Oct. 19, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas--Head Coach Mike Sherman and players of the team meet with members of the press to talk about the upcoming game against Texas Tech.
A full transcript of Coach Sherman's press conference, along with selected quotes from players, will be available soon. Audio clips are available in MP3 format to the right.
HEAD COACH Mike Sherman TRANSCRIPT
It seemed like Kansas State's defensive line and linebackers came in unblocked a lot...did they do some different stunts or different blitzes that maybe you guys hadn't seen?
"No, they pretty much played it like we expected them to play and like we practiced. They're not a big blitzing team, but they do send their linebackers on run stunts. But nothing we were unfamiliar with."
Is there anything positive that you can glean out of a game like that or is that one you just have to kind of sweep away?
"I don't think you ever sweep anything under the carpet, certainly not that ballgame. We never saw it coming, to be honest with you. I should say that I never did. We had great week of preparation. The kids were fired up about going to play this ballgame. It just hit us. We could never get it right. I asked coaches yesterday if they had ever been in a ballgame like that, and with the age we have on our staff, obviously everyone for the most part had been in something like that before.
"I remember back in 2004, in Green Bay, we opened up against Carolina on a Monday night game. They had been to the Super Bowl the year before and it was a big game...we won that game, but proceeded to lose the next four ballgames. Then there was another Monday night game, against Tennessee, and they put 48 points on us in a very similar type of game. We threw interceptions. We turned the ball over. Everything we did wasn't right. They scored 48 points against us and I kind of likened it to that game, because I had the same feeling leaving the field at Lambeau in that game as I did leaving Snyder Family Stadium the other day. After that game, we looked at it, much like we looked at it this morning, and we talked about it, much like we talked about it this morning with the guys, and we proceeded to win nine out of our next 11 games and won our division after starting out 1-4, which wasn't something that happened very often in the National Football League. That's one example I had. There was another one, in 2005 we played the Saints. We were not a very good team. We had bunch of injuries, and we were on the other end of it, where everything we did was right. We won the game 52-3. Everything we called was picture-perfect and it was just one of those games.
"Certainly in this last ballgame it didn't seem like anything we could do was right. There were a number of times on the run, we knew they were going to run the football, we had nine guys in there, and we still couldn't make the play. We just couldn't make the play. We overpopulated the box, we were going to allow them an opportunity to throw the football, and we just could not stop it to save our life. Offensively, we just could never get into sync. I think that first fumble shocked us a little bit. It gave them a short field on the 27-yard line. It took them three plays to score, and we never really recovered from that. I thought we showed a lack of maturity as a team at that point, where we couldn't rally back and overcome that deficit, which certainly snowballed to 17 points in the first quarter and proceeded to be even more in the second quarter. And then after I got on them in the halftime, we come out and give up 14 points right away like that...I was in disbelief. We had a very emotional halftime, and for us to come out and give up 14 points right away within less than two minutes was just inexcusable. We couldn't make the plays. Fundamentally, we didn't block or tackle, throw or catch real well. You have to give them credit. They did those things real well. Everything they did worked, and the things we did didn't work. But we expected to win the game just like we expect to win every ballgame, but it certainly didn't happen."
After something like that do you worry about where your team is mentally, especially the younger guys?
"Oh yeah. I don't think it affects just younger guys, it affects everybody. Coaches, players alike. When you get your butt kicked like we did I do worry about that part of it. I put that on my shoulders. I'm the captain of the ship so to speak, and you've sprung a leak, and it's my job to go fix it. That's my job. However I lead them this week will be how they'll react to this loss. If I do a good job I'll lead them in the right direction. We started that this morning. I told the guys this morning that we're very disappointed...and you could tell, on the bus ride, and the plane home, and the locker room this morning...you couldn't hear a sound. It's not like it didn't affect them. As disappointed as Aggies are everywhere, that team is 10 times as disappointed. And that's a good thing. They should be disappointed. They should be embarrassed, that we had that type of game. As I told them, I'm proud of them before ballgame. I told them that morning I was proud of how you worked. (I said) `This one game doesn't make me not proud of you. I'm not proud of our performance. But I'm proud of you guys. I still love you.'
