Norvell is here.
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"I had all confidence that we were going to finish the game and get the win. As you look at how we played ... offensively never able to get in rhythm ... really had no explosiveness in the offense. Inconsistent in the passing game, too many drops, miscommunication in what we were doing. ... It was a tough night there for us offensively.
We went into halftime with two penalties. We had nine penalties for 100 yards in the second half. It's extremely challenging to finish the game when you have that kind of result.
"The second to last drive they had to go 97 yards ... three penalties ... and obviously the final drive where they had the last play there at the end. I thought our guys played hard, I thought our defensive front gave effort." Defensive backfield missed opportunities.
"Offensively, our third and fourth down situations were poor. You look at the short yardage, that's something we have to be better at."
"I do believe that our run game can be a strength ... the number of missed assignments there late in the game, we just have to maintain focus on the play.
"As a coaching staff we have to make sure that we're doing our part. ... We are continuing to evaluate all aspects of what we're doing. ...
"We've played two games and we lost both games on the last play of the game ... at the end of the day they made the plays necessary. ... We've got to get that fixed as we go on the road."
"There's not just one thing that has to be clean. We just have to continue to improve in a lot of phases ... the penalties ... have to get fixed. .... Those things can't happen to be good offensively. ... Just continuing to focus on the fundamentals, continuing to buy into those things and a player in the moment that's what you have to trust."
"I believe in what we can do. ... You have to trust your fundamentals."
"You watch the last play of the game, young man catches the ball at the 21 yard line, we have two guys in position ... i think the shock factor hit, and maybe they were frozen in the moment .... "
"The play before we were press down on the No. 1 receiver, he got a clean release and he was able to get vertical. On the last play we did back up our corners. .... It wasn't a hail mary situation ... we had a defensive call where we wanted to keep everything in front of us ...... those are things that happen. Reflecting is something we always evaluate in the moment. You have your reasons why you do things, and we didn't finish, and obviously the play result can't happen. As a coaching staff we take ownership ... that's on us. ... It's sick to have to live with."
"There are things that show up on that play that we will have to live with ... I'm not sure why that occurs." --- He's talking about Jammie Robinson not running. "I think there were some shock that hit the guys and they froze in the moment ... but we are going to learn from it."
On RB rotation: "I really like our backs. And Lawrance if you look at his career, he's been one of the top per carry guys that we've had. And he's an explosive back. ... TreShaun, we would also have liked to see him get a few more carries in the game. ... As a coaching staff we've got to make sure we're able to build on what we've seen throughout the course of the game."
On downfield passing game: "They played soft coverage a lot of the time, they were trying to keep things (from going) over the top. ... It was not very productive for us. ... That's something that hurt us in the game. We always want to be able to push the ball down the field, but we've got to make sure we're taking what they give us ... Our vertical passing game was not very good."
"I believe in the character of our kids .... I believe in these kids because I know what they invest.
Notre Dame. Jacksonville State. I see it. I live it. ... The first week, we lost a game that I believe we should've won. The same thing happened Saturday night. .... When bad things happen we've got to be able to trust the training of what we do. ... But this football team is not going to quit. ... This will be something that we look back to ... it's our opportunity to respond to it. ... Last night, we didn't just drag our heads around, ... is anybody happy? No, they're sick to their stomach. ... What we need to do is we have to go out there and be consistent as coaches and players and the consistency will show up on the field."
Says Milton played pretty well overall, but missed some opportunities. Had some plays he'd like to have back. Said Travis gives them a different look back there, and it seems like he plans on still trying to use both this season. Maybe this week. Who knows?
Said he expects to have Pokey back this week, but wasn't definite. Was even more vague about Robert Scott and Maurice Smith.
"We've got to go out there and play at an extremely high level (vs. Wake). ... I thought our guys came back to work with real emphasis on fundamentals and communication and tried to clean up the things that cost us there on Saturday night."
That's a wrap for Norvell.
Kenny Dillingham is up next.
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"We wanted to take shots down the field, we called five shots and penalties, we were 0 for 5 for negative 30 yards with those shots .... I thought McKenzie played well. He extended plays. That's what I wanted to see him do."
