Oct. 6, 2008
Opening Statement...
"A while ago we got word on Stuart Hines' MRI. He does have a tear of lateral
cartilage and he will be operated tomorrow morning. We still don't have the results
of Jess Beets' MRI, but we should get that later today. Obviously, losing two
guys at this point at the same position makes it more difficult on a group that
has struggled with continuity on the offensive line. We will have to make some
adjustments at that position as we make our way through practice in the next
three days. DeMoreo Ford looks to be doubtful for this week, he has a strained
sternal-clavicular joint. He got injured on the touchdown in the closing seconds
of the game. Two of the high ankle sprain guys are going to practice, Ricky Lumpkin
and Randall Cobb. We will look at Micah Johnson tomorrow and see if we think
he will have a chance to play. I would say he is questionable at best for this
game. The other two I think will be able to play. Do I think they will be 100
percent? No I don't, but they should be able to play. T.C. Drake's ankle and
Matt Lentz's ankle is better.
"Unfortunately for us, we are looking at a South Carolina team that looks
like they got their act together last week (vs. Ole Miss). I thought that (Chris)
Smelley had a very good game. Offensively, I think that they had their best
game of the year on the road against a team that had just beaten Florida the
week before. They got some things going and have (Kenny) McKinley back from
a hamstring problem He didn't look like he was quite full speed last week but
I'm sure another week of healing will have him at the top of his game when
he steps into Commonwealth Stadium. This is a huge game for us if we want to
be a factor in the SEC race. We just need to step up and with the help of our
fans hopefully we can get back on track and play better. We did not play well
last week and we need to get better."
On if he feels the Cats should run the ball more...
"We had 62 snaps and were down 14-0. There are not a lot of chances when you
run and get no gain or two yards. Do you run and get two yards and two yards
and then punt or do you try to throw? I would like to run more too, but we already
discussed earlier this year that there are fewer plays in college football. Certainly,
when your opponent is running the football and running the clock it makes it
difficult to have a lot of snaps. I think that I would like to be 50/50 but we
weren't in that position because we were not moving the ball on the ground."
On if he thought they would run the ball better this year...
"Absolutely, I did. Some of that was predicated on the fact that I thought our
quarterback would be a bigger factor in the run game as well and that really
hasn't transpired. We really have not thrown the ball well enough to eliminate
the heat on the numbers in the box if you will. People have been packing it in
on us all year. Combined with the different rotations in the offensive line,
the continuity really hasn't come yet."
On if South Carolina 's pass defense will force the Cats to run more...
"They lead our league in defense. Yes, they are good against the pass but they
are good against the run as well. You don't lead the league in total defense
unless you are good against both. They defensively do as many different plays
as anybody we will line up against this year. They play the bear front, the 3-4,
a 4-3, and they move (Eric) Norwood from defensive tackle to defensive end to
inside linebacker to outside linebacker. They just give you a hodge-podge of
different defensive looks, fronts, stunts, pressures and blitz. It will be a
real challenge for our offense to make sure we are correct assignment-wise, let
alone win some physical battles as we go through this game."
On how to prepare for a defense like South Carolina 's...
"You have to be assignment-sound. You have to communicate those things at the
line of scrimmage because the blocking assignment is going to change depending
on the front. So if you're not prepared against that front, then you aren't going
to be able to block that front. Yeah, it's a problem."
On potential replacements at right guard...
"We got three guys that have worked some at guard with Jake Lanefski, (Marcus)
Davis and (Michael) Williams. Then we can work (Billy Joe) Murphy in there. Billy
Joe struggled on the edge in pass blocking and (Brad) Durham went in and did
a much better job pass blocking against Alabama with 21 snaps in the second half.
We will start Brad ( Durham ) at the right tackle which could free us up to give
some snaps to Billy Joe inside at guard as well. He has not taken any snaps there
and won't until tomorrow. We will just rotate those guys in there and figure
it out. Some guys work at left and right guard and some at center. Out of that
combination we will come up with someone we feel good about in the next three
days and start them in all probability on Saturday."
On the comparisons between Alabama 's and South Carolina 's defense...
" South Carolina does a lot of confusing things and also has a lot of physical
talent. The combination of those two things is difficult. One advantage is that
we are playing at home and our offense won't have to deal with as much noise
and the communication problems that existed this past week."
On how good defensively the SEC is...
"They are all very good. I have said that ever since I have been here and that's
what separates this league from every other league in the country. Every league
has good teams, but the depth of the defensive talent in the SEC is outstanding.
I think this year you couple that with inexperience and new quarterbacks and
the defenses are having their way this year with the inexperienced offensive
sides."
On the influence of losing DeMoreo Ford...
"He has been a good player for us in a lot of ways. It will obviously hurt losing
him this weekend. He was just getting his leg back under him from the surgery
he had last spring as was witnessed by the catch he had Saturday. He is our best
wide receiver blocker, handles punts and other things in the kicking game for
us. So it is a loss, and a loss at a position where he was one of the experienced
guys who knew what he was doing at the receiver position."
