Here it is:
Opening statement:
“Last Thursday evening, we had a national stage and played a game and we didn’t play real well. A few guys played well but not enough to be able to come out of there with the win. I want to give Houston an awful lot of credit. They played real well on all three sides of the ball. The big thing we’ve got to do is learn from it, which we did when we evaluated the team. We’ve got to move on and get ready for Navy because it’s a vastly different offense than you see from week to week. That’s what we’ve been prepping for the last few days. Big opportunity for us on Saturday. Obviously, a win gets us in a bowl game. If Memphis does some things on Friday it might even get us in a tie for winning the West championship. The main thing we’ve got to do is play well and take care of business on Saturday.”
On what getting to a bowl game would mean to the program:
“It would be big for the program. We’ve increased our conference wins. Getting to a bowl game would be big for us. It’s always a goal we’re going to have. I think it would be excellent for the program.”
On the difference this week with Thanksgiving holiday:
“It allows us to spend a bit more time on football which is good when you’re playing a team with a totally different offense than you see the other 11 games. Everybody else you play there’s something similar that they do that this team did or that team did or our team does. That’s not the case with these guys. I think the main thing is just having consistent preparation. We talked a little bit on Monday about, ‘Hey, this is what’s at stake here.’ The guys knew that. I just think there’s a little bit more time off. We’ve got to use that for rest and recovery. We get 12 weeks into the season, there’s nobody who feels the same as they did before preseason camp. So we want our guys to be as healthy as we can when we walk out there and play.”
On specific things Tulane is doing with two extra days:
“I think No. 1 is rest. We did take off Friday and Saturday. But I also think it’s just prep. We had the gameplan together – we (the staff) worked Friday and Saturday – when the kids came back in.”
On whether he can learn anything from last year’s final game where Tulane was also 5-6 and apply it to Saturday’s game against Navy:
“No, I don’t think so. I thought our guys brought outstanding effort last year in that particular game and just came up short. We know what’s at stake. I think all the guys understand that. We need to play, we need to play physical. They’re a very, very, very physical football team. We’ve got to come out and answer that physicality from the get-go.”
On the potential for fewer offensive possessions because Navy controls the clock:
“I hope we have more than that, than three. But you’re right, normally we have right around 13 possessions in a game. They’re around nine to 10. So you’ve got to take advantage, you’ve got to score points. You’ve got to take advantage when you have the ball. You’ve got to do a really good job in the kicking game where they’ve got to go long distances so you can give up some first downs, get a stop and they’re still having to punt the football. Once they cross midfield, they’re almost in four-down situations.”
On what caused defensive troubles against the run at Houston, and was it tackling:
“We missed a bunch of tackles. We did not tackle very well at all. That’s across the board: D-line, linebackers and the secondary. We’re going to have to tackle extremely well on Saturday.”
On whether Cameron Sample will be available to play Saturday:
“Yes.”
On whether Roderic Teamer Jr. will be available to play Saturday:
“I think so.”
On field goal kicking when down at the 30 or 25-yard line and whether he will be more aggressive this week:
“Well, it all depends on the situation, where you’re at and kind of what the book tells you. If it tells you to go for it, we’re gonna go for it. If it tells you to kick a field goal, we’re going to kick a field goal. I take the guesswork out of the equation there. But, also I know – and I don’t really start looking at the book until tomorrow – but it’s going to have us be more aggressive.”
On Navy’s quarterback:
“He’s a big guy. You’ve got to really bring it to get him down. He’s a very physical runner. They run a lot of quarterback follow play with him. You look up, you think you defended it well, it’s second-and-7, and they’re smiling because it’s a good down and distance for them. He’s a very experienced quarterback. You’ve got to mix some minus plays in there. When they do decide to throw the ball, you’ve got do a good job of covering those guys and transitioning into pass rushers – that’s something they don’t do a whole lot of – and get them in some long-yardage situations.”
On whether he’s worried about a hangover effect following the Houston loss:
“I sure hope not. And that’s probably one of the good things about playing on a Thursday instead of a Saturday. It seems like a month ago to me.”
On whether Saturday is a litmus test to see how the team responds:
“I think so. I think it is. I certainly think we should have everyone’s full attention this week. There’s no doubt about it. We’ve got to be out there and ready to play from the get-go. This is going to be physical football.”
On whether poor tackling means more tackling drills:
“A lot of tackling well is your approach to tackling. How you get to where you’re going to tackle the guy from Point A to Point B. We did a poor job of that. And they also did a very nice job of getting their fast guys, their quick guys the ball out in space. That makes it more difficult to tackle guys. These guys (Navy) are going to play a little bit more football in a phone booth. There’s going to be a lot more close tackling, but you’ve got to get knockbacks and not have them fall forward. So instead of second-and-7 it’s got to be second-and-9. So it’s important to really have a great approach and do a good job owning your leverage and get knockbacks because you’re going to be in small, confined spaces rather than out in space.”
On whether the reasons for struggling with tackling last week would not apply this week because of the difference in opponent:
“It’s going to be a lot different. It’s going to be more physical, and there’s going to be times where they’re going to run the ball outside the hash and there’s going to be 22 guys outside the hash. And then run it outside [the opposite] hash and there’s going to be 22 guys outside that hash.”
On Zachery Harris saying he likes this kind of football:
“Well for a linebacker, and certainly for a competitor like Zach, this is what you’ve gotta want to play. We’ve got to have everybody tackling. It’s all hands on deck. Corners, safeties, linebackers, D-line. Everybody’s got to tackle.”
