I wasn't impressed with the quotes yesterday (meaning they weren't interesting, not that I didn't agree with them), and did not see much of practice, so I skipped the full report on Halloween, got my story for the Advocate done and was able to take my kid trick or treating before heading to the hoops game a little late.
Didn't see much of today's practice, which ended at 10:30, a little earlier than usual, but Jonathan Banks took his regular reps while I was there. I really think his slow start against Memphis had a lot to do with not being able to take many (or any) reps in practice last week. That won't be the case against Cincinnati.
Junior Diaz did not practice. He was watching practice with his helmet on. I still don't even know what his injury is. Fritz would not say yesterday, only that he was not ready to go.
Parry Nickerson made a terrific interception against the scout team. He'll want to burn the video of most of his performance against FIU, but other than that, he has lived up to his preseason billing.
Tulane and Cincinnati have had similar seasons in a lot of ways, struggling against top competition. The five teams that beat Tulane are a combined 31-7, and the six teams that beat Cincinnati are 37-9. The two teams' worst losses even came to teams from Conference USA, with Cincy getting whipped by Marshall at home and Tulane getting outplayed by FIU on the road. We would have classified Tulane's loss as worse, but then FIU went on the road and handled Marshal by two touchdowns on Saturday.
Tulane and Cincy have two common opponents, and the Wave fared significantly better against both of them, losing at Navy by 2 in a game that could have gone either way while the Bearcats fell 42-32 in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Cincy got killed by option pitches in that game, appearing to sell out to stop the QB Abey and getting burned by that decision repeatedly.
Tulane lost at home to USF 34-28. Cincy lost to USF on the road 33-3, and Bulls coach Charlie Strong ripped his team for a poor performance afterward.
Tulane's wins are better, too. Cincy needed a late defensive touchdown to rally past Miami (Ohio) at home. 21-17. Tulane rallied late to beat bowl-bound Army at home. They both beat FCS competition (Austin Peay, Grambling), and Tulane crushed Tulsa while Cincinnati lost at home in OT to SMU.
I wrote a feature on Ade Aruna today for The Advocate and got no help from the coaches. I have no problem with that--there was absolutely no benefit to them saying anything negative about his performance when they will need him in the last four games. Both Fritz and D-line coach Kevin Peoples talked about how important the final four games were rather than saying anything about the way he had played to this point. Playing essentially a new position, he has 12 tackles and three tackles for loss a year after going for 43 and 10. It hurt him that Tulane played Navy and Army (zero combined tackles), but he also had zero tackles against Memphis, although he should have been credited with an assist on the play that knocked him out of the game for a while in the third quarter when Quinlan Carroll inadvertently clocked him in the ear hole with his helmet.
The bottom line on Aruna: he had two of his three sacks against Grambling and has not played the run well. His attitude, though, is still good. Hopefully he can start make some plays down the stretch. I'm not going to bother transcribing the quotes because he didn't say anything worthwhile, just that he is a team player (which he is) and he knows the defense can play better as a whole.
Here's the best of the rest in terms of quotes:
FRITZ
Jarrod Franklin and Luke Jackson said in the interview room yesterday they weren't happy with the energy in practice. How did you feel about it today?
"I thought it was a little bit better. The thing I talked with to a few guys was you want to have an upward trajectory of improvement throughout the season. In order to do that, you've got to be mentally tough. Everybody in college football right now is banged up. That's just the way it is. You've got to be mentally tough in order to do it, so we're challenging our guys to do that."
Charles Jones had two TDs against Memphis. How much is he progressing?
"He's got some athletic ability. The big thing with Charles is just being consistent down in and down out, whether it's in the pass game or the run game. When he's locked in, he's a good player."
You got some good pressure on Riley Ferguson but couldn't bring him down. Was the fault with your guys or the credit to him?
"We've just got to have leverage. Don't make it a hard tackle. Make it an easy tackle. If we would have had just a little bit better leverage--a foot, a yard, whatever the case may be--we would have had some pretty easy tackles. But we got head up and allowed him to stiff-arm us. He's got good feet. He's a good quarterback, and you have to do a good job. Most quarterbacks, you want to keep them in that pocket because generally speaking you get a little push up inside, unless those guys' names are Brees or Brady or Rodgers. They live in there, but most guys, you get them in there and it can be to your advantage."
Robert Kennedy got his first action against Memphis. How much can he help you the rest of the way?
"He can help us big time. He's got a motor on him and he's very physical."
PEOPLES
How would you assess Sean Wilson's play?
"Sean Wilson has done a great job. He's stepped up his game tremendously. He doesn't say much, but he leads by example and is a tough guy."
You got pretty good pressure against Memphis but did not get the sack.
"You got to affect the quarterback. There were a couple of times when we had him for some big losses but he avoided the rush and we didn't get him down. Those things going forward are what we have to correct, opportunities like that."
You went up against two terrific QBs with different skill sets in Quinton Flowers and Riley Ferguson. Can that distort things sometimes?
"They are both excellent quarterbacks. Obviously as coaches you always say you just have to worry about yourself. We're not going to make (the players) any faster but we have to make sure we are in the right position and doing the right assignments and taking care of ourselves, and if we do that, we'll be successful and just play within our abilities."
How is Cameron Sample coming along?
"Cam is a talented guy. Every day is a growing experience for him. He's going to be a great player here. He's a great person that works extremely hard. He's got a lot of great football ahead of him."
What are your thoughts on getting Robert Kennedy back?
"It's good to get him back. Any time you come back from an ACL, it takes a little while. When you get back the first time it doesn't mean you're full speed, but it was good to see him get a tackle for loss. He's a great addition to a group that needs some numbers."
How much does he need to improve his conditioning after being out that long?
"That's what we talked about with him. We need to go three plays as hard as you can get. We can't guarantee we can get you out after three, and he did. He did a good job."
How is Braynon Edwards coming along after missing the last two games?
"Braynon should be back this week. It will be good to get him back as well."
Didn't see much of today's practice, which ended at 10:30, a little earlier than usual, but Jonathan Banks took his regular reps while I was there. I really think his slow start against Memphis had a lot to do with not being able to take many (or any) reps in practice last week. That won't be the case against Cincinnati.
Junior Diaz did not practice. He was watching practice with his helmet on. I still don't even know what his injury is. Fritz would not say yesterday, only that he was not ready to go.
Parry Nickerson made a terrific interception against the scout team. He'll want to burn the video of most of his performance against FIU, but other than that, he has lived up to his preseason billing.
Tulane and Cincinnati have had similar seasons in a lot of ways, struggling against top competition. The five teams that beat Tulane are a combined 31-7, and the six teams that beat Cincinnati are 37-9. The two teams' worst losses even came to teams from Conference USA, with Cincy getting whipped by Marshall at home and Tulane getting outplayed by FIU on the road. We would have classified Tulane's loss as worse, but then FIU went on the road and handled Marshal by two touchdowns on Saturday.
Tulane and Cincy have two common opponents, and the Wave fared significantly better against both of them, losing at Navy by 2 in a game that could have gone either way while the Bearcats fell 42-32 in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Cincy got killed by option pitches in that game, appearing to sell out to stop the QB Abey and getting burned by that decision repeatedly.
Tulane lost at home to USF 34-28. Cincy lost to USF on the road 33-3, and Bulls coach Charlie Strong ripped his team for a poor performance afterward.
Tulane's wins are better, too. Cincy needed a late defensive touchdown to rally past Miami (Ohio) at home. 21-17. Tulane rallied late to beat bowl-bound Army at home. They both beat FCS competition (Austin Peay, Grambling), and Tulane crushed Tulsa while Cincinnati lost at home in OT to SMU.
