Video, Transcript: Jeff Brohm weekly press conference
· Yahoo Sports
Video:
Visit afnews.co.za for more information.
Transcript:
(Opening Statement)
“It’s time to get back to work this week. We’ve got a little bit of a shorter week and a lot of work to do. I think that we are playing a good football team that is playing well right now.. [Florida State is] 3-2, lost to SMU by three, scored quite a bit of points on Alabama, had 10 sacks last week. Just had a convincing win against Virginia, quarterback rushed for five touchdowns, just gave up 205 yards of offense against Virginia, so they are kind of hitting their stride. So for us, we’ve just got to really hone in, have a good week of practice, concentrate on correcting mistakes, and trying to find ways to get better… Work on all of those segments as hard as we can all week and come out swinging for Friday night.
(On Florida State’s quarterback and their offense)
“Well, he’s different. We faced him at Stanford, unfortunately it wasn’t a good day for us. We thought we needed to stop the run. I thought we did, but he threw for a lot of yards. Definitely though, his strength is running the ball. Five rushing touchdowns last week, a lot of big runs. We’ve got to contain him. So that’ll be very important that we stop the run and contain the quarterback and the running game. Of course, while you do that you can’t give up big plays in the passing game, which we have. So we have to eliminate the easy downfield throws and make him earn completions. That’ll definitely be what we’ll concentrate on this week is doing those things on defense.”
(On improving after last week and what changes he wants to see moving forward)
“Well, I think you’ve got to look at everything that’s happened and analyze it and try to find ways to improve. We have not been able to win close games here and we’ve got to find a way to get over the hump and win those close games, which I think we can, if we can correct some of the things we’re doing on defense. Being consistent in our communication, getting lined up and set, not giving up big pass plays over our head or wide- open passes is very important to us. Stopping the run has to be key for us, creating some pressure on the quarterback and doing some things to disguise and not make it easy for them is going to be important for us moving forward. I think on offense, we’ve been able to move the ball at times. The fourth quarter, we’ve not been able to score like we need to and we have to be more consistent at scoring in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, in the last game, the turnovers were costly for us and haunted us and were not good. I think just a lot of things like that that we have got to get better at and that’s why we practice and work hard this week at it.
(On the defense giving up big plays)
“It’s a combination of all of it. We’ve looked at all of it behind the closed doors, there’s things we have to fix. We’re working hard to fix that and to make sure we’re all on the same page. Some of the things that we’ve done in the past have not been as efficient, so we have to adapt those calls and give our guys the best chance to succeed. Then, there’s been others, we bust things. So, why is it so hard to be on the same page? We’ve got to simplify things and make the communication easy and eliminate as many adjustments as we can based on things we’re getting. Those things we just have to adapt, and we have to get better at that. And that starts with myself and our coaches and it works down to our players.”
(On Keyjuan Brown’s response to the game)
“Well, Keyjuan, for the most part, has done a really good job for us this year. The last couple weeks, because of some injuries, he hasn’t practiced much. So, he’s played in both games and done a good job. I think over the last couple of years we’ve been very good at ball security. This game had bit us in the butt. A little bit had to do with the wetness and the rain and the slipperiness, especially the first half. But, we can’t fumble the ball, and our running backs know that, our coaches know that. Interceptions and fumbles can be costly to us. We have been good until this game – and this game when we needed to be good at it, we were not. That’s just something that every game is an important piece to winning. When you have 10-12 possessions a game, the three fumbles were costly to us.”
(On scouting FSU and what they plan to do on Friday)
“As we’ve watched Florida State over the last couple of days, they are a very talented team with some talented players at a lot of positions. I think you see a team that has been through some adversity and they have rallied the troops and are playing confident football right now. Their defense has played very well, 10 sacks in one game is very hard to do so, that’s been impressive. Their quarterback has played a lot of football, so he has experience. With his skill set, they do a good job with it, because he is a runner and he can get on the edge. He can run the zone read, power read, all those things, quarterback draw and he’s hard to tackle. They have a big, talented receiver that is as good as anyone in the country that they rely on and some good tight ends. They’re playing well right now. So, yeah, I’m always worried about everything. We have to play sound and good football to win the game. This is a team that has as much talent as anyone we’ve played so if we’re not up to par and playing with great confidence, it’s not going to be a pretty day. But, we have to contain the quarterback. We cannot allow easy pass plays. We have to make them earn their completions and challenge things and get after the quarterback and hopefully that will help us.”
(On how to keep the team focused and motivated)
“We talk about the end goal maybe once a year, so for us, we’re never focused on that. We understand it’s competitive every week and we’ve got to win. You’ve got to win and prove your worth so, we’ll see where we are at the end of the year. We have a lot of work to do. Through five games, we want to get better, we want to improve. I think our guys work hard, they’ve had a good attitude. I think they play to the end. We didn’t play very well, but we found a way to tie the game and take it down in there before we fumbled with a chance to score and take the lead. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for us, we weren’t able to overcome it. The guys want to win. It’s a good group. We just have to work hard with them and improve and get better and step up to the challenge. You can’t back down. You’ve got to look in the mirror and you’ve got to identify problems, fix it and go back out and by the end of the week, be confident you can go out there and execute. Otherwise, if you don’t have the confidence, you’re not going to win.”
(On Isaac Brown making big plays)
“We’re going to need him to [make big plays]. I think he needs to be a big piece of the offense. He’s got explosive playmaking ability. He’s continued to practice hard and get ready for each game is going to be important to us. Making sure that we (the staff) give him plenty of work and plenty of touches but not too many. It’s kind of what he thrives on, just running hard, seeing the hole, taking care of the ball. He’s got to continue to work on that. But, for us to win, we have to find ways for him to make plays for us.”
Chris Barclay:
Demeco Kennedy: