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Sept. 20, 2004
Al Groh’s Weekly Press Conference
Was the 3:30 p.m. kickoff time your choice?
We just picked 3:30 p.m., because for a while there was an issue as to whether or not it would be a television game. So we just said, with or without television, we’re going at 3:30 p.m.
In what ways does Syracuse step up the competition?
I think we’re clearly into the second phase of our schedule. The first being the three games we’ve completed and the next phase being the next four (games) that we have. This is the most physical team that we’ve played, for sure. It’s the most balanced team we’ve played in terms of proficiency on both sides of the ball.
When you scheduled Syracuse, how involved were you?
Syracuse was already on the long range plan before I got here.
How do you see their two-quarterback system working out? Does one guy seem to jump ahead of the other?
Certainly in terms of playing time, that would seem the case. Perry Patterson has played a lot more the last two weeks. Joe Fields, who’s their heralded freshman, started the Purdue game and played most of it. That’s a pretty tough way to break in as a true freshman. At Buffalo, Fields started and Patterson came in the third series. While they were supposed to alternate throughout, I think one threw 16 passes, and Fields threw five. Then they entered the third series routine again last week (against Cincinnati), and it turned out Fields threw two passes and Patterson threw another 12 or 14. It would seem that Perry Patterson is taking most of the snaps right now. They’ve won two games with him doing that. The same plays are being run by both quarterbacks. It really has a lot more bearing on their team than it does on our team.
How well did you get to know (Syracuse assistant coach) Jim Reid before he left Richmond?
Pretty well. He used to come over here quite a bit. He worked our camp for two or three years.
What difference have you seen in Syracuse’s defense the last two weeks as opposed to the Purdue game?
I’ve dismissed that Purdue game as just one of those things that happens. I’m sure Arizona State’s going to prove themselves to be a pretty good team this year, but I also think we?ll go back and say what happened to Iowa Saturday night was just a blip on their radar screen, for them to lose by that kind of score. It’s been hard for anyone to beat them by a point the last two or three years, much less beat them like that. That kind of happened out there. They (Syracuse) had a lot of new starters on defense that seemed to be a little jazzed up in terms of alignments and organizations. They had a freshman quarterback playing. That’s a pretty tough assignment. If I eliminate that, which I pretty much have, then between the two games they’ve won this year and their season-ending win over Notre Dame from last year, they have three solid games there for us to base a lot of our research on.
Syracuse’s Walter Reyes has proven to be a quality tailback and his backup (Damien Rhodes) is averaging six yards per carry. How do you seem them, as different or similar?
They’re more similar than they are different. They both have good size. Reyes is kind of a Wali Lundy-built type back. Rhodes looks to be a little bit taller. They both have excellent speed. From reading their biographies, Reyes holds the Ohio state 55-meter record for high school runners. That’s pretty fast. It says that Rhodes is 10.5 which is pretty fast, too. And they look it. It’s a fast surface that they’re playing on, too, inside, but they both look it.
For the first three games, the focus was a spreadout offense and a mobile quarterback. Here, you’re preparing more for a bruising ground game. What changes are you thinking about defensively?
Well, that is one of the reasons why this becomes our sternest test to date. One, it’s definitely the most physical offense that we’ve played against. I’d say it’s the biggest, strongest that we’ve played against. They have three offensive linemen that weigh 320. They have a 255-pound fullback. One of the two alternating tight ends is 272. They’re a good, strong, physical test. They play a physical style. Another thing that makes it challenging is the volume of offense. There’s everything in there. There’s spread offense. There’s power running. There’s drop-back pass. There’s bootlegs. There’s play actions. There’s two tight ends, two backs and one wide receiver; there’s four wide receivers. There’s option plays. There’s everything. So, that compounds the circumstance. But, the heart and soul of their running is real power running. So that is certainly a change from what the majority of the last three games have been conducted as. Obviously the front seven prefer that kind of game. It makes them a bigger factor. They would rather that kind of come-right-at-you game than having to chase the ball all over the place.
You talk about how big Syracuse is up front. How much of a key has that been so far, just being able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball?
I think that’s been the key. Most coaches will want to say that that’s been the key to everything. We’ve had good control of the line of scrimmage. We’ve got a good sack ratio, which usually has a lot to do with your completion percentage, and your turnover ratio, and your third down conversions. So, it’s been a big advantage to us at this point.
When you first got here and became aware of QB Marques Hagans, did you have any preconceived thoughts about 5’10” quarterbacks and their ability to get the job done?
No, because I’ve seen them come in all shapes and forms. I’ve been on teams where you had them in all different ways and most particularly competed against them. If you stood Joe Montana and Dan Marino in the same room, you wouldn’t think they played the same position. Doug Flutie or John Elway. Athleticism and the ability to move and avoid, athletic ability is a major component of being a good quarterback. A shorter player with good athletic ability has an advantage over a taller quarterback who doesn’t have good athletic ability. I’m not talking about run fast or this and that, but athletic ability is a significant factor in being a good quarterback.
