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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Head Football Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference
9/7/2005 | Football
Sept. 7, 2005
Listen to the Press Conference
OPENING COMMENTS
Obviously this is a very important week for our football program. We have a week to watch the film and evaluate our offense, defense and special teams from A to Z. We are going to go out there today with a great practice plan in mind and correct some things.
We were really pleased to beat Memphis. That was our objective. I didn't care how we won it, we just wanted to win. I thought our team deserved to win. They have worked very hard since we got here. I was happy for our team.
Offensively, I thought Mario Hill and Taye Biddle played very well at the receiver spot. Tre' Stallings and Bobby Harris did a pretty good job on the offensive line. (Quarterback) Micheal Spurlock made some plays, especially the fourth down play coming out of the endzone to give us some breathing room.
Defensively, I was really pleased with the way we played. (Linebackers) Patrick Willis, Kelvin Robinson, and Garry Pack had a great game. I was really pleased with the way (Linebackers coach) Shawn Slocum coached our linebackers. They were flying around and really bottled up (Memphis running back) DeAngelo Williams. I was really happy with the way we tackled. Patrick Willis earned SEC Defensive player of the Week honors. I am happy for that young man. He is always working. We called to tell him that he won the award and he was watching film on his own. We couldn't find him, because he was in the film room. That tells you what type of player he is.
The three turnovers in the second half was the key to the game for us. Getting the football, that's part of program. On the defensive line, Michael Bozeman had eight tackles. I thought he played excellent. Other guys that played ok were Jeremy Garrett, Jayme Mitchell, and Corvelli Haynes. They did a pretty good job. On the defensive backs, Jamarca Sanford, like I have said all along, showed me in the game what he has shown in camp. He is probably our best tackler on the team. He was all over the field. Charles Clark did a great job. Part of our game plan was to move our safeties in and out. I think that caused a little confusion on their offensive scheme. That really plowed the way for (Defensive Backs/ Special Teams coach) Chris Rippon to fire those boys up. Trumaine McBride's interception was one of the turnarounds in the game. Travis Johnson played really well also.
On special teams, I was really pleased with the kickoffs, especially the one in the second half. It saved me a little bit. Coverage teams were pretty good. I was really disappointed in the field goal kicking. We need to find out who can kick field goals for us. We are going to give these two young men a second chance, as well as bring some other guys along. Our punting needs to be more consistent.
We have improvements we need to make on offense. We have to be able to hit those long passes. There were some times where we could have put the put the game away and we didn't convert. We need to be able to make those big plays when they are open. We need to improve on our pass protection, and our running game needs to improve tremendously.
Q & A:
Q: Where is Justin Sparks as far as the kicking game is concerned? What are other options?
A: We are going to find out this week. We are going to give him (Justin Sparks) a chance. We are going to show Matt Hinkle a little more patience. I think we put a lot of pressure on Will Mosley, having to do all three areas of kicking in the first game, and it showed. It was a pressure shock for him. We need to have them kick more in practice, and look at (Justin) Sparks.
Q: How healthy is Justin Sparks?
A: He is back and ready to go. That is why he didn't kick for us, because he missed all of preseason camp. So we need to find out about him this week.
Q: Where did you see the breakdowns in the running game? Was it up front? In the backfield? Was it in their defense? Was it a combination?
A: It was a combination of all three. We need to get back to the basics. We missed some blocks, missed the hole. With them blitzing all the time, that took away a lot of our running game. Some of our running game gameplan didn't work. They (Memphis) are very difficult to run the football against. They are a good defense. We need to go back to the basics, no matter what kind of defense we are up against. I think we kind of got out of whack a little bit.
Q: Were the holes there?
A: There weren't many holes. A bright spot in the game was Mico McSwain. We have to get him the ball more. Outside, we made a couple of yards, but inside there was nothing. That was a combination. Not enough blocking, their scheme, and us not hitting the right hole. I think having Darryl Harris, David Traxler, and Andrew Wicker back in practice is going to help us more. We have to get our interior guys more reps in practice. They didn't many reps in practice and it hurt. You can see on film where they missed assignments.
Q: How tough is this defense compared to the one you just left at Southern Cal?
