Highlights from Al Groh's Weekly Press Conference
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Al Groh quotes from Sept. 18, 2007 press conference
Q: Are you happy with the progress made over the past two weeks? Does it make you feel pretty good going into the game against Georgia Tech?
A: We certainly have shown progress in some areas. Now it’s got to be the consistency of that progress. Certainly the special teams (play) is a good example of that. We had a very good solid performance to open the season for special teams (that included) very good kicking and excellent return. We had no issues with our special teams the first week. We had multiple issues with our special teams the second week. We had no issues with our special teams the third week.
(Special teams) just points out what’s the case within the entire team. It’s a new ball game every week and it’s getting consistently efficient performance in a number of areas, that includes obviously starting individually and then working up to the units, that’s what it takes to start putting together a string. That’s why it is so important to start the week as we say, be the same guy, be the same team every day,’ that gives you a chance to be the same team every Saturday.
Q: Can you talk about Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice and if he is unable to play how that will impact Georgia Tech?
A: We are just going forward with full expectation that he is going to play. All our preparations are with that in mind. He’s a terrific back, certainly the equal of any back in this conference. He can really hit the crease, he finds the smallest of slivers and he’s through it quickly. He’s very elusive in the open field and he’s obviously a very durable player. He had more carries than any back in the country last year. So he’s a very durable player, he’s got elusiveness, he’s got an extra gear and he doesn’t fumble the ball. It’s something in the area of over 300 carries he’s had now, so he’s a highly valuable player for their team. He never gives it away and he gains a lot of yards and he keeps grinding it out for them. Everything passes through him. You’re going to have a good day on him and those people who pave the way for him or else you are going to have a lot of difficulty.
Q: Your running game is one of the areas that’s made significant improvements each week. What are the main reasons for that and how do you keep that improvement going against a defense like Georgia Tech’s?
A: Actually, it’s made improvements on an ongoing basis whether it was week to week or over the course of 15 games. Most particularly it’s just player development. Most of the players who were integral parts of our running game right now were really at the starting line with their careers 15 games ago; Cedric Peerman had never started a game and had limited carries, (Eugene) Monroe had never started a game, (Branden) Albert had had one year’s experience, (Jordy) Lipsey had started two games, (Will) Barker had never started a game, (Ian-Yates) Cunningham hadn’t played very much for a year, so it’s been those players starting from a very elementary point in their development, of which there is still considerable room for, but there’s been a lot of progress made towards hopefully what can become the ultimate product.
Q: With Cedric Peerman, did you as a coach have a sense of what that player is going to be capable of doing or do you kind of have to wait and see?
A: We have a picture in our mind, sometimes long before the player gets the picture, as to what the player is ultimately capable of doing. That’s how we try to put the whole thing together. What we do with our running game is not just things that we like, it’s things that we think fit the players involved well (and) fit their skills. With Cedric as our prime ball carrier, runs that are good runs for Cedric, (and runs) that allow him to maximize his style and his skills of running. We definitely put it together with that in mind.
Q: Did you picture the season that Cedric Peerman’s been having up to this point for him?
A: We remarked on a number occasions amongst ourselves during training camp that he was having the kind of camp that would indicate that this a back that could have a very productive year. We didn’t think in terms of yards or what he could do. We’ve got a long ways until we hit any benchmarks on those, but this is kind of the way Cedric has prepared for and what he has put in to it ever since back to the last week of March. From that respect I think it’s just coming true on the main stage what we had seen developing in the practice area.
Q: From your perspective, how different is this Georgia Tech team that’s coming in this time around just from last year? You mentioned the loss of Calvin Johnson, but also Reggie Ball’s gone? What’s the difference you see in this team in just a year’s time?
A: The scheme on defense is the same and many of those players are the same. (Philip) Wheeler’s been a tackling machine for them and he continues to be such. The two defensive ends are very difficult to handle (and they) provide a lot of pressure from the outside and have a lot ofnot just athletic ability off the edgebut they are long guys’ with long arms and a lot of range. I think I’ve stated that there’s some blending of the two schemes on offense and so there is something considerably different to look at there.
Q: You’ve seen improvement each week since the start of the season and you have Georgia Tech this week. Is there more improving or progressing that has to be done with the kind of team that they are?
A: Where our improvement has to be is both based on the natural progression with our own team, but also relative to what the challenge is out there every week. We’re playing the defending divisional champion, so that certainly sets the bar at the highest level of competition that we’ve faced so far this year. We have to raise our game to that particular level, too.
Q: When you have a defense that comes as frequently as they do the majority of the time, does it in some way limit how many guys you can send out or does it intensify on the other guys the need for protection?
A: The first element of having a sound passing game every week is don’t get your quarterback hit. If your quarterback is constantly under harassment, then you’re going to get some bad decisions, you’re going to get some bad throws, (and) you’re going to have problems with the ball. For whatever plays you might get out of it, you’re probably going to have to trade back plays on the other end that make a difference. Plus your quarterback takes a beating and that effects how they play. Almost everything is started that way, but then when you play a team of this nature, that puts an added emphasis on the necessity and the value of doing that particular thing.
Q: Is there a different kind of emotion and intensity that comes when playing a top team like Georgia Tech?
A: Hopefully not, not if we can become what I spoke of earlier, which is the same team every week. That’s how you start to put together winning streaks. You can see throughout college footballand throughout football on every levelthat if you don’t have something to prove and you’re not on your best game every week, you’ve got a real good chance to get beat. We’re certainly seeing that with a number of college scores this year, whether it’s UCLA going to Utah as the No. 11 team in the country and losing to another Mountain West team 44-6, whether it’s Auburn losing to Mississippi State, whether it’s Tampa Bay getting beat soundly the week before and coming home and making it basically non-competitive against New Orleans. That’s got to start early in the week. If you don’t feel challenged and you’re not properly focused every week, then that’s the situation that you’re going to find yourself in. It’s going to take everything, especially with our team, that if we’re going to have to fight it out, there might not be any TKOs for us, but if you win on a split decision, you’re still the winner. Hopefully we’re learning with this team we are learning to appreciate and to understand that fact and if we do that will give us a much better chance.