Meet the Press: Dave Wannstedt Discusses Thursday's Louisville Game
10/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2005
Dave Wannstedt
Oct. 31, 2005
Opening Remarks:
We gave the players a little break - a day-and-a-half off, actually. We got back at it on Sunday and tried to get back into a normal game routine. I think for a few of the players, it was probably good for their mind a little bit given it was the first break we've had since August. And I know physically it was good. We had a few guys that probably would have had no chance to play if we would have played on Saturday. But because of the extra time off, there's a good chance that they'll be able to contribute in some form or fashion. It was, I think, a good thing. It gave us a couple of extra days on
On Thomas Smith's injury:
Thomas Smith is day-to-day. He's doing better. He has a toe injury, and we'll see where he's at today. Being that he's a senior, he knows what he's doing. If he could even come out Wednesday and work, Tuesday and work, in some capacity, we would look at possibly using him.
On other injuries:
Everybody else is pretty good. Charles Sallet was the other guy that missed last week. He practiced yesterday. He's been limited, but I think he'll be okay. All of the running backs, it's nothing major, but all of them were banged up in some capacity. They all practiced yesterday. They'll all be fine come Thursday night.
On the importance of the final three games and postseason implications:
It is [important] from a media standpoint. It is [important] from a fan's perspective. And I'm sure that's what's talked about when you leave this building. But when we come here, our players and coaches and everybody that's been around this sport, we know we're in no position to look any further than this week. And that's how we're approaching it. We really need to look real close at ourselves and make sure we look back at the last few games. I talked to the players about this a couple of days ago.
We need to make sure that we're taking care of what we're trying to get done and what we're expected to get done in all three phases. That's been really kind of the focus. How can we get better? What do we have to do this week to get it done, to play better than what we've played, to go out there and not turn the ball over, to go out there and not give anything up in the punting and kicking game. It's going to take that type of effort. If we want to beat
On
It's probably comparable. It's different. Notre Dame's offense is more vertical, down the field.
There's no question that defensively we've kind of matured or evolved, progressed. I think we've gotten better. If you look at our defense in the last five or six weeks -- and take out the blocked punt, or take out the fumble or an interception that's run back -- and really look how many times the team has taken the ball and moved it 70 or 80 yards on us. It hasn't happened a whole lot. I think that's why this week will be a challenge for us because these guys do [move the ball]. They explode. Sixty-four points per game at home, I think, is what they're averaging. As I said yesterday, Matt Cavanaugh's got his work cut out for him figuring out how to score 65.
On facing a big running back like
I think if you see him, your first reaction will be he'll run over you in a one-on-one situation. You talk about that, and you show your defense clips of that. [You talk about] what they've got to do and how they tackle a big back as compared to a smaller back, and there's a difference there. He's a little better athlete than what people give him credit for. He is not a straight line guy. He can make some people miss. In the plays that they run, they give him a chance to run north and south. They use him wisely.
On
I've coached a lot of fast football players, and they can run up the field, but they don't know when to stop. This kid has instincts. You can watch the tape. You can see him use techniques. You can see him sack the passer, strip the ball. Watching the
Our tackles [Mike] McGlynn and [Charles] Spencer are looking forward to the challenge. They know that they're playing one of the better ones in the country. Our guys are looking to challenge. We've played against some good defensive ends. Last week,
This kid (Dumervil) is obviously the most productive and the fastest. This will be a real good barometer for seeing if we're making any progress.
On needing a low-scoring game to win:
The minute you say this will be a low-scoring game, it's a 38-35 game. Or the minute you say it's going to be a 65-64 game, it's a 13-10 game. I think both teams will have to do whatever they do best to give them an opportunity to get enough points. This is one where we want to kick a field goal at the end with no time.
On
I think he's very accurate. Right now, he doesn't force many things. He does not force many plays. He'll take what you give him and make the throw. He's an accurate thrower. He's a better athlete than what he's given credit for. When they get down around the goal line, they'll run the boots and waggles and move him around in the pocket. They'll run some quarterback sweeps, some quarterback sneaks with him. A coach would not do that if he wasn't confident that he was athletic enough to make some plays with the ball in his hand. He's a real good player. For his first year starting, he's really impressive.
On handling a spread-out offense like
We have to tackle good, and you're always talking about not giving up the big play. And that's what our guys have done the last two weeks on defense, and I think that's why we've had some success.
On
They're an experienced group, and an athletic group. They do a lot of pulling with their guards, center, tackles, and use sweeps, traps and counters. Their athleticism shows up by the plays that they run.
On the game being a challenge for Pitt's secondary:
For our whole defense it will be [a challenge]. They've got quality receivers. They'll go from a two-receiver set to a five-receiver set. They're the first team that we've played this year that will use five receivers in a game at one time. That puts a lot of pressure on everybody.
On naming a starting tailback for Thursday's game:
We'll probably wait and get through practice over the next couple of days. All of them are working, and then we'll see where we're at come Wednesday.
On the importance of Pitt's running game:
We're going to have to throw the ball to score points, but we're going to have to run the ball to make some first downs this week and keep their offense off the field a little bit, and slow down the pass rush. All the reasons that people don't think the running game is important, we just mentioned three critical reasons why in this ball game it is. We've got to find a way to block these guys and make some yards running the ball.
On the Louisville-South
The two things that happened in that game and happened in the
On preventing turnovers:
You work on it. You talk about protecting the ball. We'll work on it today in fact. Wednesday's our day when we start practice with the defense stripping the ball and pulling on it and the offense protecting it. Other than practice and constantly making the players aware of it, that's all you can do. If they don't get the message that way, then they can't play because they'll get you beat. And we've been good. We've had fumbles at the quarterback position, but our running backs and receivers for the most part have been very good.
