NewEngland_Gold
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you a lot of problems." Joe Pa is working hard to get his troops ready, but are they listening? He knows that the prevailing attitude has generally been: "Minnesota?...No problem!"
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101309aaj.html
Q. From your point of view, is it harder to defend a passing game that primarily features one guy, like Minnesota does with Eric Decker, or a passing game that really spreads the ball around?
Well, you've always got to be aware of the superior wideouts such as Decker. Decker is a great football player. There's a great chemistry with him and the quarterback (Adam Weber). And the quarterback has so much confidence in him, he'll make throws to him that you ordinarily wouldn't make. You've got to know where he is all the time. If you don't, he'll catch seven, eight, 10 passes for a lot of yards and a couple scores. That's one thing.
But, it's hard. When you say one receiver as opposed to three good receivers, offensive line, kind of pass protection, handle certain blitzes, quarterback, can he read certain things when he's working with three receivers, it's just not that simple to answer that question.
I think each one of them, depending on the cast of characters, gives you problems. Decker gives you a problem. He's not the only guy. You know, that No. 11 (Troy Stoudemire) is a good football player and return guy....No. 5 (MarQueis Gray), they've got a couple other guys that can go catch the football. Fall asleep, (they will) throw the ball to the tight end.
In the clutch, it's a one-man show maybe, but it's not a one-man show the entire game. You can go overboard trying to cover Decker. They can hurt you other ways. So it's a combination. When you're dealing against a team that's as well-coached offensively and defensively as Minnesota is, then you've got to be available to handle a lot of different things, and one of them obviously, top of the list, would be, don't let Decker beat you.
Q. On the Timmons thing, what would your plans be to cover Decker? Will you try to rotate cornerbacks?
Why in God's name would I answer that in any way? You sound like a Minnesota assistant coach. "What are you going to do with Decker?" You know, I don't know. We may put four corners on him, all right, let everybody else run for touchdowns. I don't know what we're going to do yet. We've got to look at some things. It's Tuesday. We've had one practice. We had a long discussion this morning as to some of the things they do.
Minnesota gives you a lot of problems. You never see the same offense two weeks in a row with Minnesota. They're very, very innovative. They've got smart kids that can handle different formations, different pass routes each week. They have that experienced quarterback who is able to keep everything together.
So, I don't know what to expect. We've got to play our game. We can't guess. There's no question Decker is a guy that's a very big concern of ours. But they'll jam that ball down your throat if you're not careful. They can run the football. This is a good football team. This is a good football team.
Q. You alluded earlier that the Iowa game was the only one you played so far that came down to one or two plays. Have you learned things about your team in some of the lopsided games or do you still feel like you have a lot to learn about this team at this point?
I felt better yesterday at practice than I have for a while. I thought we had some kids that went out there with the idea that, you know, we've been through this now, and now we're about to head into six Big Ten games. I thought they practiced with a little bit more - it's only Tuesday and I may change my impression after a couple more days - but I got the impression kids understand what we're talking about, what it takes to be a really good football team. We have not been a really good football team. We have the prospects of being a really good football team, but we have not gotten there yet.
I thought last Saturday was a good situation for us, not necessarily for the kids who have some confidence in themselves, but the fact that we got some younger kids in the game and the morale of the whole team is a little bit better now because some of the kids that didn't get in, were just going through the hard part of football, which is the practice part of it, I think there was a little different attitude yesterday. I hope I'm right because I think they've looked at Minnesota tapes and they've realized what a good football team this one is.
I felt Minnesota could have beaten Wisconsin. When I looked at it, they put the ball on the ground a couple times, did some things. I think Wisconsin is a pretty good football team. But anyway, I think we're a little further along. I don't think we're there yet.
Q. Sixteen years in the Big Ten now, do you see more balance now than maybe when you first got in the league (1993)?
I'm not sure about that. I think the Big Ten has been a berated conference the last couple years because I think the SEC and some other people have done a little better job. The fact we don't have a playoff game, the fact that the Big Ten is out of the limelight for a long period of time. We play, we're over with, and I'm sitting watching the Atlantic Coast Conference play for a championship, the Big East....everybody else is playing. The TV people have to promote the game, "this big game between..," that happens and the whole bit. So we've kind of gotten pushed out.
We've lost a couple of bowl games, I realize that. But that doesn't answer your question. I know where you're coming from. I think it is a little bit more balanced. I think when we got in the league, there were two or three teams that seemed to be, they're the ones you've got to handle. Now it looks like there's more, like Minnesota. Purdue had their ups. We're not playing Purdue (this year), so I haven't looked at them very much. But, Illinois was in the Rose Bowl a couple years ago. Iowa, Kirk (Ferentz) has done a great job there in Iowa. I think there is a little bit more balance in the league. I think it's tougher. I think it's tougher than it was.
Now, I'm not sure about that. I'll have to go back and look at records and things like that. But from my viewpoint, I think the league's tougher now than it was then.
Q. A lot of talk has been about the Minnesota offense. What do they do defensively that might cause problems Saturday?
They do a lot of things on defense. They're a very multiple type of defensive team. They do an awful lot of blitzing and things that keep you off balance. They change up a great deal. It's a team that's not going to stay in one position and you can say, "Okay, here's where we're going to get every down, we ought to just tie our offense down to half a dozen running plays, five or six pass plays." You can't do that with these guys. You've got to practice a lot of things because you don't know what you're going to get.
