plays and great decisions and we've come to expect that from him at every time, but football is a team game. People don't know when an offensive lineman misses a block or a receiver runs the wrong route, they only see the decisions that Greg makes.
“Calling for a backup quarterback, backup pitcher, backup point guard, I understand that's just a part of sports. But Greg is one of us. He grew up here. He came back to do something that's never been done before and he's poured every ounce of his body and soul into that task. Let me say this, it's really been remarkable. If his performance, preparation and dedication drops off, then obviously, just like every other position, he will not be a starter for our team. When he's in the game, it's because we believe he gives us the best chance to win. I truly thank him for being here. I hope that my kids grow up to have the courage and determination of Greg Paulus. (Pause) I get emotional when I talk about my family.
"On to Cincinnati, it's very simple. I really liked the plan that we had. We were going to make them go. We stopped, from a scheme-point, some plays, but we weren't able to finish the play. We had a broken play for an 81-yard touchdown. It's a lot of the same things we talked about before. They had a botched hold; the quarterback made a great play and threw a touchdown. They were able to drive the ball down the field. We did a nice job early on in our run game; I think it's coming along. What hurt us a little bit in the second half was our ability to get back outside in the run game. We had a chance to tie the game or pull within one score, but we didn't have the ability to finish.
“Our toughness is picking up from a football standpoint. We have to become better at execution, obviously, with the turnovers and our decisions. We have to keep stressing the fundamentals that are going to make us a good football team. In doing so, what's happened is we look at the results of the game. I know who we are; we're a 3-5 football team. I look at those results and I know that we're becoming a better team, but were not getting to a point where that equals wins and losses. We'll get there, its coming. We'll be closer.
"As far as this week, the one thing about this conference is that at the beginning of the year, people said, 'Where are all the BIG EAST teams in the top 20?' We just played the No. 4 team in the country and now we're getting ready to play the 14th team in the country. All a part of the BIG EAST schedule. South Florida was ranked, West Virginia was ranked. We're playing all these great football teams within our conference. I think that's a credit to the BIG EAST Conference. Our players will go in there; we'll have a good game plan versus Pittsburgh. They have a very physical team. They're big, they're strong, and their running backs are running the ball extremely well. Their defense is creating great push. No one's really getting a lot of deep balls on them. We'll be ready to play going into Pittsburgh. I'm excited about the opportunity. I enjoy playing games like this against good opponents, good football teams. We'll just keep fighting and scratching and we look for a victory.
"The only other thing going on after Pittsburgh, just so everyone is aware, Mike Williams came to me today and has quit the program. Again, I don't comment on people who have left the program, but he has quit the program."
On whether he was affected by the crowd's reaction to Paulus during the Cincinnati game:
"I learned that after the fact. I really didn't know that during the game. After, when I got asked those questions, I turned to the people who were there and asked them about it. I didn't address this with Greg at all. I've been obviously busy with a lot of other things, but yes, that's what I've heard. Do I know it to be true or not? I trust the people, and I trust what you write and what everyone does and what people have told me."
On his feelings toward the fans' reaction to Paulus:
"I can't go and individually say what does it. I love the fans. I love the people here at Syracuse. I don't know. I just know that I love the players on our football team and I just want everyone to know how much I love these players."
On whether he thinks it's wrong for fans to turn on Paulus:
"It's second-hand information for me. I don't know if they feel that way, I just know that it was told to me that this situation went on. I know there were people that weren't happy with him. I'd rather people point out their feelings to me and love the players that we have on this team. He's a remarkable kid, that's all I can say. I do get emotional and you saw that. He's everything that you would want if you had a kid."
On whether Paulus knew about the statement:
"He has no idea. I tried to contact him at 11 o'clock and he was meeting with a professor. It was something that I was thinking about and writing down and I just felt strongly that I needed to say something about him. I wanted to contact him prior to this. He called me back, I was on the phone with an urgent call and I couldn't get back to him, he must've been in with the professor. I have not spoken to him yet."
On if he thinks the statement will have any effect on Paulus:
"Greg Paulus is one of the most amazing people I've ever been around. I just think of him as such a strong person, so I don't see that. That's my personal opinion."
On the response of the team to senior wide receiver Mike Williams quitting the team:
"I have not made a formal announcement to the team because of the timing. I wouldn't be surprised if they already know. I can't get everyone together fast enough with class. They have a responsibility and I want to make sure they go to class."
On Williams leaving the program:
"We're heading forward. There's no one individual, including myself, that's more important in the program. The program is heading forward. I go back to my original statement. You may not see it in the win-loss column, but if you're looking, you can see it with the players."
On why Williams quit the program:
"You have to ask him. I have no idea."
On whether he was surprised by Williams' decision to quit:
"I have been in this business long enough to not get surprised by a lot of things."
On if he's thought of who will replace Williams:
"No, because I've dealt with this decision before when we played Akron."
On if he quit (rather than being dismissed):
"That's correct."
On if he approached Williams:
"He approached me."
