North Carolina State University Athletics
Quotes From Chuck Amato's Press Conference
10/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 2003
NC State Head Coach Chuck Amato October 6, 2003 Press Conference
On keeping the team's attitude positive:
"Well we're young. We're an awful young team. These kids work too hard to say that the season is over. The season is not over. The media may make it sound like it is that way. The expectations on this team were so high, which I enjoyed immensely. I said it from the very get go: the media said that Florida State wasn't going to win it, they (media) ended up voting that they (Florida State) would (win the ACC), but they (media) were talking about how they (Florida State) were going to be third or fourth and you see where they're (Florida State) at. We've got to learn to play defense consistently. The team is resilient though. I went through that locker room the other day and we had a good talk."
On the kicking game:
"We thrive on the kicking game. It's been something that's helped us get over the hump. If we don't win that, then we don't win the football game. It's that simple. We made so many mistakes. Both teams did. I counted seven miscues on each team in the kicking game. Whether it's a sliced punt for 21 yards, a missed extra point, a missed field goal, a missed bloop, a 90-yard return, you can go on and on and on. I counted seven bad plays in the kicking game. That's the first time that's happened to us since I've been here."
On how the team's goals have changed:
"Our goal is still to win this one. It's that way every week. We've just got to take them one at a time and take care of our business. The object is to win this week."
On the problem with stopping Georgia Tech's offense last week:
"We've had a lot of pressure (on the quarterback). We sacked him six times and we ran him out a bunch of other times. Tackling has been a problem. It's a breakdown here and a breakdown there. It's so funny because people look at our stats and say "Wow, look at that. Seventy-six of those yards passing were in the last minute and 30 seconds of the game." Well, if you're going to do that, then you need to play that on both sides. We're stopping the run. That's the thing you have to do all the time. Take away the yards running they made with two minutes left in the game and they rushed 41 times for 38 yards. That's not even a yard-a-carry. So both teams stopped the run and both teams had to become one-dimensional."
On the state of the running game with injuries to tailbacks T.A. McLendon and Josh Brown:
"That's a huge loss. I'm not here to ask for sympathy. Nobody's going to give it to us. We'll put 11 on the field and do what we have to do. We have to work every angle that we can. We came very close the other day to playing Reggie (Davis, freshman intended to redshirt this season). There's not a lot of options, but there are some options there that we can go to if we choose to do. Let's be optimistic. What if T.A. and Josh are out there next week? We won't have to do anything. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we're going to move 15 people to running back and if T.A. and Josh come back then we just took them (the 15 people) away from practicing where they were and helping the team getting better where they were at. We'll deal with it when the cards are cut and we'll be fine."
On Connecticut's offense:
"They throw it very well. They had four hundred and I think 49 yards of total offense against Virginia Tech. Everybody has been so accurate throwing against us. I mean accurate. I mean right there. They had a great running back. He was leading the nation in rushing when he hurt his ACL. Their quarterback has been there for awhile. He's a junior. He's big. He throws the ball well. He's got big wide receivers. They're gonna throw it on everybody. They've thrown the ball effectively on everybody."
On the team's pass coverage:
"We need to work on them not catching the football. Are we where I would like us to be? No I don't. We're ranked 116th (of 117) in the country in pass defense, but that's misleading. That's very misleading. Do you know who's ranked 109th in pass defense in the country? USC. And that's not the University of South Carolina. That's the University of Southern California and they're ranked number nine in the country. They've got a man there who's been a defensive coach his whole life at both the college and the pro level. Do you know who's ranked number 99 in pass defense in the country? The University of Pittsburgh. They're 3-1 and ranked 16th in the country. You know who's ranked 98th in pass defense in the country? Michigan State University. They're 5-1, 23rd in the nation and some people are picking them to win the Big Ten. You know who's ranked number two in the country in pass defense? Penn State and they're 2-4. If you can't run you have to throw. If you can run on a team then you don't have to throw it. Of the top 28 teams in the country there are only three teams (ranked in the top 25 in rush defense) that have three loses. New Mexico is ranked 12th in rush defense, Georgia Tech is ranked 17th in rush defense and NC State is ranked 21st in rush defense. In the top 28, we're the only three that have lost three games. Stats you can play with however you want to. The object is to win the football game.
"If we score on those first two drives of the second half and the score is 24-22 at that point, who knows what would have happened. Guess what? They'd still have the same stats and we're 4-2. But we're not. We lost. What did it have to do with? Our kicking game. People are ripping our defense. If our defense was that bad they would have scored 50 points. First and goal on the nine and they (Georgia Tech) get three (points) after a 90-yard return. First and goal on the 23 after a blooped kick and they get three (points). With the exception of one run there, the rushing was for less than a yard-a-carry. A (Georgia Tech) team that rushed against Florida State. A team that rushed against Auburn, which was preseason picked number one. A team who stuffed Auburn, who's forte is running the football. A team who stuffed Florida State. They had 25 yards of total offense in the first half against Tech's defense. Georgia Tech is ranked 83rd in the country in pass defense."
On whether or not the defense is unfairly being blamed:
"I don't care who does what well why. I want to win."
