Paul Pasqualoni Opening Comments:
"Well we are looking forward to getting started today. First big work day for the game plan. We did a little bit on Sunday and today is first and second down day. It will be our first road trip. We have some young players, we have quite a few first year players so, I am a little concerned for how we'll travel, we'll talk to them a lot about that. You know, Buffalo has a very very good football team here, they have some outstanding players so we are really going to have to prepare. The process of getting ready is what it is and we are going to have to go after it with energy and the same kind of passion we've had the last few weeks.
Q1 - John Silver: "Paul, can you talk about you know this is first and second down day. You've struggled on first down this year and that's really cascaded on the offense. What are you seeing on first down and where do you have to improve?"
A: "Well, we have to improve everywhere John. We have to improve on the run game. We are going to work through blocking their fronts and blocking their blitzes on first and second down and plays we're going to call and protections we are going to use and the routes and the play actions and we'll do the same thing on the other side of the ball defending what they do, so you know, you do what you do every week and hope you come up with a good plan and you execute it."
Q2 - : "Talk about some of the young players who played last week especially Jhavon."
A: "Jhavon gave us a consistent night. He was in the right place on that zone when he got that first tip on that first third down conversion and maybe the biggest play for him on the night was the go route when they went after him and he cut the defender off into the sideline which was really a good play for anybody, let alone a freshman. So, he played, he's got a long way to go, he's got a lot to learn, you know you don't learn it all in one year, but he played consistent football for us, helped us some in run support so he's got to keep his focus and not be distracted like everybody and a little harder when you're a freshman."
Q3 - Wayne Morgan: "The running game has struggled, but can you talk about the lift Delorenzo and Foxx have given the running game on Saturday."
A: "Deshonn on the speed sweep is really pretty fast, he was a running back in high school, so that's one of his strengths is running with the ball, for sure. So that helped us, we got a couple yards there and Max is kind of a good change up kind of guy, made a few yards. I thought he had another opportunity to make a few more yards on one play, so you knwo those change ups really help. I like the way those guys are working, I like their energy, throw Martin Hyppolite in there too. Obviously Lyle is getting more of the time, but those other guys are very very ready and very very willing to go in so we have to keep building on that, we really do."
Q4 - Desmond Conner: "Just to follow up on that Paul, on Max, it seemed like he's the guy that heats up the more he gets the ball, do you see that and is that something you look at?"
A: "Yea, I think he heats up the more he hits the right hole. I think certainly when you're making a few yards, you're playing with a lot of energy, that's for sure. But I think Des, there's something about one of those guys getting hot and then playing them a little more, that was always I thought a big thing. You got a back that's seeing things and got a great feel for it that night, so I think that is true, I think there's validity to that."
Q5 - "Coach, you normally don't talk about building from a loss, but how has the team's energy been after what they did on national TV and how they played?"
A: "Well, yea I think their energy was very good coming off the first game which was so disappointing and coming off the Maryland game I thought was good and it was really pretty good on Sunday. They watched the film, they see the film. Michigan made a couple more plays than we did. We made one or two many mistakes too many. You know they see all that and they know if we get those things corrected. And the goal for us to get ready is to improve this week, that's the real focus. The real focus ahs got to be we have a long season ahead of us yet and in a lot of ways we have our season ahead of us. Going into the game people asked me what would you want people to see from this game, and my response was I would like them to see a team that knows how to play football, knows how to handle themselves and can be physical and can be tough. You know I'm saying the same again thing this week and I'll say the same thing every week. We want to play great football, fundamentals, technique, assignments, take peopole on, it's a game of attrition, play that way. So that's the goal, its about us, its about us getting better and that's what I'm looking for this week. Because when you play good, it's fun. When you don't play well and I'm saying assignments, fundamentals, techniques, when it's not good sound football, then it's not fun. You always have a chance when you know what you're doing and you're playing good sound fundamental football and you believe in what you're doing and you stay with it, you'll always have a chance regardless to win. So that's the approach."
Q6 - "Can you talk about the progress of Spencer Parker and on the TD play was he the primary receiver or was he the second or third option?"
