Player Comments from Weekly Press Luncheon
9/14/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
Weekly Press Luncheon
SENIOR TRI-CAPTAIN/OT JON JANSEN
How hard was it to look at Saturday's game tape
"Whenever you look at a loss it's hard. It's hard to take but you have to watch the tape. You have to learn from your mistakes. Hopefully we'll learn. We corrected some mistakes, now we just have to get those mental mistakes corrected."
Have you seen on tape where the breakdowns are on the line
"It's not that there's breakdowns, it's just that we're not getting the push that we need. I feel that for the offense to do well, the offensive line's going to have to do a lot better job. We need to get a better push off the ball."
There were a lot of three-and-out drives against Syracuse:
"I'd like to see us go a little bit more than that because I don't want to have to snap and run down the field (as the long snapper on punts). When you go three-and-out every time, it wears on the defense. I think our defense was on the field for 39 minutes against Syracuse. Whenever that happens, whenever you don't protect the defense like that, you really put them in a bad spot. We're not helping them at all."
How can this happen with all the starters you have back
"If you ask me what's going on, what's happening, I'm still surprised. We're not focusing any more on the last two weeks and what happened. We're focusing on the next two weeks. We're getting ready to play Eastern Michigan and we're getting ready for the Big Ten race."
You hear a lot about chemistry, support, talent. Is there something to that
"If you look at our team this year, we have more talent than last year. But we had something that was a little bit special last year. A couple things happened over the weekend. We had a couple meetings. We talked as a team. I think you're going to see a whole new Michigan team this week, and a much improved Michigan team."
What was the special thing you had last year
"It's hard to put your finger on it. We're not trying to duplicate what we had last year, we're not trying to duplicate those feelings at all. We're trying to find out what's special about this team, find out what we need to do to move this team forward."
What's right about this team
"We've had a lot of good things happen in the last two weeks. We haven't had anybody give up or say 'I'm not getting the ball enough,' or 'I'm not playing.' We had a great week of practice. If we have another week like that, we're going to come together as a very good team. If you look back to 1988, Michigan lost its first two games. But then they went on to go 8-0-1 and win the Big Ten. We look to the tradition of Michigan as to what we need to do. It's happened before so the guys are saying 'why not make it happen again.'"
On freshman RB Walter Cross:
"Walter's a great player. He works very hard every day. You'll see a lot of good things from him as he matures in the next four years."
On the two quarterback rotation:
"It doesn't affect us at all as an offensive line. We work with all of our quarterbacks each week in practice. We work on the same cadence, on the same plays. It doesn't affect us when another quarterback comes in. He doesn't change the cadence and we look at it as just another guy calling the plays."
As a senior, what responsibility do you feel
"When you're a senior at Michgian, you want to leave on top. We know that can't always happen, but we still have a chance to make it happen. All the players are looking to us to carry on that Michigan tradition, and all the seniors are aware of that. We really want to go out with a bang."
JUNIOR FS TOMMY HENDRICKS
On the mood of the defense:
"Of course we are disappointed, but we are not worried. We need to regroup and work on some things. We are going to be okay. We still have the rest of the season, it's not over."
On Syracuse QB Donovan McNabb:
"There is no question he is a great athlete, but a lot of those plays are plays that if we had people in the right places, those things don't happen. We need to make the plays. We're Michigan; we are going to come together because we have a lot of pride and we know what we have to do. I don't think we have to change a whole lot."
On the chemistry of the team:
"We are a different team than last year. Maybe it will take longer to gel than last year, but chemistry will develop. Last year we had something special. We have a lot of guys that are playing hard, and that is what coach Carr wants."
On Eastern Michigan:
"We are definitely not taking them lightly. They are a good team. What we have to do is go out and attack this week. They like to spread it around with the wide receivers. We have to go out and play with pride and emotion."
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN ILB ANTHONY JORDAN
On the his individual effort vs. Syracuse:
"There are expectations for a position and it doesn't matter who the guy is, you have to go out and perform. I was definitely nervous (about making his first start in Michigan Stadium). I didn't tell my father I was starting; he found out when he was watching on television. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to talk about it. I found out I would be starting on Wednesday. I was practicing with the first team all week and they were trying to see if Ian (Gold) was going to be ready. Obviously he wasn't."
On Eastern Michigan's Offense:
"I haven't really seen them. We are supposed to watch film this afternoon. I know they like to throw it a lot with three and four wide receivers."
On his first Michigan Stadium experience:
"It was really exciting. It was a great experience to run out on the field. It was something I have been looking forward to since I started playing football. It was just a great experience."
On the play of the linebacking corps:
"We made some plays, but there were a lot plays we didn't make. There were a lot of missed assignments that we have to correct. The option was very tough to defend. It's not an excuse, but I think it will be easier not having to play the option."
Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
