Tuesday News Conference Quotes
11/25/2008 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2008
Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On injuries for Maryland after last weekend:
"Nothing new to report as far as people out for this week."
On the Boston College Eagles:
"As far as Boston College goes, they are a very good team. They are a big, strong, physical team on both sides of the ball."
On Boston College's offensive line:
"I think their offensive line is extraordinary. They are very big and have really been playing well of late. All the guys are back that we played last year and they have a couple new tackles playing very well for them as well.
On BC quarterback situation:
"Dominque Davis will start the game. He instrumented the final drive to win the game at Wake Forest Saturday. He is a redshirt freshman. I don't see them changing their offense for him. I think they will do the same thing as they did with the other kid. They have moved WR Billy Flutie to backup quarterback. We actually recruited him as a quarterback and a kicker. I think he's Doug's (Flutie) nephew."
On Eagles' running backs:
"They have two very good tailbacks and both of them are true freshmen. Montel Harris is having an exceptional year. Both of them run very, very hard. They hide behind that big offensive line and they get a lot of yards after the first hit."
On Boston College wide receivers:
"(Rich) Gunnell leads in receptions and leads the league in punt returns. Their deep threat is Brandon Robinson, who is averaging 15 yards per catch."
On Boston College's offensive scheme:
"They do a lot of zone-read option and they do a great job with that. That really sets up their passing game because you have to get an extra guy in the box."
On the Eagles' defense:
"They probably have the best defense in the conference. When I say they are huge up front, that is probably an understatement. The two defensive tackles (Ron Brace and B.J. Raji) probably weigh 700 pounds Raji has six sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Both of those guys are really good players."
On the Eagle linebacker corps:
"Mark Herzlich is really an extraordinary player. Last year, he played inside and this year he is playing Sam and I think he has five interceptions. For a guy his size, he is very athletic in open space."
On the Boston College secondary:
"They have (five) scores on defense and they are leading the country in interceptions with 231. They have a young, inexperienced secondary. Three of the four starters graduated last year and two of them (DeJuan Tribble and Jamie Silva) were all-conference. They've come up and they are playing very well with some younger guys in that secondary."
On Maryland struggling to score after getting inside the 30-yard line in the team's four losses:
"We have some type of invisible line there on the 30 where we just don't do a very good job of executing. We missed a key pass Saturday on third-and-4. We had a guy open and we didn't hit him. We've had some mental issues down there and I think, to just put in a nut shell, we just haven't done what we need to do in executing at that part of the field. It is an area that we are working at very hard."
On the team's mindset after Saturday's loss to Florida State:
"I was pleased with our practice yesterday. I think we are all hurt. There's not a whole lot we can do about it now. It is over with. We missed an opportunity that we had and you work very hard for it all year long and it's disappointing that we don't do a better job when we have the opportunity. But we do have an opportunity Saturday to play a very good team on the road and I told our team if we win the game, essentially we tie for the Atlantic Division and I would hope that would make us attractive to some bowl games and have a better chance of going to a bowl that our kids want to go to. There is a lot to play for and I was pleased how they responded to that. We really had one of our better Monday practices."
On communication issues on defensive side of the ball:
"It wasn't frustrating for me Saturday. We tried to make some adjustments at halftime and we hadn't really practiced it but I felt the adjustments were necessary. I have some introverted players and it is hard for them to verbally communicate with each other. I'd like to have one guy that can take control back there and set it all up but we don't really seem to have that individual."
On the atmosphere at Boston College this weekend:
"It's going to tough. I think they are going to be fired up. We should know what to expect going in there. That's just the way it is."
On if a good Monday practice gives an indication on how the team will play:
"I wish I could tell you what to expect with this team. I really don't know. I was encouraged by yesterday. I think a lot of it is an affect on how I react to things. This is a special group of kids to me. I am very disappointed for them. I really wanted them to win this thing. But like I said, that is not going to help us against Boston College. We really need to focus on Boston College. I told them Saturday night after the game that I am coming to work on Monday and I expect them to be ready to go. And they were. I told them our character is going to be tested again and every time that has happened, we have responded."