A: We have a lot of games left to go. It is very similar in terms of concept. I think our linebackers are comparable. I am really pleased with our defensive backs. We have not been tested yet. We are getting ready to face a quarterback that can test us.
Q: Memphis runs an unusual defense. Do you think it will help that you won't see that for the rest of the year?
A: I think the more conventional defense like the one we run is what we will see. We can practice against it. I think it should help us.
Q: What is the confidence level of the kickers?
A: I think their confidence level is at zero. Really, I was truthful with them. There is no way they should have missed those kicks. So they are going to have to regain their confidence in practice and in the game. I don't think their confidence is very high and it shouldn't be. Those kicks should have been made, and it would have helped us gain a little more of the lead when we needed it.
Q: Are you planning to shake things up in the running game in terms of the running backs?
A: We are going to get Mico McSwain the ball more in practice. We are going to see who performs the best in practice before we name a starter for next week. We thought Mico would do well, and he did. We just need to get him more familiar with our offense.
Q: Talk about tight end performance.
A: It was a combination of the defense they were playing, and the coverage's that we were seeing. They weren't allowing our tight ends to get open. We are very thin at tight end. We are little disappointed at the way they played. They didn't block very well, and we need to get better at the tight end position.
Q: Talk about Micheal Spurlock's confidence.
A: I don't gauge his performance on what happened before. I have never seen him without any confidence. I have seen him confident everyday since I have coached him. I didn't see any signs that that changed during the game.
Q: Alan Abrams (running back) didn't dress on Monday. Is he going to be more in the mix now?
A: Yes. He needs to have good practices. He needs to come out and compete in practice. Hopefully he can become a good running back in our system. He has to buy into our system a little more and practice like we want or he's not going to play.
Q: You didn't seem to sub much, is that because of the condition of the team?
A: I was very proud of the condition of our football team. I did not see any of our guys down on the ground or cramping. I didn't see anybody look tired. You have to give credit to Aaron Ausmus (Coord. of strength and conditioning), our coaches and the way we practiced. It showed in the game.
Q: You ended up playing both quarterbacks against Memphis. What is the situation for Vanderbilt, could both see playing time again?
A: It could happen. If you want to name a starting quarterback, Micheal (Spurlock) is going to start against Vanderbilt, unless he doesn't practice well. But, he hasn't solidified the starting position for me to say "he's they guy we are going with no matter what." We don't have that guy on our team right now. If Micheal goes into the game and we're not scoring points and he's not running the offense like I want him too, I'll put in Robert (Lane). He deserves it.
Q: Early in the game there was a couple of delay of game penalties. Was that just first game and working out the kinks?
A: It was a combination of the calls getting in too late and Micheal moving to slow. We need to be better at that, and we will fix that in practice this week.
Q: What happened with the deep ball? Was it passing or some other things that happened?
A: It was a combination. There were a couple that hit the receivers right in the hands and we should have caught them. There were cases where we had the protection, one-on-one coverage where they were wide open and we didn't get the ball there. Sometimes we had no protection. So, it was a combination of protection, getting the ball there and catching it. It's very simple football. They gave us some opportunities for some very big plays, and we did not make them.
Q: I am assuming the rest of this week will be focused on Ole Miss and not Vanderbilt.
A: We will have a service team out there. Vanderbilt runs the option, so we'll have a couple of plays out there this week.
Q: What is your practice schedule this week?
A: We are practicing today, tomorrow and then they will have off Friday and Saturday. We will practice Sunday evening. We will be in shells today and tomorrow and full pads on Sunday. Sunday will be our first practice geared towards Vanderbilt. Monday we'll be off.
Q: From the pressbox it looked like you had a real calm demeanor on the field. Evaluate your performance?
A: I think it's real important for me to be calm during the game. During practice I can go out there show emotion, run around and provide energy for the football team. But, during the game there are decisions that have to be made, and I have to be focused. I thoroughly enjoyed calling the game for the first time. There is a lot more thinking involved than just being a defensive line coach. I have to have myself together at all times. There are some times when I can show energy, but you never know what will come next, so I you to be focused at all times.
Q: On the reverse side of that, are you aware of how much your enthusiasm excites the fans and the players and gets them pumped up?
A: It's natural for me to show emotion and be excited. I had a great combination on Monday. I practiced it and I've watched people before me do it. I felt calm and confident going into the game.