On if Randall Cobb is ready to go at the quarterback and wide receiver
position...
"I would say that he probably will be, but again let's say that he will probably
not be 100 percent."
On how confident he is that the guys on offense will be able to handle
South Carolina 's defense...
"We have guys on scholarship just like everybody else so we expect to be able
to do the job. It is becoming more difficult because you lose Garry Williams
and Justin Jeffries and now you lose Stuart Hines for sure for a couple of games
and probably Jess Beets as well. All of a sudden you have a bunch of different
problems that you are looking at. We just have got to go out there and do it,
that's all."
On how important it is for the defense to have three-and-outs with the
new clock rules...
"It is important. I think that we are second (in the SEC) in third-down defense
and if you remember the last couple of years we were awful at that. The problem
is that South Carolina is first (in the SEC) at third-down offensive conversions.
That will be a real test for us as well as getting off the field and making sure
they don't keep drives alive. The bottom line is that they are moving the ball
on everybody they have played, including the better defenses."
On getting Derrick Locke more involved in the passing game...
"It was a combination of not protecting our quarterback like we should have.
Some of the plays were check downs and others were screen passes. He has proven
that he is a very good receiver. Again that is something that we have used in
our offense in the last three years and we will continue to do that."
On if he was happy with the pass rush of his defense...
"I think that pass rush has been, other than the Middle Tennessee game, really
good with our four down guys. We occasionally mix that up and bring in pressure
but I am pleased with our pass rush. It's not all about sacks, it is about disrupting
the flow of the quarterback by pressuring and hurrying his decision making. That
is critically important this week."
On losing at Alabama ...
"Coming off this loss, everyone needs to come out and get back being the team
we know we can be. We just need to keep working hard to get better."
On Kentucky 's offense...
"It's frustrating because we aren't doing everything we know we can. We are in
practice working hard everyday, but we still need to go out and do everything
right on the field."
On entering conference play...
"Every game is a big game because we are in conference play. We need to come
out and play our hardest every game because our goal is to be SEC and national
champs. In order to accomplish that, we need to win every game we play."
On getting over the loss to Alabama ...
"We have to put that behind us and take the lessons from it to get ready for
this weekend. It's tough getting over a loss but we have to move on. I think
it will be easier once we get back in the pads tomorrow."
On hearing that Kentucky has never beaten a Steve Spurrier-coached team...
"That doesn't mean anything to me. The one thing I do care about is that we beat
this team this weekend despite who the coach is."
On the outcome of games in the past...
"It's frustrating, we've had chances the past couple years to beat South Carolina,
and something has happened... fumbles, missed tackles, things like that. We're
going to try to learn from these mistakes this year."
On the goals of this season and the importance of this game...
"This is a must-win game, in my opinion. We lost the Alabama game, but they are
on the west side. We can still make it to the SEC championship, it's wide open.
Any team can take the East this year, it's going to be interesting."
On the game being important because it is against an SEC East opponent...
"It is a bigger game, but also because we just lost a game. It's crucial that
we don't get on a losing streak. We've lost one; we don't need to lose two. It's
a must-win game and is the biggest game of our year so far. It's a crucial, must-win
game if we're going to get where we want to be."
On the defensive performance against Alabama ...
"We made a lot of mistakes here and there, and we need to get better as a defense.
Our mistakes were small and if we can correct them, we have the chance to be
a better team."
On losing to Alabama 17-14...
"At Alabama we showed that we can play with anybody, but we want to beat everybody,
not just play with them. I'm not a person that believes in moral victories, I
want to win each and every game. If I lose a game, I don't dwell on the fact
that it was close, I still lost. This is my senior season and I don't want to
lose another game."
On playing South Carolina ...
"Steve Spurrier is a good coach who loves to throw the ball. During this game
we will have to be prepared to put pressure on the quarterback."
On last year's game against South Carolina ...
"We turned the ball over a lot, we had a couple of fumbles and interceptions.
South Carolina 's defensive line scored on us twice. If we could have eliminated
turnovers, it could have been a different game."
On coach Steve Spurrier never losing to a Kentucky team...
"Those were previous years, this is a different year. I'm not saying we're going
to beat them, but you can't go off the past. They still have to show up to play
just as we have to show up and play. Hopefully we can change that. It's not going
to be handed to us, we have to go out there and work for it."
On the loss to Alabama ...
"It's going to be tough knowing that there could have been a different outcome
to the game. It's in the past now. There are things that we need to work on.
It's something we can feed off of and get better. We played a tough team, real
close, and we had some mistakes."
On the importance of this game...
"We have to get this win. We're trying to make the race for the SEC East. The
schedule isn't going to get any easier, so we have to pull out this win. We definitely
don't want to go 0-2 in the SEC."
