Nebraska Football Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.
Pre-Virginia Tech
Head Coach Bo Pelini
On if Nebraska is still a galaxy away or if the team is closer
“We’re getting closer. We’re not where we want to be yet.”
On how big of a measuring stick this game is
“Every week is a measuring stick. We have to measure ourselves according to where we want to be and how were executing. It’s the way it is. You have to measure yourself every day. Are you improving every day? Are you getting better every day? Are you competing to be the best every day? You have to make improvement and this week is just the next step.”
On if this is a chance to prove Nebraska is back on a national stage
“No. All those things, national TV means nothing, where we’re playing means nothing. It’s about executing between the lines and executing our football. Period, end of story. If we’re able to do that then we’ll like the outcome. If we aren’t, that’s the challenge that lies ahead of us.”
On if the atmosphere can impact how his team executes on the field
“Not if we do our job the right way. I played a lot of football games on the road and all that other stuff, all those outside influences; we’ve played well on the road around here with the exception of one game and that was just one of those nights. It’s about executing. When you’re at home sometimes you have more distractions at home then you do on the road. You have to create your own energy a little bit, but our guys will feed off that atmosphere and hopefully have even more energy and that feeling of ‘us against the world’ mentality. All that stuff means nothing. It’s about performing. It’s about executing your techniques and focusing in. We talk about it all the time, whether you’re at home or on the road you have to focus, you have to execute, you have to do what you are being coached to do play after play. I don’t even know how many people that stadium holds but they’re not playing. It’s 11 on 11 when you walk out on the field.”
On what stands out about Virginia Tech on the field
“They have good talent. They are a very well coached football team. They are a physical football team. Kind of what coach (Frank) Beamer has always been known for - being tough, being physical and obviously well coached. They have won a lot of football games around there.”
On how he has seen Tyrod Taylor grow as a player ever since playing him while coaching at LSU
“He’s a good football player. I think the biggest key for him now is it’s his offense. It pretty much was last year, but they still had a little bit of a rotation going, but now I’m sure that helps him with a little bit of a comfort level. To be out there all the time and knowing that he’s going to get all the snaps. That would help anybody. I think he is more comfortable. I think he has grown. Just like anybody else who has played this game, the more reps you get, the more experience you get, the better you get. I think that’s the case with Tyrod.”
On how big of a concern Taylor’s scrambling ability is
“It’s always a concern when you have somebody that can do that. You have to make sure you approach it the right way. Playing against him and playing against the style of the guy we had the first week (Rusty Smith), it’s a different deal. You just have to approach it and plan it differently.”
On if there is any one defensive unit that has more stress put on it because of a mobile quarterback
“It depends on the call. It’s a team game. Everybody has to be aware of the special talents that the quarterback has. You have to play accordingly and you have to develop a plan accordingly.”
On if Nebraska plays like it did last week can NU win the game
“Yeah. I don’t expect to play like we did last week. I expect to get better. I don’t know if you can ever win if you perform exactly like you did the week before. You have to keep getting better as a football program.”
On if he can quantify the step up the defense will be taking going against Virginia Tech
“Not until Saturday. They (Virginia Tech) have to step up too, right?”
On Virginia Tech’s two freshmen running backs
“I like their running backs. They’re really good running backs.”
On what installing a silent count means for the coaches
“Just setting up your plan in practice, that’s about it and having your guys exposed to it, I guess. It’s more of a getting your guys to execute it. It’s not a big challenge for us, for the coaching staff, other than preparing your guys to deal with it I guess.”
On if adjusting to a silent count is a difficult adjustment
“No, we’ve practiced that before this week. Our guys, we did it yesterday and it wasn’t a real big issue.”
On what he wants to see from his linebackers this week
“Improvement.”
On what areas he would like to see his linebackers improve in
“Really in every area, it’s a young group. They are growing into the position. We need a high level of execution, better physicality, just overall development. We’ve only played two games, saw some good things, but saw a lot of things that they need to get better on. I’m seeing improvement, I’m seeing progress but we have a little bit of a ways to go.”
