Sept. 18, 2007
Quotes from Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey, senior offensive tackle Nathan McManus, sophomore receiver Greg Smith and senior kicker Travis Bell — all from today’s press conference.
GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Chan Gailey
Tuesday Press Conference Transcript – September 18, 2007
How do you stop Chris Long?
“It normally takes more than one. He’s a great player. I saw his daddy for a lot of years. He’s got a lot of the same traits. He has excellent technique, great strength, leverage, quickness.”
When you go to a place like this where Tech hasn’t had success in many years, do you even mention it?
“I may mention it, but we won’t make a big deal about it. Every place you go, you have to play well. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve won there in a while or not. That’s not the issue. It’s two new teams, a totally different situation, a different mindset, hopefully.”
For a program that has won at the Orange Bowl and Lane Stadium, does it seem like an odd place to have trouble winning?
“In the game of football, a lot of things happen that are unusual from time to time. I don’t know if there have been other places where that has gone on, but I bet there is.”
You said after the game that it appears Taylor Bennett had made some improvements. After looking at the tape, in what ways did Taylor steps forward?
“When we were behind, we had to throw the football a lot more. The best way to learn the game is to throw it in game-type situations, and we hadn’t had to do that very much in the first two ball games. I thought he made some good reads and did some good things. We haven’t arrived in the passing the game, but I thought we did some decent things, and we can build on that.”
Greg Smith said he learned a lot from this game. Do your receivers learn a lot from a game like that?
“Everyone learns a lot from a game where you throw it 39 times. Everybody learns something from these situations. Hopefully, it helps us in the long run.”
Virginia rotates two quarterbacks. How do you prepare for two quarterbacks who are so different?
“It’s like going into the Notre Dame game, you have to have two game plans – one for one quarterback and one for the other. That’s not easy at times. The one thing you can be guaranteed of is that no matter whom the quarterback is, they’re going to have Pearman run the football with that big offensive line and those tight ends. Whatever the case of who’s the quarterback, you better stop the running game.”
Pearman is similar in style to Wali Lundy, who had a lot of success against you. Do you go back and look at tape of how that team used him and blocked for him?
“You try and go back and evaluate all teams that had success against you, even if it is an evaluative look during the summer and not necessarily this week with your team. You’re always evaluating things you’ve done before, positive or negative, and certainly their personnel.
“Cunningham and Lipsey and those guys on the offensive line are good linemen. They’re big and strong and physical, and they can move. Not everybody has a center that can pull like they do.”
How has QB Jameel Sewell changed since you saw him last year?
“He’s much more polished. Last year, he was a rookie. He looked like a rookie, and he played like a rookie. This year he’s a lot more polished.”
You’ve said you turned the keys to the defense over to Jon Tenuta, but does there come a time when something is not working well, like the blitz scheme the other night, that you say `might we consider a little less pressure and a little more in the coverage game’?
“No, because that becomes meddling if you’re not careful. Where’s the line? I’ve been in the situation before where someone meddles, and I don’t want to meddle with something that’s been successful over a long period of time.
“They’ll talk about, and I might ask the question, but Jon Tenuta’s been too successful for too long for me to go in there and start making suggestions about defense.”
Do you go into practice today preparing to play without Tashard Choice?
“Mentally, you have to go into that, if you get him it’s a bonus. He’s questionable at this point, so you have to go into practice today saying you might not have him. If you get him, it’s just an extra benefit come game time.”
You have depth at running back. Might this be a chance to fully utilize it?
“We’ve got four tailbacks that can play, so when you have injuries, you’re fortunate to have that.”
Hamstrings (Choice’s injury) can linger. How cautious are you with him?
“You have to be smart. If you get cautious, you can talk yourself out of something. I think smart is a better word. We’ll try to be very smart about how we handle this. It’s a little bit easier when you’ve got some guys that have played in games and have been successful in games. Rashaun Grant, Jamaal Evans and Jonathan Dwyer have all been successful in games. So it’s a little bit easier to be smart.”
How did Rashaun Grant do last week after missing the first two games?
“He did okay. He made a couple of nice runs to start the second half. We tried to get it to him on a pass or two, but weren’t as successful doing that.”
Any question about, if Choice can’t play, who would take the first snap of the game?
“I think it would be running back by committee, and I’m not ready to say who would take the first snap.”
Any other injury concerns for the weekend?
“Troy Garside, one of our special teams players, may be out. Joe Gaston is probable. I don’t think Robert Hall is going to make it this week. Jahi Word-Daniels is probable.”
Should Tashard be out, does your intent to run change at all?
“No.”
When you change running backs, does your play selection change as much as it would when you change quarterbacks?
“Not really, not nearly as much as when you change quarterbacks. Because you don’t teach the offensive line totally new blocking schemes because of which runner is in the game. The runner adapts to the running plays, not the plays to the player.”
How similar, scheme-wise, is the Virginia defense similar to the Notre Dame defense?
“They’re both in the 3-4. Other than that, there are not many similarities. These guys have been at it a long time. They’re knowledge and technique are excellent. With Notre Dame, this is their first shot at it. They’re still learning about it. It’s a totally different animal, for lack of a better term.”
Why is Virginia so successful at using its tight ends over the years?