The RB rotation: "We have four really good backs, ... we have three good guys ... I have no regret having LT on the field in any way, shape or form. ... he shows the ability to make explosive plays. ... When you have one series that have negative 45 yards on penalties, you better have guys on the field that can have 30 yard runs."
He's really harping on the penalties. With good reasons.
He says they will continue to probably use the two QB offense in one game.
On short-yardage woes: "Thirty five percent of our plays were run with all 11 guys doing the right thing. ... we've got to have all 11 guys doing the exact same thing. ... We had five plays that I rule as short yardage or goal line, and I ruled all five negative plays. .. a few of those times we got pushed back a little bit. ... We've got put our players in the best situation to succeed."
"We've been really good at red-zone running game. ... that's been a big strength of ours, ... our theory is in the wildcat you just skip a step. .... That's just something that we've always done, that's something we're going to continue to do. It's something we believe in."
"When it rains it pours. We get one penalty and we get two more on the same drive. ... We have to understand in those pressing moments we have to stay calm. ... That drop just kind of deflated everybody a little bit, and I think it made everybody a bit nervous. ...I think we just pressed a little bit."
Says he wants to get Travis more involved, thinks he can make plays, but that it really doesn't matter who is at QB if they keep having the penalties. He said when all 11 guys did what they were supposed to do, they averaged 9.8 yards per play. He told the players they can move the ball on anyone if they just cut out the mistakes.
That's a wrap on Dillingham.
Fuller is up next.
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"Not great answers (from the players). ... We didn't want to be in that position as it was, but that's how the game came down to it ... we have a dead clock, we're rushing the passer really well, kept a four down rush .... had a post on the overlap ... became more of a one on one play than I would have liked."
On the effort on final play: "I think the definition of the way we've been playing has been really outstanding effort. You watch that play ... you have two guys within five yards to make the play ... i think on that one, clock is running, ball gets thrown ... and we had a couple of guys kind of watching the ball ... couple of guys that were close enough that if they accelerate could they get involved in the play? Probably."
Says the call was to have the DBs deeper, he was worried a bit about getting a deep pass in for a field goal, but not THAT much. He wanted his DBs backed up enough that they could be going "downhill" to play the ball. And that didn't happen.
Says they're using Amari Gainer on the line, too. To rush the passer. Likes the way they're playing run game.
Says he hopes Brownlee doesn't have his confidence crushed, and the only way that won't happen is if he puts in the work. That's the only way to maintain or gain confidence.
Says Wake Forest's offense is "unique," because of how slow the mesh point is back in the backfield. Says they've been dealing with RPOs forever, but that pause is a bit different and something you have to prepare for.
On Knowles: "Kevin has been really clean in his performance. ... The moment was not too big for Kevin." Also says he wants to give Shyheim Brown more reps as well. "We're hoping the development goes quickly."
On Deloach missing first half: Says Kalen will get reps. But his reps in practice will be cut in half so they can get the other guy ready to go for the first half.
On Wake QB Hartman: "He's super accurate, he's super tough, and he puts the ball in the right place most of the time."
That's a wrap on Fuller. I apologize for the paraphrasing instead of the actual quoting. He's just very hard to transcribe because of how fast he talks. So go watch the video!
Papuchis is up next.
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These will be brief!
Says he liked what he saw from Fitzgerald last week in practice. Thinks the 53-yarder will build confidence for him moving forward.
Says Mastromanno can be a weapon for them. Was able to turn the field over with that 65-yard punt.
Says he did have the left-footed punt, which was 45 yards, keeps people from attacking them as well in punt block because he can roll either way and kick it.
On Jermaine Johnson: "It all starts with Jermaine, he plays super hard. ... You see the effort and energy he brings. He's a gifted pass rusher. His ability to accelerate, ... he's a more physical pass-rusher than I think people realize. ... He's had a really good start to the season."
Says Travis Jay will be back there when he's fresh.
Says Helton is an aggressive punt returner, which he likes, and will catch balls that maybe other guys would fair-catch. But he wants those gunners blocked better, so Helton has a chance to make some big plays.
Says pass-rush from other guys has been positive. "We are starting to get some more guys contributing to the pass rush. And I think the inside guys have done a nice job."
That's a wrap!
Thanks for stopping by!
See ya next week.
