Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Opening Statement:
“Watching the video today, our defense played extremely fast. When you play fast like that, it means they understand what we are trying to do and what they are trying to do. Our veterans stepped up and made big plays. We got interceptions, Lawyer Milloy and Chris Crocker made some tackles and Chris had a couple of pass breakups that were critical. They played hard, played fast and put pressure on the quarterback. Offensively, we established the run in the first half and I was very happy about that. Warrick (Dunn) ran very well. We stayed with it and kept calling runs. Joey (Harrington) did a good job of managing the game and made sure we did not make a lot of mistakes. We came up with some critical third down conversions, specifically the one to Roddy White in the second quarter when it was third-and-19. It was a huge play in the game because we went in and scored. It was a hard-fought game and we came out on the right end of it. Our special teams played well also. I think it was a challenge for them because San Francisco was fast on special teams. Our guys were physical and Michael Koenen made some key kicks when we needed him to.”
Q: How important is it to start the second half of the season off with a victory?
A: “It’s important to us because everyone has been working hard. We’ve been keeping a good attitude and have had a good attitude with our preparation. You need to see that pay off and we need to build off of it. We need to come back this week and do it again. We need to get ready for the game and perform well.”
Q: Did you see anything up front that makes you think you can continue the success of the running game?
A: “I thought our offensive line played extremely hard. We didn’t do everything right. It’s a new group again in there and they played with great effort. I thought Ovie Mughelli gave us an extra punch in there. We ran a little bit more with two tight end sets with Dwayne Blakley and Martrez Milner. We were a little more bull-headed about doing it and Warrick certainly made some great runs and broke some tackles. Jerious (Norwood), unfortunately, got injured but his speed showed up as well.”
Q: What is the status Jerious Norwood’s injury?
A: “We don’t know yet. I always meet with the training staff at the end of the day.”
Q: Do you have injury updates with Byron Leftwich and Alge Crumpler?
A: “We will wait until Wednesday morning to see where everyone is at.”
On Trey Lewis:
A: “Trey did a good job. I watched a lot of him (on film) this morning to see how he was holding up. He did a good job controlling the center. That’s a tough job and a lot of times you are trying to keep the linebackers free while doing your assignment. He played hard, ran to the ball and I think Montavious Stanley only played 16 plays, so Trey played a lot of snaps. He did a nice job.”
On the importance of next week's game:
A: “I think you are going to see two defenses that are playing well. They are very talented on defense and their defensive ends right off the bat give you concern. I think it’s going to come down to both defenses, our offense moving the ball and getting points early. One thing you don’t want to do is play from behind. We want to play with a lead.”
On defensive end John Abraham:
A: “John has had a great attitude and he’s worked hard going all the way back to when we first got here. He went to Canada and did everything right to stay healthy. He’s done a nice job of continuing that work throughout the season. He puts a great deal of pressure on the other team’s offense. We certainly see them game planning with their protection and what they do with their running backs. He’s still able to get great pressure. He caused a nice forced fumble and a sack (against San Francisco) and flushed them out a number of times. Opponents are very aware that he is there and there is no question about that.”
Q: How did Quinn Ojinnaka hold up in his first start?
A: “Quinn battled hard and gave us great effort. He probably did a better job in the run game than the pass game. I was happy with the way he battled and performed. Obviously, up front, we would like to have better protection. I never felt like we had complete rhythm in our passing game, but you have to give credit to San Francisco. They were attacking some of the things that we were doing well.”
Q: Do you expect Todd Weiner to be back this Sunday?
A: “We have to wait and see. We got to a situation where we felt that he could be the third tackle in the game. He didn’t get a lot of reps in practice, but he got enough to be able to back up. Hopefully, everything will go well this week and he’ll be ready to play.”
Q: Is it encouraging to see some teams who have started slowly improving?
A: “You play one week at a time and keep preparing. We knew that if we stayed with it we would hopefully get better as the year went on. We have to take this game, battle and try to get another win.”
Q: What do you attribute to the lack of mistakes this team makes?
A: “I think a lot of it has to go to the preparation and focus. We have taken care of the ball and the turnovers have started to come our way. Until you can make big plays and consistently run the football, it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter. We’ve been there a lot and hopefully we’ll continue what we did the other day and win in the fourth quarter.”
On the team battling the entire season:
“The way the team stayed together in the bye week with the attitude is a credit to the veterans. They are helping the young guys grow and get better. We are a very young football team and I don’t know if anyone else is playing that many rookies. They are battling and playing well. We had a couple of situations where we had chances to win the game in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t come out that way in the end.”
On last year's game when Carolina threw the ball just seven times:
“I think our defense will understand that they want to establish the run like we will.”