On if he is concerned about missing tackles with a mobile quarterback this week
“Yeah, anytime you miss tackles it’s always a concern. You just have to get a lot of hats to the football and keep tackling better and keep emphasizing it and keep working it. That’s an area, a point of emphasis to get better at.”
On if they plan to put a spy on Tyrod Taylor this week
“I’ve never quite understood the whole spy thing. Box-and-one? Ten-and-one? No. If anybody ever sees that defense will you guys please show it to me? I’d like to have it.”
On if Zac Lee is playing better than he thought he would be at this point
“No, I think Zac is doing what we thought he was capable of doing. I said all along, I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. I think if you asked anybody associated with our team they feel the same way. It doesn’t surprise me at all.”
On if last year’s game against Virginia Tech helped last year’s team grow
“We lost. I shrunk, I didn’t grow. You’d have to ask the rest of the team that. I don’t think anybody on our football team walked out of the locker room that night happy. A loss is a loss; I don’t care how it happens.”
On if he feels they are a more mature team than last year
“I would hope so.”
On preventing Tyrod Taylor from having a big game like last year
“Play better, pretty simple. Execute better. We made a lot of mistakes in that football game last year. He made some good plays don’t get me wrong; I’m not taking anything away from Tyrod, he played a good game, but we just didn’t play very good football that night. We weren’t a very good football team at that point.”
On if they have to rush for more than the 55 yards they ran for last season or do they have to pass the ball more
“A little bit of both. We want to execute better. Our offense has come a long way since that point. It was when we were still in the infant stages of developing what our identity was going to be. I think we have a much better offense. I think we’re much more prepared at this point to face a defense like that.”
On if this team has begun to take on his personality
“I hope not. I don’t know. I like the attitude of our guys. I like their approach right now. I don’t know, that’s more a question for you guys. I don’t really look into that aspect of it. I like the way they are preparing. I like the way they are working. I like the day-to-day what I’m seeing from the team. I think that will continue.”
On what is it about his personality that he doesn’t want his team to take on
“I don’t know. Ask my wife.”
On how he thinks Ndamukong Suh had done as a leader through the first two games
“Outstanding. He leads by example. He was defensive player of the game this last week. I thought he played well. The first week was kind of a strange team for a defensive lineman to play against, but I think he is playing good football. At the same time, he’d be the first one to tell you he’s never satisfied, as are the rest of the guys. You look at it, you evaluate it, you work to get better, and I think that’s the attitude he takes, and I think that’s why he continues to progress as a football player, and I think that’s why he came back. He has played really good football, but there is still a lot more out there for him”
On if he ever has to tell Ndamukong Suh to speak up more as a leader
“No, like I said the best leader I was ever around was Jerry Rice and he never said a word or he very seldom said anything.”
On if the coaches try to downplay the conditions of playing on the road
“What we want to concentrate on is playing our (best) football right now. You can sit there and bring in psychologists and do all the other things about playing on the road and playing in an atmosphere and all the other things. It comes down to execution. That comes down to focus. That comes down to communication and doing the things you’re being taught to do. That’s the challenge you always face whether you are at home or on the road. Sometimes when you’re at home you can get so excited and so jacked up by what the crowd is doing that it can be worse than what happens to you on the road because you can be so emotional that you lose your focus. We talk to our guys all the time, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what ‘distractions’ there are, you have to find your focus and lock in and be ready to execute and play great football.”
On what he has seen from his football team to make him believe they will execute
“I just go off what I see in practice and what I see during the week and the improvement that we’re making. I always have confidence that our football team is going to be able to do what’s necessary to win. Otherwise, I’ll just stay home and find something else to do if I know it’s not going to work out my way. I guess I’m a glass half full guy.”
On if this is a better practice team than it was a year ago
“Absolutely.”
On what he thinks about Bud Foster (Virginia Tech defensive coordinator) and their defense
“Excellent. He has stood the test of time. He’s done a great job. He and coach (Frank) Beamer have been side by side for a long time. He’s played great defense and continues to do so. He’s an outstanding football coach.”
On what makes their defense so good
“They are real sound, they’re physical. They play with a great attitude. Well coached and they execute well. It’s nothing fancy. It’s well thought out, well executed and well coached.”
