Press Conference Comments from Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr
9/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Press Conference Comments from
U-M Head Football Coach Lloyd Carr
Previewing Indiana (Sept. 27); Reviewing Oregon (Sept. 20)
On senior quarterback Spencer Brinton ... "Spencer Brinton underwent shoulder surgery last Tuesday and he will be out for the rest of the season. We're going to miss Spencer."
Opening statement ... "We had some great football plays in this game, a great effort by our team. I thought our field goal rush team was tremendous, blocked a field goal and gave us the lead in a very difficult place to play. I think we made a great play on the fake field goal at the end of the game, which gave us an opportunity to win the game. I think Braylon Edwards made a great play on the onside kick, and Braylon did a tremendous job and some of the catches he made were just unbelievable. Steve Breaston and Jason Avant were two young kids in a very, very difficult environment and played so well. John Navarre made some unbelievable plays, some unbelievable throws. Standing in there, taking the blitz, he got hit right in the mouth and still delivered the football. Chris Perry proved that he could play without the football; he watched the pass protection and did a great job. Jeremy LeSueur had his best game at Michigan. Our defense's ability to take away the big play, I thought, was something very special. There aren't many people who do that to Oregon. Grant Bowman had an outstanding football game.
"In the end, we made too many mistakes. Defensively, we didn't cover their tight end or fullback very well. On their two touchdown runs, we just had some assignment mistakes that really hurt us. After that, our defense settled down and played well, played hard, but they certainly did not play well very early. Offensively, the two turnovers in the second half hurt us. The first stat I want to know is who won the turnover battle, and our defense didn't cause any turnovers and theirs did, and that was a big factor. For the first 30 plays of the game, our offense did very little to help our defense. They were on the field, but offensively, we didn't block very well. We didn't protect the quarterback very well, we dropped too many passes, we had some throws in there that weren't on the mark. I'll tell you one thing about John Navarre -- he has never made an excuse. When you've been around football as long as I have, you know that in the old fields, there's a big crown, and that field at Oregon to me looked like an eight- to 10-inch crown, and that affects the throws to the sidelines particularly, and I think that affected John. We haven't played on a field with a crown like that. We don't make excuses, but I'm making one for him, because I don't think it's an excuse; it's the truth.
"The kicking game, we just made too many mistakes. The most disappointing thing in that game to me was the fact that after we got the onside kick, we had plenty of time and ability to win the football game. That to me, after battling back and having a chance to win, I just felt that we were going to win that football game. I think our team did too. Obviously, we're disappointed from the standpoint of that game. But when you go in that locker room and you ride that bus away from that stadium, and a lot of kids are crying their eyes out -- that's why I like this team, because they care, they took it hard, they fought back, and they will fight back."
On Michigan's special teams ... "I think on the blocked punt, they had a great individual effort from their safety. Brian (Thompson) was expecting him to come in underneath, but instead he came right at Brian, got underneath him and drove him back into the punter. On the punt return, we just didn't do a good job. We didn't get anybody down in front of the return guy and then we had three or four guys that were in position and didn't make the tackle. Even if he hits a crease in there, it still should be a 15-yard gain. But I give Oregon credit for winning the game. They played very, very well and they're a good football team."
On the team's attitude heading into the Indiana game ... "I don't think there's any difference coming off a big win than coming off a loss. It's certainly more agreeable when you're coming off of a win. The challenge is significant regardless. If you're coming off a great win, you're going to have to deal with the problems of complacency, the problems that come with thinking that just because something great happened one Saturday, it's going to happen on another. You lose, you've got to deal with the other issues that come with the disappointment of losing. In both cases, the problem is that you're looking back. Regardless, you have to be able to put that game away. It's one of the reasons that we meet on Sunday. We see our film so that we can get going on the next opponent because in the competition we have, you better get ready for the next game."
On the team's goals from this point on ... "I don't think that there's any goals that this team set that aren't reachable."
On playing in Autzen Stadium ... "That was the loudest stadium I've ever been in; we knew it was going to be loud. I want to commend our players for the fact of the way they handled the crowd noise before the ball was snapped. The problem that that type of environment creates is that our offensive linemen really had to see the ball snapped, and anytime you have to watch for the ball to be snapped and your eye is not on the man that you're going to block, you're at a distinct disadvantage. Secondly, your ability to check, and a lot of our offense is predicated on checking at the line of scrimmage. We weren't able to do that, but that's the challenge of playing on the road, and when you can't check, it means that you're guessing because you call a run in the huddle. You're going to run the ball up regardless. That's one of the reasons why this game was an outstanding opportunity for us to play on the road before we get into the Big Ten."
On the condition of Braylon Edwards' finger ... "There is not a break, he is definitely feeling some pain though. I think he dislocated it, which if you have ever tried to catch a football with a sprained finger, it's not an easy thing to do. It's painful, there's no question about that."
