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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference
10/24/2005 | Football
Oct. 24, 2005
OPENING COMMENTS
Times like these are the greatest to be a football coach. We are excited to go down there and play Auburn. I know my team is looking forward to playing them, and we are going to have a great week of practice.
Some of the positives from the Kentucky game include, our offense committed no turnovers, and our time of possession, especially in the fourth quarter, was just over 11 minutes. We had only three penalties and only one on offense. Our third down conversions in the 4th quarter were a lot better. Robert Lane played excellent when we got him the ball.
On defense we created three turnovers. We were very good on our 3rd down conversions, holding them to 3-of-13. Again, Patrick Willis and our defensive backs played an excellent game.
We had great special teams. Our punt team punted to inside the 20 twice. The turnover on the kick off was a big play, and also we stopped the fake punt.
We are looking forward to playing Auburn. They've got a great running back in Kenny Irons, he runs with a lot of tenacity. They have a good offensive line. They've got an excellent group of wide receivers and a very fast defense that has only given up four points per game. They have a good coaching staff, and they know how to win. We're looking forward to going down there and giving it our best shot.
Q: How did offensive line do against Kentucky?
A: We didn't play that well. I don't think we played that well. It was one of our poorer games. It was a drop off from the Alabama game.
Q: On the offensive line, what were they not getting done against Kentucky that they were against Alabama?
A: I think they weren't as fired up to play Kentucky as they were Alabama. I'm disappointed, I didn't get that done. We were getting knocked off the football. It wasn't that we weren't making our assignments. I think we were getting underneath our passes and knocking us back at times. We weren't opening up the holes like we should have. I think in the end Mico found some holes on his own, but we weren't as aggressive as we needed to be.
Q: Given all of that, do you get away from the run a little quicker and try to do other things against Auburn?
A: We have to run the football. That is going to be our strength
Q: You mentioned Irons earlier. He's wearing 23 which is Ronnie Brown's old number, but to me, he looks a little more like Cadillac (Williams). Does he remind you of anybody or any of those two who were there last year?
A: Well, yes and no. He kind of looks like those guys. I haven't studied him that much. We just started watching film on him. We have a lot of respect for him. I watched the game against LSU, and I thought he just wanted to make yards. He ran the way a good running back should run.
Q: How much, if any does being a defensive line coach at USC when they played Auburn give you any advantage?
A: None of that really matters. This is Ole Miss playing Auburn now, the past doesn't matter. It's us preparing this week to go play an excellent football game.
Q: You said last week when you played Alabama that you felt the team beginning to turn. Compare this team now to the team at week one, what is one major difference?
A: First of all, we're creating less penalties. The turnover margin is increasing. We are having less mental errors. We're starting to find the right guys for the right positions. Our defense is playing a lot better, especially in games two and three with Patrick Willis in the middle. We're starting to find our identity on defense. We still haven't found our identity on offense.
Q: Can you touch on Auburn offensively and defensively?
A: Al Burgess has done a fantastic job as offensive coordinator. They are a zone football team. They are on the cutting edge in the way they block. Their offensive line comes off the football. They're very well coached. They have an excellent receiving corner, they stack the blocks to get some one on ones and they can hurt you. I think they're well- rounded and very balanced.
Q: What do you do with the kicking game this week?
A: First of all we went back and looked at the blocked kicks, and the protection was poor. It was the first time the protection was poor, and the kick could've been higher. We're going to practice it a lot more. We're going to look at who we have up front in protection and give our guys more protection. We should see some improvement.
Q: Do you know who you're going to put in or is it just trial and error?
A: We're just going to see throughout the week.
Q: How is Robert's trial at fullback affecting his development at quarterback and do you see fullback as something that could be long range for him?
A: I don't think he would look at it that way. I think that fullback or tight end could be a natural position for him. We're going to have to see where that takes us. I believe that if Robert were a full time fullback or tight end, if something were to happen to Micheal that Ethan could come in and run the offense for us. Right now Robert still is our second team quarterback, and I think he can do it.
Q: You stuck Robert in the slot a couple of times against Kentucky. Just talk about not only his position but his role you see him continuing to play and the emotion he brings to the field.
A: He brings a lot that's why we put him there. He's tough, he has a great self confidence about himself. He makes plays and he wants the ball in his hands.
Q: He mentioned something about expanding his plays this week, that Noel had told him and you had told him. Did that include running the ball or is he more of a receiver.
A: We're going to let him run the ball and let him catch the ball. I expect him to be in on every down this week as much as we can. He's a quarterback and he knows everybody's roll on the offense so it should be easy for him to do and we're going to play him a lot more and maybe play him every down.
Q: Can you get a feel for how good Auburn is based on who they've played so far?
A: They are very athletic. They have a lot of speed on defense and it causes problems. That is where the strength of their football team is. Then, you saw how Kenny Irons ran the football against LSU. He can be intimidating at times. They are a great football team.
Q: You've been around some great offenses at USC and their ability to score in the red zone. What is the difference in that offense and one like this that is struggling in the red zone?
A: When you have a quarterback who is very experienced in your system and you have receivers who can make plays any time on the football field, you become a great offense.
Q: You talk about an experienced quarterback. Brandon Cox is an inexperienced quarterback. What is your defense going to do to try attack him and pressure him.
A: We have to bring pressure at the right time. When you bring pressure against him, his receivers are very good in beating one-on-one coverage, as you saw against LSU. So, we have to pick the right times to do it.
Q: Going up to Tennessee and playing well defensively, how valuable is that now having to go to Auburn, another tough place to play?
A: It's very valuable. We are right there. We have to go in there and take it. We can't afford to give them anything. We have to make them earn every yard they get. We can't have two bad plays like we had against Alabama. We have to play great the whole game.
Q: You seem to be playing to the level of your opponent, whether it's Alabama or Kentucky. What are you doing to try and just play your game?
A: We have to get away from that. We need to play up to our capabilities each week. It's disappointing that we did that against Kentucky, especially on offense. We have to get that out of the mindset of our players.
Q: Comment on Patrick Willis.
A: He's a great player, who is having an outstanding season for us. He's someone who we can build our team around.
Q: Talk about the pass defense and how it's improved a lot.
A: We brought in a lot of great techniques learned at USC. Coach (Pete) Carroll was nice enough to allow Coach (Chris) Rippon to go out there and visit. We are doing the same that he (Carroll) learned throughout his NFL years. You have to credit Coach Rippon and our defensive backs. They are doing an excellent job.
