Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
10/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2004
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On focusing on the next game:
"We have a lot of work to do this week. We have a pretty banged up football team. Duke had a pretty good effort last week against Virginia, and it looks like they're playing really well right now. So, it should be a good game. We've played hard in seven games now and need to give that same effort in the next four. Certainly, we need to play well on Saturday."
On the team:
"We have smart kids playing for us; we know we've played really good people. We've played good football teams. We're playing pretty good football; I think we're a good football team. Because of the schedule and not taking care of business on our own part, we haven't won as many as we've wanted to. Hopefully we're improving every week, and down the stretch we can be a good football team."
On coming up short in losses:
"It's been frustrating all season when you come up short. You're always disappointed when you don't win, so I don't think it does a whole lot of good for any of us to look back on what could have been. We've just come up short against some really good football teams. We still have some really good football teams left on our schedule, and hopefully we can learn to make the plays when we need to in order to beat some of the better teams."
On playing a complete game:
"I think the number one reason we're on the losing end more than we want to be is that we're playing really good people. We're going against some really fine football teams. I think for us, we've had some games where we haven't played for four quarters the way we like, and we've had some games where we didn't play as a team as best as we like offensively, defensively, and the kicking game. To play four quarters and have all three components clicking would be nice."
On confidence:
"I've never sensed a problem with confidence. Our guys believe that we can win if we play well. That's the key for us. I hope our players understand this, I know our coaches do. The bottom line is every week in this league you better play."
On which players might miss this week with injury:
"The biggest question is Brad White. His MRI came back negative. He doesn't have any rotator cuff problems. He just has a bruise on his shoulder, so it will be day-to-day for us."
On the Blue Devils performance last week vs. Virginia:
"It was early in the fourth quarter and the score was 23-16. They were really, really close, and we consider Virginia to be one of the very best teams in our league. For them to take Virginia into the fourth quarter and have a chance to win, they have to be very excited about that. They are very well-coached, there's no doubt about that. They are very physical. Their kids fly around. Offensively, they're really big up front; their line averages more than 300 pounds. Their quarterback has improved. He seems to be comfortable with the offense. They have a good running back that's physical. On the defensive side of the ball, they play as hard as anyone we've seen. They fly around and chase after the ball. They play hard for four quarters. They are a talented team. Everyone in this league has talent and these guys play hard and are well-coached."
Redshirt freshman defensive end Matt Robinson
On the team:
"The good news is that we're competing, and when you watch the film, the best thing to see is our fight. We're never going to accept losses here. Everybody is patting on our backs saying that we're competing, but we're going into these games expecting to win. It doesn't matter if we're playing Florida State or Miami or any other team, every game we go into we expect to win."
On moving forward:
"It's hard to look and see how close we are. You can get caught up in looking back in the past, but you have to put all that stuff behind you. We have Duke coming up this weekend, and it's the most important game of the season. We have to be focused if we want to win this game."
On winning games:
"Winning is the only thing that is going to be accepted here. It doesn't matter how close the game is or who we're playing, from now on and in this year, we expect to win every game we play."
On playing four quarters:
"We just go into each game and prepare each week the same way. Everybody stays focused. We go in with a fighting mentality. We fight for four quarters. There hasn't been one game where we've let up on anyone. I think if we just keep that mentality, good things are going to start happening here."
On the close games:
"When you lose by a touchdown or you lose by a field goal, you are going to go back and look at one play here or one play there that I could have made one play. Maybe I could have blocked this ball or intercepted this pass; maybe we could have won this game. You just have to watch film, see where you went wrong and correct your mistakes. The game you play the week before is over with. You have to look ahead to the next game. In the ACC if you look back, you're going to have another loss handed to you."
Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Matt Brim
On playing each week:
"Every week we go out there knowing that we have to win. Our conference is so tough. Every game we play is against such a great team. Every week we play knowing that we need to win this week. You are not guaranteed anything. These close losses have been really tough, but also it's kind of exciting because we see that if we play our game we can play with anybody. As long as we go out there and play tough, I feel that we're going to get the wins."
On the offensive line:
"From the first week of the summer, the offensive line is a very close group. We always go around with each other. Before and after practice we go eat as an offensive line together. The most important part of the offensive line is being a team. We have to go out there and play together. If we play together that's when we're going to be successful."
On playing as a redshirt freshman:
"That first play, I can't even remember it because I was so nervous. Being able to go play in Death Valley (Clemson), that was such a great atmosphere, it was really exciting. You got to see what college football is like. Playing against these great teams and the great players they have, it's really helped me to develop as an offensive lineman."
Redshirt sophomore free safety Josh Gattis
On playing against the "hometown team" Duke:
"Being from Durham, I get a chance to play against three teams that I'm pretty close to, Duke, Chapel Hill, and NC State. I always have pride going home playing for Wake Forest. I always want to go home with the feeling of being undefeated against those teams. I know we lost to NC State, but we have Duke and North Carolina coming up, and those are big games for me. I definitely want to go home with a good feeling going home."
On being a favorite:
"It's something you can't look at. It shouldn't matter whether you are the underdog or favorite. The reason we've been underdogs lately is because we've been playing talented teams. Every team is going to bring their `A' game, and all the teams on our schedule are talented. Regardless of whether we're the favorite or not, we have to come out with the same intensity every week."
On the fan support:
"It's definitely been a great atmosphere this year at games. Our student section has been wonderful. Regardless if we're playing in front of 31,000 or on the road playing in front of 70,000, our stadium still gets loud just like everyone else's. The students are starting to support us a lot more and the stadium is getting filled. You can see as we're winning more games, we will get more support within the city and the area of Winston-Salem. We really appreciate it a lot."
True freshman defensive end Jeremy Thompson
On playing against his brother, Duke senior DT Orrin Thompson:
"I'm going to try and do my job to help our team win. My dad says he's going to sit on the Wake side and my mom is going to sit on the Duke side. When the chance came, I had to think if this was the decision I wanted to do. My brother told me that it's my decision and to do what is right. I like Coach Grobe a lot, he's a great coach. I really enjoy being at Wake Forest. We didn't talk about this weekend much."
On playing as a true freshman:
"Coming into college, it was my goal to play in my freshman year. I really wanted to play. I wanted to be in the game. Coming off a season of high school, I don't know if I could sit out a year and not play."
On starting his first game:
"It was a great feeling. It was thrilling. It was a good experience. I had more excitement being able to start in a game than before. I think I did pretty well, but its unfortunate the team lost."