But they run well and they hustle. They're well-organized. Even with all the things they do, they know what they're doing. Sometimes you see a team do a lot of different things, but half the time there's one or two guys a little bit out of position, a little late doing what they're supposed to do. You don't see this with Minnesota. They're doing a heck of a job.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101309aaj.html
Q. From your point of view, is it harder to defend a passing game that primarily features one guy, like Minnesota does with Eric Decker, or a passing game that really spreads the ball around?
Well, you've always got to be aware of the superior wideouts such as Decker. Decker is a great football player. There's a great chemistry with him and the quarterback (Adam Weber). And the quarterback has so much confidence in him, he'll make throws to him that you ordinarily wouldn't make. You've got to know where he is all the time. If you don't, he'll catch seven, eight, 10 passes for a lot of yards and a couple scores. That's one thing.
But, it's hard. When you say one receiver as opposed to three good receivers, offensive line, kind of pass protection, handle certain blitzes, quarterback, can he read certain things when he's working with three receivers, it's just not that simple to answer that question.
I think each one of them, depending on the cast of characters, gives you problems. Decker gives you a problem. He's not the only guy. You know, that No. 11 (Troy Stoudemire) is a good football player and return guy....No. 5 (MarQueis Gray), they've got a couple other guys that can go catch the football. Fall asleep, (they will) throw the ball to the tight end.
In the clutch, it's a one-man show maybe, but it's not a one-man show the entire game. You can go overboard trying to cover Decker. They can hurt you other ways. So it's a combination. When you're dealing against a team that's as well-coached offensively and defensively as Minnesota is, then you've got to be available to handle a lot of different things, and one of them obviously, top of the list, would be, don't let Decker beat you.
Q. On the Timmons thing, what would your plans be to cover Decker? Will you try to rotate cornerbacks?
Why in God's name would I answer that in any way? You sound like a Minnesota assistant coach. "What are you going to do with Decker?" You know, I don't know. We may put four corners on him, all right, let everybody else run for touchdowns. I don't know what we're going to do yet. We've got to look at some things. It's Tuesday. We've had one practice. We had a long discussion this morning as to some of the things they do.
Minnesota gives you a lot of problems. You never see the same offense two weeks in a row with Minnesota. They're very, very innovative. They've got smart kids that can handle different formations, different pass routes each week. They have that experienced quarterback who is able to keep everything together.
So, I don't know what to expect. We've got to play our game. We can't guess. There's no question Decker is a guy that's a very big concern of ours. But they'll jam that ball down your throat if you're not careful. They can run the football. This is a good football team. This is a good football team.
Q. You alluded earlier that the Iowa game was the only one you played so far that came down to one or two plays. Have you learned things about your team in some of the lopsided games or do you still feel like you have a lot to learn about this team at this point?
I felt better yesterday at practice than I have for a while. I thought we had some kids that went out there with the idea that, you know, we've been through this now, and now we're about to head into six Big Ten games. I thought they practiced with a little bit more - it's only Tuesday and I may change my impression after a couple more days - but I got the impression kids understand what we're talking about, what it takes to be a really good football team. We have not been a really good football team. We have the prospects of being a really good football team, but we have not gotten there yet.
I thought last Saturday was a good situation for us, not necessarily for the kids who have some confidence in themselves, but the fact that we got some younger kids in the game and the morale of the whole team is a little bit better now because some of the kids that didn't get in, were just going through the hard part of football, which is the practice part of it, I think there was a little different attitude yesterday. I hope I'm right because I think they've looked at Minnesota tapes and they've realized what a good football team this one is.
I felt Minnesota could have beaten Wisconsin. When I looked at it, they put the ball on the ground a couple times, did some things. I think Wisconsin is a pretty good football team. But anyway, I think we're a little further along. I don't think we're there yet.
Q. Sixteen years in the Big Ten now, do you see more balance now than maybe when you first got in the league (1993)?
I'm not sure about that. I think the Big Ten has been a berated conference the last couple years because I think the SEC and some other people have done a little better job. The fact we don't have a playoff game, the fact that the Big Ten is out of the limelight for a long period of time. We play, we're over with, and I'm sitting watching the Atlantic Coast Conference play for a championship, the Big East....everybody else is playing. The TV people have to promote the game, "this big game between..," that happens and the whole bit. So we've kind of gotten pushed out.
We've lost a couple of bowl games, I realize that. But that doesn't answer your question. I know where you're coming from. I think it is a little bit more balanced. I think when we got in the league, there were two or three teams that seemed to be, they're the ones you've got to handle. Now it looks like there's more, like Minnesota. Purdue had their ups. We're not playing Purdue (this year), so I haven't looked at them very much. But, Illinois was in the Rose Bowl a couple years ago. Iowa, Kirk (Ferentz) has done a great job there in Iowa. I think there is a little bit more balance in the league. I think it's tougher. I think it's tougher than it was.
Now, I'm not sure about that. I'll have to go back and look at records and things like that. But from my viewpoint, I think the league's tougher now than it was then.
Q. A lot of talk has been about the Minnesota offense. What do they do defensively that might cause problems Saturday?
They do a lot of things on defense. They're a very multiple type of defensive team. They do an awful lot of blitzing and things that keep you off balance. They change up a great deal. It's a team that's not going to stay in one position and you can say, "Okay, here's where we're going to get every down, we ought to just tie our offense down to half a dozen running plays, five or six pass plays." You can't do that with these guys. You've got to practice a lot of things because you don't know what you're going to get.
But they run well and they hustle. They're well-organized. Even with all the things they do, they know what they're doing. Sometimes you see a team do a lot of different things, but half the time there's one or two guys a little bit out of position, a little late doing what they're supposed to do. You don't see this with Minnesota. They're doing a heck of a job.