How does having big hands benefit a quarterback? Does he throw it more accurately or does he throw it longer?
No, just in terms that he’s got more surface of the ball on his hand. So, it generally gives him an advantage in having more control over the ball. That’s particularly an advantage if you’re going to play in a bad weather game. It’s one of the reasons why, at the NFL combine, not only do they measure hand size, but also with quarterbacks they take a picture, from about four different angles, of every quarterback gripping the ball. There’s a lot of different grips that work, but small grips are always a problem.
Is Marques Hagans a particularly studious quarterback? He seems to quote the book of Al Groh quite a bit when answering questions. It’s almost like you’re putting words in his mouth. He just kind of regurgitates a lot of the things that you say.
I think that’s certainly necessary in any organization. The quarterback is an extension of how the organization sees things. As such, you have to have very good communication with your quarterback. You have to have a lot of conversations back and forth with him. Tell him what you think about the position. Get his input on plays. For example, we eliminated a number of plays last Friday afternoon based on a conversation just saying ‘Between these three, which one do you like the best’ or ‘Between these two, which one do you like the best.’ So, he listens, but I listen too.
Has it been a benefit to you that he hasn’t really had to run much? Is that something that you still have that you haven’t really had to show too much?
No, I think the games have been about the way that he and I would both like them to be. He’s used his mobility to enable himself to make some plays that can only be termed Marques plays. Now they might just be to move from here to there to get in better position to throw the ball, which he did a couple of times the other day, or get out of trouble. But, I think he’s got about 50 or 60 yards of positive rushing this year. So, on a three game basis, that’s pretty good.
It seems like a lot of guys like that, when they’re in high school and can just get by on ability, they probably don’t have to learn the plays as much and maybe to stop running is almost insulting. Or, sometimes they go the other way and stop running altogether, because they want to prove that they’re a quarterback.
What you say is exactly right. It’s a combination that they have to have the discipline to stay with the system, but the good sense to use all the talent that they were blessed with. Coaching-wise, you have to learn to accept that too, that these certain guys, that guys of this style, are going to play differently than other guys are.
How remarkable is it that he hasn’t been sacked so far and that he hasn’t had a rushing attempt for a loss?
I think that that’s probably kudos to the organization, in other words, those people who set up the protection plan, those people who executed the protection plan, and that person who sometimes has had to add his skill to make them both work.
What about his ball-handling ability? It seemed like on Saturday he ran some rollouts or some fakes and really handled the ball well.
I think it’s getting progressively better. He’s put a big emphasis on that. He is athletic, so he can get to spots to be a good ball faker; he’s got big hands, so he can control the ball. In doing such that we would expect that increasingly he should become more and more deceptive with his ball-handling. That’s something that he’s put a lot of attention into and the results of that attention are apparent. It’s got a ways to go yet, but it’s made substantial progress.
This is statistically the second year in a row at least that the offensive line has been one of the best in the country in pass blocking. Is it the schemes; is it the players on the line, what makes that so effective?
It is all those things. We think keeping your quarterback from getting hit is very important. Everybody else does too, but we put a lot of attention into the game planning to try to do our best, from a scheme standpoint, to give the players a good, sound scheme that’ll give them the opportunity to handle what we think the greatest threats are. The players seem to have a good confidence in that if we get this down right and do it right, it’s going to work. They’ve gotten on it with excellent enthusiasm. And, we have some guys with very good pass protection skills. And, we’ve had quarterbacks who’ve cooperated, who understand the protection, who understand the threats to the protection, and are of a mentality to get the ball out of there. They don’t stand there and hold the ball, and that’s a factor too.
You’ve gone to WR Deyon Williams two or three times each game, and when the pass has been there, he’s caught it. Do you have confidence in him to throw at him multiple times a game? Is there more to his game than maybe he’s had to show, just because of the way the games have played out?
Oh yeah. And, there’s going to be more there, whether the games make it play out or his development enhances that. But, there’s a lot of natural skill there, which obviously we want to take advantage of.
How many players, do you keep a number of this, how many players you used in the game on Saturday? Would that be pretty close to an all-time high?
I know we used, counting a couple of the specialists who would go on the defensive depth chart, I think we used 35 on from that side of the depth chart. I’m not exactly sure how many we used on offense. I think we might have used, actually, a little more there. Certainly, I think we were in excess of 70 players. Probably the most since I’ve been here.
You’ve talked about NT Andrew Hoffman the past couple days. Besides the size and strength you need, what qualities does a nose tackle have to have to succeed in your system?
Tenacity. A couple of NFL scouts, who I just got finished today having a conversation about Andrew, remarked, in evaluating the games, about his effort and his hustle level.
What about intelligence, I’m sure it helps?
Well, I don’t want to stigmatize that position for those that follow. But, I’d say you have to be highly intelligent.
At 6’4″, is he taller than most nose guards?
