Weekly Press Luncheon Quotes
September 11, 2006 | Football
Sept. 11, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University head football coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media prior to this week's game against Memphis. The following are selected comments:
On UAB Game:
"It was a very disappointing way to lose, especially when you go back and watch the film. It was difficult because I thought our players competed extremely hard and I thought they played extremely hard. I was really proud of a lot of positive things from an intangible standpoint because of the way they stayed together, the way they competed and how hard they played. It's tough because we didn't play very well but yet we still had the opportunity to win.
"I don't think Philip Henry lost that football game for us. He had an opportunity to erase a lot of mistakes that were made during the course of the day and he made one himself. You could go back and look at the turnover right before the half, the pass that they completed to put them in field goal range right before the half to make a field goal. There were so many on plays that you could pull out of this game that were the difference in it. Philip Henry had an opportunity to win it for us at the end but I certainly don't think that he lost it for us.
"What was disappointing about it was I don't think that we followed our plan. We have a plan on how to win. Penalties hurt us in this game. We had three holds and a personal foul. We had 60 yards of offensive called back in penalties. I think that the penalties were part of on of the struggles that we had.
"I thought our red zone productivity was very poor. We were inside the ten-yard line three times and only got on field goal out of it. We were not able to push the ball in. It is very difficult to win when you turn the ball over three times.
"It was very disappointing how we played the first half. I was very pleased with the way the offense responded to the challenge we gave them at half time. We came in at halftime and tried to settle everybody down and let them catch their breath a little bit. I thought offensively we played much better than we did in the first half. We still had a turn over but I thought we played better.
"Even with all the mistakes we made we still had an opportunity to win. I think that speaks volumes for these players' attitudes and their competitive nature. My eighth grade football coach text messaged me on Saturday night and he talked about that being disappointed is a part of life but being discouragement is a choice. Right now this was a disappointing loss but we are not going to get discouraged, we are not going to turn on each other and we are not going to fall apart from with in. When things get difficult that's when its time to circle the wagon, to bring everybody in tighter together, and to form a bond and a closeness. The only way to get through it all is to go out there on those practice fields, work hard and to continue to try and get better."
On Defensive Play
"I thought we played extremely well on defense. Our defense was probably our second-best effort since I've been here. It was second-best to the West Virginia game we played a year ago. Two months ago if you looked it at and you mention Scotty Robinson, C.J. Wilson, Wendall Chavis, Zach Slate, Van Eskridge, Quentin Cotton, Jeremy Chambliss, Fred Wilson, and Jerrett Wiggins, most of these guys nobody had ever heard of. These are the guys that are not only starting but are really making plays for us in the front seven. It was really exciting to see these younger players coming along. Defensively we could get better. We made some mistakes and we will continue to improve. I thought overall they played extremely physical and they played tough. It was one of our best efforts against the run, they only averaged three yards a carry. Defensively we played pretty well against a very senior laden football team."
On Offensive Play
"When you look at it from an offensive standpoint it was very frustrating. The first half was probably one of the worst halves of football we played since I've been here. We did not play well early in this football game and I give UAB a lot of credit because they had a lot to do with that.
"I talked during the week about how I don't like to play a conference game this early because there is an element of surprise. You only have one game on film and you don't really know what you are going to get. All the sudden you get out there on game day and haven't had the opportunity to coach your players up on what they are going to see and what they are going to expect. I give them (UAB) a lot of credit for what they did. They played about seven different coverage's in the secondary and they mixed them all up. That made it very difficult to attack what they were doing because you could never really get a beat on it. They were determined not to give James (Pinkney) the same coverage twice in a row. They mixed some things up. They played man coverage on Aundrae (Allison) and they doubled him. They rolled some things in the field too deep and they created an lot of confusion and I give them credit."
