by www.LSUsports.net, LSU Sports Interactive
BATON ROUGE -- LSU head coach Les Miles spoke to the media at his weekly press luncheon on Monday to preview this weekend's 7 p.m. CDT kickoff against South Carolina. The Tigers depart on Friday for Columbia. Watch the press conference for free in the Geaux Zone now.
Additionally, the Southeastern Conference announced that CBS has used its a six-day option for selecting its Oct. 25 game. Therefore, the start time for LSU-Georgia and Alabama-Tennessee will not be announced until Sunday. LSU will face Georgia in Tiger Stadium at either 2:30 p.m. on CBS or 6:45 p.m. on ESPN.
LSU HEAD COACH LES MILES
Opening statement...
“Good afternoon. We started looking at this game on Sunday, certainly, and we got the wide view and looked at it very closely. I think it’s obvious that you cannot start the game as poorly as we did on offense and defense and feel like we could be in it. What happens is that if you play quality opponents and if you make a mistake on the third play, and they score, your offense doesn’t get on track, a young quarterback makes some mistakes and the game gets away from you pretty quick. What I enjoyed about this team is their comeback and their competitiveness. I looked through it, and I watched every phase, I watched every snap, and I saw great effort. There were mistakes, certainly, and some things that can be corrected, but I like my team, and I think this team will prepare well. We met this morning at 6:45 a.m., and it was a little bit less enjoyable to show up at 6:45 in the morning to review a game where you were unsuccessful. Our team has the same feel and edge to it this morning with the idea that this is not something we intend to do or want to do for that matter. Our team’s resolve and want to prepare is pretty strong. I liked what I saw this morning.
“I felt like in this game if we could have gotten in the third down and two, we fumbled the ball, and if we had gotten that first down, I felt like we would have made a run at tying the game before the half. Had we been able to get a stop and have them punt it to us, I really was pretty confident that our offense would go down the field and score and make it a 21-20 game. If that would have happened, the pressure would have been squarely on our opponent for the first time in the evening. When you take a seven point lead in the third play, there’s no pressure on your opponent at all, and I would have liked to play it from there. Again, credit Florida. In the second half, they didn’t let that defense stop them.
“We look forward to preparing for another opponent. South Carolina, in my opinion, is a very talented, 5-2 team, a team that leads the conference in defense, third in the nation in defense, plays a very good scheme, and has a big, strong force unit. There defensive line and linebackers are big, strong guys who can run. They play a very strong, fundamental secondary, and they have some big hitters and playmakers there. Coach Spurrier does a great job preparing that team, so defensively, it will be a great challenge for our offense. Offensively, they have always been able to move the football. Certainly, they are as well here. They play with two quarterbacks. It appears that (Stephen) Garcia came in and led the comeback and scored in his last two drives and may well get the nod going into this next game. I know both players, Smelley and Garcia, are good quality quarterbacks, guys that we reviewed. Garcia is a runner and a very good passer. They move the ball to several different receivers. They’ve always had the ability to read the coverage and get it to the open guy, and that’s an advantage for them. They have a quality special teams, a good returner, good field goal kicker and punter, and it’s going to be a great game. It’s going to be a great one for our football team to go to South Carolina and play well on the road.”
On the offensive line against Florida...
“Individually, they played surprisingly well, but as a group, it just seemed that there was a mistake about once a play, and it was not necessarily any one guy but one guy on every play, and it really affected us early on. They got it together and started playing better. We really ran the football pretty efficiently but by the strategy of the game and the score, we really couldn’t afford to run it. They didn’t play badly. It’s just that they played poorly at the wrong time.”
On what he sees differently out of South Carolina this year...
“I think they’re playing with great effort and enthusiasm. I think they get to the ball. Again, I think they are big, strong, capable men, and I think they made a change at the coordinator spot on defense, and it’s really benefitted.”
On if he has concerns about his team’s ability to regain its confidence after this game...
“Not really. I think that we all understand the specific situation we were in and how directly changes and adjustments can be made so this football team is successful. I think if you looked at the tape, and again, I painstakingly looked at every snap, and I wrote down numbers of guys who I thought were giving great effort, and my sheet was full. Guys that fight like that, they have confidence. They just need to make sure that they make some adjustments. Let’s get it fixed and go from there. The position you put a defense in when the offense is not getting first downs and they make a mistake and the score starts to mount, it’s a very difficult piece of momentum that needs to be fixed on the road. I think that football team understands that. We need to come out and play well from the start.”
On if he’s noticed any changes in QB Jarrett Lee since Saturday’s game...