On the little amount of time the offense saw early in the game ... "Normally, in a game you spend the first quarter on both sides of the ball and you're trying to figure out how they are attacking us and defending us. Unfortunately for our offense, we only had three plays in the first quarter. We dropped a lot of passes on third down. We didn't do what we needed to do to keep our defense off the field. If you have an 18-play drive like Oregon did, you're going to know by the end of that drive how you're going to be defended. For us, that didn't happen until halftime because we just didn't get enough offense going. It's one of the most unusual games I've ever been involved with from the standpoint of the way it happened because we were on the field for about 26 plays before our offense ever took the field. That's pretty unusual."
On the importance of the younger players focusing on the next game ... "You're fighting a battle of trying to concentrate today on how you can get better. If you're thinking yesterday or looking towards the future, then you aren't able to focus in and do the things that help you get better. That's one of the fun challenges of being a coach: trying to take young people in a program like this, where the magnitude of the coverage and exposure you get here is unbelievable, and teaching them to focus. When you win, it's fun. When you lose, it isn't fun. The truth is, you've got to come in and concentrate today, look at the film and listen to the coaches' critiques of the plays. When you get to practice, you have to concentrate on your weaknesses and the things you didn't do well. The greatest problem is when the leader relaxes. As a coach, it's very easy to get distracted and hang on to what happened yesterday. We all fight the same battles."
On being able to keep the players' spirits high ... "You know who's hurting and who's down. What's so important at the high school or college level is the senior class. Those guys have been through experiences that can help them help younger players. As a coach, you have to count on that type of leadership from players who have been through it."
On the emotions he saw from the players after the loss ... "I saw an anger at losing a game that we could've won. Pierre Woods came into my office last night and apologized for not playing the way he's capable of. He hated the way he played and promised to play his heart out from this point on. It takes an unbelievable person to say that. When you have people that care that much, you can feel proud. It displays a toughness and character that you like to be around."
On Indiana coach Jerry Dinardo ... "If I had another son that was playing football, I'd be damn proud to have him play for Jerry Dinardo. He stands for everything that is positive about college football and coaching. What impressed me about Indiana was when they went on the road to face a talented Washington team they played very hard out there. They're well-coached and he's rebuilding the program. I'm extremely impressed with how hard they play. Anytime you're playing a football team that plays as hard as they can, then you have to be ready to play. Our challenge is to have a great week of preparation and come in there and play as hard as we can."
On the play of receivers Jason Avant and Steve Breaston ... "Jason Avant didn't play a lot last year, but I do remember a play against Michigan State where he made a big catch on third down to keep a drive alive. This kid has hurt himself twice in practice after laying out for a pass. He's just an all-out guy. If you look at the Notre Dame film, you will see Avant in the thick of things blocking for Chris Perry. Steve Breaston, if he had been a receiver in high school, would have played for us last year. Victor Hobson was talking to one of his coaches in New York (with the Jets) last week and told him that he had never seen a player like Breaston. He told him that Steve would come down and work against the defense and every day nobody could get near him on two or three plays. Breaston is one of those guys with great ability. This kid is special."
On the play of cornerback Jeremy LeSueur ... "He's been through some ups and downs and learned some hard lessons. He's learned to compete on every down. When he came here, what he wanted to be was a cover cornerback. As long as his guy didn't catch the ball, then he was doing his job. There's a lot more to being a football player than that. It took him a while to see that. He's learned how to play 60 minutes. The play on the blocked field goal did not happen by accident. He did exactly what he was supposed to do there. His job on that play is to come up the field and look in, in case that ball is blocked. He was in a position to make a great play because he did what he was supposed to do."
On the special teams mistakes against the Ducks ... "I don't think there's anything that can't be corrected. Once you have a blocked punt returned, it puts you on notice. After the return, we did a very good job of covering. But we have to do it every time. You have to do it with a sense of urgency and you have to understand that those plays can beat you. We had people there in position, we just didn't make a play."
On Braylon Edwards' dropped passes ... "Braylon is an enormously talented guy. The only issue I've had with him is being on time. He practices hard and competes hard. He makes some unbelievable plays and then sometime he'll drop a ball that is right there. First of all, it's not game of perfects. It's part of the game. He's made so many great plays that the expectations for him are high. He's working hard and playing with a bad finger. He has a challenge and he'll meet that challenge. He knows the expectations and he's working hard to meet them. If you're working as hard as you can, then you're successful."
On preparing for Indiana ... "I've spent most of last night and this morning watching their defense. They've got a quarterback in there that has had some experience. They're trying to possess the football and run the football. I don't think it's anything we haven't seen. They do a good job every week of trying to attack the weaknesses of defenses. That's what I think they do best."
On the decision about a game time for Minnesota ... "There is a conference call tomorrow where the commissioner will give his recommendation. I think the only question is of what time it will be played, either Friday night or Saturday morning. It will be played in the Metrodome, I'm sure of that."
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