A: "Nope. On that play you look inside out, there's two guys. There's the tight end and then there's the receiver outside him. The safety got outside him and that's kind of where you look first and Chandler did a great job of getting the ball off on time. You know, he is fast, he runs, you know Ryan Griffin was a terrific receiver with really great hands and a pretty crafty route runner. If you lined them both up in a 40 yard draft, Parker would win. He's fast, he's legit fast for a tight end so I think that surprises people a little bit. I thought he showed it on that play, hopefully he can build on that and keep getting better, good to have a fast guy like that, that can get out into the seam."
Q7 - Jim Fuller "You go back to the Maryland game, you guys are 2-26 on third downs and only 4 postive plays during that stretch, where do you start to try to address that?"
A: "You know, third down is a lot like first and second down. You know, that's tomorrow. So we get to do this tomorrow, we get to do it on first and second and try to get things going on first and second down today. What you do is you try to come up with based on the down and distance what you feel your best chance to convert third downs and we work really hard at it. We go out there and rehearsh them and rehearsh them and rehearsh them and we just didn't do very well, we just didn't play very well on third down last week. So we got to go out and come up with the plan and make sure we got the protections right and make sure we have the coverages right and make sure the quarterbacks are seeign the right reads and the receivers are running the right routes. You knwo we're playing with a lot of young guys. I thought Peyton Manning had a great, you guys probably read that article on the drill we call routes on air and how important that drill is in his words. I think he called it the most important drill in the practice. It's the drill where you go out and run your pass routes and there's no defense there. So the quarterback goes back and his job is to get the ball out on time and the receivers job is to get the proper depth, hit the right stems and get to the right landmark on the field because the quarterback's got to throw the ball before he gets to the landmark and the quarterbacks got to have 100% confidence that the receivers going to be exactly wehre he needs to be becasue the rush and the blitz and everything else is coming. So part of the issue with us is we have so many young players and so many first year guys in the game that you have to work and work and work on that. Now on the TD to Parker he was in exactly the right spot. That was well done and Chandler did a great job of getting the ball out. At any level that was done as well as I've seen it done on that route. Now you got to do that consistently and there's a lot of routes. We got one picked a two weeks ago becasue we weren't exactly where we needed to be, but if you're going to be a team that drops back and throws the ball, that's how you have to do it and it's a huge commitment to do it and you hope that you develop chemistry and players have confidence in each other and their dependable and they're doing the right thing. I wish we could do it overnight, I really do, cause if we could do it overnight I promise you we'd do it."
Q8 - "The defense the last couple weeks had been criticized, but held Michigan to under 300 yards and 4 turnovers. Can you talk about the confidence they got out of this game?"
A: "We just didn't play very well against Towson and against Maryland we really didn't play bad, we didn't tackle very well and we gave them the touchdown because we flat out missed the tackle on a blitz where we had the guy cold, stoned, done and he shook it and we missed him and he got in the end zone and then the next 3 points we gave up on a blown coverage and then we played great red zone and they went with their 2 point play right before the half to get in the end zone, the kids did a great job with that and they kicked a field goal. So agaisnt Maryland really in the first half we gave up 10 points. So the kids come in and they see that on the film and they say geeze, what if we had made that tackle, what if we had not blown that coverage, they wouldn't of had any points at halftime. And then we come back to Michigan and in the first half I think they had seven points so that's pretty good that's not too bad and then we give up that option deal on that check and the kids know that's on us, so you know I think their confidence is if we can consistently do and execute what we're supposed to do we have a chance to play really good defense. It was good to see Reuben get off the ball and grab a sack and tackle for a loss, get a little speed back in the rush. Good to have Jesse Joseph in there, have more young players; Tyree Clark had to come in, he hadn't played, Taylor Mack was hurt, we talked about Jhavon, he's playing, Obi's still a freshman, Jefferson Ashiru is in the game like that for the first time. First year, Ryan Donohue has played, but this is his first year starting too, Julien Campenni is in there, his first year starting too. You know so I think if we keep on working on defense and can execute I think we can be a pretty good defense."
Q9 - "Paul, back to the young guys. With Shakim out, talked about the timing with John that would have been a first down, how are you going to get prodcution out of that second WR to get open up Geremy and Deshon?"
A: Well we are going to go out and as I said earlier we are going to have the game plan and what we're doing on first and second down and third down routes and play action and we are going to go out and work our fannies off on it. You know the younger guys have got to master running the routes and Chandler has got to have confidence they are going to be where they need to be and that's how we have to do it. We'll make decisions based on the coverages they play and we'll take what the defense gives, we always do and try to attack their coverage where we think it's weak and we'll attack that, that'll have a lot to do with it and we just have to execute, that's all we can do."
