JimmyHoffa
Pretty much a regular
I'll try to keep up with this information weekly. Maybe it will help some members with any decision on the game...enjoy.
FSU NOTES: Back up QB to be named later in the week.
Xavier Lee has been suspended for academics. He must have slipped up again, or not followed through with his assignment (before the Wake game).
D'Vo:
- he's the best qb in camp
- jimbo cant stop praising him
- he says he's going to quit baseball
- says now he's going to play baseball...
- switches positions to WR (looks good)
- gets to see a live snap before Xavier this season...
- now he's running #2.
Monday Injury Report:
Marcus Ball participated in practice. He expects to play against Boston College. I caught up with him and he talked about how bad the high ankle sprain he suffered was.
Rodney Hudson participated completely in practice and expects to play against Boston College.
Andre Fluellen continues to practice and hopes to play this weekend. The elbow is about 85% now according to Fluellen. He still does not have full range of motion. He said the fingers are getting better but they are still wrapped heavily. He is using a 4-point stance at this time.
Antone Smith was limited in practice according to Bowden. They hope to have him back 100% by Wednesday.
Greg Carr participated fully in practice.
Justin Mincey had his left wrist heavily wrapped. He participated in practice.
Tuesday:
Jimbo Fisher says Carr and A. Smith are practicing and will play.
On Monday afternoon, offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher spoke to the media. Fisher discussed the offensive struggles in the redzone, the status of Antone Smith, Greg Carr, and Rodney Hudson, who will replace the injured Richard Goodman, and much more. Fisher also talked about Boston College's quarterback Matt Ryan.
Q: Do you expect to have Antone Smith for this game?
JF: Yeah, yeah most definitely he will be okay from all the reports we are getting. He should be fine.
Q: Do you expect him to practice on it?
JF: He should be. He should be full go and playing.
Q: What about Greg Carr?
JF: We got a very encouraging report. We expect him to be full go and out there catching balls and doing what he has got to do. There was very minimal swelling in it. It was good that we got to rest him in the game and not aggravate it. We should expect him out there for full practice all week.
Q: Was that a precautionary move?
JF: Well, I think it was precautionary. He could have played. We got the game going and we were throwing and catching, not dropping, the other guys were executing and doing well. He didn't practice as much last week because of the soreness in it but it has really recovered and it feels really good from what I understand of the last few days. I think he should be full go.
Q: Was the number of receptions, nearly 10 for three different guys, was that a function of Drew feeling more comfortable and having one less guy?
JF: I think it was. He had the three rotation and they were the guys coming up and getting the throws. It was just the way the reads and progressions were going. That is where they were. They were trying to make us be patient and execute down the field. We were throwing and catching well for the most part and that is just how it worked out in the progression of what we were calling.
Q: He is seeing his second and third reads better?
JF: Yeah, I think he made good choices in that game as far as understanding where to go with the football and the weakness of the defense or where the one-on-one coverage was. He made some nice second choices and some nice thirds. One on the other side of the field one time on a good read where they took away one side. We felt very comfortable with his decision making in the game. It was very good. His decision making in the game and the reasons he went places for what he did and all those things was excellent in the football game.
Q: Were there a couple opportunities where he could have taken shots and he didn't?
JF: No, really after we had a couple opportunities early on some shots we got behind them and we didn't execute and let a couple of opportunities slip through our fingers. Then they did pretty well at getting back and taking the deep balls away. We could have maybe thrown a couple of jump-ball types of things but we had guys underneath that were open and we could keep getting first downs and we were able to run the football so we wanted to keep ourselves in a good down and distance situations so we were just trying to make the right decisions. I can't really think of a time off the top of my head where he didn't take a shot and he was capable of taking a shot.
Q: How encouraging was it that for the first time in a few years you had back-to-back 100 yard rushing games from a back?
JF: It makes it a heck of a lot easier to call the game. I know that. When you can run and pass and you are getting yards out of your running game and you are producing in the running game it is like I always say you try to get balance. We are working there. By no means are we where we need to be but we are making sure we give our at-bats. To hit the ball, you have to swing at it. So we have to keep giving the at-bats there and sometimes even when you make yards or don't make yards it is about what you make the defense do and have to respect that can open up something else. We have to continue to forcefully run the football.
Q: Coach Bowden said after the game that he thought Antone selected his holes better, how much of it was that and how much of it was the offensive line?
