Chan Gailey Weekly Press Conference Quotes |
Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey weekly press conference quotes What kind of feeling do you get when you watch film from last year’s Clemson game? “I haven’t watched any film. Obviously, it was a great ending to a game but I haven’t even thought about that game this week.” How different is Clemson from last year? “They’re pretty different. They are moving the ball around a lot more and throwing it to the outside instead of running it up the middle. They’re working hard to try and get the ball to (Aaron) Kelly and (Chansi) Stuckey. Defensively, they were basically an eight-man front last year but they now have a seven-man front and use more secondary blitzes.” Three or four years ago, they were known for the no-huddle offense. Why do you think they’ve gotten away from that? “I think that personnel dictates a lot of what you can do. Having Whitehurst at quarterback, that’s not his forte so they’re not going to do as many quarterback draws and sweeps. They still use a lot of the no-huddle principle but they’ve gotten from the fast-break from the huddle and getting up to the line quickly. That means you’re not going to see as many draws because they’ve had to adjust based on their personnel. There’s not a lot of quarterbacks like the guy that used to play for them, Woody Dantzler, so they did what they had to do to win with him and they have to do the same thing with Whitehurst.” Can you talk about Stuckey and his abilities to make people miss? “He’s a very good football player and very elusive. Tackling will be at a premium this week. We can’t afford missed tackles against a team like this, especially against him in particular.” Is it hard to keep getting better at tackling when you can’t always go full-speed during practice? “You can practice form-tackling but you can’t do it at full-speed. We try to work on our technique and also on the fundamentals. Has the playing time between P.J. (Daniels) and Tashard (Choice) worked like you thought it would? “I think so. To be honest you, I couldn’t tell you how many minutes each one of them has played but I do know that P.J. started out very strong. We’ve been trying to get Tashard more chances to play and with the (P.J’s) injury, he got to play a lot. I think as time goes on, those two will get to play a good deal and if they stay banged up, we’ve got other guys that can go in and play for us.” Is Tashard the kind of player that can be as a lead back? “No question. If he had to carry it 30 or 40 times in a game, there’s no question that he could do it. There’s only one football, though, and no matter how many people want it, only one player is going to get it on the field. Regardless of whether you’re the quarterback, receiver, or running back, you have to have that confidence that you’re going to be able to do something with the ball every time you touch it. Not everyone can get in on every play so there’s a certain amount of give and take that comes with paying this game and it’s important to under the team concept. I think our two guys have handled it pretty well.” Can you talk about Clemson and the fact that they’re your cross-division rival? “The reason for that is because most of our recent games have been so close. It seems like our last 10 games have been decided by seven points or less so it becomes a rivalry when all the games are close and hotly contested. Do you compete against them in recruiting? “We sure do. I would say that we compete for three or four of the same guys every year.” Does winning close games like last year’s give your team an advantage in future games during the season? “I think that any time you win a close game, you have confidence that you can win the next close game. I really believe that. Winning breeds confidence and losing breaks that confidence so you have to build it back up.” Why do you think that Reggie (Ball) hasn’t taken many sacks this year and do you attribute that to him having to throw the ball away more? “I don’t think that you can pinpoint that. One thing that can be an unfair statistic for a quarterback is their completion percentage because a lot of times, Reggie will scramble around to buy some time and will end up throwing the ball away because we’ve stressed to him the importance of not taking sacks. I think he’s done a good job of that and he understands why he needs to throw the ball away in certain circumstances. We also try to keep him on the move. It’s easier to stand still and throw the ball for a higher percentage than it is to throw it on the move. His completion percentage has taken a hit because of what we’re trying to do to eliminate some sacks.” Given the tough stretch of games that you have coming up in the next five weeks, how important it this week’s game in setting up the rest of your season? “I’m not into setting up the rest of the season with a game. I know the importance of this game because it happens this week and it’s therefore the biggest game of the year for us. You’re probably tired of hearing that, and the players are tired of hearing it because every coach says it, but is it a lie? I don’t believe it is. If you lost this one and won the last the last four, this week’s game wouldn’t have set the tone. Has having this weekend off helped in healing bumps and bruises? “Yes. We’ll have a lot more guys on the field today than if we would’ve gone out and played a game this past weekend. What you’re hoping is that you’ve healed enough so that you’re healthier for this game and the next game.” What is the status on some of your injured players? “Both Joe Anoai and Djay Jones are doubtful for this week. Eric Henderson is getting better every day. He would’ve tried to play this past week if we had played Miami but there might have been more of a chance for a setback. The extra week has really helped him.” If Anoai is unable to play but Henderson is, can you move Adamm (Oliver) to tackle and is that a way to get Darrell (Robertson) on the field? “In some situations, we can move Adamm, but not in all situations. It’s about trying to put the best people on the field to do what they do depending on the offensive situations and sets. We’re trying to see what the match-ups are.” Is there a big difference between having Davis and Merriweather on the field? “Well, Davis was playing very well, but I think that you’re better off if you only have to worry about one player instead of two. I hate it for James but it’s one of those situations when someone is banged up and can’t play. I’m sure Merriweather will take advantage of the opportunity.” Do you expect them to play (Tye) Hill against (Calvin) Johnson during the whole game? “I don’t think so. They’ll do that the majority of the time because they have issues with coverage if you put him in the slot because they would have to change a couple of guys to get lined up and take care of their responsibilities.” Do you think that Hill is their best cover guy? “I’m not sure. I think No. 15 (Sergio Gilliam) is a guy that’s 6’3” and matches up pretty well in regards to size. It would be interesting if they tried to do something with him because of the fact that he’s a 6’3” corner.”
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