On if he asked Mike if he wanted to wait for 24 hours before making the final decision to quit:
"I'm not going to discuss the conversation from my end. Obviously I told you that he walked up to me and voluntarily took himself off the team."
On whether it's contradictory to tell fans to believe after losing the best player:
"I don't because it's not about one person. It's about this team and the people who are playing out there who are giving us what they have. What more would you want from a student-athlete? What more would you want from a professional athlete? You put someone out there on that football field who works hard all week, and gives you everything he has. What more could you ask for? I turn that question to you, I'm curious, what more would you ask for if someone has given you everything they have? Let's focus on where this team's going. I am not questioning you, I know that everyone has a job to do, but you have to believe in the program. You have to believe in what it's been about. There's been a foundation at this school that's gone on for a long time. That's called faith. Faith is believing in something that you can't just touch. I believe in my heart, I know, I feel very comfortable in saying that we're heading in the right direction."
On whether Williams withdrew from school:
"I don’t know."
On what happened during the botched field goal attempt snap against Cincinnati and whether or not Cincinnati had ineligible linemen down field:
"For me, I've thought about that and how to answer that question. I know that wasn't the reason we lost the football game. There are other things that occurred doing the course of that game. The officials have a very tough job. I respect what they do. I'm not going to comment on the calls that they make."
On whether the team is able to handle the challenge of the schedule:
"That's what we're working to. Knowing that at the end of the day, you have to know the geographies of where you are, who you are, where you play and what you need to do to win a championship. The way the schedule is, we know we play in a controlled environment indoors. We know when we wake up in the morning exactly what we get. We look to build this team a certain way. I understand that we have to have that physical toughness that when we go and play the teams to win this conference in the northeast in November, we have to be able to tackle in the cold, be physical, be able to run, and we really have to play well in November. That's the key to winning the championship down the road. I know this as a player and the players know this – it takes courage to tackle in the cold. The teams that can tackle in the cold and be physical in the cold are the teams that win in November. In the last place I came from (the NFL), we talked about winning in December."
On whether Pittsburgh has turned the corner with the way the beat South Florida:
"They've been physical with a lot of teams. Not having seen the teams we're going to see in the future, to this point they are the most physical bunch of guys that we'll play, especially their linemen. There are no bones about it. They line up on offense, they put their weight forward and they come off the football. They have a 260-pound fullback that can go. He can play. The running backs can flat-out run and they have great vision. The quarterback has good play action and good receivers. Defensive line-wise, they take your offensive line and push them back. They do a nice job. They are very physical upfront."
On Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis:
"I think he has tremendous vision. I think the line does a great job. I think the receivers do a good job blocking down the field. You're looking at a running back who averages five yards a carry. You're looking at vision, you're looking at toughness, you're looking at someone who can hold onto the football and someone that can score."
On whether Pittsburgh will test Syracuse's run defense:
"I would assume so, I would think they would. It'll be a great matchup. It'll be rushing offense versus rushing defense. Sometimes you get teams that can throw the ball and you don't know what's going to happen, but it's a tremendous challenge for our players. Pittsburgh is very successful. I don't believe they'll change. They've had a lot of success, they've built their team to play like this and they've done a nice job recruiting and they've done a nice job playing."
On senior nose tackle Arthur Jones:
"He's made plays for us and I'm excited about that. Last game, you saw him make some plays and beat a couple of guys. He's been getting a lot of attention. He's the guy who probably every offensive line coach talks about when they come in to play us, 'Hey, we have to make sure we stop him. He's their key player.' There have been a lot of double teams and people coming in trying to make a name for themselves as they play against Arthur. That's a challenge for any good player and he's done very well. He made some plays in the last game and now he faces a Pitt team that is going to be physical upfront. Do I think they're going to change their scheme? I don't think they will, whereas I've seen some teams that we've played change their scheme against Arthur that they haven't shown in the past to take away some of his strengths."
On the offensive line:
"I don’t anticipate any changes unless it's due to injury. I like it. They've done a nice job. You can see they're becoming more physical, which is something we've been stressing from week to week. Cincinnati did a nice job of shutting down our game on the outside a little bit. We had it going early on and we didn’t get it back. Hat's off to them. We have to keep going better and getting a little more push out of it as far as knocking people off the football. We're protecting better and we're throwing the ball more. When I say throwing the ball, I mean from what has gone on in the past here. Because we're being more physical up front, that's helping us in the protection, even though at times it breaks down."
On the importance of beating a team that you're recruiting against:
"It's always important when you play anyone in conference. Every game is important. I don’t think we say, 'Hey, we have to beat this team because we recruit against them.' We think we have to beat them because they're the next team on our schedule. I don't know if we look at it from that standpoint. Does it help you in recruiting to go ahead and beat that team? We do have to turn this around and starting winning those games. Hopefully we'll overcome some of the recruiting battles. I don't think kids choose schools because they beat this team and this team beat that team, I think there's a lot of things that go into it. I'm not ignorant enough to know that that's probably not some factor in their decision."