JF: I think the offensive line did a much better job and I think he did a much better job even as the game was going on. Picking and getting the extra two, three, or four yards and the leans. I think it is just a matter of anything you get confidence in what you are doing with more at-bats and with more repetition at something the better you will get at it. As the game went on he progressed and kept reading and doing better and in turn we had a decent night.
Q: What have you seen from the offensive line as far as progress?
JF: Lot more consistency, lot less errors, lot more communication, the technique has gotten better. We are trying to keep them in the same mold of doing things – technique. We just keep preaching and pounding. Like I said, we are not going to change. We are going to keep doing what we are going to do and you can't change. You get them one way and then you try and change and do something else scheming and doing things – we have to allow them and their abilities to keep progressing in a mold where we keep doing the same things.
Q: Is it a case of the offensive line finally getting more comfortable and understanding what their new position coaches expect of them?
JF: I think it is. I do. I think it is what we do as an offense, they understand what we are trying to do offensively and the philosophy of the things we are trying to do. It is like anything, the longer you are in your job the better you understand it. I think that is what is happening.
Q: Drew (Weatherford) said earlier that the biggest thing they have to do in the red zone offense is cutting out mistakes, is there anything you can do from your prospective, maybe scheme wise, that might improve your success?
JF: Just keep practicing. I think part of that in the red zone to is that it is an area where you have points. You don't want to make a mistake down there because you do have points but at the same time you have to be a little risky because in the red zone things happen quicker, tighter, faster and the holes are a little bit littler. We had some opportunities and just missed them. A little high, a little off. Just some things that I think not wanting to make mistakes while at the same time you still want to be (successful). You are kind of contradicting yourself – hey, don't do anything crazy and be smart but hey stick that ball in that hole. I mean, it is kind of contradicting yourself. I just think that more at-bats in practice and getting him in a comfort zone. We are going to continue to practice more down there because that is where we have to learn to finish. When we are moving the ball we have to learn to finish and make those plays. Occasionally down there we have to break a run, we have to break a tackle, or break this, because everything is tighter and we have to break a run or a guy catch a ball and make a guy miss after he catches it and get an YAC yard like Preston (Parker) did on that bubble when he dove in and did a great job. Down there, nothing is going to be clean ever, a throw, a run, a catch and a run, we have to learn to just keep pressing that and keep fighting for that extra yard. Sometimes you break through and score that 20-yard touchdown instead of having to inch it up all the way down through.
Q: Will having Greg Carr out help in the red zone?
JF: I think it does because Greg is a great red zone threat because of his size and what he does. He allows you to go over the top of things. He will be a good asset.
Q: Is Antone Smith a kid that sometimes needs to re-focus? There seemed to be a play where he missed a hole, the next series Jamaal (Edwards) got the snaps, and then he came back in and made some nice plays.
JF: I think I remember the situation. You keep trying to point out mistakes but if you give a guy enough at-bats he is going to make a mistake. If you run the ball 25 times you are not going to make 25 perfect reads. That is just the way it is but sometimes it is (focus) and sometimes that can come from being tired and fatigued and we have to keep putting Jamaal in there to give him reps because he runs the ball a lot. It is like any of us, when you guys write, as you are writing a story and you are working on it for six hours you are not as sharp as you were working on it in the first hour. Sometimes your mind will drift and you have to catch a breath and get your bearings back and go back in the game and you are able to see things and sometimes see your mistakes. Sometimes you see what you do, I did that, okay, keep my eyes here, you train and you focus. There is no doubt that has to happen. That has to happen with all positions though. With the running back you are just fortunate enough to pull him out and give him a minute and give him a blow and get another guy in there.
Q: Your philosophy in the red-zone about getting points, even if it is three points, is that a fine line you struggle with?
JF: No, I don't. I want to be aggressive. I try to be aggressive and go get seven. I don't want to do that. I just think it is where your players are at that time and where they are in their development and how they feel within the situation with the guys you have out there. I want seven. A player thinks that way because that is the thought process you put them in. Hey, that is the first thought, we are in the red zone, we want to be aggressive, things happen quicker, faster, and tighter but we do have points, we don't want to be careless with the football. Careless doesn't mean to be cautious, it means don't be stupid. That is the line you have to do. Everybody's comfort zone, it is like driving down the road, some people are comfortable missing a car by six inches and some people when they get within sixty feet are nervous as heck. I think that goes back to how each player and each quarterback feels in his comfort zone down there and what his safe zone is.
