Indiana University Athletics
Game Notes for Saturday's game against Cincinnati
9/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Cam Cameron Weekly Press Conference
Bloomington, Ind. -- Cam Cameron addresses the media each Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the previous week's game and the upcoming games for the Hoosiers.
"As we look at the tape of the Kentucky game, it was exactly what we anticipated...a lot of good things on both sides of the ball, especially in the kicking game. We made enough mistakes to allow Kentucky to stay in the ball game, number one, especially right before the half. We made enough mistakes down the road to allow them to stay in the game. We couldn't overcome our mistakes because all the way up to the last three plays of the game we had opportunities, people open, some breakdowns; we weren't able to complete those plays. We could have gotten the ball game into overtime but the other thing is critical errors. Somewhat uncharacteristic of a couple situations right before the half, we are running as safe a play as you can run and that was a big momentum shift right before the half. We had done a great job defensively, as you saw. Then, we turn right around and give them the ball back at midfield. When, in all likelihood, if we were just smart, we would get three points out of the deal. So that's a ten-point swing. Then, at the end of the game, one of those fluke things that happens and the ball bounces up and the ball game ends. Again, a lot of good things in all phases but still critical errors and mistakes. We've gotta get those corrected. Cincinnati is as good or better than both the teams we've already played. A play here, a play there, and they're probably sitting here undefeated and ranked in the Top 20 to 25. They played Wisconsin extremely well, as you well know they beat Wisconsin a year ago. They are good. They've got a good offense and (Deontey) Kenner is an excellent quarterback. They've got some skill to go with him. Defensively, they've made some additions. Junior college players have come in and are going to really help them. It is a very physical team. You'll see in this game. This is going to be a heck of a football game. Without a question, this is our biggest challenge thus far. From our standpoint, any changes - offensively we are going to continue to do what we are doing. I was pleased with our tight ends. They played significantly better in the game against Kentucky than they did against North Carolina State. Our offensive line made fewer mistakes and they seem to be getting better. I thought our receivers played extremely well against Kentucky but we weren't able to get them the football. We will get that corrected this week. I am really pleased with the job those (receivers) are doing. Defensively, we will continue to rotate more guys in the defensive line. Jamil Frink will be back this week. We'll see how he does in practice; we'll get him in the rotation in the defensive line. Linebackers...Justin Smith has really picked up his play, I am not sure if you can all tell that or not but he's really played well. Devin Schaffer had one of his better games. In the secondary, we will continue to rotate guys in with (Ron) Bethel, (Joe) Gonzalez, (Johnny) Anderson at the safeties, you could possibly see (Clarence) Young in there a bit. At the corner position, we are going to rotate guys some through just like we have. We rotated four guys through the other night, you'll see (Orlando) Spencer, (Sharrod) Wallace, and (Duane) Stone. We will continue to rotate guys in the secondary and rotate the corners. Guys that play well are going to continue to play. One thing I like about our defensive staff is that they are not afraid of putting someone out there. Marcus Floyd is the other guy that I was thinking of. Marcus played a significant role the other night; he did some good things. So you'll continue to see us rotate corners and safeties in there along with defensive linemen."
"Questions?"
What is the difference between the first and second half? In the first two games, you seem to be pretty dominant in the first half compared to the second half.
"In these two games, even Kentucky came out trying to run the ball. Our defense has done an excellent job against the run. Obviously, then we've got ahead by a couple of scores. Then, they have abandoned the run and gone back to throwing it every down. We just haven't held up under that. We still haven't been able to eliminate the big play. We gave up two, three more big plays in the passing game. People have approached us a little bit differently. Most teams come out trying to be balanced. They go in at halftime saying, 'Hey, why are we trying to run it? Let's throw it every down.' That's what they've done. We probably haven't got as much pressure on the quarterback in the second half as we have in the first half. So that becomes a factor. Offensively, we made too many mistakes in the second half. You look at the two games ñ we've stopped ourselves with either penalties or mistakes in the second half of both games. That is the only thing that kept us from scoring is way too many mistakes. We are obviously going to get that corrected."
Do you expect your opponents to abandon the run earlier and start putting the ball in the air sooner?
"I don't think so. I think people are going to do what they do. Most people want to run the ball if they can. Film is sometimes deceiving, you come out against a team sometimes that is not able to run the ball and then they run the ball better than you thought. There are some teams that you thought you would be able to run on and they have made some adjustments and you can't run on them. Most teams, like Kentucky, that like to throw it a lot want to try to run the ball at some point in time. Most people haven't been able to do that for a couple of reasons, like being behind."
About Cincinnati's offense:
"They are going to spread you out in personnel groups and formations. Now they have Ray Jackson. He is a quality back. We played against him as a freshman at Michigan before he transferred. They have quality players, quality athletes. They are going to mix in the run, play-action pass, and they start to spread you out and put you in a match-up situation and. They also have the ability for Kenner to scramble and to run."
About Cincinnati's defense:
"They are bigger and stronger (than in 1998). Their safeties are impressive. Both of those guys. They really play two or three guys in there. This is probably the best group that we have played so far."