“Statistically, the tough part is that I think at one point, he was 9-of-10 and one point in time, 16 for 21 and two picks. The bad news is that he wasn’t really comfortable early on at all, and at a time where we didn’t have the run greased and ready to roll, we kind of expected a quarterback to hit a pass or two to keep a drive alive while we get it fixed and start making the adjustments that we need to make so we can rush the football. He was uneasy, and we were getting three and outs. Our defense gave up a big play to start and a long drive, and the situation got way in front of us.”
On South Carolina’s returner Captain Munnerlyn...
“Certainly, I enjoy their special teams. They are a very capable group.”
On what explanation he was given on the delay of game penalty on one of the kickoffs...
“I suspect that will be reviewed and given thought to and fixed. It was interesting. A year ago, we were handed the ball, and because we didn’t put it in play, we were given a delay of game. In this particular instance, he’s handed the ball, the guy is 80 yards away, he (Jasper) goes to kick it, and he tries to blow a whistle that we’re supposed to hear 80 yards away. We are then penalized. He (the official) got away from the ball. It’s not like he was standing on top of the ball, and then, we were penalized delay of game. I suspect that will be reviewed and maybe another opinion offered. I can tell you that I thought a wise decision was made during the game that when our opponent kicked in a similar situation, a ready-for-play whistle was blown seconds before he made contact with the ball. I think the adjustment the officiating crew made in game time certainly helped the game, not necessarily that specific call.”
On what Florida did offensively that may have surprised LSU’s defense...
“That defense was prepared for all the stuff. I think the opportunity to be ahead and pressure them and get them behind in down and distance was kind of lost early on in the game. The momentum of that defensive unit was lost, and then, they get it back, we score a couple of times, and they had been on the field, really, the entire first half, and for them to come on in the second half and muster great effort and energy to get them stopped was difficult.”
On the process of identifying the opposing personnel...
“The guy that’s in the box that has his eyes squarely on the sideline, generally, we try to get a personnel-group signal that we know, or we identify the guy that comes onto the field, and they have a number of personnel groups with five wides, four wides, two extra lineman. It’s a large number of personnel groups that all, very specifically need adjustments. It’s a matchup problem. It’s one that certainly happened once or twice on Saturday. I think the timeout that you’re referencing probably saved us an issue, but I don’t know that was really the reason we had problems on Saturday.”
On the play of Trindon Holliday...
“He carried the ball at running back. He caught passes. He returned kickoffs. His effort was noticed certainly by everybody. He’s a great competitor and a guy that will play a lot of football for us, and we look forward to that. I don’t know if we could have gotten him more touches than he did. We are certainly giving him that opportunity routinely.”
On making adjustments to QB Tim Tebow at halftime...
“I think our defense was pretty confident that we had gotten a couple of stops. We had a nice, long drive on the back end. We had some drive of length and some success in the first half prior to that in the first half, so our offense was kind of ready to go back to the field, and basically, the point was made that we were preparing to be in a 14-20 game, and let’s get ready to play, and I think that’s exactly what happened. The issue was that I thought our defense was playing well to a point, and we go to a third of three and just didn’t get them stopped, and they went down and scored. That was certainly a devastating score for us. Then, we throw a pick for a touchdown. When you make those kind of mistakes, it’s very difficult to come back.”
On South Carolina TE Jared Cook...
“I know that he is a tremendous receiver, a big, tall, capable target across the center, and certainly, he played a very good game against us a year ago in our stadium. We know of his abilities and certainly are aware of him.”
On what he attributes the stats on defense not being as impressive as in years past....
“I think there are some young guys playing some key positions for us who are not necessarily just in a groove at this point. I can tell you that some of our veterans, in my opinion, are not playing the style of football that they are used to playing. I think injury may well have played a part in one guy, but overall, I think the veterans are playing the way they should be playing and a couple of guys who need some adjustment to be made as we go forward, and I think the defense can return to the style of defense that we’ve played here in the past.”
On the nature of a team after a loss...
“I think everybody has a spirit of what can I do. One thing about it is we don’t intend to lose in that room very often, but when that room comes together and understands that there was something that they could have done to play better and allow our team to have success on last Saturday, it really gives a spirit of let’s get it fixed, let’s practice, let’s prepare. I think that’s what we’re seeing. I think our team will respond very favorably to what was a showing that we could have played better.”
On his policy of injured players traveling...
“I think it really depends on the guy and the situation and what he lends to the environment and what’s needed sometimes academically. Sometimes, you really can’t afford to put him on the plane because you need a player in that spot. We don’t take players in a spot. That’s a rule. We can’t add a guy to that roster if he’s not a player, and if he’s not going to play, we need all of those spots on the road and certainly, anyone we can have that can step on the field and play.”
On if more substitutions and packages in college football is good for the game...
