Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
October 11, 2016 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
Opening Statement
"We're playing Arizona State on Saturday. I have a lot of respect for Todd Graham and how he runs his program and what he does. He'll have them ready to play. They'll be blitzing when they walk off the bus, that's what he likes to do. It's always fun going up against him and what they do there. They've got a heck of a football team, they're 5-1. They're really good and they've been good for a while. It's going to be a tough test for us here, I'm glad we're playing at Folsom. Our kids love playing at Folsom."
On The Offensive Line Dealing With Pressure
"USC's got some really good players; we never really got in a rhythm offensively to be able to help out our offensive line. We didn't get the ball running, we didn't get the ball out on the edge like we should have on some of our quick passes. We feel like if we help our offensive line out and get the first first down then that defensive line is going to get worn down a little bit. Now, they can't dial up all that stuff. Our offensive line has played really well this year. USC's got some very good players just like Arizona State does. We'll handle it and do well."
On ASU's Quarterback Situation
"To me, that's a very scary thing on our part, to prepare for a team where you don't really know who's going to play quarterback. They have two excellent – not good – running backs and they have a very big, powerful offensive line. We're preparing for them if the one quarterback doesn't play and they're going to run a ton – and they have good enough players to do that – and control the game. We're preparing for the whole arsenal and we're preparing for isolated areas. We're preparing for all of it, because it makes it a little harder on us I think."
On Slow Start At USC
"I don't think we came out flat, I think USC had something to do with that. They're a good football team and we're playing on the road. We didn't get in a rhythm. They made a couple plays here and there. We hung in there. I think we kept playing hard. We were able to get back in the football game, but didn't finish it like we wanted to. USC's the most talented team we've played except for Michigan, no doubt in my mind. They're probably the most talented team we'll play all year. We had our opportunities and we still feel like we should have won the game. We still feel like if we played them again we'd win the game. We didn't make a few plays that we needed to make in the first half there. If you watch the film, we do a couple things that we didn't take advantage of that were there. It'd be 14-10, 14-14 at halftime, it's a whole different game."
On Defending ASU's Quarterback Manny Wilkins
"You've got to assume they won't put him out there unless he's able to protect himself and go. I have a Masters, but I don't have a Doctorate. There's a difference in a low ankle sprain and a high ankle sprain. A high ankle sprain's a whole different world. I don't know where it is with Manny, but we'll let them decide. If we walks out there, we've got to be able to beat them with him. That's what we'll plan to try to do."
On Steven Montez Being Reactionary When He Improvises
"He's a reactionary guy anyway. He has the ability to make those types of plays and some people don't. Therefore, for his whole life he's been able to do some of those types of things. I do think he understands our offense and understands reading defenses. When you're a young player, sometimes it takes you a little while to be able to read defenses. He's played really well, I've been impressed with what he's done."
On The Team Playing Physical At USC
"I thought we definitely tried to play physical. They've got a couple good running backs. I thought we tackled them pretty well for the most part. They had a couple big passes when we were right there, they came down with it and we didn't. If those two balls fall to the ground, we might be talking about how we won the game. Literally two plays where our people are right there. It wasn't busted coverages, it wasn't lack of focus. They just made some plays. When you play in the Pac-12, some days you're going to make those plays. That's what the game boiled down to at the end there."
On Play Of Addison Gillam
"It's fun to see isn't it? It's exciting to me. He made some big plays last Saturday and he'll make some big plays this Saturday. As the season's gone on, he's played more and more and that'll continue to happen. It's great to see him out there flying around. I still wish he'd cut his hair, but that's his trademark."
On Todd Graham's Comments
"I don't know what he meant by 'coachable kid.' He probably meant that I'm a coach's kid I would think. His son's a coach, so it's grown up in our families. I'm a coach's kid, there's no doubt about it."
On Play Of Jimmie Gilbert
"Jimmie's played really well. Jimmie's staying healthy. He's out there all the time now since Derek McCartney's not able to; they were splitting time at different times when we have our nickel package on the field. He's out there playing more plays and playing really well. I've been pleased with how Jimmie's played. I've been teasing him, he's had some really good sacks and the one sack he had where nobody blocked him, he missed the guy."
On Defending ASU's 'Sparky' Formation
"Tackle No. 7 (Kalen Ballage). They get him in situations where he just runs over guys, they get him in one-on-one spots. People aren't tackling him well, we've got to tackle him well. That's easier said than done. You've got to understand they're in the formation and understand what they're trying to do out of it. I feel like our guys do. I think they'll have some new wrinkles in it this week if they feel like they're not going to have their main quarterback. We've got to be prepared for that and handle that. They do a really good job with it. The main thing is No. 7, he's pretty wicked."
On Recruiting ASU's Kalen Ballage Out Of High School
"I don't picture what would have been with him in black and gold. We recruited him hard and got to know his family really well. His uncle even played here and was a good player. I'm happy for him doing well at Arizona State. That's where he decided to go. We'll have to line up and play against him. I don't cry over spilled milk, we just move on. I love the kids that we have."