The health of the team:
"We are in pretty good shape. Guys that were banged up in the Kentucky game all have been ok'd for practice today (Tuesday). Again, we will get Frink back. We need to get Shane Moat and Brandonn Baker back. Both of those guys had their knees scoped. We expect Moat back eventually the next week and Baker the following week. Other than that, we are all right."
From a leadership standpoint:
"We've spent a lot of time with those captains (Versie Gaddis, Antwaan Randle El, Paul Mandina, Johnny Anderson, Kemp Rasmussen and Glynn Johnson) and our seniors. You wonder, why did you go to Marshall? Well, you have a great opportunity there to develop leadership. You can put guys in leadership positions. You can't wait to you have some adversity and of all sudden start putting guys into leadership positions. We've challenged our captains to lead by example, continue to get better and stay positive. There are a lot of opportunities for good things to happen in these next nine weeks. If you don't have the right attitude you have no chance. I think our seniors and our captains have done a fabulous job. They have so far."
How is Antwaan after these close losses?
"He is disappointed like we all are. You've got to find fuel in adversity. I think he will do that and has done that. I think we all... you just have to do that. There are some real positives that come out of it if you know how to handle it. I think we've been through enough adversity around here, on the field and off the field, that it just makes you stronger and stronger. He's one of our top leaders, as you know, and will exemplify that as much as anybody."
Second guessing yourself?
"No, if you look at the tape, as a player and as a coach, 'Golly, you'd like to do this a little different, do that a little different.' You learn from it and move on. You ultimately find out when you go out to practice today. You've got to learn from your mistakes, put it behind you, and go on."
Adversity and how it can affect the opposition:
"Absolutely, we talk about that. If you can get a team down, you can't turn the ball down at midfield and give them any light. You get a team down, you can't make a mistake, get a penalty, whether it's missing an alignment or holding. You've got to be disciplined. The bottom line is everybody has just got to do what they are asked to do and what they are coached to do, do it aggressively. All of those things will take care of themselves. You can't start thinking about the outcome in the second quarter and early in the third quarter...you can't. It's hard to do. It's hard for all of us. Hopefully, we've learned that lesson by now. Now, we've just gotta make plays because that is the bottom line."
Winning as a by-product:
"The outcome takes care of itself. You eliminate mistakes and the old victory favorite, 'The team that makes the fewest mistakes.' That is the case in our first two ball games. Stats are stats... yardage, time of possession, all of that stuff. The bottom line is, we've been the team that has made the most mistakes. We've had some costly penalties and we've had some costly turnovers. Take away the penalties and the turnovers and we are sitting here 2-0 and everybody's talking about what a great football team this is. It's the same guys. I keep saying that,. It's the same group. Obviously, it's our ability to handle the adversity that we are going through."
No names on the back of the jersey was there a particular reason?
"It was something we were doing as a team. There was no hidden meaning there over and above what it means to us."
About Derin Graham?
"He's started fast the last couple years. He's done an excellent job. He's improved as a returner and he's improved as a receiver. Now he just needs to continue doing that for the next nine weeks. There's a guy who's improved his level of play."
I heard you mention John Lumpkin on your radio show last night (Monday). Is he on campus?
"Yes, he is enrolled in school and able to practice. He's here."
Defense - is it over simplifying is it needing to make plays, is that what it comes down to?
"I think so because we are getting great effort. It's two things. It's eliminating mistakes, No. 1, and then it's secondly, make the play when it's there. When the quarterback throws the ball right to you catch it. When you are supposed to be back in a deep third, get in a deep third, not letting the ball get over your head. If there's a ball you can get, jump up and bat it down, make the play. Don't let the other guy make the play. So it's eliminating the mistakes and making the play that presents itself. If you come unblocked--because we came unblocked five times in the first quarter and didn't get a sack on the quarterback--if you come unblocked you better make the play. Sack the guy. Put them in a second and long. But, they are giving great effort, flying around, hitting. If we were 2-0 and weren't flying around and hitting and we weren't blocking people on the offensive, than I'd be more concerned than I am right now at 0-2. I'll tell you that. We'll go back out this week and hit, fly around, eliminate mistakes, block, hit the open receiver, eliminate the mistakes, we'll be just what I think we are going to become, which is a very good football team."
The offensive line is improving?
"Exactly.
Those are the things you know as a coach that will allow you to be successful. Not only in the short-term but down the road. Those things can become contagious once people are hitting and blocking. Everybody starts hitting and blocking and everyone becomes more physical. As you know in this league, we've scored some points, we've played some people close, but at no point in time did I really feel for an extended period that we were a physical team. I still don't but we saw the other night for the first time some consistency in both those areas. Now we have to take that and carry into this game. This game is going to be a physical, physical, ball game because they are a physical team."
On hitting more in practice?