On Memphis:
"Memphis has a very good football team. I think they are a lot different than they were a year ago in a lot of respects. When you look at their defense about the only thing that you can guarantee is that they will have eleven guys on defense. They may seem like they have twelve or thirteen at times with they way that they run around. They may have one defensive lineman or they may have eight defensive linemen. I think that we are going to have to be very simplistic in our approach with what we ask our guys to do upfront with all the confusion they try to create. They are similar to us in that they are young upfront in the front seven, and they are experienced in the secondary because everybody returned from a year ago. On offensive they are different in that they have two very good quarterbacks that were injured last year that they had the opportunity to red shirt last year. They much more balance as a football team than they did a year ago. They are more heavily throw oriented than they are run oriented. They are rushing for about 125 yards a game and they are throwing for about 275 so they are averaging about 400 yards a game on offense. This is a very good team an it will be a great challenge for us."
On ECU Squad Players:
"The kicking game I'm starting to feel is very solid. Since I've been here we have a had a very good kicker in Robert Lee and we have had a very good punter in Ryan Dougherty. What I don't think has been very solid here are our coverage teams and our kicking teams have been very good. I think that it is an area that we need to improve. We came up with something this summer where we were going to try and develop a dirty dozen. We were going to try and develop guys that were back ups that were second team guys that wouldn't normally get an opportunity to play many plays in the game and put them on special teams and develop a pride in it. I thought for one of the first times that our kicking game, our coverage, our punt protection, our kickoff coverage, and our kickoff return is really starting to get close. I feel like our kicking game is becoming a solid part of what we are doing right now. We aren't making anything happen yet, but at the same time we are not hurting our football team from a special teams standpoint. Some of the guys right now that are making up the dirty dozen are, Markeith McQueen, Jay Sonnhalter, Kort Shankweiler, Herman Best, Jerek Hewitt, Lorenzo Osbourne, and Van Eskridge. We are trying to develop that as a group of starters just like we have on offense and defense."
On Aundrae Allison's performance:
"Their game plan was not designed to take Aundrae away. They had some things where they could have doubled Aundare is he was hurting them and they mixed those in there. It was one of those nights. I think Aundrae was frustrated but with not having a catch or not getting the ball. His frustration was that he wasn't making the plays. James threw a couple of balls high early and they would have been nice catches. They were plays that Aundrae [Allison] expects to make and he was frustrated with himself. Other guys started to step up. We are not the Aundrae Allison show anymore. Stephen Rogers, Bobby Good, Kevin Roach, and Devon Drew are all starting to become weapons for us and are stepping up an making some plays for us. I think his frustration was that he wasn't performing to a level he wanted to perform to and not one of its all about me and my record of how many games in a row I catch a pass. I think that Aundrae [Allison] would turn in a no catch performance for a win."
On Dominique Lindsay and Team Injuries:
"Dominique Lindsay went out of the game with and injury to his knee. He has an MRI today and then we will find out the depth of that injury a little bit more. He was not able to go back in the game. Other than that there was bumps and bruises. Nothing that should keep anybody out of a game. The positive side of the injury report is that Shauntae Hunt and Pierre Bell have been cleared for practice this week. Norman Whitley had shoulder surgery last Friday and with Dominique Lindsay being a question mark for this week, Chris Johnson and Brandon Fractious will carry the load."
On Chris Johnson's Performance:
"I thought he played better Saturday than the week before. In camp we talked about how we need to run the ball more and be more decisive. His biggest problem right now is that Chris [Johnson] is always looking for the homerun ball. Chris gets in the backfield and he is dancing too much and cutting too much. I will live with whatever decision he makes as long as it is decisive. I think he played better but we need to grow on that. He is still not were he needs to be as far as his decision-making. He wants to do well and get the running game on track but in doing so he hurts himself. We just have to keep working with him and get him working downhill."
On Pat Dosh's Play
"(Pat) Dosh is one of those guys that is playing on a lot of special teams and doing a lot of good things. We felt we were better suited to turn and spread the field than we are to turn and get in just two backs an try and play a power running game."
