Patterson Holds First Media Luncheon of the 2002 Season
8/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2002
TCU head football coach Gary Patterson held his first weekly media luncheon of the 2002 campaign Thursday afternoon at the Justin Athletic Center. He discussed Monday's season opener at Cincinnati (3:30 p.m. - ESPN) with the assembled media and offered the following insights on the Horned Frogs' preparations.
On the difficulty of opening the season with a conference game:
"It's difficult because you want to have a chance to play and get all of the problems out of the way before you start playing conference games. That's why they call it a 'non-conference schedule.' What makes it especially difficult is playing a team like Cincinnati. Personally, I think that they have a chance at being one of the top two, or maybe the best team we play this year skill-wise, with what they have at the wide receiver, running back and quarterback positions."
On defending Cincinnati quarterback Gino Giudugli:
"He's a good player. He plays with great instincts. What it comes down to is that the best way to play against any quarterback is to put them in positions where they face second and long. First down will always be important for us because it doesn't matter who the quarterback is, most are going to be pretty good when it is second and five. We want to have them be in situations where we know that it is probably going to be a draw, a screen or a passing down, which is basically second and seven or more.
"Last year against Nebraska that is something we were able to accomplish. We were able to put them in a lot of second and long situations and anytime you do that, you have a chance of them punting. The odds are in your favor."
On the difference between opening last year at Nebraska and opening this year at Cincinnati:
"I don't think that we can get up anymore than we did for a game like that, but I think you'll notice that this team realizes that this game is more important. Last year was a non-conference game. I think the biggest key for us is that we realize what this game can do for us. By winning it, you jump ahead of the race against a team that probably has a good chance of winning the conference, and if you lose it, you will be one game down to a team that has a good chance of winning the conference."
On substituting early in the game:
"We always do (substitute more early in the season opener). We have a plan to do that. It's going to be very important to get a lot of people in the first quarter because that is usually when you tire the most, and you have to prepare yourself to be ready when you get into the third and fourth quarters. I don't know that it will be wholesale changes but, especially defensively, we will be running people in and out. You always have to worry about cramps and other things that can occur in the first game of a season, especially since we hear that the heat index is supposed to be high up there on Monday."
On playing on a Monday rather than a Saturday:
"It doesn't make any difference to us because we prepare like we would any other week. I don't think it bothers you as much right now at the beginning of the season as it does when you do it in the middle of the season. It's not so much coaches, but players who have to adjust because they are taken out of their normal routines with class and all of the other stuff in their lives."
On Cincinnati defensive lineman Antwan Peek:
"We don't know where he is going to play yet, whether it is left or right, or if he might play a bit inside. We probably won't find that out until game time. I think they will cut him loose at times. That is his game. It's tough because with it being the first game of the season, you really don't know what they are going to be doing, and how you would block and work against those things. You hate to work on something for a long time and then they don't do it. But, he is as good as any defensive lineman we faced last year. He was fifth in the nation in sacks."
Will senior offensive lineman Jamal Powell move around in order to match up with Peek?
(Joking) "Yes. If (Peek) goes to the sideline, (Powell) will go to the sideline!"