"They're like my kids. My kids sometimes, I have five of them, and I've got to be honest, they have disappointed me at different times--I'm sure I've disappointed them a time or two as well--but I still love them. I wouldn't trade these guys for anybody. I believe in their character as a football team. We have a couple areas of deficit from a talent standpoint, but I think our character will prevail. As I said to them this morning, I try to make a life lesson out of this. The only thing you can do when you get something like this is to try and teach them something beyond football. Adversity is part of life. Some of these guys have never had adversity before. Some of these guys were the stars in high school. They won football games. They've never had to face anything like this before of this magnitude, on this stage. More so than the adversity itself, or the game itself, it's how they handle it that will define them. If they want this one game to define them or this season, then they just lay down and take it. If they want to rise above and meet the challenge that this adversity created, then they can really do something special. That's what I expect out of this team. Like I said, I believe in the character of this team, and I think they'll rise up and give their best effort against Tech."
It seems like whatever quarterback Texas Tech has will throw for big numbers and have success...
"They have a great system out there. They plug `em in and out in a lot of positions. They are known obviously for their offense, but their defense has really been something, here particularly of late, as I've come on board and watched them on defense. I'm very impressed with them defensively and what they do. They're very fundamentally sound. They believe in what they do and they do it very well. I would say they have a good system, on both sides of the ball and special teams, and they can plug guys in. They've been doing it for a while, as a staff and as players, and so they do have interchangeable parts."
Detron Lewis is a kid that grew up in College Station who has had success for them. He should be excited to play the Aggies...
"I imagine he will. Particularly with being a hometown guy and having bragging rights already established. I'm sure he wants to continue with that."
Any memories of Lubbock when you went as an assistant? Any games or any experiences stick out?
"Yeah, I remember throwing a pick to Zach Thomas. I threw the same pick when he in the NFL when we played against him at Miami. He's kind of been a nemesis for me over the years, and just someone I really respected, starting back with his days at Tech. He was such a catalyst for them and was a catalyst for the Miami Dolphins for so many years. I just can't tell you how much respect I've had for him as a football player. He's undersized. There's nothing special about his physical traits other than the fact he's a great football player and always seemed to rise to the occasion. He just always knew what you were running before you ran it. I've never been around player that had the instincts he had."
You said you can't really sweep a game like Kansas State under the rug...where do you begin?
"Well, we began this morning by watching the tape and identifying the mistakes we made, and being accountable. We have to be honest with ourselves. We did not play to the level we are certainly capable of playing. Take nothing away from Kansas State. They did. They were a physical team. I told them this would be a physical game. This was really the first team we played that really came right at you, downhill with the running game, power football. A lot of these kids hadn't experienced quite anything like that, in the sense that, coming out of high school with the spread offenses being as they are, you don't necessarily have to fit up on the runs the way you had to fit up on these. That's certainly no excuse, because we practiced against this all last week. We should have been able to do better than we did. You have to fix what you need to have to fix for this game, but Tech is a whole new ballgame, a whole new offense. You have to fix it so the next time it comes up it's right, but you really have to fix just the fundamental part of it, because schematically next week is a whole different game. The blocking, the tackling, the catching, running crisp routes, that type of thing, those are all things that are going to carry over and hopefully we get those fixed."
It's been a number of years, seven trips, since the Aggies have won in Lubbock...
"I certainly didn't have the answer last year. I think we did for a half but we didn't have it for the complete game. Certainly they have been a nemesis for A&M, particularly here in the last seven trips, and even longer than that. They have kind of been a thorn in the Aggies' side for a while. You've got to give Tech credit. They do a great job. We have to go play a great ballgame. Playing at night time out in Lubbock, the crowd's going to be right behind our bench and it's going to be very threatening. Our kids have to rise to that challenge. I'm not so sure we did a good job of that last week."
They've been very successful against everybody at home over the last nine or 10 years. How much better do you have to be as a team when you go on the road, especially against a team that's had that much success at home?