Q: How much does (Gary) Cismesia's success this season influence that?
JF: I know once we get down there that he has been kicking good but I actually haven't really thought about that because we have been trying to stress getting touchdowns. A lot of it is like I said, we had a couple times in the running game I actually thought we should have made the run and that we had the blocks to stick it up in there a couple times and we just didn't. I think it is a total team thing. It is not just a quarterback thing, not just a receiver thing, it is a total team thing and we just have to keep focusing and getting used to scoring touchdowns. It is hard to have 535 yards and 25 points, I am serious. You go back and think about it and think about how many times you seen that. It is hard to do that.
Q: Do you have to be more aggressive with the situation you are going to be in on Saturday against an opponent such as Boston College?
JF: I think we are playing an excellent football team who does not beat themselves. They play extremely, you watch them on film and you sit there and say we can get this and this, nope, nope, nope. They make you execute everything you do. You are going to have to block them, throw it, catch it, you are going to have to earn every yard you are going to get. We are going to have to take chances and be aggressive and when we get our opportunities, those three or four times we have to capitalize. If you are fortunate enough to get that many, they are only giving up 16 points a game and giving up 55 yards a game rushing, so it is going to be a donnybrook. They are going to be one heck of a team to go up against and when we get our opportunities we are really going to have to capitalize.
Q: At this point in the season, is it the passing game that opens up the running game for this team?
JF: Maybe, I guess you could say we are a little more like that. As the running game comes, I think we will have a little more of an even balance. I would say right now, that I would have to say that.
Q: How does that affect you looking ahead to Boston College?
JF: Well, like I was saying we are still up here making decisions right now. We are still finalizing the first stages of what we are going to do. As you look at them, there are not many weaknesses. We are trying to get our 1st and 10 stuff done right now and second down, and our running game and stuff, there are not many holes. Not a lot of people have been able to run that dadgum thing on them, that is for sure.
Q: Do they not come after you as much, blitzing and brining pressure?
JF: They are a big, strong, hold the point, they will twist, but they do blitz you, fire zone you, and come after you and try to create pressure that way. They are not like our defense where they have their hand in the dirt and they are charging up the field real fast but man they are big and strong and they can run. They are big bodies who actually do a good of running.
Q: Is their run defense a bit misleading though with how so many teams have had to come back on them?
JF: Because of their offense.
Q: Virginia Tech had success on the ground against them.
JF: Well that was probably because they weren't scoring on them. They kept that game where they were ahead and tried to run it. That is what they do, Virginia Tech is a very good running team and physical. I don't know that because when I watch them not many people can block them. Not many folks stay with them as you watch. When you watch them you see they are ahead so people can't run but that is not the case with them. They don't stay blocked very long. You don't see people, even Virginia Tech, Orr made runs and he made plays but those guys didn't stay blocked. As you really watched the film it was a lot of great effort by him that particular night. I think Virginia Tech was pretty pumped up, juiced up and he was running pretty good but they still didn't stay blocked in that film. They came off blocks really quick and made some big hits on him.
Q: You said Drew looked more relaxed and like he was having fun last week and he backed that statement up with how he said he felt when he played, is that maybe the most encouraging thing from this game?
JF: I think it is. You have to relax and have fun playing this thing. The pressure and we all want to have success and all that but you still have to enjoy what you are doing. I still have to enjoy coaching. You still have to enjoy what you are doing to be good at it. I think there comes a point where that pressure hits and you put so much on yourself, you have to say heck with this, I am going to play ball and do what I do and I know why I am here, I was recruited here, I am a good player, I know what to do, and quit worrying about the outcome of it and quit worrying about losing or making a mistake and worry about making plays and having fun. You have to reverse the psychology of how you think about things and I think that is what he did. As you do that, I think you have better success.
Q: Coach Bowden commented that Richard Goodman had become a leader, how does his loss affect you?
JF: I will tell you what, he makes plays on the field plus his enthusiasm at practice. He is an energizer bunny at practice. He is the guy that always keeps things going. It will be a loss. I hate going out to that practice field and missing him out there. He was having a great year, stepping up, doing things. He will be missed.
Q: Will you have Rodney Hudson back this week?
JF: Yes, Rodney will be back which will be great. It will give us some more depth and relief and we will be able to rest some guys. Plus we are getting a great player back.
Q: You got a good look at (Joslin) Shaw against Duke.
