Head Coach Doug Marrone Press Conference Trancript (Sept. 12, 2011)
Opening Remarks:
"Obviously, we're excited to be 2-0 at this point. We're not as excited at some of the ways that we have gotten to 2-0. We've made some mistakes in the past two games, and we're looking forward to an opportunity to go out to the west coast to play a great football team with some great coaches."
Can you give us any updates on player injuries?
"(Senior defensive end) Chandler Jones is not going to play this week, so we've lost arguably our best defensive player. (Senior strong safety) Olando Fisher will not play this week, and (junior cornerback) Ri'Shard Anderson might play. Hopefully next week we'll get a good report and have those players back, but they will not be playing this week. (Freshman linebacker) Dyshawn Davis is ok, he suffered cramps."
Can you talk a little bit about the travel plans for the team?
"I think the travel plans are basically what my philosophy is in going out to the west coast, which I've done for the past seven or eight years as a coach. We go out a day earlier, and obviously the venue is outstanding. We're talking about USC, which is arguably, since 2003, maybe the best program in college football, and they're still an excellent program. I don't think anything can get you prepared to play such a storied program such as USC."
When you play a program like USC, do you talk to the players about the history of the program?
"No BIG EAST team has won out there since 1957, I know that. I don't think history is very much on our side on this one in a lot of different ways. It's a credit to USC. They're an outstanding program with outstanding coaches."
What areas do you think that you really need to address?
"Really all of them, but we have to get better up front. That's the main area on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, we've been playing a lot of players, and that's going to help us, and we'll just continue to improve."
From an exposure standpoint, what does a game like this mean to the program?
"I think it's good for our alumni to get out there. I think a lot of people are making the trip from here in people that I've talked to throughout the course of the year. I think they'll have a good time, and we're going on a business trip. It's going to be a great experience for us to go out there and play such a great team."
Do you think that USC is the same program that they have been over the past few years?
"We're talking about a team that has recruited the best players in the country. They have 81 kids since 2003 in the top 100. I don't know what to say. All you have to do is pick up the media guide. They're an outstanding program. They have outstanding players, they have outstanding alumni, they have outstanding coaches, and they've had great coaches in the past. They're a great program; there isn't one thing that you can say. We're going to have to play extremely well to give ourselves an opportunity to win."
With so many young players, especially on defense, do you have to say anything special to them?
"I don't think our young players have been exposed to games like that, but everyone has television. I think everyone has seen games like this on television."
In two games, your team is converting around 25% on third down. What do you have to do to improve that and sustain longer drives?
"We have to be better than 25% You want to be somewhere in the mid-40's, and what has hurt us is that we haven't been able to convert on some of those short yardage due to some mistakes, meaning someone coming off too soon or not sustaining a block or not doing what we're supposed to do. That's hurting us, and we have a couple of drops too on third down."
You haven't won on the west coast in a long time. Is that something that you talk to your players about going into this game?
"I just try to tell them the truth. I'd rather them hear it from me than from somebody else. I think everyone is fully aware of the challenges we have against us going out there to play this game."
Can you talk about how the young players on defense have performed for your team?
"There are a lot. (Senior defensive tackle) Deon Goggins has played well for us. He's a first time starter. (Sophomore cornerback) Keon Lyn is a first time starter who's played well for us. We've had (freshman cornerback) Brandon Reddish in the games. (Sophomore free safety) Jeremi Wilkes has played multiple positions for us. (Freshman linebacker) Cameron Lynch has played quite a bit. We have a lot of those players, and they've all progressed well. To this point, we're happy with the way they are progressing. (Junior linebacker) Dom Anene went in there last week for us and played well. It goes to show that those guys are ready to play, and they're getting better week-to-week. This is a school where we develop our players, and as the season goes along we just have to keep getting better."
Can you talk about the play of (senior defensive tackle) Deon Goggins?
"From the Ernie Davis scrimmage, he's really played well. I don't really like to talk about it much so I don't jinx him, but he really has. We added him to the ‘Okie’ package, and we added him to the ‘Okie’ package because unfortunately we lost arguably our best defensive player in Chandler Jones for this game."
Can you talk about (USC quarterback) Matt Barkley and what he does for USC?
"He just manages the game. He throws the ball extremely well. He has great weapons around him, and he uses those weapons. Right now, he has a good thing going with the receivers. The receiver (Robert Woods) is probably the best player in the country at his position, and I think that a lot of those players are the best in the country at their positions. You have a lot of people around you to work, and you know what you're doing as a quarterback, so he's in a great position."
(USC wide receiver) Robert Woods has almost half of USC's receptions, what do you plan on doing to throw off his rhythm?