On if there are some things about Virginia Tech’s program that he would like to model at Nebraska
“Many things about their program, anybody who has had that kind of success. I love the physicality by which they play. They do a lot of things in that program that anybody who’s in this profession would want to take a good hard look at and say ‘I’d love our program to be about some of their principles’. I have a lot of respect for Coach Beamer and his staff and what they have done. Like I said, it’s not been a year here and a year there, they’ve done it for a long period of time and that’s something to be proud of from their standpoint.”
On if Virginia Tech’s special team’s reputation can get into the opponents’ mind
“I don’t know. Ask a psychologist that one. Like I said, it’s about executing. They have executed better than their opponents at times. I don’t know about that psyche thing. They’re good on special teams. They do some good things. You can say it’s because they get in peoples’ heads, but if you’re not executing, you’re not performing, then it doesn’t do you any good. They have just outperformed people on special teams a number of times.”
On how Nebraska compares to Virginia Tech athletically
“I don’t know all their guys. We’re capable of winning this football game.”
On if it will be easier for their defense to communicate better without a loud crowd making noise
“I always thought that was an advantage for us defensively when we’re on the road. I like being on the road as a defensive coordinator at times. There are pluses and minuses of everything you do. You have to be able to execute your stuff regardless of what the circumstances are.”
On if he has to tone down enthusiasm throughout the week
“We just concentrate at what you can control right now. You have to earn the right to win this football game during the week by how you prepare. All we can control is the next meeting and the next practice right now. All the other things, we have to make sure we lay our foundation and give ourselves the ability to win this football game. The emotion and what we’re thinking about what’s going to happen on Saturday, that’s a long way away right now. We have a lot of work to do between now and then. We do that, we can set ourselves and give ourselves an opportunity to play well and win the football game against a helluva team.”
On if the football team has stayed consistent though practices
“Sometimes I’m the worst at this. I’m never really satisfied with how we practice. I think we’re better. I’ve said this, I think we practice better. I think we practice more consistently with the right attitude and better focus and better tempo, all those things. Sometimes the level of execution isn’t as good as I want it, and I think sometimes that shows in the games. What we’re working toward is a consistent level of execution and with the right focus. That’s how you develop as a football team. It’s week two, we have to keep getting better and we’re going to need to play better in order to win this football game.”
On if they will try to make Tyrod Taylor beat them with his arm
“I think he showed he can beat you with his arm. They do a number of different things. You have to make sure you develop a plan that includes all the different aspects of what they can do offensively and execute it. This guy is capable of throwing the football. It’s not like you can put 10 guys on the line of scrimmage and just say he’s not capable of beating you any other way. That’s unrealistic. This guy is a good college quarterback. He’s also a good college quarterback that can run and throw, so you have to be prepared to handle everything which makes it difficult.”
On if there is anything they took away from watching Virginia Tech’s game against Alabama
“Every game they have and every snap we have watched them play helps you develop a plan. They’re going to continue to develop. You just have to be ready for a lot of things. All those things go into how you develop your proverbial blueprint to win the football game.”
On how Alabama’s offensive line was able to be successful
“Alabama is good up front. A couple things they had, Alabama ran the ball well at times and they didn’t run the ball well at times. I thought they had a good mix and a good balance. I don’t know. They did some good things. They did some things I’m sure they want back on both sides. It was a good football game.”
On how the excitement level is different this week
“I don’t feel any different, me as a football coach. I’m sure you ask me on Saturday, I’ll probably feel a little bit differently. I don’t approach it much different, and I don’t think our football team approaches it any different than they do any other week. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for this football program and it’s going to have your stinger up a little bit more. The reality of what’s needed to win the football game doesn’t really change you’re just playing against different people.”
On the stat that Nebraska hasn’t won a game against a top-20 team in a couple of years
“I don’t care about that. I don’t care about all that.”
On how big a win would be
“It would be the next win. It’d be the next win. It wouldn’t be any bigger than the first two as far as I’m concerned. It’s the next step. That’s how I approach it. That’s how this football team approaches it.”
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
