2002 FBL vs. Western Michigan -- Postgame Quotes
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Michigan Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Lloyd Carr
Opening statement ... "We talked before the season started about our schedule and how this game would test our ability no matter what happened against Washington. I think we played hard and we were able to see some younger guys play. I think we came out of this game with a lot of looks and it will help us build depth in the weeks to come. We came out of this game relatively healthy."
On Braylon Edwards ... "I will tell you one thing, he should have knocked the ball out of the defender's hands at the end of the first half when Western intercepted the ball. But he had great hands; he showed that on his first touchdown when he pulled the ball out of the defender's hands in the end zone. On his second touchdown he showed his speed when he ran the ball down. He is a big-play receiver and he helps us a lot out there. Both he and Tyrece Butler are doing tremendous jobs for us at the receiver position."
On the play of the tight ends ... "I thought (Bennie) Joppru got involved today. That first touchdown he made was a heck of catch. He had to extend for the ball. John Navarre is doing a great job of getting everyone involved and that will help us throughout the year."
On Notre Dame ... "I don't know much about Notre Dame because we haven't played them the past two years and they have a new head coach. This will be a great week. It's one thing to play in front of 110,000 fans cheering for you but now we have to play with that many fans cheering against you. Notre Dame has tremendous talent and I know many of their players because I recruited many of them."
On quarterback Spencer Brinton ... "I thought he made excellent throws to the receivers and tight ends and he did well with the time he was given. He was a little rusty to start, but he came back and played very well."
Senior/Junior Quarterback John Navarre
On the offense's success today ... "I wouldn't say that we stuck to our game plan. They're a great defense and we just did what we wanted to do. When you do that, you keep the defense off balance and you're able to convert you game plan."
On Braylon Edwards ... "You saw today how talented he is. We want to get the ball to our playmakers and he is certainly one of them. He's a big target and he proved he could play today."
On feeling confident after the first game ... "Definitely, after you get that first game under your belt you feel much more confident and comfortable. You want to get better every game and I think we improved today."
Senior/Junior Defensive Tackle Norman Heuer
On getting pressure on the quarterback ... "We got to the quarterback more today. But you can never be satisfied with your effort. We improved today and we will continue doing that."
On the defense ... "We have to come out and play to the best of our ability. Today we got the job done, but we have to come out next week with an improved effort and continue to do what we have been doing."
On the confidence in Michigan's defense ... "I think we are confident. We just need to continue to practice hard and improve to face Notre Dame next weekend."
Sophomore Wideout Braylon Edwards
On being the go-to receiver ... "It feels good to make plays. I don't really consider myself to be the go-to guy. I feel that I am just a player a great system doing what I am supposed to do."
On all the receivers getting into the passing game ... "They realized last year that you can focus on one receiver and a guy can be an All-American, but if you spread the ball around you can win games. All the receivers in the system know what they have to do to win and we have been doing that this year."
On his second touchdown ... "The way their defensive backs play I knew the minute John (Navarre) let the ball go that it was a touchdown. John led me enough and I ran under it for the touchdown."
Western Michigan Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Gary Darnell
On the Michigan program ... "When you play Michigan, you learn to appreciate the excellence of the program and what it stands for. It's what you expect to see, and it's certainly what we saw out there."
On the game ... "I thought Michigan was excellent in every way today. They were able to hold on to the ball, as far as running the ball, they knew what they wanted to do. The play-action pass was one of those things that we knew, going into the game, it was going to be that way. The biggest disappointment was that they were able to keep rushing away from us. We didn't have much of an answer for them."
On the way his team played ... "When we came off of the field after the first possession without any points, it was a huge letdown for us. Then we went back and forth without getting into the end zone, but there was always that spark that something might happen for us. Then we came out in the second half and we scored. I think we have some good players on our team, but there are some things to be corrected."
On U-M quarterback John Navarre ... "He knows more about what he's doing. Their routes aren't that complicated. When he knows what he's doing with it, it's a laser beam through there. I think he throws with more confidence."
On Michigan's running game ... "I don't know that we were benchmarked for that. We couldn't stop them. There were times out there today that whether we could or we couldn't, we just didn't. That's the only thing that really counts. I felt like we knew what to expect. I don't think we're the final test. I'm sure they feel like they've progressed."
Freshman/Sophomore Wide Receiver Greg Jennings
On the game ... "It was a tough game. We hoped to win but when you play against a Big Ten school you have to play like a Big Ten school. There were some things that we needed to do if we wanted to win and we did not do them. They really capitalized on our mistakes."
On how the offense felt after the first drive ... "We had a lot of confidence. We were able to move the ball pretty easily. I think we began to feel that we could do that all game but it did not work out like that. We knew that we could move the ball but it was up to us if we were going to do it."
On how it felt after the missed field goal after the first drive ... "It was tough. We really needed something after being able to move the ball like we did. The miss was very big. We should have scored."
Junior Defensive End Jason Babin
On Michigan's offensive line ... "They are very big. They have very good tackles and they were able to rotate players in and keep them fresh. They did what they had to do to stop us."
On Michigan's running game ... "They have a solid running game. We were out of position and missed our assignments a lot and they capitalized on that. We had mistakes all over and they always seemed to run right to the hole. They did a good job of finding our mistakes."
On the expectations coming into the game ... "We knew that they would be a very tough, physical and hard team. When you come here you know that it is time for football. It was pretty much what we expected."
Junior Quarterback Chad Munson
On Michigan's defense ... "They had a really nice pass rush. Their coverage was good, too, which made it really tough."