"Against that team and their record, I certainly think you have to play your best ballgame. No matter who you play, I don't care if we're playing a high school team, if you turn the ball over five times you're going to struggle to win the ballgame. If you put a team in great field position, like we did a number of times with our kicking game, you're not going to win the ball game regardless of who you are playing. You play team like Tech or Kansas State, who took full advantage of those opportunities, it's going to be a long day. We have to play a great football game, a near perfect game in Lubbock to beat a Tech team."
How much do you depend on your team leaders at a time like this, who are those guys for you, and what do you need them to do to help get the attitude right?
"You know, I don't think it was necessarily a bad attitude, if that's what you're referring to, before the game. I think trying to pick them up today is certainly a challenge. We have a great football game coming up this weekend. The coaches are the number one leaders, myself included. From a players' standpoint, we're still trying to develop that. Jerrod Johnson, who I met with this morning, is a bona fide leader on our team. Howard Morrow is becoming that type of leader on our team. Jordan Pugh has demonstrated that. So we have a few guys. I'd like a few more guys to step up and be more vocal. I wish more of those guys were coming from the offensive and defensive lines. I'd like someone in that group to step forward and be more of a leader, because I think they can really be enforcers for you."
Does Jerrod have personality to get in people's faces and say the things that need to be said?
"Jerrod Johnson will do whatever it takes to win a football game. There's no question in my mind about that. He will do what it takes. I don't think his personality is such that he's going to yell and scream at guys necessarily, but I don't know if you should ever act outside your personality if you want to lead. I think the way he goes about doing it is very effective."
How does he do that?
"He takes guys aside and talks to them one on one. I've seen him do it, I've heard of him doing it, and I think he's been very effective doing it that way."
So you'd just as soon see that as opposed to him yelling and screaming at guys?
"Well, I think the minute you act outside your personality, players sense there's a phoniness there. In order to lead, number one, you have to be accountable. You can't be part of the problem. You have to be in the same boat that they're in. You have to be yourself. You can't become someone else. If all of a sudden you become a leader and you try to be somebody else, that has never worked. You have to be yourself within your own personality."
Do you think Jeff Fuller might be ready to go against Texas Tech or do you think he may be still be a game or so away?
"If he makes the same progress that he made last week, I think he has chance to play this weekend. He would have to duplicate the progress he made from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. As we get closer to the end of his rehabilitation, progress is going to come a little slower. But he made a lot of progress last week, and if he can replicate that he'll have chance to play."
You said after the Arkansas game that if you were Jerrod you would have punched you for keeping him in...did you keep him in this game because of the leadership?
"Well, I certainly didn't want to get punched by him, because I already told him he should have done that. But along the same lines, I didn't feel like he was being threatened physically. In the Arkansas game, I thought he had to run around for his life. We gave up (six) sacks (Saturday), but two of them were on screens and one was a coverage sack. I felt like we protected him a little better, so I didn't think he was getting hit left and right. He certainly didn't exhibit that on the sidelines. He felt good. I just thought it was in his best interest and our team's best interest to see if he could generate some positive offense. Even though it was late in the game and the game was out of reach, I just wanted to get our offense going so we'd be ready for next week. To take him out of the game, I did think about it, but along the same lines I thought it was in our best interest to keep him in at that point because I didn't feel he was in harm's way necessarily. I suppose every time you take a snap you're in harm's way, but I just thought the risk versus the gain was more in the gain area versus the risk area."
You've got so many guys who've played different positions and they've moved around...how difficult can that be to develop continuity when you're moving so many guys around to try and find the right mix?
"Well, moving (Jordan) Pugh back to safety, when you do it in the springtime it's not a major issue. I think it was a good move. Moving Jamie McCoy to tight end has proven to be a good move. Letting him also play some fullback for us has been a good move for us as well. Trying to find the best left tackle for us and taking Lucas (Patterson) over there, I thought that was something we had to do, but I felt like we needed more on defense so we pushed him back over there. I don't think during the course of a season that it's the right thing to do necessarily, but as you're trying to fit the pieces in your team while you're still trying to build your team, it's important to get them in the right spots. If we hadn't moved Jamie from receiver to tight end, and I think he has chance to be one of the better tight ends in college football, if we hadn't done that then he wouldn't be in his position. Moving Pugh back to safety has helped us because his communication skills are superior. In every place you go, until you get settled on your guys, the offensive line is always going to be a juggling act. It has been for us to a certain degree at certain positions."
