Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 28, 2008
Press Conference Video: Grobe | Adams | Arnoux | Griffin | Robinson
Head coach Jim Grobe
On being back at home...
"It's nice to be back home. I wish we had a team coming in that wasn't as good as Duke right now. It is nice to be back off the road."
On what he learned on Saturday...
"We gave ourselves a chance. Our kids played really, really hard. I was embarrassed after our Maryland game and I told the kids that. After the Miami game, I thought our kids played really, really hard. It was disappointing that we came up short."
On the players only meeting held on Monday...
"Our seniors are running out of time. We've got five games left. I think they feel a little bit of pressure right now to perform down the stretch. I don't like it if there's a lot of finger pointing going on but I don't think that was the message. I think the message was that we've played some pretty good teams and we have a chance to win some games here down the stretch so let's pull it together and see if we can play our best."
On trying to get the offense more balanced...
"We kind of married ourselves to the spread offense. At times, it has been good to us. It hurt us against Navy and Maryland and probably hurt us not being diverse enough against Miami, although I'm not sure with the results of our throws, being in the gun and throwing the football more was the answer. I do think for us to be better down the stretch we need to be able to run it a little bit and at times be able to throw it around. A little bit of balance would be good."
On why Duke is a much improved football team...
"I think Coach (David) Cutcliffe and his staff are doing a really good job. I think (former Duke head football coach) Ted Roof brought in some really good players. They've got a lot of juniors and seniors that are playing for them right now. They have some freshmen that they've mixed in at wide receiver and running back and they're playing good for them. I think they've got a lot of guys that have been playing a lot of football for the last three or four years. They've playing with confidence right now. I think the new staff has instilled a confidence in these guys. You've got some really talented players that are feeling pretty good about what they're doing right now. We'll not only play a talented team but one that's very confident in Duke."
On keeping the team's attitude upbeat...
"We talked about that a little bit. I'm really concerned when we worry too much about the end of the season and not enough on what's coming up and that's a really good Duke football team. We're in a position right now where we've had a couple of very disappointing losses. Our motivation right now is to try to win a football game than to worry about what might happen at the end of the season. I think they know the possibilities are still there for good things to happen to this football team but nothing good is going to happen without win."
Defensive end Matt Robinson
On how the turn this season around...
"It seems like the season started out well. We got seven turnovers at Florida State. Lately it's just been some plays out there that are not going our way, some plays we aren't making. We had a meeting last night and the thing you have to do at this point is not hang your head and feel sorry for yourself. You just have to believe that good things are going to happen. In practice we have to make it happen, making plays in practice that carry over to the game. I think we're close and we are doing some good things."
On how the team is doing now......
"We're all excited for Saturday to get here. It's a tough opponent and it's going to be a test for us. We're just ready to get back out there and turn things around."
On Duke's football team......
"They're quarterback is very good. He doesn't leave the pocket much. He sits in the pocket and finds the receiver, and he is an experienced guy. It seems like he wants to establish a run and he wants his linemen to be really physical. It's going to be a hard, tough game. We've got our hands full but we're excited as the defense the challenge we're going to have. Duke has always been a challenge for us, and we just can't wait to get out and play it on Saturday."
On the meaning of the last four of five games being at home...
"Well we love playing at home. You always love playing in front of your home crowd, it's comfortable and that's a great thing. Still it's just one game at a time. It doesn't matter if we go play in Alaska. We've got to turn this thing around it doesn't matter where we are at. The most important thing we can do now is focus on being ready to make that play. There's going to be a play out there that can just set the whole thing on fire, and we just have to be ready."
Senior linebacker Stanley Arnoux
On what came of the team and coaches meetings yesterday...
"Team Unity. We talked about a lot of things but that was the main focus. Stick together through the adversity and not let it separate us. We are one team and that is the main overall thing we need to focus on."
On the benefit of the meeting...
"It was about time. We haven't been playing like we should be playing. We need to stop all the complaining and listen to each other."
On Duke...
"They are a good team just like everyone else on the schedule. They've won a lot of games and some close ones. Coming into the game we expect to play a very hard fought game."
On Duke's offense...
"They are well balanced. They run the ball well and the quarter back has a lot of wide receivers he is throwing the ball to. They are just a very balanced offense. They do a lot of things well."
On last Saturday's game...
"We let up some big plays. We didn't step up and make the plays when we should have and when we needed to. We didn't force any turnovers, they won the game. They were a good team, fast and well coached."
Redshirt Junior Tackle Jeff Griffin
On Wake Forest's running game during the first offensive series at Miami...
"It was exciting. Run blocking is always exciting as an offensive lineman. We were just excited and motivated to keep running the ball, and Miami started playing good defense after that so it was on us. They put it on us to run the ball and Miami beat us up a little bit at the end."
On what was communicated in yesterday's players meeting...
"Just to be focused on football. You can't worry about what's happening around other stuff. You should be focused on what we're here for, and that's to play football."
On message boards...
"I'm not a big message board guy. I never really go on there. Our job is to play football, our job is not to coach. I'm sure those coaches know more than all of us combined. We just have to keep playing hard. That's all we can do as football players, and our job is to play football."
On playing four of the last five games at home...
"It's exciting. It's always easier to play at home just because you're not worrying about not hearing what the quarterback is saying or not hearing what the center is saying, so that's one aspect. And also our fans, hopefully they can get back into it these next couple home games."
On Duke...
"[They're] a very well-coached and physical team. We've played against some of the same guys for a couple of years now; they've played some young guys in the past and now they're all experienced. The reason they've been successful this year is because of the way they play - and that's physical and tough. They've always played us tough. They're an older team and very well-coached this year and you can definitely see that on film. You can't take any team in this league lightly. As Coach Grobe always says, every team we play has a chance to beat anyone."
Redshirt sophomore running back Josh Adams
On last week's loss to Miami...
"It was a tough battle. Offense did a great job, defense did a great job. We made a lot of improvement from the week before. We just have to come out this week and be focused and see what we can get done against Duke."
On his thoughts about the players only meeting...
"It was great. I think it helps us face adversity to the fullest effect. You know the seniors are very worried because this is their team and they're the leaders of this team. They do what they feel is necessary for this team. A meeting was required and I think it was a great meeting. Coming out to practice last night, I saw a lot of great intensity."
On remaining schedule...
"It's going to be a battle from here on out. We're playing in the ACC so any given week you never know which team is going to be on top. We just have to really be on our `A' game from here on out."
On Duke's style of play...
"They're really physical. The first time I actually got my helmet knocked off was last year playing Duke, so I know they're physical."
On upcoming game against Duke...
"We know what we have coming for us. We know that Duke's been close the last couple of years with us. We know it's going to be a dogfight."