JF: It was great for him to get back in there and get in the mix. He made five big catches I think in the game. One of them was a big third down conversion that was there. He made two or three things happen. Shaw is a tough guy. Shaw has been out there in the past, he does a good job running with the ball because he is an ex-running back. It was great to get him out there because he is a great young man and I am glad to see him have success. You never know, somebody steps up every time.
Q: With Goodman down, who is going to move up in the rotation?
JF: With Carr back.
Q: Who will back up Carr?
JF: You have (Damon) McDaniel still in there and (Rod) Owens. There are those two other guys plus the other four that can come in there.
Q: McDaniel has missed the last two games?
JF: McDaniel got in there for a few plays this last game. He was in a few plays last game. He had the situation at home and that is why.
Q: Can you talk about this opportunity with the next month with the team being the underdog in likely a few games over the next month?
JF: I hope they handle it very well and that they look forward to the challenges. As I said before, as a coach or a player in Division I football, you are always going to be presented with challenges and opportunities, it is about what you do with them and how you maximize those opportunities. I hope we prepare for those opportunities. That is what I am anxious to see, how we do in practice, how we prepare during the week, how we practice during the week, if we take those good habits and take them to the practice field and hopefully carry them over to the games. It is a great opportunity because Boston College is No. 2 in the country, playing their tail off, playing great football, and it is a chance for us to go play a great opponent and for us to see if we are progressing as a football team and see how we step up to the challenge and how we can execute in a hostile environment and do that. It is a great opportunity and is going to be a great challenge.
Q: How much does it mean that Drew has had success in that stadium?
JF: Yeah, he has. As an athlete I remember that sometimes when you walk in somewhere you get a good feeling like hey I did something good here. That doesn't mean you are going to do it again and it also means they remember that. So they are prepared for it. You have to extra prepare yourself to go in and do it to them again. He knows that. It should be a good feeling for him. Hopefully he will have confidence going in. It was last year's game, I think we were on the 10 or 12 yard line or something down there and had a chance to go in and tie it in the last few minutes of the game and had something bad happen. This game has gone to the wire two years in a row. A lot of the same football players are on the field on both sides. Hopefully we can do that again and get a good feel well he is up there as well as have a good week of practice.
Q: What do you see out of Matt Ryan?
JF: I always measure quarterbacks by when it is not their day. They all have the time when it is their day. I like to measure them when it is not their day. Last Thursday night was not his day until the last two minutes. That is how you measure in my opinion those great ones and he has those qualities. I have watched him two or three times following him watching him play against teams we get to play on film and he is a guy who if he has the ball in his hands they always have a chance to win. They are never out of it. His leadership. I think that is the belief that team has, that is the bell cow. That is the guy they follow. That is like when I coached Jamarcus (Russell), we always knew that on long as he was on the field our team felt they could win the football game. He is a great one. I think that is the feeling you get when you watch him. What he did last week, to throw it once, get it called back, and to turn around and throw it again, he didn't get fazed and didn't fluster when they were behind and it was 90 yards away and four minutes to go. That was a phenomenal effort, a phenomenal effort for a great football player. I have a lot of respect for him now.
Q: Does he look like he has all the throws?
JF: He does, he moves, he buys time, he is accurate, deep ball, short ball, quick ball. Different arm angles. Different things, he just seems to have the whole package.
MY NOTES:
The running game is improving. Mickey has issued a wake-up call to the Defense since the Miami game.
“They're going to complete some passes,” FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. “But we need sacks, we need pressures, we need intercepts, we need breakups and we need TV timeouts.”
TV timeouts? Please explain---you don't like 4 hour games?“ I'm talking about hit a guy so damn hard, he can't get off the field. (Sorry for my language; don't put that in there). When I refer to TV timeouts, I'm talking about licks that you've got to stop and bring the army out there to check on them,” Andrews said.
I thought you were talking about going to the booth. "Well, we won more Saturday, than we did the Saturday before..."
If FSU can make the plays in the redzone, and get TDs rather than FGs, they could pull the upset. I like them in the spoiler role. GO NOLES.
PLAY:
FSU +7 (2units) WIN
Others:
Maryland +3 (2units) EVEN
Wake Forest -1 (2units) LOSS
Iowa +3 (2units) WIN
Ball State +7 (2units) LOSS
New Mexico +6 (2units) LOSS
Missouri -3 (2units) WIN
Adding:
Troy +15 (2units) WIN
Connecticut -2.5 (2units) WIN
Miami -12 (2units) LOSS
Georgia Tech -2.5 (2units) LOSS
FSU NOTES: Back up QB to be named later in the week.