Q10 - "Paul, now that you've had time to look back at the interception that Chandler threw, the guy made a tremendous one hand stab, but what were the problems with that play?"
A: "Well, the only issue was it was a tight window and he thought he could get it over the linebackers head. It was kind of the exact same throw as the last, it's the same play on the other side the last play of the game where he fit it in there. The linebacker just had a little more depth and just really surprised me that he got up in the air so high with one hand, so that was really the issue with the play, it was a good play, the kid just made a play, that's all."
Q11 - "Paul, what do you want to see out of Chandler in this game?"
A: "Here's what I'd like to see, I'd like to see the approach that Chandler took after Geremy's catch was replayed and taken back. So what happens now? So we make this great play and they rule its a no catch, so in a game like that, it's a pretty big play, so we come back on the sideline and Chandler had a great look cause we're calling the next play now they're replaying this thing, I'm saying to myself let's get ready for the next play, so we grab Chandler, ok Chandler, here's what we're gonna do, so he's got a great look in his eye, he's goes out there, we all know what happened, we got to a third down and he makes the play, so that type of fire, that type of toughness mentally, come back and lets go after it. I'd like to see that every single series, that's what I'd like to see and he knows it and he's working on it and that's what I'd like to see out of any quarterback that plays here."
Q12 - "Does he need to improve his play?"
A: "Chandler is playing, when he gets the ball out on time, he's managing the run game well, he gets the ball out quick. We need to run the ball better and we need to protect better and we need to help him out too. It's always the QB the QB the QB, but there's the supporting cast that helps the QB too, we gotta do a better job all around."
Q13 - "Paul you guys are next to last in rushing in the nation and next to last in most sacks allowed. I was looking back to the defense of Michigan, Maryland and Towson, they are all at the top in all those areas, has the offensive line been as bad as the statistics say or is something..?"
A: "We've struggled a little bit with not having Kevin Friend in there to be honest with you, there's a few sacks in there and we're getting a little bit more accustomed to the adjustments we have to make in the protection, getting the help on the people that we need to help and we're going to have to help on some guys this week that's for sure. So I think its a little bit of personnel and a little bit of making the right adjustments, try to keep the QB upright and give him a chance to throw the ball, that's what I think it is."
Q14 - "You said early in the season you'd love to have a situation where you'd have a tailback and a fullback and the fullback has been in a very small number of plays, is he just not ready blocking wise?"
A: "Well, we have one fullback right now and he's a freshman, Matt Walsh is a great kid, he's gonna be a great player, so right now we don't have that experienced older guy there which I really think you really need. I think it's a lot to ask of a first year player coming in. He's doing well, he's in the game on goaline and short yardage and that type of stuff so we'll see how that goes, see how that develops."
Q15 - "You were saying the future of the season is still in front of you guys, the three teams you've played are 12-0 so how do you put this in perspective for the guys going forward?"
A: Well, you know I don't know if I put it in perspective. We go into every game and we expect to win. We went into Saturday night expecting to win, we might have been the only ones, but we did. We expect to win this week and as I said earlier this is only about us, this is about us getting better individually as players, as a team, it's a complimentary game, we haven't had one yet, we had a chance to do it Saturday night, didn't do it enough, so my perspective is just keep your nose to the grindstone, focus on the little things, take care of the things you can control, there's some things you can't control, don't try to control what you can't control, just focus on what you can control and that's you, your effort, your attitude, your hustle, your fundamentals, your technique, your assignments, on and on, so that's all I keep saying and that's all we keep working on and we're gonna go out today and we're gonna work on energy and passion for the game and prepare to win our biggest game of the year cause it's our next game up in Buffalo and that's what we're gonna do."
Q16 - "You've got a lot of young players, how do you keep them from getting down since they're 0-3?"