On Play Of N.J. Falo
"He's done well. He won the hammer award, he had a big hit on the kickoff against Oregon State. He's playing on quite a few different special teams. He's rotating in some at outside linebacker. He's done some good things. I'm pleased with what N.J.'s doing for us."
Wide Receiver Bryce Bobo
On The USC Defense
"USC's front seven did a really good job of coming out and getting pressure on [quarterback Steven] Montez, and they got him out of his comfort zone a little bit. It kind of set us up to where we couldn't get the ball downfield to the wide receivers."
On The CU Receiving Corps
"I think that we need to start beating our coverages a little bit faster and we need to get in and out of our routes just a little bit quicker. If they're bringing pressure like USC did then that means that we need to break off our routes a little crisper and create more separation."
On USC Taking Away The Big Play
"We were trying to run a couple of different concepts, trying to throw the ball down field more. They weren't biting on any of the first breaking routes, they were kind of sitting on top of everything, so we couldn't get any of our deep passes in. That's why a lot of the underneath stuff was wide open, because they weren't allowing anything to come over the top."
On The Importance Of Trick Plays (Bobo Threw A TD Pass On A Reverse At USC)
"Any type of big play like that to give us momentum is a great thing to have. We had a lack of that in the first half and that's why we came out and ran the trick play where I threw the pass to Phillip Lindsay. It kind of gave us a little bit of a spark and allowed us to start the drive off right."
On Playing A Night Game At Folsom Field
"I love night games, and I think most of the guys on the team love night games, and that kind of atmosphere, especially at Folsom Field. We are expecting a lot of fans and we're just trying to come out with a big win, especially over Arizona State who is someone we haven't beaten yet."
On ASU's Secondary
"They like to play a lot of man-to-man coverage, because they bring a lot of pressure with their front seven. The wide receiving corps, we just need to go out and make plays when the opportunity presents itself."
On Exploiting ASU's Defense
"As a wide receiver you love to see any kind of man-to-man coverages. ASU, like USC, plays a lot of that. We're coming up with new plays to beat that and we're going to execute them."
Safety Afolabi Laguda
On The Week Of Practice Thus Far
"I think we're rebounding pretty strong. Coach Mac has been on us about practicing hard and getting that intensity back. Last Saturday we came out flat and didn't play Colorado football, so we're definitely trying to get our edge back this week. It's about us. We have to prepare better throughout the week. We didn't practice like we were supposed to which led to that performance."
On Preparing For ASU's Quarterback Situation
"We don't really worry about that. We worry about us. Football is football. They're going to line up 11 guys on the field on Saturday just like us. We have to come out there and worry about filling our gaps right, covering the right people and making plays."
On Whether Or Not USC Was Targeting CU's DBs
"I would guess. I mean, Juju [Smith-Schuster] is a great player as is all of the other USC athletes out there, so I just thought that they were trying to distribute the ball to other athletes out there."
On Stopping ASU's Run Game
"Kalen Ballage is a great athlete, so we just have to contain him. Everyone has to fit their gaps right. We have to play stout up front as well as fly around in the secondary and control the edges and we should be fine."
On What The Defense Needs To Fix For This Weekend
"Last week we lacked mental focus and mental preparation. Every new team each week throws a new wrinkle in their playbook so I feel like half way through the season we've seen everything that an offense can throw at us. Now it's just about lining up right, playing a formation and when that ball snaps, being at the right place at the right time."
"I think we're rebounding pretty strong. Coach Mac has been on us about practicing hard and getting that intensity back. Last Saturday we came out flat and didn't play Colorado football, so we're definitely trying to get our edge back this week. It's about us. We have to prepare better throughout the week. We didn't practice like we were supposed to which led to that performance."
On Preparing For ASU's Quarterback Situation
"We don't really worry about that. We worry about us. Football is football. They're going to line up 11 guys on the field on Saturday just like us. We have to come out there and worry about filling our gaps right, covering the right people and making plays."
On Whether Or Not USC Was Targeting CU's DBs
"I would guess. I mean, Juju [Smith-Schuster] is a great player as is all of the other USC athletes out there, so I just thought that they were trying to distribute the ball to other athletes out there."
On Stopping ASU's Run Game
"Kalen Ballage is a great athlete, so we just have to contain him. Everyone has to fit their gaps right. We have to play stout up front as well as fly around in the secondary and control the edges and we should be fine."
On What The Defense Needs To Fix For This Weekend
"Last week we lacked mental focus and mental preparation. Every new team each week throws a new wrinkle in their playbook so I feel like half way through the season we've seen everything that an offense can throw at us. Now it's just about lining up right, playing a formation and when that ball snaps, being at the right place at the right time."
Players Mentioned
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