Xavier Lee has been suspended for academics. He must have slipped up again, or not followed through with his assignment (before the Wake game).
D'Vo:
- he's the best qb in camp
- jimbo cant stop praising him
- he says he's going to quit baseball
- says now he's going to play baseball...
- switches positions to WR (looks good)
- gets to see a live snap before Xavier this season...
- now he's running #2.
Monday Injury Report:
Marcus Ball participated in practice. He expects to play against Boston College. I caught up with him and he talked about how bad the high ankle sprain he suffered was.
Rodney Hudson participated completely in practice and expects to play against Boston College.
Andre Fluellen continues to practice and hopes to play this weekend. The elbow is about 85% now according to Fluellen. He still does not have full range of motion. He said the fingers are getting better but they are still wrapped heavily. He is using a 4-point stance at this time.
Antone Smith was limited in practice according to Bowden. They hope to have him back 100% by Wednesday.
Greg Carr participated fully in practice.
Justin Mincey had his left wrist heavily wrapped. He participated in practice.
Tuesday:
Jimbo Fisher says Carr and A. Smith are practicing and will play.
On Monday afternoon, offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher spoke to the media. Fisher discussed the offensive struggles in the redzone, the status of Antone Smith, Greg Carr, and Rodney Hudson, who will replace the injured Richard Goodman, and much more. Fisher also talked about Boston College's quarterback Matt Ryan.
Q: Do you expect to have Antone Smith for this game?
JF: Yeah, yeah most definitely he will be okay from all the reports we are getting. He should be fine.
Q: Do you expect him to practice on it?
JF: He should be. He should be full go and playing.
Q: What about Greg Carr?
JF: We got a very encouraging report. We expect him to be full go and out there catching balls and doing what he has got to do. There was very minimal swelling in it. It was good that we got to rest him in the game and not aggravate it. We should expect him out there for full practice all week.
Q: Was that a precautionary move?
JF: Well, I think it was precautionary. He could have played. We got the game going and we were throwing and catching, not dropping, the other guys were executing and doing well. He didn't practice as much last week because of the soreness in it but it has really recovered and it feels really good from what I understand of the last few days. I think he should be full go.
Q: Was the number of receptions, nearly 10 for three different guys, was that a function of Drew feeling more comfortable and having one less guy?
JF: I think it was. He had the three rotation and they were the guys coming up and getting the throws. It was just the way the reads and progressions were going. That is where they were. They were trying to make us be patient and execute down the field. We were throwing and catching well for the most part and that is just how it worked out in the progression of what we were calling.
Q: He is seeing his second and third reads better?
JF: Yeah, I think he made good choices in that game as far as understanding where to go with the football and the weakness of the defense or where the one-on-one coverage was. He made some nice second choices and some nice thirds. One on the other side of the field one time on a good read where they took away one side. We felt very comfortable with his decision making in the game. It was very good. His decision making in the game and the reasons he went places for what he did and all those things was excellent in the football game.
Q: Were there a couple opportunities where he could have taken shots and he didn't?
JF: No, really after we had a couple opportunities early on some shots we got behind them and we didn't execute and let a couple of opportunities slip through our fingers. Then they did pretty well at getting back and taking the deep balls away. We could have maybe thrown a couple of jump-ball types of things but we had guys underneath that were open and we could keep getting first downs and we were able to run the football so we wanted to keep ourselves in a good down and distance situations so we were just trying to make the right decisions. I can't really think of a time off the top of my head where he didn't take a shot and he was capable of taking a shot.
Q: How encouraging was it that for the first time in a few years you had back-to-back 100 yard rushing games from a back?
JF: It makes it a heck of a lot easier to call the game. I know that. When you can run and pass and you are getting yards out of your running game and you are producing in the running game it is like I always say you try to get balance. We are working there. By no means are we where we need to be but we are making sure we give our at-bats. To hit the ball, you have to swing at it. So we have to keep giving the at-bats there and sometimes even when you make yards or don't make yards it is about what you make the defense do and have to respect that can open up something else. We have to continue to forcefully run the football.
Q: Coach Bowden said after the game that he thought Antone selected his holes better, how much of it was that and how much of it was the offensive line?
