Weekly Presser, labor intensive version

OK, the weekly presser used to be the highlight of, well, my week. The U would print transcripts and I would reprint them here with snarky, uninformed wise ass comments spread throughout.

Well, the University has gone all high technical on us, and now is putting the AUDIO of the presser up on their website...no transcript.

Never fear, however. I will do what it takes to be as snarky and uninformed as I was last year. Or more.

So I actually listened to the presser. Don't get me wrong, its better and more interesting. Here's a rough outline of what was said. My snarky comments will be in orange, as always.

First, Coach said that practice last week was very physical and that we are ready to hit someone else (He said this several times. We're all looking forward to it, in fact).

Q: What about Turner and Parks in the rotation at WR.

Coach said (and I think this is interesting) that Turner would play WR and QB, which means the direct snap is still in play. Which also means he can pass from that formation, as he did a couple times last year. I'm happy about that. I was worried we weren't making the best use of his versatile skills to get the defensive on the, you know, defensive.

Coach then said that you gotta be better than the other team for 3.5 hours (this kind of stuff is why he is a coach) whether you played Pittsburgh or Pittsburgh State. He lamented that we weren't playing Pittsburgh State. While the media scoured their guides trying to find out who exactly Pittsburgh State was, he took a rip at Iowa State for playing South Dakota State ("they're D-II aren't they?" he asked)

Note, here's a link to Pittsburg State, which is in Oklahoma or Kansas or something. Maybe Texas. Their nickname is the Gorillas, and they exhort their alumni with "Once a gorilla, always a gorilla." Some stuff you can't make up.

"Its called football" he concluded. That's just too easy.

He isn't worried about playing in Heinz Field, most of the people travelling have played in many big venues.

We only have a handful of guys on the 2-deep, which is how he wants it.

He was asked if we would have a similar gameplan to Minnesota last year (ie, throw throw throw throw throw) and Coach said we would do what we had to do. (We all hope so).

He emphasized turnovers. In our 8 wins, he said we won the turnover battle and in the five losses we didn't. (In actuality, we won the EMU game despite making the game's only turnover and in several games it was tied. Our real stinkers--BC and Tulsa, certainly were turnover driven, and the tragic OU loss certainly had turnover issues. Taking care of the ball: I'm for it.)

He noted, it was nice to have the flexibility to throw 50 times if you had to.

He was asked about our inability to stop the run.

He said that next to turnovers, this was the most important thing.
We improved our depth along the defensive front (this is one of those statements that must have been intended for a parallel universe. If this is true, why is Sanderson playing LB and not Stanley. Huh?)
He does note our front 7 is seasoned, which I guess is true.

He says Nick Davis is ready to go, but declines to say he is 100%. Says it will be a "test."

He was asked how we would prepare to defend McCoy. In response, he cited other big RBs we have played against and defended succesfully (?), and then said you have to "line up and play."

He did not mention Brian Calhoun.

Eric Ransom had surgery and is out for the season.

Derek Brighton is expected back.

More on AT. This is interesting.

We have to find ways to get him onto the field, he said. He doesn't want him standing next to Brandon on the sideline.

I applaud this way of thinking. Later, he said that we think of players first, and then plays. I think we were innovative in how we used Turner last year, and I would hate to see us (as I mentioned before) short-change his talent by restricting his role.

Same with Barnes and Geter who are equally flexible. (The question contained a slash metaphor in honor of the Pitt game).

Coach was asked if having a pass coordinator, a run coordinator, a former Head Coach in charge of QBs and a former OC at Head Coach might be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Surprisingly, Coach acknowledged that was a legitimate question. He also said that the game is called early in the week during the planning phase, and everyone can have input there. He has worked on making adjustments when something isn't working--even with the coaches during scrimmages. This is good....we have tended to stick to things that aren't working too long in the past.

He said Robert Lorenzi, a 2-deep DB broke his leg and is out for the season.

If you are intersted, Z and X WRs tend to be on the outside, E and H on the inside, and T is the running back. Unless they aren't.

He notes that the MAC is balanced now. There are fewer really good teams, and yet fewer really awful teams....I guess. Last year, I think we were ranked the worst conference in D-I. Phil Steele says we will be the most improved conference this year.

He was asked about the big number offenses from the good old days, with Josh and Omar and Cole and Chuck and PJ. Did this team have that potential?

He said he thinks "quietly" about that.

He was asked if we have more weapons than ever.

Coach obliged by listing a few--Veteran QB and skill guys, comparable to 03-04.

Jack Carle of the Sentinel pushed back a little here, saying (correctly) that our guys haven't put the numbers up that Sharon (our all-time leading receiver) and Magner and others did, and Coach acknowledged that was true.

At this point, I was gesturing wildly at the keyboard. What about the line? Those teams also had really good lines, including one stud NFL-drafted lineman (Mruzukowski).

Next question: how is the line coming?

He said it has come together, nice job, etc. Said they have all played except Bojcic, who is playing C and the most important position in our offense. He laughed wryly and said that Bojcic was in for a test because Pitt's inside guys are like "fire hydrants" the most obscure reference since Randy Walker called Brandon Hicks a "rolling ball of butcher knives."

He said that of the young lineman, Chip Robinson had made the most progress but that he hoped to redshirt them all. I was happy to hear this. If that happens, it means our veteran guys performed like we hoped, stayed healthy, and didn't need to be switched out.