Where is the offensive line this week?
"That's a good question. I thought (Michael) Shumard did a nice job in pass protection for the most part. I thought he did as good a job as we've done protecting the back side of Jerrod Johnson. When (Evan) Eike went in he did a good job and he'll see more action this week. We made some progress in the game, in the pass game in particular. But from the run game, when I broke it down and looked at why we were so deficient in running the football, it was one guy breaking down here or one guy breaking down there. Collectively, when you look at the group, they did some good things. But there were individual breakdowns, one guy on one play who didn't cut a guy off, or didn't have the right aiming point, that caused our running game to not be as productive as we certainly expect it to be and need it to be. Until we get that running game going, we're going to have some struggles. We have to get that running game to be a big part of the offense."
You and Mike Leach traded comments during the draft. Anything personal in this game?
"I don't recall that (laughter). That's like 10 years ago to me."
You talked about their defense a little bit ago, and that's always been perceived as kind of the weak link of that team. Can you tell us why it's so much better now?
"I thought it was good last year. Their offense gets a lot of attention, which is due to them, but I know some guys on their defensive staff and have lot of respect for their coaches on both sides of the ball. I know some of the guys on defense and I just have a lot respect for them. They play good, solid defense. They play their system, they believe in their system, and they match up on your routes pretty good. They certainly have to defend passes in practice on a daily basis. They're going against one of the better offenses every single day in practice, when they go up against each other. And I think they have recruited well. They have some pretty good rushers on the edge; good, solid guys in middle; the linebackers run well, the DBs cover...I just think they're a solid group."
Can you talk about Michael Hodges and his development, and what you saw in him early on?
"I don't know if you realize it but last spring he really came on strong and had an excellent spring. If I had to identify somebody who had one of the top springs, he and Von Miller are the two that came to mind. Then he tore his knee up and was out right there at the tail end. Obviously he was in a setback in the summer with his rehabilitation, which took so much time, and then getting him on the field. But he's an older and more mature kid, having been at the Air Force Academy and being older than most of our guys, and he just understands football. He has a great knack for understanding schemes and has a nose for the ball. My big thing is no hesitation and direct lines to make plays, when you run a route eliminate all the wiggling and all the weaving. Run that route with crispness. And it's the same thing with linebackers. I don't like false steps and I don't like wasted movement. He is sudden guy. He goes to the ball, he has a great nose for it. That's kind of what jumped out at me in the spring. He's kind of getting back into that form now."
How will you have to play defensively to keep Tech's offense a little off-kilter?
"We're going to have to play well, there's no question about that. As far as scheme goes, (defensive coordinator) Joe (Kines) has played against this offense a couple different times in his career. I thought we had a good scheme against it last year when we played against it. The defense gave us a chance in the ballgame. The deciding factor in the ballgame was when we came out in the second half, the offensive line wore down against their pass rushers. I guess that's part of what I remember about them, I thought their defense got after our offense in the second half to a level that didn't happen in the first half. We struggled protecting in the second half, so Jerrod was running around a little bit, which he didn't do in the first half. I think in order for us to play great defense we have to play great offense. In the first half of the game last year, we moved the ball around a little bit and had a little bit of success early, and that allowed us to play good defense."
How concerned are you with special teams and what can you do in that area?
"I'm very concerned about special teams, our punting in particular and our kickoff coverage. There's times in our kickoff coverage when I say that's exactly what I expected out of that group, and there are times here recently that we just missed plays. We had a couple guys that were basically unblocked that just missed tackles. That was very evident in the game the other day when I watched it on the field and even more so when I watched it on tape. From a punting standpoint, we've been struggling there, there's no question about that. We're going to continue to work with our punters, and we're going to make a decision, and may make a change this week because we're not real satisfied with where that is. Field position in the ballgame the other day was horrendous. When we punted the ball, we didn't get much out of it. The hang time is really what bothers me. Hang time to me is more important than distance, although you want a combination of both to have the best scenario. We've addressed it and talked to the guys involved. Hopefully we'll have better answers come this weekend than we had last weekend."
