Ralph Friedgen Press Conference Quotes
9/5/2006 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 5, 2006
On the William and Mary Game:
"Overall, I think it was a good first game. We need to improve each and every day, each and every week, and each and every game. If we do that, I think we'll have a chance"
On the offense against William and Mary:
"After watching the tape, I thought our offensive line was very sharp. I thought we played very well. Donnie Woods in particular had a very good game. Tim Cesa, our fullback, played extremely well, probably as good as a fullback has played here in awhile. Our linebackers ran to the ball very hard. They were very precise on their reads and in their cuts."
On the defense against William and Mary:
"Defensively, I thought we played well for three quarters. We have to tackle a little bit better and play better pass defense; we can't let people throw the ball behind us like we did at the end of the game."
On his overall thoughts of the team:
"You go from one day to the next. I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the tape that we were very sharp up front, especially with our landmarks, how well we played and how precise we were. I don't think we have done that for awhile, but what I want to see us do is sustain that. I just want to see us continue to get better. We have a chance to be good football team. We're not that good if we go out and just go through the motions; we have to improve."
On Josh Allen:
"He's one of my favorite guys. He's a wonderful person, great character, good student. He was one of those guys who would possibly never play again, having three ligaments damaged in his knee, and yet, he's come back. There have been good days and there have been bad days. But I've never seen him stop working or stop preparing. The thing I'm encouraged about is that I keep seeing him get better."
On Jordan Steffy:
"He's disappointed, he knows he can play better and I told him I know he could play better. I've put this behind us. He's a very confident individual and I think he will bounce back."
On how the team can improve:
"I'd like to improve on our passing game. I'd like to continue to run the ball the way we did. Defensively, I think we have to tackle better and play the pass better. We have to contain the football better; we're still not doing as good a job as we need to do on that. On special teams, I think we need to cover better and I think we will. We have to try and put the right pieces of the puzzle together so that we have our best players on the field."
On Sam Hollenbach:
"I thought he played a solid game. Like I've said all along, it's not what he does, it's what he doesn't do. He didn't turn the ball over, he didn't take a sack in the red zone. He put us in position to win the football game and that's what he has to do. If we get the other things to keep improving, he'll give us a good chance to win."
On the performance of the wide receivers:
"It was about what I expected. We made mistakes, we have to get better. Isaiah [Williams] made a play. Danny [Oquendo] made some plays but made some mistakes, too. I thought having Drew [Weatherly] in there would help from an experience factor. Darrius [Heyward-Bey], we're trying to get him involved, he just couldn't get it done. I'd like to get him some confidence. I think they are going to be very good, it's not going to happen overnight."
On Erin Henderson:
"I think he played well for his first game but obviously he's going to have to play better. He missed a few tackles, but I thought he played very hard."
On Keon Lattimore:
"I think Keon has improved. I think there are still times where he could run the ball more north-south but I definitely think he was improved over what he was last year. I think he has a chance to be very good."