"Well, obviously, we'll have to know where he is because he moves around quite a bit. Again, we're not going to try to put in a lot of new things and create a sense of doing things that we're not. I think that's the wrong type of thing to do. We'll take a lot of my background in playing against teams like this. You do what you do, and hopefully you execute well and give yourself a chance to win the game sometime in the fourth quarter."
When you look at USC on paper, they're supposedly reeling from sanctions, scandal and violations. Do you subscribe to the theory that this is somehow a vulnerable team these days?
"Their numbers are not down by any means because of what's going on. I'm not going to get into the NCAA and what's going on out there. They're a great football team, and great players go there. That's the history of Southern California."
Can you talk about the added challenges that you face as a coaching staff going out on the west coast?
"If you look at the last eight years in the program, we're 34-62, and we're going against a team that's 88-16. We're struggling as a program because we're working to get better. That's what we're trying to do. Our kids have only been on the west coast once, so they really don't know the struggles of it. They just know the challenges of when you take a long trip.
"There are so many things. To try to get on the same schedule and try to get on the schedule of west coast time. Make sure that you're taking fluids. These things don't really have to do with what the media needs to know. If you go online, look for travel tips for the west coast. That's what we did. We found out that standing on the plane, with the ride being as long as it is, to make sure that you get up and walk around on the plane so you don't get any type of clotting. We went to our trainers and doctors and asked them about that. We want to make sure that we get some sleep. We'll do some running when we get out there, but I think everyone pretty much knows that as coaches.
"The challenge is to just make sure that you stick to a good schedule. It should be actually easier for the East coast teams going out west. It's when you come back the following game; they say it's tougher the following week."
Did you coach against (USC assistant coach) Monte Kiffin in your NFL career, and what are the difficulties going up against his defense?
"They have great coaches, it's not just him. Ed Orgeron is the defensive line coach, he's famous. Joe Barry is a famous defensive coordinator. I actually think Monte (Kiffin) is the assistant. We're talking about a staff that has a lot of years coaching the NFL. Lane has coached in the NFL. They have NFL players on their staff. Have I coached against him before? Yes. Do I have a lot of respect for them? Absolutely, they're great coaches."
How much easier will it be to get the full attention of your players this week versus last week?
"I don't know, I thought it would be easier the first two weeks, too, with the first game of the year and then not playing as well as you would like to. I can't answer that question. We'll have a better sense when we start practicing."
"Obviously, we're excited to be 2-0 at this point. We're not as excited at some of the ways that we have gotten to 2-0. We've made some mistakes in the past two games, and we're looking forward to an opportunity to go out to the west coast to play a great football team with some great coaches."
Can you give us any updates on player injuries?
"(Senior defensive end) Chandler Jones is not going to play this week, so we've lost arguably our best defensive player. (Senior strong safety) Olando Fisher will not play this week, and (junior cornerback) Ri'Shard Anderson might play. Hopefully next week we'll get a good report and have those players back, but they will not be playing this week. (Freshman linebacker) Dyshawn Davis is ok, he suffered cramps."
Can you talk a little bit about the travel plans for the team?
"I think the travel plans are basically what my philosophy is in going out to the west coast, which I've done for the past seven or eight years as a coach. We go out a day earlier, and obviously the venue is outstanding. We're talking about USC, which is arguably, since 2003, maybe the best program in college football, and they're still an excellent program. I don't think anything can get you prepared to play such a storied program such as USC."
When you play a program like USC, do you talk to the players about the history of the program?
"No BIG EAST team has won out there since 1957, I know that. I don't think history is very much on our side on this one in a lot of different ways. It's a credit to USC. They're an outstanding program with outstanding coaches."
What areas do you think that you really need to address?
"Really all of them, but we have to get better up front. That's the main area on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, we've been playing a lot of players, and that's going to help us, and we'll just continue to improve."
From an exposure standpoint, what does a game like this mean to the program?
"I think it's good for our alumni to get out there. I think a lot of people are making the trip from here in people that I've talked to throughout the course of the year. I think they'll have a good time, and we're going on a business trip. It's going to be a great experience for us to go out there and play such a great team."
Do you think that USC is the same program that they have been over the past few years?
"We're talking about a team that has recruited the best players in the country. They have 81 kids since 2003 in the top 100. I don't know what to say. All you have to do is pick up the media guide. They're an outstanding program. They have outstanding players, they have outstanding alumni, they have outstanding coaches, and they've had great coaches in the past. They're a great program; there isn't one thing that you can say. We're going to have to play extremely well to give ourselves an opportunity to win."
With so many young players, especially on defense, do you have to say anything special to them?