For clarity, is it (Ryan) Epperson battling right now with Ken Wood?
"Yes it is."
Is Rhontae Scales getting any closer to being ready to play?
"I think he's getting closer. Is he close enough, where we're going to get him in the game and have total trust right there as a true freshman? I don't know. It depends on this week in practice. He's somebody that I've definitely told Coach (Jim) Turner that I'm pushing the envelope on. I want to see this kid get out there and mature as a player. I'm anxious for him to play, and he needs to embrace that and go with it. It needs to happen soon."
Talk about Uzoma Nwachukwu and what he's been doing of late...
"He certainly had a very good game the other day. He had an opportunity to make a play or two beyond the plays he made that we missed on, that I thought he should have had. He's growing as a player. He still has a long way to go to be the type of route runner and the receiver that I want him to be. But when you consider the fact that he never went through spring ball...Jeff Fuller had the advantage of going through spring and having his struggles in spring, and then thrown into the first ballgame and playing. This young man never had spring. To his advantage, he's taken hold of this opportunity and done a good job. He's not a complete receiver just yet but he's working towards it and I think someday he will be."
Do you see him playing on Sundays?
"I've been asked that question a couple of times by guys. I have a hard time anointing somebody that at this point in their career. Consistency from game to game, and consistency from season to season, will dictate that. He certainly hasn't made me think that he wouldn't, but along the same lines, it's putting things together back to back to back that make a difference to me...consistency."
You're going to take on not only a Texas Tech team, but a fan base up there that's pretty rabid...
"Yeah. They're a very passionate group, there's no question about that. I'm sure late at night they'll be a little bit more passionate (laughter)."
Is there a point in time in the season where you just decide to keep the redshirt on with Rhontae Scales?
"That's a good question and is something I go over every single week with the staff. At what point do we get to that we put him on the shelf? If I feel like he can go out and help us win a football game he's going to go play. Once I get to that point and Coach Turner gets a comfort level and tells me that we really need to see what he can do, then we'll do it. We're definitely pushing the envelope in that direction but he has to respond."
You addressed the running game earlier, but are Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray not getting really much of a chance in terms of when they do run the ball?
"Well, there have been, in this last ballgame in particular, limited opportunities for them to run. We have proven to be a better running team in the second, third and fourth quarters. When you're down 17-0, the game plan kind of changes and doesn't favor the run game necessarily, right or wrong. You're trying to get back in the ballgame. I don't know if we really gave them chance or even the linemen a chance, to work through the kinks you need to work through in the running game, because of the score we were faced with. But there were not a lot of running opportunities when we handed the ball off early in the ballgame. We struggled there."
Is the rugby punt being used because you're not getting the hang time, or is that why you're not getting the hang time because you're running that?
"The rugby punt is an answer to a change-up. I would prefer not to do that if all possible. It's a change-up to try to get guys on our opponent's side to have to handle a different type of punt. If I had my preference I would prefer not to do that. It's out of necessity more than anything else."
How does it provide that change-up?
"Well, the ball is bouncing around and you may get a lucky bounce, you may bounce it past them, you may get a little bit of a roll on that thing. You certainly don't get great hang time on that type of punt, but there is a time there where they have to field that type of punt which slows them down and their access to the ball and to their return. You hope it's disruptive in regard to their return and their ability to field the football. Maybe that creates some time for you if you're not getting great hang time."
How important is it to get pressure on the quarterback this week?
"Pressure is even more important than sacks. They don't take sacks based on their offensive line. They take the big splits, they have big linemen and they get good drops by the quarterback. But to be disruptive I think is key. It's hard to do because they work within their system. They get the ball out. They have guys making quick breaks and they know what to do with the football. Disrupting the rhythm of the game is important."
Is it even more important this week to defend the screen?
"They have a lot of different weapons that they use in their offense. When they spread you out and you want to do this, they are going to do that. If you have a great pass rush they can certainly run the draw, shovels, screens and what not. It's important for us to recognize those things and turn and chase. The people that defend the screens are not so much the linebackers, safeties and corners, as much as the defensive linemen turning and chasing the play and catching it from the backside. So yes, that is a component that we need to address."
