Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Opening Statement:
A: “As you watch the video it’s really a tail of two different halves. It’s my responsibility to make sure we are ready to play when we come out of the locker room. We didn’t do that and they moved the ball up and down the field. They made some plays. When you watch the video, they really made some throws and catches and executed some things they wanted to. We couldn’t move the ball well enough offensively to get some points on the board. We moved the ball from the 20-yard line to the 40, but then couldn’t execute some things. I did like the way we came out and played with emotion in the second half. We were competitive and got in position to win the game.”
Q: Do you have any plans on starting Chris Redman?
A: “The players aren’t here today and I’d like to talk to them before we do anything.”
Q: Can you talk about the team picking up the pace when Redman came in?
A: “It was impressive. He was very accurate and made good decisions. The protection got better and Jerious Norwood popped a couple of big plays for us. We went down and scored quickly, which gave us some time on the clock and a chance to win.”
Q: Are you going to try to get Jerious Norwood some more carries?
A: “We have to get Jerious touches and there is no question about it. When you watch the video you see that he is the most explosive player out there for us. His speed shows up and he makes big plays whether it’s catching the ball or running the ball. It’s a situation where we have to get him more touches one way or another.”
Q: How hard is it to coach when you don’t have stability at key positions?
A: “It’s been difficult to be consistent and score enough points. We’ve had to rely on our defense to keep us in games and I think that’s what has happened over the last three weeks. We’ve got outscored and our offense hasn’t been able to keep up scoring-wise. To execute on a consistent basis with that many changes is what is hurting us.”
Q: Do you think you’ll be able to get it going with an entire offseason to prepare?
A: “You have to look at other situations and I guess I’ve been studying Green Bay quite a bit. They didn’t make that many changes. Guys know the system better and they are going to play better the second year in it. They are going to play better and understand what the different movements are from defenses. There is no question that you’ll play better the second year in a system.”
Q: How did D’Anthony Batiste hold up against St. Louis?
A: “He played well and pass protected very well.”
On Batiste's stature and ability:
“He’s big and strong. He’s a very good athlete. He can really run and he has good feet. He did a nice job pass protecting. We didn’t have an opportunity to run the ball a lot because we were behind.”
Q: Do you plan on talking to Adam Jennings about his penalty on one of his punt returns?
A: “I’ll definitely talk to him.”
Q: Do you plan on getting some of the younger players who mainly play on special teams some more playing time?
A: “I don’t know. Right now they are doing a nice job of contributing on special teams. Jerry (Rosburg) has done a nice job of getting them involved each week. We’re going to do everything we can to win the game on Monday night.”
On Redman's play at quarterback:
“He’s been working with the (second-string) a lot in practice. He’s taken a bunch of reps and we’ve seen him throw the ball accurately in practice. There have been a number of times when we’ve come off the practice field and said, 'Chris was hot today.’ Chris is very sound technically and he was very good against the Rams. He did a nice job of anticipating and throwing the ball before the receivers were open. The timing was very good.”
On confidence in Redman:
“We had two good drives and the third one was good, too. We just didn’t get it in the end zone. He’s coming off of a major injury. We gave him a chance and he did a nice job in the preseason. Early in preseason he didn’t have the same confidence he usually plays with, but as the preseason went on, he got more and more confident. He did a nice job in the preseason and was certainly our No. 2 quarterback going into the season.”