“I think it’s good for the game, personally. I like getting different personnel involved, and I enjoy matchup philosophy, and I don’t think there is any problem with that. I think we have to handle it, handle it on the defensive side. The offensive side is where it’s multiplying very rapidly. What happens on the defensive side is that it has the tendency to make you a little more neutral in your approach and not as aggressive because you can’t really expect exactly what they’re going to give you and how they’re lining up. If that’s the case, you have to call a defense that gives you the ability to balance up and match up.”
On if he looks at it as an advantage or a disadvantage to go on the road this weekend...
“I don’t really give much thought to it to be honest with you. The good news is that we are in a similar situation that we were just in. We get the opportunity to correct some of those travel mistakes as well. At this point in time, it’s improve, practice and prepare, and I like the idea, too, that it’s just us. It’s just a small group of men that has to go and perform at an opponent’s stadium. I think there’s some enjoyment in that as well.”
On if he talks to his team about the big picture or just focusing on the next game...
“I think our team understands the big picture. I don’t think that anybody needs to speak to them that way. I think they have been around here long enough to know that not one game does a season make, but I think there is a sense of urgency with preparing this week and winning this week. That’s what I want. That’s the focus I want.”
On if there was a sense of urgency to get more offensive weapons involved against Florida when they shut down RB Charles Scott early on...
“I don’t think that they really took any of those players away. It was a couple of incomplete passes and some early game jitters by our quarterback that took away some of those pieces. Don’t get me wrong. If I could know the defense, I would make some different calls, but I like their calls. Those are the things I wanted to do, and had we executed, we would have gotten first downs. We would not necessarily have gotten the style of yardage that we were capable of getting, but I think, with time, we fix those things, and that we would have rushed the football extremely efficiently against that team last Saturday. Certainly, we didn’t have time to do that.”
On preparing QB Jarrett Lee for the future...
“I don’t know necessarily, even if it’s (Jarrett Lee’s) nerves. We have to make sure that the things that we give him are over scripted, over planned, especially early on. I think he really handles change well. I really do. I think he has good concepts. He understands what we want him to do. We’re going to throw the football. It’s just that simple, but we probably need to give him some things that speak to his strengths.
On what makes South Carolina WR Kenny McKinley a great receiver...
“I just think he is certainly very talented and a very capable receiver and a guy that really understands route concepts, is a very technically-proficient receiver, has great ball skills and the style of receiver that has success in this league.”
On the delay of the game in the kickoff...
“Basically, what they did is they said they would hand the ball to the kicker and run immediately to the sideline and blow the whistle. Well, generally speaking, when you hand the ball to the kicker and he takes 10, 12, 15 seconds to get it on the tee, get on back, take his steps, at that point in time, it should be time to go. The whistle should be blown. I can’t imagine that it’s intended any other way. They put the ball in play at 25 seconds, so if you delay, that’s an issue as well, but apparently, the whistle had not blown and the distance with which the guy has to get off the field must be a heck of a run.”
On the big play to WR Percy Harvin on the third play of the game...
“I would like to have had our safety over the top on that play. Danny (McCray) had responsibility for underneath coverage and was in great position on the play. Had he played the ball obviously a little bit better, he would have come down with it, but if he played the route a little more vertical, he would have come down with it. The truth of the matter is we would’ve liked to have had our free safety on top of that ball in position to make a play. It’s the style of play that certainly is a tremendous momentum swing for our opponent. Third down and 12, and instead of a pick or at least an incomplete pass, it’s a big touchdown. I told Danny he’s so close to making that play that it’s well within his grasp. That’s what I wanted him to understand.”
On if he expects Steve Spurrier to use a trick play this year...
“Who knows? I have no idea. I can tell you that we routinely go over all of the gadgets that the opponent has. We review them very thoroughly. (DE) Tyson Jackson played one last time we were in this stadium at home, so I would suspect we would do the same thing. I have no idea what their thoughts might be.”
On who he sees getting limited time in practice this week (in terms of injury)...
“I think there are a couple of guys that are a little nicked that probably won’t get practice time today, certainly, but again, I expect that by Tuesday or Wednesday, everybody would return to practice.”
On the third down and three play early in the third quarter...
“It was certainly a very capable quarterback (Tebow) running hard, and the play was pretty well defended except that he made a great play.”
On if he’s been in a similar situation of losing a game by a big score...
“Absolutely. I just hate to talk about other schools and other games. I remember very specifically. I was wearing orange.”
On if he thinks there have been routine blown coverages in games...
“It’s got to get fixed, and you and I agree, it’s too regular. I promise you we are coaching and directing and doing what we can. Our guys, certainly, want to fix it too. That’s certainly an issue for us.”
