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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference
9/18/2006 | Football
OPENING COMMENTS
After reviewing the film, obviously five turnovers was very disappointing, especially the two in the red zone. It was 21-14. We're going in there on the third down in two-down territory to make the first down. I thought we could get it done and we fumbled the football. It was a very critical error in the ball game. I thought we had some momentum going into the game. We went in at halftime and were reeling on defense. We made some adjustments and came out and went three downs several times. It gave us a chance to win the ball game and you could feel the change in the tempo on the sidelines. The momentum was changing and we fumbled the ball.
We had twelve penalties, seven of them were on the line of scrimmage. On offense and defense we have to fix that in practice. We had one critical error by a young receiver that gave them a touchdown, that definitely was a big play in the ball game. I think those were some of the defining plays, and also on third down, the quarterback did have his knee down. It was a questionable call but they did call it and then they did go ahead and score several plays later making it 20-14. Those penalties really hurt us in the ball game, and I thought that it hurt our football team.
Moving on to Wake Forest, they're 3-0. They're a good football team. The thing about their team is that they've given up only 12 points-per-game on defense. They have six seniors on defense, and they play very, very solid defense. They're plus-two in their turnover ratio for the year. We're minus six, that's something we definitely need to improve on. Their offense is averaging nineteen points a game. We can expect a spread offense, a shotgun run game again which we've been facing the last three games. Their quarterback Riley Skinner has come in for an injured quarterback and is throwing no picks and has done a good job. We're anxious to get to practice today, look at the film, stay positive for our team and move on.
Q: David Traxler and Brandon Jenkins got to play a lot more. How did they do?
A: I really feel that Brandon Jenkins had his best game. He went in there and we made some adjustments with him with the way he played, and he had two plays back to back that he had a sack and a big play in the same series. I'm pleased to see that he can play well. I'm really pleased to see that David Traxler went in there and played. I will consider starting him this week when I see how practice goes.
Q: Can you comment on Bruce Hall's performance Saturday?
A: I really thought that he did some things that we haven't seen in our offense. He hit the hole fast, made some big plays. He has been showing that in practice and we wanted to, as a staff, give him a shot. We're really pleased with the way he played.
Q: How did you come to that decision so quick?
A: Practice last week. He had a good week of practice. He did most of the things we wanted him to do. He had a good camp. (Running backs coach) Frank (Wilson) has been fighting to put him in for a while, and here was his chance and he did what he did well.
Q: How much have you seen him grow since the spring and the position change?
A: First of all, Bruce is a very good kid. He works hard, doesn't say much. He's very unselfish. He just wanted to come here and play. He's growing in the weight room. He's gotten physical. He's tough. I think the running back position was natural for him.
Q: I know you don't discuss individual injuries, but what is the cumulative effect of the team right now?
A: We're very thin. We're playing some guys out there that don't practice. We're making a lot of mental mistakes. We've got some guys that are playing at 50 and 60 percent. Obviously they're not playing up to their capabilities, but that's all we have. We're not making excuses. We're going to continue to play guys. We're going to have to play more young guys that are probably not ready to play, but because of the injuries they're going to have to play.
Q: What can you do to take care of the turnovers you had in Lexington?
A: Practice. We're going to do some things in practice. This is something I've been preaching since I became head coach here. Our program is about the ball. Obviously I'm not getting that done. I talked to our assistants today about doing it and preaching it more at practice.
Q: Did the secondary do a better job in the second half?
A: They did a little bit better but they still made some critical errors like on the screen. We blitzed on the screen, which is not a very good call against the screen, but we missed some tackles and they were able to score a touchdown. We were playing cover-two one time. They leaked the back out. It should have been about six or seven yards, and we missed a couple of tackles and it goes 25 yards. We made some critical errors on man-to-man coverage as far as alignment and technique. We got beat on some run routes. So we're still making those errors. There was a little improvement, but with those guys, I expect them to play very well everyday.
Q: How is morale?
A: Our morale is good. Our morale on the coaching staff is good. A lot of our people worked out this morning for weights, and they are here. We will not let our morale be anything but positive around here. We will continue to take it one day at a time, one game at a time, to make our team better.
Q: Could you talk about what it's like to have a brand new quarterback lead an offense and operate at a high level so quickly?
A: It wasn't a factor in the first game, and I'm going on that if we can do it in the first game we can do it in the second and third. There is something going on there that we need to figure out. Whether we're trying to do too much, whether we had the intensity level in the first game at that position that we're not having now, or on the total offense because we made so many mistakes. We just need to figure those things out. I know we can do it. I saw us play a good game against Memphis, and I expect us to get back to that point.
Q: Was there a concerted effort to spread the ball more over this week?
A: I think it is Brent Schaeffer being more comfortable in the offense. I think our receivers are getting open. We are still not throwing to the tight end as much as we want to. The tight end was open a lot of times. We could have just dumped the ball to Robert Lane. We need to do that more. Kendrick Lewis is coming along. He got a critical holding penalty, which I thought was questionable. It is good to see Mike Wallace come along, as well as Marshay Green. It is unfortunate that Dexter McCluster had the fumble. We need to teach him how to carry the ball because the hit was not very hard. Shay Hodge made some plays. I think that as the season grows, those guys are going to progress as a pretty good unit.
Q: How many of the mistakes that you have seen can be chalked up to youth and inexperience versus just being on the road?
A: We jumped offsides four times on the line of scrimmage with the freshmen. I would have to say that was inexperience with a little bit of road. We will pipe in noise for all our away games from now on.
Q: Is it good to see three home games on the schedule?
A: It's very good. We need it. We need to play well and practice well.
Q: What do you think about the speed on our team?
A: I like the speed on our team. I really do. I don't think the speed of our team is a question mark. We are just shooting ourselves in the foot and making too many mistakes. We need to use our speed as an advantage, especially on offense. We still need some speed on defense. The guys that are fast enough on defense are still learning the defense and are not ready to play.
Q: Are there some drills you can work on in practice to help combat some of the turnovers?
A: Yes. We are going to work on some strip drills and do more drills geared on protecting the ball. We are going to get after it more on defense. I don't think it is doing something different as much as doing what we do better. We are always taught to protect the ball in practice and go after it on defense. I don't think we are doing it as well as we should. Instead of doing something different, I really want to do it better.
Q: Is there any specific position where you are counting a little bit more on inexperienced players than you originally thought?
A: Defensive line, offensive line, and wide receiver. Those positions are where we are hurting at experience.
Q: How would you rate BenJarvis Green-Ellis after the first three games?
A: Tough. A really tough runner. I think he is a winner. I expect a lot out of him, and I think that maybe everybody else does, too. I think he is getting 60 to 70 yards when I would like him to get more. I think maybe the holes are not there, but in this system, he is a very good player.