Senior Linebacker Moise Fokou
On bouncing back after the loss, and the Terps being so well at doing that this year:
"I kind of wish Florida State was ranked when we played them, but I don't know, thinking about us beating all the ranked teams this year is great, but we wanted to win every game so I try not to think about that. If it continues to happen that is great, but we are a little disappointed after Saturday's loss."
On the atmosphere around campus after the loss:
"I think everybody has been kind of avoiding us. It was a tough loss, and I don't think anyone really wants to talk about it, but there is nothing we can do about it. It happens. We need to bounce back and win this week's game."
On thinking about a bowl game at all:
"No not really. We are just thinking about this week and if we win then I am not sure what bowl we are going to. Hopefully it is a good one. But we are really just focusing on this week's game."
Senior Tight End Dan Gronkowski
On the mindset of the team this week:
"Yeah we definitely put the last game behind us already. We are looking forward to this weekend. It is a big game for us. If we win we will be going to a better bowl, we just have to go out and get this win."
On his message to the underclassmen on better bowl positioning with a win at BC:
"Yeah we talked about that yesterday in our team meeting so everybody knows about that now. We had a good practice yesterday, so I think we are back on the right track. We had a bump in the road but we have to move on from that, and finish this season off well."
On what Boston College's defense does so well:
"They are big and strong. They make a lot of plays. They lead the country in interceptions so we have to go out there and execute. It is going to be tough, they have shut down a lot of teams. We just need to go out there, do our thing, and be ready."
Senior Defensive Lineman Jeremy Navarre
On what to expect at Boston College:
"We have to go in there with a tough mindset. In my four years here, it has been one of the tougher places to play at. They seem to play their best games at home. We have to go in there, focus on this game, put everything behind us, and show up."
On what Boston College does so well offensively:
"They are really big up front. They have a big offensive line. They are really physical. They are probably going to be the best offensive line we are going to see this year, we just need to have our responsibilities straight."
On Boston College:
"They are a tough team, anytime we play them it is a tough game, with us beating them last year, I am sure they have that on their mind a little bit, so we have to go up there against a great team and we need to play our best, hopefully we can do that."
Senior Offensive Lineman Edwin Williams
On no longer competing for the ACC Championship:
"This weekend wasn't a very happy weekend. It's setting in that we won't be playing in the ACC Championship this year, but I we have one game left in this season and we want to get into the best bowl game possible. We want to execute this plan and finish out on a good note."
On trying to stop Florida State defensive lineman Everette Brown:
"We had a good game plan against him [Everette Brown], in terms of what we had to do. After a while we got too preoccupied about him and not about the other players. And that's when their players started making plays. We lost our focus and he moved around and put himself in positions to make plays and he made plays. He's a very good player and he showed that on Saturday."
On Boston College's defense:
"They have some big boys. They're experienced, both inside guys are seniors. They have a very experienced linebacking group. They're very big, they're very quick, they're very strong; it's going to be a big challenge. I think they're a top five defense in the nation and they lead the nation in interceptions, so I think it's going to be a very interesting game. I think we'll step up to the challenge and play to the best of our abilities and it'll be a good game."
On playing Boston College on senior day:
"This will be a big day for them; it will be their senior day and I their seniors will play as hard as they possibly can. They know what's at stake and they're going to give us their best effort. We have to be focused on our game plan, execute, and make the plays we need to make."
On the offensive game plan against Boston College:
"Being physical in the running game and, once we get into the red zone, scoring touchdowns. Doing what we have to do and making sure we're 100 percent focused. Knowing what we have to do in this game plan and executing so that we can make big plays."
On his Thanksgiving plans:
"I'm thankful for so much. I'm thankful that I lasted five years. I'm thankful to have my family and all of my brothers here, my teammates, everybody around me, and having the ability to play football."
"My family is out of town, they always go out of town for Thanksgiving, so I usually spend it at a friend's place. It's a good old high school friend's place and their family is like my family, so it'll be good. It'll be fun. So we'll just shoot the breeze and have a good time."
"Macaroni and cheese is my favorite. They make it pretty good, extra cheesy."