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
ASST. HEAD COACH/DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR Joe Kines
On the Kansas State loss... "We had a difficult situation. It got away from us quick and we didn't recover. The best thing we can do is get on this next deal as quick as we can. We have zero minutes after the film session to worry and deal with that. Obviously, we'd cut off our right arm if it hadn't have happened. Seriously, you'd give anything if it hadn't happened. But we've got to go on. We've got way too much in front of us to worry about what's behind us. We messed that one up. Let's not mess up two worrying about that one."
On Texas Tech... "Texas Tech's scheme has proven through the years to be one of the best throwing the football in the country. Coach Leach has been in this system a long time, understands it, has developed it, grew it. I've played him at several different places and just does a phenomenal job teaching the fundamentals of throwing and catching. A lot of people think it's plays and schemes and all that, but if you look they do a great job throwing the ball, a great job catching the ball, a great job turning north after the catch. They don't change it very much. In life that's a pretty good scheme. If you get good at something, you develop something and you stay with it. They've done a fine job with that."
On defending Texas Tech... "On our side of the ball, there are certain fundamentals you have to do when you play a passing team. Obviously you have to pressure the quarterback. Mathematically, you can stand back, snap the ball and send everybody--not block a soul--and he can get the ball off before you can get there. We're going to pick and choose when we do that. You have to have some common sense in dealing with it. When you do, you better be prepared for the ball to come out really quick. You can frustrate yourself to death by sending a whole bunch of folks and them never touching him because they really have a good scheme to offset that. You have to be really sound on the running game too. We've got about six months of work to get done between now and Friday. We've got a day's worth of work in front of us every period of practice this week. We'll do that. We'll get focused and try to improve this football team. The young guys will work hard, the older guys will lead, and we'll have a plan between now and Saturday."
On Tech's backup quarterback, Steven Sheffield... "They didn't do anything different than the quarterback did four years ago, it's all the same. He's just getting some really good results, is throwing the ball extremely well and it's been productive. I guess that's kind of the reason he's there now, he's really done a nice job of putting the ball to the receivers in the spots they need to catch the ball."
SENIOR OL Michael Shumard
On the loss to K-State... "This one hurts the most. I have a lot of friends in different college football programs across the nation. We talked about the off-season and what they do and we do comparatively. It wasn't even close. Our winter conditioning and offseason program, we did almost twice as much as some of the other programs were doing. We really worked hard and it just sucks that something like that would happen after you've laid it all out there all winter, spring, all summer, all camp and then during the week. If we had bad preparation it would be one thing, but I felt like this is the hardest we've worked in preparation since I've been here."
JUNIOR QB Jerrod Johnson
On playing in Lubbock... "I look forward to it. K-State's crowd was pretty tough on us. They had some choice words for us, and some pretty creative things to say. But I think that's what makes college football fun. It's getting to go other places, getting to experience other things. It's a different atmosphere out there than a lot of the places we play, but I look forward to it. It presents a challenge, but I feel like we're up for the challenge. I'm looking forward to going out there, it should be a fun game."
Do you think this team is at a crossroads? "I don't think so at all. We have a lot of young guys on our team but it's definitely not an excuse. They're here and we expect them to succeed. We all expect them to succeed. It's just a situation we have and we've got to find a way to overcome it. I don't think we're at a crossroads at all. We have a lot of strong guys on this team, these young guys are optimistic. They may be too young to fully understand what's going on and that might be a good thing at times. I definitely have a lot of confidence in our team and our strength as a group. We're pretty close. I'll think we're definitely be able to bounce back."
JUNIOR JACK Von Miller
On playing Texas Tech... "I look forward to getting another chance to play another Big 12 South and another good football team. Another good competitor. We look forward to the challenge."
On the team's mental state... "I think we have very good character on our team and our guys are very mature, even the freshmen. Nobody likes to lose, and the chip on our shoulder is even bigger now. I think that we responded very well. We've got a lot of people with very good character on our team. The response and morale will be where it's supposed to be at. We'll follow it with some good practices this week and hopefully go into Texas Tech and get a win."