JF: I think the offensive line did a much better job and I think he did a much better job even as the game was going on. Picking and getting the extra two, three, or four yards and the leans. I think it is just a matter of anything you get confidence in what you are doing with more at-bats and with more repetition at something the better you will get at it. As the game went on he progressed and kept reading and doing better and in turn we had a decent night.
Q: What have you seen from the offensive line as far as progress?
JF: Lot more consistency, lot less errors, lot more communication, the technique has gotten better. We are trying to keep them in the same mold of doing things – technique. We just keep preaching and pounding. Like I said, we are not going to change. We are going to keep doing what we are going to do and you can't change. You get them one way and then you try and change and do something else scheming and doing things – we have to allow them and their abilities to keep progressing in a mold where we keep doing the same things.
Q: Is it a case of the offensive line finally getting more comfortable and understanding what their new position coaches expect of them?
JF: I think it is. I do. I think it is what we do as an offense, they understand what we are trying to do offensively and the philosophy of the things we are trying to do. It is like anything, the longer you are in your job the better you understand it. I think that is what is happening.
Q: Drew (Weatherford) said earlier that the biggest thing they have to do in the red zone offense is cutting out mistakes, is there anything you can do from your prospective, maybe scheme wise, that might improve your success?
JF: Just keep practicing. I think part of that in the red zone to is that it is an area where you have points. You don't want to make a mistake down there because you do have points but at the same time you have to be a little risky because in the red zone things happen quicker, tighter, faster and the holes are a little bit littler. We had some opportunities and just missed them. A little high, a little off. Just some things that I think not wanting to make mistakes while at the same time you still want to be (successful). You are kind of contradicting yourself – hey, don't do anything crazy and be smart but hey stick that ball in that hole. I mean, it is kind of contradicting yourself. I just think that more at-bats in practice and getting him in a comfort zone. We are going to continue to practice more down there because that is where we have to learn to finish. When we are moving the ball we have to learn to finish and make those plays. Occasionally down there we have to break a run, we have to break a tackle, or break this, because everything is tighter and we have to break a run or a guy catch a ball and make a guy miss after he catches it and get an YAC yard like Preston (Parker) did on that bubble when he dove in and did a great job. Down there, nothing is going to be clean ever, a throw, a run, a catch and a run, we have to learn to just keep pressing that and keep fighting for that extra yard. Sometimes you break through and score that 20-yard touchdown instead of having to inch it up all the way down through.
Q: Will having Greg Carr out help in the red zone?
JF: I think it does because Greg is a great red zone threat because of his size and what he does. He allows you to go over the top of things. He will be a good asset.
Q: Is Antone Smith a kid that sometimes needs to re-focus? There seemed to be a play where he missed a hole, the next series Jamaal (Edwards) got the snaps, and then he came back in and made some nice plays.
JF: I think I remember the situation. You keep trying to point out mistakes but if you give a guy enough at-bats he is going to make a mistake. If you run the ball 25 times you are not going to make 25 perfect reads. That is just the way it is but sometimes it is (focus) and sometimes that can come from being tired and fatigued and we have to keep putting Jamaal in there to give him reps because he runs the ball a lot. It is like any of us, when you guys write, as you are writing a story and you are working on it for six hours you are not as sharp as you were working on it in the first hour. Sometimes your mind will drift and you have to catch a breath and get your bearings back and go back in the game and you are able to see things and sometimes see your mistakes. Sometimes you see what you do, I did that, okay, keep my eyes here, you train and you focus. There is no doubt that has to happen. That has to happen with all positions though. With the running back you are just fortunate enough to pull him out and give him a minute and give him a blow and get another guy in there.
Q: Your philosophy in the red-zone about getting points, even if it is three points, is that a fine line you struggle with?
JF: No, I don't. I want to be aggressive. I try to be aggressive and go get seven. I don't want to do that. I just think it is where your players are at that time and where they are in their development and how they feel within the situation with the guys you have out there. I want seven. A player thinks that way because that is the thought process you put them in. Hey, that is the first thought, we are in the red zone, we want to be aggressive, things happen quicker, faster, and tighter but we do have points, we don't want to be careless with the football. Careless doesn't mean to be cautious, it means don't be stupid. That is the line you have to do. Everybody's comfort zone, it is like driving down the road, some people are comfortable missing a car by six inches and some people when they get within sixty feet are nervous as heck. I think that goes back to how each player and each quarterback feels in his comfort zone down there and what his safe zone is.
Q: How much does (Gary) Cismesia's success this season influence that?
