Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Football Press Conference Quotes
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 12, 2010
Press Conference Video: Grobe | Dembry | Newman | Weaver | Woodlief
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On losing nine games decided by four points or less since November 2008...
"Number one is we are playing good teams. That's the problem. When we've been successful in the past, we've won our share of those games, but in the past couple seasons we haven't done that. It's a problem. It's a situation where we are doing almost everything we can do to win, but we're not making the plays we need to make. In a lot of cases, we're just not doing the things that good teams do. We're mentally not doing good things, and we have to keep working on it until we get it right."
On dealing with close losses compared to blowout losses...
"Right after, it's tougher to deal with when you lose a really close game like we did against Georgia Tech and against Navy. It stings really bad immediately following the game. The upside is, you are playing bowl teams really close, so you know you're not a bad football team. On one hand, right after the game it feels the worst when the game is close, but it feels better than it did at Stanford because you feel like you're getting better."
On Tanner Price's performance against Navy as a sign of the future...
"I hope it is. He played really well the other night. Offensively, we did some good things, and he directed that. You'd like to think that he'll continue to play well, but we're going to play some teams who are a better defensively. It will not be easy, but he certainly showed us what is possible, and that's encouraging out of a true freshman."
On what to concerns there are when facing Virginia Tech...
"Everything. Of course, coach [Frank] Beamer has always done a great job with special teams, and they continue to do that. Defensively, we're facing another great quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. It seems like we're up against a great quarterback every week, and here's another one. He's a mobile quarterback and might be more mobile than either [Georgia Tech QB Josh] Nesbitt or [Navy QB Ricky] Dobbs. That will give our defense a lot of problems, on top of the fact they might have the greatest group of running backs in the country. I like their receivers who are really talented. Defensively, they have started coming into their own. They had a lot of young guys playing early in the season, and they struggled a little bit. They've got all that together, and they've looked really good the last couple of weeks."
On making his first trip to Virginia Tech as the head coach of Wake Forest...
"From what I understand, that is a pretty tough place to play. I played their when I was at the University of Virginia, but I don't think they had started any of the renovations that they have had since then. Everybody I speak with talks about how impressive their stadium is and how hard it is to play because the crowds really gets into it."
On Virginia Tech's backfield...
"Their backfield is fantastic, but what makes those guys go are the guys up front. Their offensive line is really physical. They have a really good tight end who is not only a good blocker, but he can also run and catch the football. I also really like their wide receivers, and that offensive line will give Tyrod Taylor time to throw the football. This is an offense that everyone knew was going to be good at the start of the season, and they are playing really good right now. They are one of the top rushing teams in the league, which gives you problems."
On the Virginia Tech defense...
"The thing that is the most dangerous for us, is that they don't have someone that we want to go after. A lot of times when you have a great player, you can look at that guy and say `We're going to stay away from him.' It's hard to look across to their side and see anyone you feel real good about going after. They're as talented of a football team as we'll play all year, and they're doing a great job coaching them in all three areas."
Junior wide receiver Danny Dembry
On the current morale of the team...
"The coaches have encouraged us to put these last two losses behind us, especially after two tough losses in the 4th quarter."
On the difficulty of losing a close game to Navy last weekend...
"It's very tough. We feel like we played 90-95% of the game very well, and then the last 5% of the game we allowed them to score. Then we weren't able to score or win the game, so that's a bittersweet loss."
On the Virginia Tech defense...
"Today we'll get a closer look (at tape) and we'll see what we can exploit in this weekend's game."
On the expectations of playing at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium...
"I know that it's going to be very loud and noisy. We will have to keep our heads in the game and not let the crowd distract us."
Sophomore placekicker Jimmy Newman
On the morale and the spirits of the team after four consecutive losses...
"After any loss, especially having four in a row, we are disappointed. Everyone is down, but it's nothing we can't build from. In most situations, you learn a lot more from mistakes than you do from doing something the right way. We have to come back and see what we did, be able to change that, and then know what it takes to finish a game. We played well, but we just have to finish down the stretch. I think everyone's looking forward to taking on the challenge of the next six games that we have in front of us, especially this weekend at Virginia Tech. I know they're a really good football team, but I think our guys are going to work really hard this week."
On Virginia Tech's emphasis on special teams defense...
"That is an added thing that we'll have to be aware of, but it will just give us a sense of urgency this week to take care of every assignment, and for everybody to do what they have to do. Especially for me, getting the get-off times in 1.2 seconds, and you just have to have everyone do what they're coached to do. I think we'll be able to do it. I know they're one of the best in the country at special teams, and it's going to be a big challenge, but I think we have what it takes."
On the excitement of playing in the atmosphere at Virginia Tech...
"I am excited. I always look forward to playing some road games and being able to experience that. It will be a challenge to have to block that out when it's 4th down and we're about to kick a field goal, but I think it's a great opportunity for us. I'm excited about playing there, and I'm looking forward to playing there in Blacksburg."
Junior offensive lineman Doug Weaver
On how tough it is to stay confident through losses...
"It's definitely a challenge, especially with the last two losses, losing in the last couple of seconds like we did. Keeping the morale up on the team is a constant must. You have to go to guys and just tell them that we can overcome this. Everybody's playing this together, we've got to play as a team. We put a lot of time and effort into playing good ball, so when you come up short it's hard, but you know that you can just put a little bit more effort into it and work hard as a team. Together, we can overcome the next obstacle that we have."
On facing Virginia Tech's defense this week...
"They're definitely going to be a huge challenge for us. They're very explosive, they're big and they're strong, that's always been there. It's going to take all of us playing as a unit, we can't just have one guy have a great game and another guy have a mediocre game; we have to come together and play as a team, and if we don't then it will be a long night."
On whether the Virginia Tech matchup will be the toughest to date this season...
"That's a difficult question to answer. I think that each team we've played has had attributes in this particular area or that particular area and I know that Virginia Tech is going to be one of the faster and bigger teams that we've faced. To say that they're the best I'm not 100% sure, but it's definitely going to be a challenge for our offense to go up there and play a great game."
Senior linebacker Matt Woodlief
On the spirits of the team after four tough losses...
"The team's doing okay. We're trying to keep our heads up. We know that these last two losses really put us down a little bit, but we've just got to keep saying to ourselves that we've got to get better each day. We can't let one game bring us down for the rest of the season because we've still got a whole season to go through. Right now we're just getting ready for Virginia Tech."
On being 0-9 in games decided by four points or less since November 2008...
"We don't really think of it as that [bad luck]. Each week Coach Grobe expects us to go out there; offense, defense, and special teams; and give it all we've got. I feel like this team has been giving it all we've got, and the coaches have seen it as well. It's just there at the end, we haven't finished. The coaches have seen it, we've seen it, and that's something that we've got to work on this week. Coach Grobe has a great game plan for us again this week, and it's our job to go out there and execute what the calls are. We just want to go out there and win each week."
On whether the team has the "killer instinct" to win...
"Yes, definitely, we do. We know we have a great team, it's just up to us if we want it or not. We do want it, and the coaches know we want it. Going to Virginia Tech this week, we have to have the will to win this game. We want to go in there and say, `Virginia Tech, here we come.' That's our game plan this week. We've got to create turnovers, we've got to catch balls, make good returns on special teams. We've got to fix all of our little problems we had the other night. We'll be ready."
