Weekly Press Conference Luncheon For Nov. 16, 2004
November 16, 2004 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? East Carolina University head coach John Thompson addressed members of the media prior to this weeks game against Memphis at Dowdy-Ficken Stadium. The following are selected comments:
Opening Comment:
"I realize how frustrated and how hurtful this is for the Pirate family and the Pirate nation. I would like nothing more than to be successful for the loyalty and the tradition and the people that have supported this program for so long. I do understand that there is pain involved and that nobody, absolutely nobody in this family, is happy about this situation. I wish nothing more for these people to get their wish and for us to be successful."
"This team is growing. There are a lot of seeds that are planted out there. We do have a young team. We have a very young team and I don't say that as an excuse, it is a fact. It is going to take some time. This team will not and has not accepted lack of success but some time is needed for this team to bud and grow. Sometimes you don't see the success before it comes out of the ground. When seeds have been planted, little by little, we are getting there. We are going to continue to get there and I hope everybody looks at this team exactly where it is. We are very, very frustrated and I understand the frustration of everybody. It makes everybody's job tougher."
"To the Pirate Nation: I want to say that we are going to keep doing every single thing we can to get better each and every day and every week. We are building and we are going to build a championship program that is going to last for a long, long time."
"When we get behind by a couple of scores and they know we have got to throw the football, we have not been able to protect, we have not been able to get our running game going and get any play action that is worth any attention and it has made it very, very tough on both sides of the ball. That is exactly what happened Saturday night and it is frustrating. This is a frustrated football team. I think our team is at that level right now. We are angry at where we are and what we are doing, not getting the job done. I hope that anger turns into a positive thing for this football team. I think it is time for some of our players to get angry enough and say 'enough is enough and I am going to get the thing right. I am going to practice better, I am going to practice tougher and accept my own responsibility and get this thing done.' I believe that is where we are. That is what happened Saturday and that is where we are."
"Our team hasn't accepted losing and they haven't accepted failure. They will not, we will not and I will not. There is still time ticking, there is still time left in this season. We are looking forward to Saturday to get the thing done and we are not accepting anything but that."
On Memphis:
"All of our focus is going into the University of Memphis, a very good football team. When you look at them the first thing that comes up is their offense and DeAngelo Williams. In my opinion, DeAngelo Williams is one of the best backs in the entire country. The best back, I believe, in our conference. There is no question about it that he is as explosive and as good a back as there is anywhere. He has great cuts, great quickness and great balance. He does so many things. Their offense doesn't just revolve around DeAngelo Williams though. Danny Whimprine has gotten better and better and better. He is an experienced senior quarterback who has played a lot of football and gotten so much better."
On game Saturday:
"We need to get a three-game home winning streak. There is nothing like playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Our players are happy to be home. I think we handled the road a little bit better with some of the distractions but we have not been successful on the road. We have played our best two football games, obviously, right out here. We need to have our best football game of the year. Being home and being in front of the home crowd. There are going to be a lot of emotion out here on Saturday with our seniors and I am looking forward to that in a positive sense. I am excited about being here, playing an early afternoon game, getting here and letting our guys cut it loose. I want our guys to have some wildness about them and to have some emotional control but I want them to cut loose. Lets cut loose and play the game. Lets have some fun and come away with a win."
