Football Weekly Press Conference Quotes
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2003
Wake Forest Football
Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On having last week off:
"I think its great for the coaches, I'm not sure the players enjoyed it as much as we did. Last week was a good work week for us, we had some really good spirited pad practices and we've improved our football team. How that shows up Saturday against Maryland, I can't tell you yet though. We've gone back to the basics."
On Wake Forest's recent defensive struggles:
"From a defensive standpoint, its never just the defense. Offensively, we haven't moved the ball at times, we haven't had the possession time we've grown accustomed to. So we put our defense in some bad situations. Some short field positions where the opposing offenses have not had to drive very far to get points. We've not kept our defense off the field very well at times."
On the Demon Deacons' two straight losses:
"We've played some pretty good teams. Offensively and defensively, we have not taken care of each other very well this year. I think it's a bit of a combination. One thing I'm very disappointed in our defense with is that we have not turned the ball over the past couple of games like we had in the past. That's been a key. We've not been very opportunistic and we've lost the turnover battle the last few games. That's the one thing I'm most discouraged about."
On Wake Forest's bowl game chances:
"We've got a really good football team coming to town and even to talk about that stuff right now is farfetched. We have to win a football game without any bowl talk. We have to play well on Saturday because this Maryland football team is impressive."
Senior Linebacker Kellen Brantley
On what could be his last game as a Demon Deacon:
"I've had a good time at Wake Forest. It's been fun to watch the football program rise and try to get to that next level. This weekend we'll be playing for pride more than anything else. We're 5-6 and on the verge of having a losing season if we lose this one. I think everyone comes to this program to contribute and take it to the next level, and in order to keep the program headed in the right direction, we'd like to finish 6-6."
On the loss to Connecticut:
"I look at all the game film. I have to, I can't sleep unless I see what I did and what I could have done better. It's one we have to erase from our memory in order to get onto the next one. That one stung for a little while, I'm glad we had a week off. But I think we're focused right now, we know what the task at hand is."
Junior Wide Receiver Jason Anderson
On having a week off after losing to Connecticut:
"It is definitely a good vibe now. We had a week off to get things together. There is a lot on the line. We can either finish at .500 or below .500. If we finish .500, we can end the season on a positive note."
On the Demon Deacon seniors:
"It means a lot to us to win this last game. A bunch of the guys who are graduating came to Wake Forest when I did. We're going to miss them and we want to play hard for them this week."