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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Head Football Coach David Cutcliffe Weekly Press Conference
9/18/2000 | Football
Sept. 18, 2000
Opening Remarks
As I said after the game, this open date comes at a good time for us. We haven't had an open date this early in recent years. I think, after three games, it gives us the chance to evaluate our team, what we're doing well and build on that. It also gives us a chance to see what we're not doing as well as we would like and correct that.
Certainly, we will try to heal some injuries. It was a very physical game in Nashville and took a little toll on us. I am anxious to get our squad back out on the practice field. An open date--this early this season--is really critical as far as continuing to get better. We will work hard this week and put ourselves in some game-like situations. We will try to stay on the path of improving as a team.
Q. What is the practice schedule?
A. We are going to just run today, get the tape sessions out of the way, and we will also do some conditioning. Tomorrow we will practice in full pads and follow with practices on Wednesday and Thursday. We will have a conditioning run early Friday morning and then give the players Friday and Saturday off. They won't report back until Sunday evening.
Q. What are the injury situations?
A. With Deuce, things look better than they did (after the play he got injured on), but we still have to see how he responds to treatment. Romaro is banged up, and we still have a few other people who are banged up. For the most part, there is no change as far as anyone being out. We have a lot of people who went into that game hampered by injuries. This open week will give us a chance to get some people healthy, and at the same time, get some young people some work. I don't think, at this time, there is anything new that is going to keep anybody out of a ballgame. With Deuce, we'll have to kind of see where he is after a day or two.
Q. What are some things that you are happy with and what are you not pleased with?
A. There are times that I am pleased with most everything we're doing on both sides of the ball. Then, we don't execute well like I know we can and that is causing inconsistencies on offense and defense, as well as in the kicking game. It's not really any one particular area. The production that I would like to get from our passing game has not been what I think it should be since the Tulane game. That is one area that we are going to address quickly. The rest of it is not a matter of one part not being good all the time, and the other part being good. It's the consistency. I have some thoughts about that, and we'll continue to work on the practice field along those lines. We are going to challenge some people to be more consistent or there are going to be competitions for some positions.
Q. What are some issues on the passing game that you would like to address?
A. I'll start with pass protection. Obviously, when you are throwing and catching the ball, the receivers and quarterbacks are a part of that mix. It is not any one area, it's just the production that we're getting out of our passing game. Again, at times, it's been outstanding, and then other times, it has not been near what I expect it to be at this level.
Q. Is it better to have a lot of small problems rather than one big problem?
A. From a coach's standpoint, the first thing that you don't want to do is look at a problem you don't have any chance to fix. I think our concerns are fixable for the most part. Early-season problems occur more than we remember from year to year. If you don't address the concerns, then they're going to catch up with you before long because other teams are getting better. I think these are things that we can take measures on to get better on the practice field. Again, open dates come at good times, and this is a good one. You like playing games, and following the process of getting better is playing in games. We're going to have to get the most out of our squad on the practice field this week.
Q. Do you see this team with a certain personality?
A. We are very competitive from the standpoint of playing hard and playing together. I think offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game, everyone is going to have to do his part. This team is going to be a team that is not going to totally dominate one side of the ball or the kicking game. Every phase is going to have equal ability to help us win. I hope that we don't have the personality of not being able to accelerate ourselves. To be honest with you, I thought we had numerous chances to separate ourselves from the opponent in our last game by executing properly and having consistency. This team practices hard and plays hard in games. We've just got to be a little smarter, and then we will see what kind of personality we have.
Q. Do you think the defensive has found its identity?
A. I think they really played well at Vanderbilt. Our defense played hard and played well against a very diverse offensive team last Saturday. There are still things there that we have to correct, inconsistencies that occurred. We are going to take a closer look and utilize this week to take a close look at our personnel, what we are asking them to do and what they can do. We are going to try to put our people in the best positions they can be to win. Again, that is in every phase of the game.
Q. Talk about Derrick Burgess.
A. Derrick has been really consistent and plays with intensity. He is a very physical player. Often times in games that are tight like last Saturday, big plays are made by players who have a knack for stepping up. I was really proud and glad to see him get to that point. I think he will continue to do that if, good Lord willing, he stays healthy. He'll get better. This is first full season of really being healthy since I've been around here, and we'll see him continue to grow. He has the ability to make big plays.
Q. Talk about Lee Rogers.
A. Lee had a good game last Saturday. I didn't think he was as good as what he could have been. That was good and that's where he's got to pick up now and improve from that point. But, he's got a lot of talent, and he certainly did a good job.
Q. What is the current injury situation with Eddie Strong?
A. The surgery went well. There is no change from the previous statement. Now it is sit and wait and see how he responds. You are looking at six to eight weeks. There is certainly a chance that this would be a redshirt year. We will evaluate that as we get on into rehab and see where he is. That is something that will not be an issue for quite some time because we are looking at weeks before we can get to that point.
Q. Talk about Romaro Miller.
A. Romaro is beat up, as I said after Saturday's game. I played Eli Manning in the second series of the third quarter. I had made the decision at halftime to do that because, looking at Romaro's physical condition, it was worse at halftime. I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to finish the game. Rather than wait and throw Eli in late when Romaro couldn't finish, I thought it was better to go ahead and get him in the game and get him some snaps. Romaro was able to finish. He will not be on the practice field tomorrow. He is a warrior and has been. He went into Saturday's game (at Vanderbilt) pretty banged up and got even worse.
Q. Did you sense on the sideline that the defense started believing in themselves and build momentum?
A. I sensed before the game that they felt that way. They didn't quit believing in themselves. We didn't play consistent against Auburn on the defensive side. Those guys knew they could compete with anybody on any given day. I think they had intentions of playing well (versus Auburn). Your pride gets hurt, and as the next game goes on, you do build confidence. They were anxious to get back on the field and you could sense that on Saturday. I walked down among the defensive players, and they we anxious to get back out on the field and compete. That's a good sign.
Q. Talk about Reagan King.
A. Our punting game proved to be one of the winning edges in the game. Both sides of the ball punted a lot. Field positions they had after punts weren't very good for them. Obviously, the last punt was huge. He will get better. For the most part our punting game is certainly a winning edge in the game.
Q. Talk about Terrence Metcalf.
A. He has gotten better each game. He is a physical player at left tackle, which is what you want. There is nothing he can't do, he just needs to continue improve with a number of snaps he's getting. He is a very physical run blocker and has the feet to be an outstanding pass protector on the edge. I think he's getting more and more comfortable there. He and Shane Grice, working together that should continue to improve. When you get used to the guards you are working with, a lot of things work between the guard and the tackles. He's has gotten more comfortable and I think he could end up being a great player at the tackle position.
Q. Are you glad you have two weeks to plan for Kentucky's offensive?
A. Certainly it helps. They are all over the place on offense. We haven't played them before. I've coached against them and I am very familiar with how good of a program they are. They have a lot good athletes, they've really improved athletically over the last two or three years. They are an outstanding team. They play great, whether it's on the road in the conference. It's always nice to have some time to prepare for the opponent, but early in the year, besides spending time on them, we've got to spend a lot of time on Ole Miss. But we will get a jumpstart on preparations for Kentucky.