"I don't think our young players have been exposed to games like that, but everyone has television. I think everyone has seen games like this on television."
In two games, your team is converting around 25% on third down. What do you have to do to improve that and sustain longer drives?
"We have to be better than 25% You want to be somewhere in the mid-40's, and what has hurt us is that we haven't been able to convert on some of those short yardage due to some mistakes, meaning someone coming off too soon or not sustaining a block or not doing what we're supposed to do. That's hurting us, and we have a couple of drops too on third down."
You haven't won on the west coast in a long time. Is that something that you talk to your players about going into this game?
"I just try to tell them the truth. I'd rather them hear it from me than from somebody else. I think everyone is fully aware of the challenges we have against us going out there to play this game."
Can you talk about how the young players on defense have performed for your team?
"There are a lot. (Senior defensive tackle) Deon Goggins has played well for us. He's a first time starter. (Sophomore cornerback) Keon Lyn is a first time starter who's played well for us. We've had (freshman cornerback) Brandon Reddish in the games. (Sophomore free safety) Jeremi Wilkes has played multiple positions for us. (Freshman linebacker) Cameron Lynch has played quite a bit. We have a lot of those players, and they've all progressed well. To this point, we're happy with the way they are progressing. (Junior linebacker) Dom Anene went in there last week for us and played well. It goes to show that those guys are ready to play, and they're getting better week-to-week. This is a school where we develop our players, and as the season goes along we just have to keep getting better."
Can you talk about the play of (senior defensive tackle) Deon Goggins?
"From the Ernie Davis scrimmage, he's really played well. I don't really like to talk about it much so I don't jinx him, but he really has. We added him to the ‘Okie’ package, and we added him to the ‘Okie’ package because unfortunately we lost arguably our best defensive player in Chandler Jones for this game."
Can you talk about (USC quarterback) Matt Barkley and what he does for USC?
"He just manages the game. He throws the ball extremely well. He has great weapons around him, and he uses those weapons. Right now, he has a good thing going with the receivers. The receiver (Robert Woods) is probably the best player in the country at his position, and I think that a lot of those players are the best in the country at their positions. You have a lot of people around you to work, and you know what you're doing as a quarterback, so he's in a great position."
(USC wide receiver) Robert Woods has almost half of USC's receptions, what do you plan on doing to throw off his rhythm?
"Well, obviously, we'll have to know where he is because he moves around quite a bit. Again, we're not going to try to put in a lot of new things and create a sense of doing things that we're not. I think that's the wrong type of thing to do. We'll take a lot of my background in playing against teams like this. You do what you do, and hopefully you execute well and give yourself a chance to win the game sometime in the fourth quarter."
When you look at USC on paper, they're supposedly reeling from sanctions, scandal and violations. Do you subscribe to the theory that this is somehow a vulnerable team these days?
"Their numbers are not down by any means because of what's going on. I'm not going to get into the NCAA and what's going on out there. They're a great football team, and great players go there. That's the history of Southern California."
Can you talk about the added challenges that you face as a coaching staff going out on the west coast?
"If you look at the last eight years in the program, we're 34-62, and we're going against a team that's 88-16. We're struggling as a program because we're working to get better. That's what we're trying to do. Our kids have only been on the west coast once, so they really don't know the struggles of it. They just know the challenges of when you take a long trip.
"There are so many things. To try to get on the same schedule and try to get on the schedule of west coast time. Make sure that you're taking fluids. These things don't really have to do with what the media needs to know. If you go online, look for travel tips for the west coast. That's what we did. We found out that standing on the plane, with the ride being as long as it is, to make sure that you get up and walk around on the plane so you don't get any type of clotting. We went to our trainers and doctors and asked them about that. We want to make sure that we get some sleep. We'll do some running when we get out there, but I think everyone pretty much knows that as coaches.
"The challenge is to just make sure that you stick to a good schedule. It should be actually easier for the East coast teams going out west. It's when you come back the following game; they say it's tougher the following week."
Did you coach against (USC assistant coach) Monte Kiffin in your NFL career, and what are the difficulties going up against his defense?
"They have great coaches, it's not just him. Ed Orgeron is the defensive line coach, he's famous. Joe Barry is a famous defensive coordinator. I actually think Monte (Kiffin) is the assistant. We're talking about a staff that has a lot of years coaching the NFL. Lane has coached in the NFL. They have NFL players on their staff. Have I coached against him before? Yes. Do I have a lot of respect for them? Absolutely, they're great coaches."
How much easier will it be to get the full attention of your players this week versus last week?
"I don't know, I thought it would be easier the first two weeks, too, with the first game of the year and then not playing as well as you would like to. I can't answer that question. We'll have a better sense when we start practicing."