A: There's no entitlements in this game. You're not entitled to anything in this game. We have all good coaches. Everything you get in this game, you're gonna earn every yard, every win, every point in this game, at this level of football. So are you entitled to have a scholarship? No, I don't think so. Are you entitled to have a great facility? No, I don't think so. Are you entitled to a certain amount of wins? No you're not, you know it's life. When you get down to it, this game is a lot like life. You know, it's tough. Life is tough. You get up and you go to work every day. Once you're done with your undergraduate degree and the reality of the real world hits and you go out and have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning every day, that's the education in my opinion. The other side of the pancake is, I always thought this and I went through this and I was a Division I football player too, ok, so 40 years after I graduate, I'm not so sure that psychology class really what I remember from that psychology class, you guys are a lot smarter than me so you're probably a little different, but I remember a whole lot about what I learned going through the battles that we're going through right now and that's more what I apply to everyday life and that's part of the process and to me that's part of the education of the kids being here and it's part of being a division 1 football player. Now to go back on the part of perspective, the thing that I have to keep in perspective is that I'm delaing with young kids getting an education, it's not hte NFL. We are very positvie with them, we look at it as being an educator, we look at it as teaching, we look at it as the wholistic development of every student athlete and keep that all in perspective, that's the hard part. Becasue the expectations are let's beat Michigan every Saturday, which is fine, becasue I have no problems with those expectations."
Q17 - "What parts of Buffalo's game concern you the most?"
A: "This guy Mack, this outside linebacker, he's as good an outside LB as there is in Division 1 fooball, period. If this guy doesn't go in the first round then I'll be surprised, I'd take him in the first round, he's that type of player so we can start there. He's a really really good, everybody struggles to block the guy on film. I like their secondary, I think they play well. i think they've settled in on a QB who is really a drop back passer, probably the leading passer in the history of NY high school football. I really like the tailback, Oliver is a difference maker, certainly one of the best players in their conference. No. 19 WR is one of the better players in their conference. I like their offensive line a great deal. The left side is very strong and very phsyical. They blocked the guys from Ohio State, you watch them last year, they blocked the guys from Georgia. They've had a week to prepare, and they have some very good players. Been 2 hard fought battles with them in the 2 years I've been here so I'm anticipating a hard fought game."
Q18 - "The last two games you've played some running type QB's, nice to have a guy that sits back in the pocket?"
A: "I don't know, careful what you wish for. This is a different style QB than what we've faced the last two weeks, that's for sure. This QB can really get the ball out on time and is very accurate. Taller player like 6' 3". They have some quick backs, some good receivers and some good tight ends."
Q19 - "Going back to Chandler, you say you say the look you want from him in sputs. Why? Is it personality..?"
A: "I didn't say spurts, I said I really liked it at the tough part of the game. You're dying to make a big play and we made a big play so it'd be easy to lose concentration or lose focus there. Chandler has been a really tough kid for us, not only physically, but he's been pretty tough mentally too so I just liked the energy and the fire right there and I thought it was a great example of how you respond."
Q20 - "Coach, a couple tense moments on Brian on the punt return, is there any concern with him?"
A: "Well, I probably shouldn't have done it to him at the end of the first half, but we were returning the punt pretty good in the first half last game. So I got a little greedy, called a timeout and made them punt the ball just becasue I thought we were doign a pretty good job holding people up and he had a lot of space to catch the ball in and he darn near came out of one of those which he has the ability to do so I had vsions of getting the ball up around midfield, hitting a chunk and kicking a field goal before we went in. It was a tough play for him right there before the end of the half, he's got to do a better job with that, but he saved us some yards on a few catches there, where a week ago he may have let that ball hit the ground, it may have rolled another 15 yards, I think he's improving and i got to be a little more careful in what I ask him to do, he's not a seasoned vet."
Q21 - "What's your opinion on what's wrong with Cole Wagner?"
A: "I think the problem with a kicker and punter is your only as good as your last punt, regardless of how good you are, it's always the last one that you're evaluated on. But as in every other position, it's the technique that you evaluate and when you catch the ball, you've got to be into your footwork when you catch it, so he's working hard on that and that's probably most of it."
Q22 - "Injury updates?"
A: "Optimistic on all of them. We're going to find out more this afternoon and as the week goes on. Right now we will try to answer the questions as the week goes on."
Q23 - "Environment was the best you've ever been in."
A: "That environment, I don't know about you guys, I've been in some good environments it at least equaled, that environment was as good as it gets. And it's a teaching moment, that's how we want it week in and week out. The fans were just unbelievable, the whole thing was just great."
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