I wrote a feature on Ade Aruna today for The Advocate and got no help from the coaches. I have no problem with that--there was absolutely no benefit to them saying anything negative about his performance when they will need him in the last four games. Both Fritz and D-line coach Kevin Peoples talked about how important the final four games were rather than saying anything about the way he had played to this point. Playing essentially a new position, he has 12 tackles and three tackles for loss a year after going for 43 and 10. It hurt him that Tulane played Navy and Army (zero combined tackles), but he also had zero tackles against Memphis, although he should have been credited with an assist on the play that knocked him out of the game for a while in the third quarter when Quinlan Carroll inadvertently clocked him in the ear hole with his helmet.
The bottom line on Aruna: he had two of his three sacks against Grambling and has not played the run well. His attitude, though, is still good. Hopefully he can start make some plays down the stretch. I'm not going to bother transcribing the quotes because he didn't say anything worthwhile, just that he is a team player (which he is) and he knows the defense can play better as a whole.
Here's the best of the rest in terms of quotes:
FRITZ
Jarrod Franklin and Luke Jackson said in the interview room yesterday they weren't happy with the energy in practice. How did you feel about it today?
"I thought it was a little bit better. The thing I talked with to a few guys was you want to have an upward trajectory of improvement throughout the season. In order to do that, you've got to be mentally tough. Everybody in college football right now is banged up. That's just the way it is. You've got to be mentally tough in order to do it, so we're challenging our guys to do that."
Charles Jones had two TDs against Memphis. How much is he progressing?
"He's got some athletic ability. The big thing with Charles is just being consistent down in and down out, whether it's in the pass game or the run game. When he's locked in, he's a good player."
You got some good pressure on Riley Ferguson but couldn't bring him down. Was the fault with your guys or the credit to him?
"We've just got to have leverage. Don't make it a hard tackle. Make it an easy tackle. If we would have had just a little bit better leverage--a foot, a yard, whatever the case may be--we would have had some pretty easy tackles. But we got head up and allowed him to stiff-arm us. He's got good feet. He's a good quarterback, and you have to do a good job. Most quarterbacks, you want to keep them in that pocket because generally speaking you get a little push up inside, unless those guys' names are Brees or Brady or Rodgers. They live in there, but most guys, you get them in there and it can be to your advantage."
Robert Kennedy got his first action against Memphis. How much can he help you the rest of the way?
"He can help us big time. He's got a motor on him and he's very physical."
PEOPLES
How would you assess Sean Wilson's play?
"Sean Wilson has done a great job. He's stepped up his game tremendously. He doesn't say much, but he leads by example and is a tough guy."
You got pretty good pressure against Memphis but did not get the sack.
"You got to affect the quarterback. There were a couple of times when we had him for some big losses but he avoided the rush and we didn't get him down. Those things going forward are what we have to correct, opportunities like that."
You went up against two terrific QBs with different skill sets in Quinton Flowers and Riley Ferguson. Can that distort things sometimes?
"They are both excellent quarterbacks. Obviously as coaches you always say you just have to worry about yourself. We're not going to make (the players) any faster but we have to make sure we are in the right position and doing the right assignments and taking care of ourselves, and if we do that, we'll be successful and just play within our abilities."
How is Cameron Sample coming along?
"Cam is a talented guy. Every day is a growing experience for him. He's going to be a great player here. He's a great person that works extremely hard. He's got a lot of great football ahead of him."
What are your thoughts on getting Robert Kennedy back?
"It's good to get him back. Any time you come back from an ACL, it takes a little while. When you get back the first time it doesn't mean you're full speed, but it was good to see him get a tackle for loss. He's a great addition to a group that needs some numbers."
How much does he need to improve his conditioning after being out that long?
"That's what we talked about with him. We need to go three plays as hard as you can get. We can't guarantee we can get you out after three, and he did. He did a good job."
How is Braynon Edwards coming along after missing the last two games?
"Braynon should be back this week. It will be good to get him back as well."
