Vanderbilt head football coach Bobby Johnson spoke with the media on Monday. Click on the link below to listen:
Johnson’s Opening Statement
“I think that it is a little sign of
progress that our players, our coaches and our fans are upset that we didn't
beat the No. 7 team in the country. We certainly had an opportunity to do that.
I think our players played extremely hard and kept the faith and kept
battling and came back and made a game of it in the second half. We are
obviously proud of those guys and what they did but we also want to continue to
work and try to get better and eliminate the mistakes that maybe prevented us
from winning that football game. To do that will help us go on an win the nest
two.”
How did you sense your players and fans were
upset?
Johnson: “I
wouldn't say upset. I think they're upset we didn't win. I don't know if they
are upset at us. But they expected to win. I think we had a good crowd. We had
people out there cheering our guys on. You see the players and it is easy to
figure it out. They expected to win, wanted to win and for the most part played
to win.”
This is the third SEC game that you have lost despite
beating the other team on the stat sheet. Can you put your finger on why that
has been?
Johnson: “I think Florida is a
pretty good team. I think sometimes the other team forces you into mistakes and
into doing things beyond your control. We had a tight end playing tackle. He has
been playing tackle for two weeks and we are trying to make a comeback, throw
the football almost every play and we have him protecting against one of the
best pass rushers in the league. That is not lack of concentration. It is
probably a lack of experience. But he was out there battling. They were doing as
best as they could.”
Kentucky had that big win over Georgia Saturday and
your team also beat Georgia. Can you remember the last time that Vanderbilt and
Kentucky beat the same SEC East opponent in the same season?
Johnson: “I cannot
remember it because I probably wasn't keeping up with it at that time. I don't
think I was here. It is obviously unusual. You have to take your hat off to
Kentucky. They have done an outstanding job. Coach (Rich) Brooks has done an
outstanding job. He has stayed the course and has stayed with his plan. Now,
they are winning football games. They have got good things going up there and
have done it the old fashioned way – they’ve worked at it. A lot of people
doubted them but they have come through in big
fashion.”
The games with Kentucky are usually close. What is it
going to take to get over the hump and win these close
games?
Johnson: “Eliminate mistakes as
much as you can. There are going to be mistakes in every game. The winning team
makes mistakes but nobody looks at their mistakes because they won. The losing
team makes mistakes and everyone says 'that's exactly why you lost.' Well,
sometimes it is and sometimes it is not.
“You give yourself the
best chance by eliminating, reducing and minimizing mistakes, especially the
ones that turn the field over or create a big play for the opposing team. After
that, it is just execution. Hopefully your guy is going to make the catch or
your guy is going to block the guy, your guy is going to make the tackle. The
other team is trying hard to prevent him from doing it. So that is why you play
the game. It is a good battle. And we had a good battle this past week and I was
proud of our guys for battling.”
What have you seen out of (OT) Thomas Welch in terms
of his development?
Johnson: “No. 1, we like his
mobility. We like his tenacity, too. I mean, Thomas battles. There are guys who
have been playing that position for a long, long time. You learn tricks and you
learn techniques. He has been doing it for two weeks. I think he did an
outstanding job for somebody who been plying it for that long. But that is part
of football. You got to get someone in there to play. You have injuries, and you
have to replace them. Somebody got in there and Elliot (Hood) went as long as he
could. My hat is off to him, too, for going out there and playing hard when he
was hurt. Thomas came in and did his very best.”
Are you
going to go with Elliot (Hood) the next couple of weeks and just let him go as
long as he can?
Johnson: “Yeah. I don't think we'll
get any quicker turnaround on his injury until the spring if we do anything to
keep him out or have an operation to fix it or whatever. I don't think he'll
come back any quicker. Elliot wants to play and you just never know how handy
those 20 plays will be. He goes out and plays as hard as he can. Those 20 plays
are important.”
Urban Meyer said Saturday night that Vanderbilt gave
his team their toughest battle of the year. What does it mean for the coach of
the No. 7 team in the country to say things like that about your
team?
Johnson: “It is a great compliment
and we certainly appreciate it. I hope he wasn't just saying it because they won
a close game. I hope it was evident that our guys played extremely hard. Our
guys hit extremely hard. We had four sacks. We outgained them. At times, we
weren't making mistakes in the kicking game, we played very, very well. We put
pressure on (Chris) Leak that other people haven't been able to do. They didn't
run the ball very well. So we did a lot of good stuff. But to beat a team that
is as good as Florida, you can’t help them out. We helped them out a little too
much.”
Have you been able to take more chances
defensively this year because your defense as a whole is
better?
Johnson: “I don't know if we are taking
chances. I would say they are calculated risks. And some of them didn't work. We
had some third and longs that we didn't get pressure on. We brought pressure and
didn't get to him and (Chris) Leak – like (Andre) Woodson – is good enough
to where if you give him time to sit back there, he is going to have a chance to
get you.”
“Coach Fowler and his staff have done a
good job of trying to figure out when we can take that calculated risk and our
guys have done a good job. Kevin Joyce did an excellent job of rushing the
passer. We wanted Jonathan Goff to get more aggressive rushing the passer this
year and he busted through there. And, of course, Curtis Gatewood has been doing
it all year.”
When you look back on the two blocked
punts, where did the breakdowns happen?
Johnson:
“The first one was just that only one guy saw the guy coming off the edge and he
timed it perfectly. He took a running start and went right down the line and
right when we snapped the ball he was coming across and we just didn't get out
wide enough to pick him off. The second one was right up the middle. We had a
blocking breakdown between the center and the right guard. Because of injuries,
that was the first time that he was playing the position this
year.”
Can you see on tape the kind of confidence and
momentum that Kentucky has got going right
now?
Johnson: “I think I do. I think you can see it
in them. They don't mind playing anybody in this league and I think they have
confidence in what they are doing offensively and defensively now. Woodson is
back there pretty calm and cool in the pocket. They have got some weapons. They
have some excellent receivers and their tight end is an excellent receiver. And
their backs, even though (Rafael) Little hasn't been playing here lately, have
been doing a great job.”
Does it continue to amaze you
the way that Earl Bennett continues to get open and make
plays?
Johnson: “I think it is pretty good schemes.
I think the coaches have done a good job of being creative in getting the ball
to Earl, and Earl has talent. And we have some other receivers who have talent
so you can't just double-team Earl all the time or try to put your best guy on
him. George (Smith) caught a touchdown for us the other day, Marlon (White) made
some big catches. It is impossible to double-team someone the whole time. So he
is going to have his opportunities. And we are still going to have to be
creative to do it. And I think our coaching staff has done a great
job.”
What do you think Kentucky has improved on the
most over the past couple of years?
Johnson: “They
have settled on a quarterback. I think Andre Woodson has done a fantastic job
for them. They are getting more confident on defense, they are not giving up the
big plays like they used to. Just good, fundamental football has taken over
there and they haven't beaten themselves near as much as they had in the
past.”
Chris (Nickson) has obviously has been improving
every week. What do you see that maybe we don't see that points to his evolution
as a quarterback?
Johnson: “Maybe his confidence level
and experience. He hadn't started a game until this year. So every time he sees
one look or sees a blitz, he says, 'Hey, I'm familiar with that now, I can react
to it, I know what to do.' It just helps him out. He gets more familiar and more
confident. Believe me, if you are unsure, it is probably the worst thing you can
be as a quarterback. He is more sure of himself now, and more sure of the people
around him. Really, Chris had one real bad game and that was about
it.”
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