Not any longer. Really the prototype has become taller, or at least as tall, but blockier. A lot of them are in the 6’4″-6’5″, 320 range, Vince Wilfork, who the Patriots just drafted.
Could OG Elton Brown be a nose guard?
Elton probably looks like some of those nose tackles. They look like Elton does. He played on the goal line like one of them two weeks ago.
Tight ends had almost half the pass receptions on Saturday. How vital is it to have three tight ends that can contribute in the passing game and for multiple formation sets?
It helps us out a lot. It gives us a lot of flexibility and versatility. Tight end is always going to be a prominent position on this team. That’s how the scheme is built. We have some very capable tight ends. We have, obviously, a terrific player there. I know, for all those people who were weeping last week because his 22-game streak was broken, think about Jerry Rice. So, that’s always going to be a premium position on our team. We have it al all levels. We have some coming in that are going to be featured there. The scheme features them. So, at this stage, we’re able to try to personnel it so that we can stay active with the scheme, rather than saying ‘Gee, we used to do this, but we don’t have anyone who can do it anymore.’ So, the scales might swing a little bit from one thing to another, but they’re always going to remain significant, very versatile players for us.
Is TE Tom Santi the fastest of that group?
Yeah, probably. I’m thinking visually, I don’t have a time to compare it too. But, visually, I’d say probably.
When a guy has that speed, do you talk to strength coach Evan Marcus, is there a danger of a guy like that getting too big? You don?t want him to get to 260 and lose speed.
No, I think that with most of these players here, if it comes to what we’re doing through natural development, we’ll just let nature take its course.
You talk about Syracuse’s physical nature, does that extend to their run defense? Will this be the biggest test for your rushing game so far?
Yeah, I think that this defense is geared much more to stopping plays by beating blocks than by scheming the play. The last three defenses have tended to accentuate more schemes and less individual beating the blocks. This team will feature more one-on-one matchups and let’s see who wins. It’ll certainly be a different challenge and probably a more significant challenge for our offensive linemen.
You talk about the rushing attack. Now that TB Michael Johnson has come along a good bit. How imperative is it to have now three backs that are just contributing so much?
It’s fun to have. We know how versatile a player Alvin Pearman is, not just on offense, but on all phases of the game. Wali Lundy has shown his versatility over the years. It really cuts down on the bulk carries over a season for each one of them. It’s going to cut down on individual numbers, if that was an issue, which it really isn’t to us. But, it’ll hopefully help us keep the backs fresh and kind of lively throughout the course of the year. Whenever I talk to any of them how they’re feeling, they say, ‘God, I’m feeling great.’ Because, it’s not just the amount of turns they take in the game either, it reduces the amount of practice turns they take. Right now, they’re all feeling very refreshed and ready to go.
With your defensive background, can that cause the defense problems looking at three different runners?
It does in some respect. One of the things that we emphasize is you always have to know who you play against, not just what. Whether it’s wide receiver, running back, the tackle that you’re pass rushing against, you’ve got to know who this guy is, what his strengths are, what his weaknesses are, what his habits are. So, each one of these do run and play a little bit differently.
What are the talents that make TB Wali Lundy so effective? It’s kind of hard to tell if he’s a power back or a speed back. It was surprising that that was his longest run the other day.
You just answered it right there.
A little bit of everything?
It’s hard to describe.
Is there something he does best?
Getting yards, I guess. It’s a combination of all those backs who’ve been significant producers on every level. It’s a combination of things that they’re able to do. It’s the one-dimensional back that’s a lot easier to play against.
You talk about the second phase of your schedule coming up. What was your reaction to North Carolina beating Georgia Tech by three touchdowns? Does that say more about your team?
It certainly says a lot more about their team. Obviously, that was a pretty gutsy win on their part. I was impressed by it.
You’ve talked to us in the past about statistics in football that are substantial or significant to you and others that maybe aren’t as important. I think you were in the red zone this year 18 of 19. Is that one you look at as sort of a reaffirmation of the way you want to play the game?
And the one we missed the game finished on the one-yard line. So, we’re really 18 for 18. Sure, that’s why we’ll be in the red zone this afternoon. We practice four times this week; we’ll be there at least three, maybe four, on both offense and defense, by all means. That’s where you score points. That’s point scoring territory.
Is there such a thing as a nose for the end zone? Are some people better at getting there than others or is it just that he’s in the game at the time?
I think so. I think it’s a combination. Usually, you try to get the guy in the game that’s proven he’s got the best sense for getting there. Sometimes, anybody could get it there. But, some guys have earned the right to be there in the first place. I think some guys have a good sense for it. I think those guys, they have a nose, it’s really not a nose, they’ve got a vision for yardage wherever you give them the ball. It’s all about vision. They have a vision for where the openings are and the flow of the defense. It just computes that fast for them wherever you give it to them. It just so happens that that seven-yard gain gets a lot more notoriety when it’s got six points behind it than the seven-yard gain on first down out on the fifty. But, it might have been the same run.