JF: I know once we get down there that he has been kicking good but I actually haven't really thought about that because we have been trying to stress getting touchdowns. A lot of it is like I said, we had a couple times in the running game I actually thought we should have made the run and that we had the blocks to stick it up in there a couple times and we just didn't. I think it is a total team thing. It is not just a quarterback thing, not just a receiver thing, it is a total team thing and we just have to keep focusing and getting used to scoring touchdowns. It is hard to have 535 yards and 25 points, I am serious. You go back and think about it and think about how many times you seen that. It is hard to do that.
Q: Do you have to be more aggressive with the situation you are going to be in on Saturday against an opponent such as Boston College?
JF: I think we are playing an excellent football team who does not beat themselves. They play extremely, you watch them on film and you sit there and say we can get this and this, nope, nope, nope. They make you execute everything you do. You are going to have to block them, throw it, catch it, you are going to have to earn every yard you are going to get. We are going to have to take chances and be aggressive and when we get our opportunities, those three or four times we have to capitalize. If you are fortunate enough to get that many, they are only giving up 16 points a game and giving up 55 yards a game rushing, so it is going to be a donnybrook. They are going to be one heck of a team to go up against and when we get our opportunities we are really going to have to capitalize.
Q: At this point in the season, is it the passing game that opens up the running game for this team?
JF: Maybe, I guess you could say we are a little more like that. As the running game comes, I think we will have a little more of an even balance. I would say right now, that I would have to say that.
Q: How does that affect you looking ahead to Boston College?
JF: Well, like I was saying we are still up here making decisions right now. We are still finalizing the first stages of what we are going to do. As you look at them, there are not many weaknesses. We are trying to get our 1st and 10 stuff done right now and second down, and our running game and stuff, there are not many holes. Not a lot of people have been able to run that dadgum thing on them, that is for sure.
Q: Do they not come after you as much, blitzing and brining pressure?
JF: They are a big, strong, hold the point, they will twist, but they do blitz you, fire zone you, and come after you and try to create pressure that way. They are not like our defense where they have their hand in the dirt and they are charging up the field real fast but man they are big and strong and they can run. They are big bodies who actually do a good of running.
Q: Is their run defense a bit misleading though with how so many teams have had to come back on them?
JF: Because of their offense.
Q: Virginia Tech had success on the ground against them.
JF: Well that was probably because they weren't scoring on them. They kept that game where they were ahead and tried to run it. That is what they do, Virginia Tech is a very good running team and physical. I don't know that because when I watch them not many people can block them. Not many folks stay with them as you watch. When you watch them you see they are ahead so people can't run but that is not the case with them. They don't stay blocked very long. You don't see people, even Virginia Tech, Orr made runs and he made plays but those guys didn't stay blocked. As you really watched the film it was a lot of great effort by him that particular night. I think Virginia Tech was pretty pumped up, juiced up and he was running pretty good but they still didn't stay blocked in that film. They came off blocks really quick and made some big hits on him.
Q: You said Drew looked more relaxed and like he was having fun last week and he backed that statement up with how he said he felt when he played, is that maybe the most encouraging thing from this game?
JF: I think it is. You have to relax and have fun playing this thing. The pressure and we all want to have success and all that but you still have to enjoy what you are doing. I still have to enjoy coaching. You still have to enjoy what you are doing to be good at it. I think there comes a point where that pressure hits and you put so much on yourself, you have to say heck with this, I am going to play ball and do what I do and I know why I am here, I was recruited here, I am a good player, I know what to do, and quit worrying about the outcome of it and quit worrying about losing or making a mistake and worry about making plays and having fun. You have to reverse the psychology of how you think about things and I think that is what he did. As you do that, I think you have better success.
Q: Coach Bowden commented that Richard Goodman had become a leader, how does his loss affect you?
JF: I will tell you what, he makes plays on the field plus his enthusiasm at practice. He is an energizer bunny at practice. He is the guy that always keeps things going. It will be a loss. I hate going out to that practice field and missing him out there. He was having a great year, stepping up, doing things. He will be missed.
Q: Will you have Rodney Hudson back this week?
JF: Yes, Rodney will be back which will be great. It will give us some more depth and relief and we will be able to rest some guys. Plus we are getting a great player back.
Q: You got a good look at (Joslin) Shaw against Duke.
