NIU Press Conference Coaches' Quotes
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 8:41 am
WEEKLY FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES - DEC. 3, 2013
CAREY, COLE AND NIEMANN DISCUSS NIU'S UPCOMING 2013 MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Dec. 3, 2013
Head Coach Rod Carey
We have been going since right after Bowling Green beat Buffalo. We have been going on them nonstop. I've said it and I'll say it again, probably the finest football team we've played to date. All three phases fit perfectly. You can tell they've been together as a staff for a while. The systems haven't changed, they've just gotten better. On defense, we played them two years ago. Out of that two-deep, they have 14 players still on the two-deep today from two years ago. On offense, they have seven coming back from that two-deep. So they are an experienced team, a proud team, and really play the game the right way and are explosive in all three phases of the game.
It's going to be a big time challenge for us and we're in the middle of getting going right now and kind of finishing up that game plan and you just don't see a lot of weaknesses in their game. So you're going to have to make a play in this game. It's going to come down to your fundamentals and preparation and guys making plays, because everybody is going to be lined up in the right spot the whole time."
On Bowling Green's defense
"Well they attack the line of scrimmage with their front four, and then on third down, they're not afraid to get after you with the blitz, and play in man-to-man coverage. That group has played together for three years, so if you put those three things together, everyone likes to talk about the Big Ten with Michigan State's defense, I've seen some of their film through crossover games, very similar attitude. They attack. That gives you a point of reference. I think that's what makes them tough."
NIU Offensive Coordinator Bob Cole
On Bowling Green's defense
"Their defensive line is right up there with Iowa's defensive line, same thing with their linebackers. That's the best front seven we've seen all year up until this point in time, and they're as good as them, maybe not better. I think the thing they've got going for them now is they've been together, I think they have seven or eight kids that have played together for three years on the defensive side of the ball. They're extremely sound, they're well coached, and they fit in their gaps. You're rarely going to find them out of position, and they're aggressive. Then they have good enough defensive backs where they can sit there and play man to man on you, so they can do a lot of things up front with their front seven, so it's gonna be a good challenge for us. They're a good football team."
NIU Defensive Coordinator Jay Niemann
On what concerns him most about Bowling Green
"They're a very diverse offense. They have a lot of offense in, which is normally the case when you get 11 to 12 games deep in a season. They're very diverse in their run game with a lot of formations. A lot of different kind of shifts and motions that you'll have to adjust to, and we'll have to be real sound on all those to make sure we're lined up right and our guys have their feet set, cleats in the ground, and they're ready to play and they know what they're looking at from a key standpoint."
On if he's expecting trick plays from Bowling Green
"In this game, and what it means to both programs, you've got to expect anything and everything, obviously we can't prepare for the unknown, and that's where your fundamentals come into play, and those fundamentals are what you have to rely on to carry you through those situations, because we can't defend something we don't know what it is, so we just have to wait and see what it is when we get to it, but I'm sure they'll have some wrinkles, definitely."
CAREY, COLE AND NIEMANN DISCUSS NIU'S UPCOMING 2013 MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Dec. 3, 2013
Head Coach Rod Carey
We have been going since right after Bowling Green beat Buffalo. We have been going on them nonstop. I've said it and I'll say it again, probably the finest football team we've played to date. All three phases fit perfectly. You can tell they've been together as a staff for a while. The systems haven't changed, they've just gotten better. On defense, we played them two years ago. Out of that two-deep, they have 14 players still on the two-deep today from two years ago. On offense, they have seven coming back from that two-deep. So they are an experienced team, a proud team, and really play the game the right way and are explosive in all three phases of the game.
It's going to be a big time challenge for us and we're in the middle of getting going right now and kind of finishing up that game plan and you just don't see a lot of weaknesses in their game. So you're going to have to make a play in this game. It's going to come down to your fundamentals and preparation and guys making plays, because everybody is going to be lined up in the right spot the whole time."
On Bowling Green's defense
"Well they attack the line of scrimmage with their front four, and then on third down, they're not afraid to get after you with the blitz, and play in man-to-man coverage. That group has played together for three years, so if you put those three things together, everyone likes to talk about the Big Ten with Michigan State's defense, I've seen some of their film through crossover games, very similar attitude. They attack. That gives you a point of reference. I think that's what makes them tough."
NIU Offensive Coordinator Bob Cole
On Bowling Green's defense
"Their defensive line is right up there with Iowa's defensive line, same thing with their linebackers. That's the best front seven we've seen all year up until this point in time, and they're as good as them, maybe not better. I think the thing they've got going for them now is they've been together, I think they have seven or eight kids that have played together for three years on the defensive side of the ball. They're extremely sound, they're well coached, and they fit in their gaps. You're rarely going to find them out of position, and they're aggressive. Then they have good enough defensive backs where they can sit there and play man to man on you, so they can do a lot of things up front with their front seven, so it's gonna be a good challenge for us. They're a good football team."
NIU Defensive Coordinator Jay Niemann
On what concerns him most about Bowling Green
"They're a very diverse offense. They have a lot of offense in, which is normally the case when you get 11 to 12 games deep in a season. They're very diverse in their run game with a lot of formations. A lot of different kind of shifts and motions that you'll have to adjust to, and we'll have to be real sound on all those to make sure we're lined up right and our guys have their feet set, cleats in the ground, and they're ready to play and they know what they're looking at from a key standpoint."
On if he's expecting trick plays from Bowling Green
"In this game, and what it means to both programs, you've got to expect anything and everything, obviously we can't prepare for the unknown, and that's where your fundamentals come into play, and those fundamentals are what you have to rely on to carry you through those situations, because we can't defend something we don't know what it is, so we just have to wait and see what it is when we get to it, but I'm sure they'll have some wrinkles, definitely."