Maryland Prepares For Second Home Contest Against Eastern Michigan
9/4/2001 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2001
Preparation for Saturday's contest against Eastern Michigan:
"We know what we have to get done. We are very aware of the conference they play in. Each week, they are always surprising somebody. They surprised us in 1997. It was Ohio University who beat us that year."
On the North Carolina game:
"I was very pleased with the effort that the team gave. I was pleased with our crowd and their enthusiasm. It appeared that they enjoyed themselves. It was very rewarding to me to see our kids play with such enthusiasm and confidence. Even last night in practice, I sensed that they were very up and excited about playing football.
"Our defense played very well. They executed the game plan very well. They flew around to the football. Their effort to the ball was very, very good. And when we did make a mistake, our enthusiasm and effort covered it up.
"Offensively, after I looked at the tape, I was not very disappointed. We are not hitting on all cylinders. We are still making a lot of mental errors. But I didn't see anything that couldn't be corrected. I didn't see lack of effort. I didn't see a lack of competitiveness. I think it's just going to be a matter of time. I think the coaches might need to cut back a little bit. We need to make sure our kids understand what we are asking of them. I think the tape will serve as a great teaching tool for them. I'm expecting our offense to do a lot better. What pleased me about them was their toughness and their conditioning. We didn't turn the ball over. We had three penalties. But one was in the red zone and it stopped a score."
On injuries:
"We are pretty injury free. The only guy right now who is not capable of playing is Chris Kelley. So that's a good sign. Landon Jones has just come off of an injury and so has Reggie Lewis. We have everybody back participating in practice."
On the secondary:
"I think Gary Blackney does a great job with the secondary. I hired Gary because he's a heck of a coach. I've had four or five people tell me that he's one of the best secondary coaches in the country. I was talking to a lot of other guys about being coordinator. But I realized I had a pretty special guy this year. That's why I named him coordinator.
"I was concerned about how our corners would match up with North Carolina's wide receivers. They have really good wide receivers, and they were a lot bigger than our corners. If we could hold up on our man elements on the perimeter with them, then we could get another guy into the box and create some havoc. I thought Tony Okanlawon played a great game. Curome did a good job, especially in the second half. We feel we'll need to get Denard in there a little more, and also Jamal Chance. I knew our safeties were solid. I thought Randall, and Tony, and Rod Littles played very well. Littles played extremely hard on special teams, and also in the secondary, when he took over for Tony who got hurt. I think that's one of the strengths of our team."
On defensive strength:
"I think our strength is pretty good. What I'm worried about now is keeping it. We went into the season worried about our defensive line. And I think they more than held their own. Charles Hill played better in this game than I've seen him play in practice. I saw him get off blocks. He had eight individual tackles. Durrand Roundtree played very well. So did C.J. Feldheim. We need to get more guys playing on defense too. I talked to the coaches about it. We played Randy Starks. I think he needs to play more, and also Scott Smith. We even got Tosin Abari in late in the game. He helped us on nickel and dime. I believe we need to keep fresh guys on the field, especially when the other team is throwing the ball. Keep them fresh and keep them coming after that passer."