JF: It was great for him to get back in there and get in the mix. He made five big catches I think in the game. One of them was a big third down conversion that was there. He made two or three things happen. Shaw is a tough guy. Shaw has been out there in the past, he does a good job running with the ball because he is an ex-running back. It was great to get him out there because he is a great young man and I am glad to see him have success. You never know, somebody steps up every time.
Q: With Goodman down, who is going to move up in the rotation?
JF: With Carr back.
Q: Who will back up Carr?
JF: You have (Damon) McDaniel still in there and (Rod) Owens. There are those two other guys plus the other four that can come in there.
Q: McDaniel has missed the last two games?
JF: McDaniel got in there for a few plays this last game. He was in a few plays last game. He had the situation at home and that is why.
Q: Can you talk about this opportunity with the next month with the team being the underdog in likely a few games over the next month?
JF: I hope they handle it very well and that they look forward to the challenges. As I said before, as a coach or a player in Division I football, you are always going to be presented with challenges and opportunities, it is about what you do with them and how you maximize those opportunities. I hope we prepare for those opportunities. That is what I am anxious to see, how we do in practice, how we prepare during the week, how we practice during the week, if we take those good habits and take them to the practice field and hopefully carry them over to the games. It is a great opportunity because Boston College is No. 2 in the country, playing their tail off, playing great football, and it is a chance for us to go play a great opponent and for us to see if we are progressing as a football team and see how we step up to the challenge and how we can execute in a hostile environment and do that. It is a great opportunity and is going to be a great challenge.
Q: How much does it mean that Drew has had success in that stadium?
JF: Yeah, he has. As an athlete I remember that sometimes when you walk in somewhere you get a good feeling like hey I did something good here. That doesn't mean you are going to do it again and it also means they remember that. So they are prepared for it. You have to extra prepare yourself to go in and do it to them again. He knows that. It should be a good feeling for him. Hopefully he will have confidence going in. It was last year's game, I think we were on the 10 or 12 yard line or something down there and had a chance to go in and tie it in the last few minutes of the game and had something bad happen. This game has gone to the wire two years in a row. A lot of the same football players are on the field on both sides. Hopefully we can do that again and get a good feel well he is up there as well as have a good week of practice.
Q: What do you see out of Matt Ryan?
JF: I always measure quarterbacks by when it is not their day. They all have the time when it is their day. I like to measure them when it is not their day. Last Thursday night was not his day until the last two minutes. That is how you measure in my opinion those great ones and he has those qualities. I have watched him two or three times following him watching him play against teams we get to play on film and he is a guy who if he has the ball in his hands they always have a chance to win. They are never out of it. His leadership. I think that is the belief that team has, that is the bell cow. That is the guy they follow. That is like when I coached Jamarcus (Russell), we always knew that on long as he was on the field our team felt they could win the football game. He is a great one. I think that is the feeling you get when you watch him. What he did last week, to throw it once, get it called back, and to turn around and throw it again, he didn't get fazed and didn't fluster when they were behind and it was 90 yards away and four minutes to go. That was a phenomenal effort, a phenomenal effort for a great football player. I have a lot of respect for him now.
Q: Does he look like he has all the throws?
JF: He does, he moves, he buys time, he is accurate, deep ball, short ball, quick ball. Different arm angles. Different things, he just seems to have the whole package.
MY NOTES:
The running game is improving. Mickey has issued a wake-up call to the Defense since the Miami game.
“They're going to complete some passes,” FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. “But we need sacks, we need pressures, we need intercepts, we need breakups and we need TV timeouts.”
TV timeouts? Please explain---you don't like 4 hour games?“ I'm talking about hit a guy so damn hard, he can't get off the field. (Sorry for my language; don't put that in there). When I refer to TV timeouts, I'm talking about licks that you've got to stop and bring the army out there to check on them,” Andrews said.
I thought you were talking about going to the booth. "Well, we won more Saturday, than we did the Saturday before..."
If FSU can make the plays in the redzone, and get TDs rather than FGs, they could pull the upset. I like them in the spoiler role. GO NOLES.
PLAY:
FSU +7 (2units) WIN
Others:
Maryland +3 (2units) EVEN
Wake Forest -1 (2units) LOSS
Iowa +3 (2units) WIN
Ball State +7 (2units) LOSS
New Mexico +6 (2units) LOSS
Missouri -3 (2units) WIN
Adding:
Troy +15 (2units) WIN
Connecticut -2.5 (2units) WIN
Miami -12 (2units) LOSS
Georgia Tech -2.5 (2units) LOSS
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