“They’re obviously successful and very good at it, but I don’t know why they chose to go that direction. They’ve been able to recruit good tight ends, and they play them. They’ve got a lot of diversity with their tight end position.”
With Jonathan Dwyer, are ball security and blocking the two areas you stress most with him?
“Yes, assignment and ball security. He has very good instinct, but he doesn’t have much experience at this level. You see that from time to time. Right now, he’s playing on pure physical talent and instincts more than he is knowledge of the blocking schemes and getting a feel for where things should be. He will get better at that as time goes on.”
You still haven’t turned the ball over. To what do you credit that?
“I think our coaches do a great job of emphasizing it and working drills to get that done. That’s not only on offense but special teams as well.”
In that light, are you pretty happy with Taylor Bennett’s decision-making?
“If you don’t give it to the other team, then you’re a leg up in the passing game. Even the great ones throw an interception every now and then. The fact that he hasn’t done that yet it a real positive.”
Is he taking the shots you want him to take?
“Yes. We’re throwing the ball down the field a decent amount of the time, and throwing the ball into some small creases a decent amount of the time. I don’t think he’s being overly cautious by any stretch of the imagination.”
No. 73 Nate McManus, Senior, Guard
What was the difference between the BostonCollege game and the first two?
“We felt like we could go in there and run, but we got down 14 to 0 real quick. It feels like, almost a sense of panic; we need to put points back on the board. I feel like we got slightly away from what we were good at, which was the run game, and urgency to put points up on the board quickly to catch up. But BC, they’re everything they are suppose to be when it comes to their stopping and throwing game. “
Chris Long is one of the best playmakers on defense in the ACC, how are you guys going to keep him out long enough to give Taylor some time?
“Saw from film that I have watched this year that he moves back and forth from either side. In the past he plays mostly on our left side against Andrew Gradner. It’s been a great match up for the last two years and it will be this year again, two phenomenal players going at it.”
If Tashard is not able to go, which is still up in the air, do things change at all in terms of the running game?
“I don’t believe so. Jonathan Dwyer has proved himself more than once over at this point. He is an incredible running back. Rashaun Grant. Jamaal Lewis. It’s not going to be the end of the world.”
What is it like having that kind of depth at tailback?
“It’s nice. It’s real nice. Not only do we have depth, we have the talent with Jonathan Dwyer. The speed – I think Rashaun Grant is still the fastest running back we have, and Jamaal a great power back hit them between the tackles. Jonathan Dwyer is young but he knows how to play the game.”
No. 22 Travis Bell, Senior, Placekicker
Is it frustrating for you to sit on the sidelines and watch and hope that you will get a chance to really help the team?
“Yes, it is frustrating. (Punter) DurantBrooks and I were kidding about it, saying it’s one thing when he’s not getting to punt the ball, that means we’re winning. But, it’s another thing when I don’t get to kick because that usually means we’re losing. So, it’s a lot more frustrating when I’m sitting on the sideline not participating because that means obviously we’re not getting in range. But the one thing I learned over the years, with the team we have, any point in the game we can get in range and you have to be ready no matter what. As I learned a couple of years ago, in the Virginia Tech game where I missed two, I wasn’t ready for those because we hadn’t kicked all game. I just want to make sure like last game that we didn’t have a field goal at the end of the game. I wanted to make sure I was ready the entire time.”
For a team that is competing for a conference championship, how do you block out that pressure and just focus on the uprights and really just getting that ball through?
“You have to just let muscle member take over. I have been around long enough and had enough kicks to where I have been in all sorts of situations. We’ve been up a lot, been down a lot, close games, etc. There’s not really going to be a kick that I haven’t seen, unless it’s a last-second game-winning field goal and that’s the kind of kick that every kicker wants. So if it comes down to that, that will probably be the best thing for me. I just go out there and pretend like it’s the 40 other kicks that you’ve made.”
A closer game, does it mean more opportunities for you?
“I really don’t think so. We have a good enough backfield I’m confident in Taylor and our receivers. I know that our receivers, if Tashard is not playing, are going to have to step up. We have such a good receiving corps and our backs are so deep there, I think they are just going to take that on as a challenge and pick up their game. We are going to miss Tashard (if he’s not healthy). He is a great player, but I think our team will rise to the occasion and will take care of business.”
No. 5 Greg Smith, Sophomore, Wide Receiver
Why has Tech had such a hard time at UVA?
“I have never played at UVA. I’ve only played UVA one time, here at Bobby Dodd. All the history of us losing up there, it’s nothing we can do about that. Just go up there with a clear mind and beat them. That’s all we can do, not worry about the past.”
What’s your vantage point of the division race now? Do you still feel like it is something you can control?
“We feel like we can control the race, we feel like we can still go to the ACC Championship. That was a wake-up call for us to lose to BostonCollege. We are going to bounce back. It’s the hardest thing for us to do now, but we are just trying to show everybody that we can get back to the title game.”
How did Taylor Bennett respond with his first taste of adversity, being behind?
“Taylor is a great dude. He kept encouraging us. He’s a great leader on the team, he works hard, and he is just a guy you have to respect. He is our quarterback. We are going to always look up to our quarterback. He gets me the ball, he controls everything, so we’re always listening. He’s a great guy, he’s always working hard and I will always respect that.”