"We've done two things differently. That's a good point. One, we go live every Tuesday for 12 plays. We went half that many in the past. We cross our fingers, hold our breath a bit, because you could get some people injured. Then we also used to divide up the scout teams and we'd have a scout team go over a certain defense. Then the scout team would go against our offense. But, we decided this year we'll have a 30-minute period where we, our one's and two's, run the scout team for our first and second defense. Then our first and second defense run scout team for our first and second offense for a 30-minute period. That gives us a little more speed and a little better look. We had an option play the other day where Kemp Rasmussen...we were going to option him and he was the end and use a little "cat and mouse" technique on Antwaan and flipped it out and intercepted it. We don't usually get that from a scout-team player. He's either going to come in and take the quarterback and make the pitch easier or he runs up field and takes the back and the quarterback keeps it. We are getting a little better, more of a game-type look that is going to help us."
Elaborate a little bit more on Cincinnati's offense:
"Any athletic quarterback, as we know, can create problems for people. Kenner does the same thing. You've got to be careful because if you pressure him and you miss, he's going to run down the sidelines on you. He's athletic enough that if you drop too many people, he'll move around and make something happen. They've got the threat of the option and now they've got a couple good backs. So any team that can create balance can become a problem for your defense. Any team that can stretch you from sideline to sideline, which they can do with a mobile quarterback. So, we'll have to do a great job of containing him, but at the same time they are a physical team. Anytime that you play a team that is a physical team you've got to come ready to play."
On Kris Dielman:
"It started when we thought it would be a good move to help our defense to move him to defense. He said he'd do whatever we needed him to do and I said I'd like to keep you at tight end in short yardage and goal line. We weren't quite sure, at that point in time, we didn't know how fast Bobby Brandt would come along and we didn't know if Ken Gipson would develop. It was really from the beginning going back to spring practice. Now he could play as many as 40 plus snaps on defense and, depending on how much we have the football, he could play 30 plus snaps on offense. He's one of the guys that has the personality and the toughness to do it. He'll play well on both sides. Well, he's 290 pounds and we recruited him at 240. He's big, he's strong, he's always been able to catch. He was heck of a tight end and outside linebacker in high school. He played as a freshman last year at tight end because we needed him to or he probably would've played significantly on defense. He's done a great job. He met with the offense half the time this morning (Tuesday), then went with the defense. He meets with Coach Fine one-on-one on his own. If you know Kris Dielman you know he's a special kid. Commitment never has been an issue with him."
On practicing full speed:
"You have to create a tempo in practice as much like a game as possible. I think at times, especially with young players, they think practice is one tempo and they are going to crank this baby up and really get it done in the game. That's when mistakes come, when you are out there in the game rying to do things that really you haven't practiced. So all of our young guys have to understand that is why you go full speed in practice. That's why you practice at tempo so when you get in to a ball game it's not a surprise to you. I think we've done a pretty good job of that. Young players...sometimes the only way they can learn is to go out there and make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. I know the offensive line, we cut our mistakes in half from the first game to the second. We could have predicted a lot of those, it's hard to get some guys to understand. In the secondary, you get one thrown over your head in practice and everyone's coached and you look at it on tape. You get up the next morning and it didn't cost you the ball game. Then all of a sudden, you get there in the game, it goes over your head, and it costs you the ball game. You better learn. If you can't learn, we'll get someone in there that can. The other thing I would add to that, especially offensively, one advantage we have offensively is we have great competition. Basically at all but one position. We have great competition at receiver, guys know, guys that get to play, if they don't play well, there is guys right behind them that can go in and play. Whether it be a Derin Graham or Henry Frazier or L.J. Parker or whoever it will be. At running back, we've got two fullbacks that are competing, tailbacks that are competing, guys want to play. That's what we have to continue to do defensively. We've got to create competition. If you don't play at the level we think you can play, you are going to be standing on the sidelines and someone else is going to get a opportunity. You are going to see more of that. Guys that play well and produce are going to get to play. We don't care if it's a freshman or a senior. It has to be done."
Do you feel that you have the depth to create the competition?
"We are getting better. Our numbers are probably still not where they need to be. We are still looking at 78, 80 guys on scholarships. We are not up to 85 yet. But, we have more quality players. It is the first time we've had real competition at receiver. Brian Lewis went down last year and we lost a lot of competition at tailback but now there is competition at tailback. At tight end, we have competition there. In the offensive line, we are probably are a little thinner than we would like and that will change here in another year. We have two or three young offensive lineman who are going to be extremely good. We get Colin Christopher back so that's going to create competition on the offensive line. These defensive lineman, Mandina is the only guy who graduates. All these defensive lineman come back. Joslin Goodman is the only linebacker who graduates. Now, we've got Brandonn Baker, Scott Genord, Darvin Nunn. That's more competition at linebacker. We'll get Michael Hanley, Rico Lloyd and some of the guys back in the secondary eligible next year. We'll continue to have more and more competition which is going to make you better."
On Ron Bethel:
"He's going to be a heck of a player. He's just got to continue to take the right approach and listen to Coach Bell and what he is asking him to do. He's got the size you want. He's got great speed as you can see that he can fly. He's just got to become more disciplined and eliminate his mistakes. You are talking about a redshirt sophomore who hasn't played a lot of football. If he can stay healthy, he's going to be a heck of a player."