Opening statement:
“Last Thursday evening, we had a national stage and played a game and we didn’t play real well. A few guys played well but not enough to be able to come out of there with the win. I want to give Houston an awful lot of credit. They played real well on all three sides of the ball. The big thing we’ve got to do is learn from it, which we did when we evaluated the team. We’ve got to move on and get ready for Navy because it’s a vastly different offense than you see from week to week. That’s what we’ve been prepping for the last few days. Big opportunity for us on Saturday. Obviously, a win gets us in a bowl game. If Memphis does some things on Friday it might even get us in a tie for winning the West championship. The main thing we’ve got to do is play well and take care of business on Saturday.”
On what getting to a bowl game would mean to the program:
“It would be big for the program. We’ve increased our conference wins. Getting to a bowl game would be big for us. It’s always a goal we’re going to have. I think it would be excellent for the program.”
On the difference this week with Thanksgiving holiday:
“It allows us to spend a bit more time on football which is good when you’re playing a team with a totally different offense than you see the other 11 games. Everybody else you play there’s something similar that they do that this team did or that team did or our team does. That’s not the case with these guys. I think the main thing is just having consistent preparation. We talked a little bit on Monday about, ‘Hey, this is what’s at stake here.’ The guys knew that. I just think there’s a little bit more time off. We’ve got to use that for rest and recovery. We get 12 weeks into the season, there’s nobody who feels the same as they did before preseason camp. So we want our guys to be as healthy as we can when we walk out there and play.”
On specific things Tulane is doing with two extra days:
“I think No. 1 is rest. We did take off Friday and Saturday. But I also think it’s just prep. We had the gameplan together – we (the staff) worked Friday and Saturday – when the kids came back in.”
On whether he can learn anything from last year’s final game where Tulane was also 5-6 and apply it to Saturday’s game against Navy:
“No, I don’t think so. I thought our guys brought outstanding effort last year in that particular game and just came up short. We know what’s at stake. I think all the guys understand that. We need to play, we need to play physical. They’re a very, very, very physical football team. We’ve got to come out and answer that physicality from the get-go.”
On the potential for fewer offensive possessions because Navy controls the clock:
“I hope we have more than that, than three. But you’re right, normally we have right around 13 possessions in a game. They’re around nine to 10. So you’ve got to take advantage, you’ve got to score points. You’ve got to take advantage when you have the ball. You’ve got to do a really good job in the kicking game where they’ve got to go long distances so you can give up some first downs, get a stop and they’re still having to punt the football. Once they cross midfield, they’re almost in four-down situations.”
On what caused defensive troubles against the run at Houston, and was it tackling:
“We missed a bunch of tackles. We did not tackle very well at all. That’s across the board: D-line, linebackers and the secondary. We’re going to have to tackle extremely well on Saturday.”
On whether Cameron Sample will be available to play Saturday:
“Yes.”
On whether Roderic Teamer Jr. will be available to play Saturday:
“I think so.”
On field goal kicking when down at the 30 or 25-yard line and whether he will be more aggressive this week:
“Well, it all depends on the situation, where you’re at and kind of what the book tells you. If it tells you to go for it, we’re gonna go for it. If it tells you to kick a field goal, we’re going to kick a field goal. I take the guesswork out of the equation there. But, also I know – and I don’t really start looking at the book until tomorrow – but it’s going to have us be more aggressive.”
On Navy’s quarterback:
“He’s a big guy. You’ve got to really bring it to get him down. He’s a very physical runner. They run a lot of quarterback follow play with him. You look up, you think you defended it well, it’s second-and-7, and they’re smiling because it’s a good down and distance for them. He’s a very experienced quarterback. You’ve got to mix some minus plays in there. When they do decide to throw the ball, you’ve got do a good job of covering those guys and transitioning into pass rushers – that’s something they don’t do a whole lot of – and get them in some long-yardage situations.”
On whether he’s worried about a hangover effect following the Houston loss:
“I sure hope not. And that’s probably one of the good things about playing on a Thursday instead of a Saturday. It seems like a month ago to me.”
On whether Saturday is a litmus test to see how the team responds:
“I think so. I think it is. I certainly think we should have everyone’s full attention this week. There’s no doubt about it. We’ve got to be out there and ready to play from the get-go. This is going to be physical football.”
On whether poor tackling means more tackling drills:
“A lot of tackling well is your approach to tackling. How you get to where you’re going to tackle the guy from Point A to Point B. We did a poor job of that. And they also did a very nice job of getting their fast guys, their quick guys the ball out in space. That makes it more difficult to tackle guys. These guys (Navy) are going to play a little bit more football in a phone booth. There’s going to be a lot more close tackling, but you’ve got to get knockbacks and not have them fall forward. So instead of second-and-7 it’s got to be second-and-9. So it’s important to really have a great approach and do a good job owning your leverage and get knockbacks because you’re going to be in small, confined spaces rather than out in space.”
On whether the reasons for struggling with tackling last week would not apply this week because of the difference in opponent:
“It’s going to be a lot different. It’s going to be more physical, and there’s going to be times where they’re going to run the ball outside the hash and there’s going to be 22 guys outside the hash. And then run it outside [the opposite] hash and there’s going to be 22 guys outside that hash.”
On Zachery Harris saying he likes this kind of football:
“Well for a linebacker, and certainly for a competitor like Zach, this is what you’ve gotta want to play. We’ve got to have everybody tackling. It’s all hands on deck. Corners, safeties, linebackers, D-line. Everybody’s got to tackle.”
