Head Coach Doug Marrone Press Conference Trancript (Oct. 18, 2010)
“I appreciate everyone being here, especially after a disappointing performance by all of us, including myself. Pitt played very well and they made plays. We didn’t make the plays and one of the things I have to make sure of with this team is we have to bounce back. Every one of us who has coached before have been in games like that. What we need to do is go back and concentrate on little things make sure our steps our right, our eyes are right, we know exactly what we are doing and we don’t make mistakes. We have to keep the players and come back and everyone has to put their noses to the grindstone and let’s go back to work. And we have a game this week against probably the most experience team as far as starts that we will face all year.”
On getting back mentally …
“It’s good and started right after the game. We don’t meet with the players on Sunday, but today we will talk with the players about here’s what we are doing wrong, not necessarily to beat a dead horse. Everyone knows that Pitt beat us soundly. So concentrate on the little things and how we can get better technically in all different area and there are a lot of ways, whether it’s their fundamental footwork, their hands or their eyes, or positioning. There are a lot of things to do. Concentrate on that so when the player walks out of the room, he knows if he can just do this better we can be a better football team. And that’s overall everybody.”
On WVU’s successful defense …
“They have more starts on their defense than any defense we will play. They are extremely fast and extremely talented. They know exactly what they are doing. They have fine coaches on the defensive staff. And we are going to have to execute our game plan. That will be a great challenge for us. They are a very good football team.”
On one area especially need to work on …
“After a game when you get beat that soundly it’s very difficult to say there is one area because when you look at offense and defense, more so in those two after a game like that, it’s really overall. To pick one group out or one thing out would really be unfair. And, I don’t feel comfortable doing that right now.”
On practicing without pads due to the lack of depth on the team as precaution for future injuries …
“I never want to stand up here as a coach and create excuses for injuries or how we have to manage this team. Could we be a little bit better if we had some more full padded practices? Maybe, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse for why we are not executing well.”
On health of team …
“This is two weeks in a row now that we have come out healthy. Our kids have played extremely hard in both games. We didn’t give up the game and put some people in there at the end of it. We were fighting in there until the end. Sometime that (giving up) happens and we all know that as a game gets out of hand and as a coach you start looking for who’s giving me the effort and who’s not. And, I didn’t even think about doing that until I came in to start watching the film and I did not see a lack of effort from anyone that was on that field. And that’s a credit to the players. That’s why I think we have a chance to put our nose back to the grindstone and start working.”
On the secondary stopping WVU quarterback’s passing game …
“They have multiple weapons on offense. You can’t over commit to stopping one or the other. They have guys who can hurt you. They can hurt you out on the perimeter by throwing the football, and they have thrown the ball more vertically. The quarterback is doing a very good job. They have a lot of speed. And not to discount the teams we have played or the teams will play in the future, but this is one of the fastest teams that we will play and they have athletes on the field.”
On if WVU quarterback Geno Smith is similar to Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri …
“I don’t get into comparisons. Honestly, I don’t want to get into the game plans for what we will be doing. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, I’d rather be honest with everyone. (Smith) is a high percentage thrower, which is a concern. He has a big arm, but not one of those guys who goes back there and throws it. I give credit to a couple people. Their offensive line is doing a good job protecting, their receivers are doing one heck of a job getting open, and that helps you when you have playmakers and that type of speed.”
On if their style of play gives you a different challenge …
“Not as much on the defensive side because we have seen those types of formations. We haven’t seen those types of players that we will see on Saturday. There are multiple playmakers on this football team. Offensively it is more of an issue because though we haven’t seen that defense 3-3-5 doesn’t necessarily mean that we aren’t ready for it. We have to do a better job of making sure we understand what we are doing. That will be on us as coaches to make sure we present things well and the players can understand it fully because if they don’t than it is very difficult to go out there an execute it. The players have to be honest and saying yes we do understand it. It creates it more offensively than it does defensively for what we are doing.”
On midterm assessment of the team …
“I judge everything by the body of the work. We go through quarters with our team. We are 2-1 in the first quarter and 2-1 in the second quarter and we are sitting at 4-2 and that’s what we are. We understand that we have a tough schedule ahead of us, but we understand that we need to get better every day. That is the one theme I have been talking to with the kids about which I truly believe. As far as where we are, we would like to be 6-0, 5-1, 4-2, so we are at the third stage of what the whole objective was. How we continue on and how we practice is key for this team. There are two ways that can happen. There are great things ahead of us. You can look at it that way, which is the way we are looking at it. We have a long way to go, we have a lot of time to practice and get better each and every day. We are going to continue to do. We aren’t looking at it any other way. We aren’t looking at it as things are bad and the sky is falling down. I don’t feel that way and I don’t think the players do. Why I am able to stand up and say that? Did we execute the way we wanted to last game? Absolutely not, but we went down to the last play trying and that will make you a better football team in the future as long as you have that type of mentality. And that’s what we are trying to do. We are trying to create a foundation. We are trying to be a winning program that is consistent and right now we haven’t played consistently.”
On a way to describe WVU running back Noel Devine …
“He catches the ball well. He has tremendous speed and great vision. It’s like if we (at the Saints) were able to get the ball in the hands of Reggie Bush, every time he was able to get the ball we felt that he could score. I don’t know if you could have said that about some other players on our football team at that time when I was at the NFL. West Virginia has at least three players who I feel or maybe they feel, I can’t answer for them, but if they get the ball in their hands in space that those players can score anywhere on the field no matter how they touch the football. (smiling) So the answer is dangerous.”
On the impact in recruiting after a game like Pitt …
“I always go back to what we are trying to accomplish on a football standpoint and I go through that with all of the recruits. More importantly, what we have already established here as far as our players from an academic standpoint and building a total person. Those are the type of kids we are going after, the kids that want that. I have a responsibility because I am the coach and approve the scholarships, but I also have a responsibility to this University to the type of players we bring in. We want that type of person knowing we will get a good football player if they have that type of balance in their life. Recruiting is funny. You are going to win some and going to lose some. The players who we have up here overall, because I can’t speak about anyone specifically, even the ones who may not choose this school, really enjoy the visit and really appreciate the staff, the faculty, and all the people they come into contact with. And I include the community in that.”
On atmosphere at WVU …
“I haven’t been down there in awhile. It is an extremely difficult place to play. My background with West Virginia goes all the way back to Coach Nehlen. I actually took an official visit down there when I was in high school. I have a lot of respect for that program. They have great fans and support. It’s a tough environment to play in and it’s challenging. That’s what is fun about college football.”
