Huskers Turn Attention to Pitt

Lincoln - Coach Bill Callahan and the Nebraska football team welcomed the media to Memorial Stadium for the Huskers' weekly press conference at the Don Bryant Media Facility to discuss their upcoming game with the Pitt Panthers on Saturday.  Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 2:36 p.m., with regional television coverage provided by ABC. Huskers.com offers complete coverage, including transcripts of Coach Callahan's press conference and quotes from selected Nebraska players.

Callahan's quotes are available in the following text, while quotes from individual Husker players can be accessed by clicking on the page numbers at the top of this page.  A link for Nebraska's weekly pregame notes is also available at the top of this page.

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Sept. 13, 2005
Head Coach Bill Callahan

Opening Statement
"We are in the midst of Pittsburgh preparation right now. We just essentially finished the morning of preparation of game planning Pitt. I have to tell you, they are a good football team, despite their record. They are a championship football team that we have tremendous respect for. As you look at their history a year ago, being a BCS bowl team and obviously winning the Big East championship, they are a solid football team. Despite some of the shortcomings they have had this year, they are an awfully talented football team. They are very solid across the board defensively, and they obviously have some weapons on offense that we have to be able to contain and control. It's going to be a great challenge for our football team, and that's where our focus lies at this time."

On Pittsburgh's changes from last year
"Defensively, their structure is essentially the same. They're big, physical, fast players. They gave us a hard time out there last year at Heinz Field when we played them. I think their scheme is improved from a coverage standpoint. I think as you look at the history of Coach (Dave) Wannstedt, what he has accomplished in the NFL and the success that he has had defensively in his past and in his career, you see that reflected on film. You see very good defensive players with sound coverages, a sound system, and they're tough to attack. They're really tough to attack. I look at the last ball game, and they held their opponent under 200 yards total offense. I see that as a barometer. I look at Notre Dame, and I look at that contest, and that was a good game, obviously, for Notre Dame offensively. Even still, there are elements of their play defensively that are outstanding.

Offensively, you look at their quarterback, Tyler Palko, and what he has accomplished and his ability to lead the team to a championship a year ago, he has that same competitive spirit about himself. You look at the film, and I know as you watch quarterback play in college football or at any level, you're going to have some error in your game. When you're throwing the football, interceptions are probable at times. I know he would probably want those throws back, but he's a good player; he's a competitor. He's fierce, he's a guy who can really hurt you because of his ability make moves and create plays and obviously get the ball down the field. We look back at last year and what he did in the second half of our game and how he came on and how he produced and how he almost led his team to a near victory against us; he has our attention. He has our full attention. He's capable of lighting it up at any time, and his makeup is such that he does come from a coaching family. His dad is a high school football coach. They're football junkies. He loves the game, and he loves everything about the game.

Just talking with Coach (Walt) Harris a year ago, he had tremendous respect for his quarterback and his ability to really take in the offense and execute it the way he wanted to. So this is a guy who is an outstanding quarterback. Despite his last performance, this is a guy who is awfully dangerous. Being 0-2 and coming in here to Lincoln, their backs are against the wall, so we expect a completely different team coming in here than what we saw on film. I know Dave from that aspect. His teams are always prepared. They're always going to come into a contest detailed. They're going to have every answer for everything you do. They're going to throw some new tricks at you, going to throw some new wrinkles at your offense and your defense. That's where it is.

Additionally speaking, their special teams -- boy, I tell you, that's one area of focus we're going to concentrate on heavily this week. As you watch the last game, the opening kickoff goes 95 yards. They returned one to the house a year ago against us. It's an area of concern, and we have to have great coverage in this particular game. The coverage has to be tight, and we have to contest all returns and have success in that area. We have to improve our special teams. We have to get better across the board again in that area and that phase of our game."

On Pittsburgh's defense
"I think they're just playing basic coverage, sound coverage. I don't know that it's anything that is out of the realm or that's different in that respect. I think everyone is playing the same type of coverage. You're going to rotate and try to disrupt them. You're going to try to do things of that nature that most people do when you play those types of coverage, when you cloud coverage or you play tight ball press with help over the top. That's a double team in a sense, but it's basic structure in football coaching."

On Coach Wannstedt's teams at Pittsburgh compared to his Miami Dolphins teams
"I think it's relatively the same. They're pretty advanced in terms of their system. They play what looks like a very simplistic front coverage, but there are so many combinations to it that they throw at you out of it that can cause confusion and create a lot of problems for an offense. They have big, physical linemen. Their speed rusher over on their right side is an outstanding player. He's outstanding. He has speed, he has range, he has the double moves that you look for out of a speed rusher and potentially a change up off that. He's a guy who we're really going to have to do a great job containing. He's a guy who can really disrupt you in terms of your protection if you don't address that issue.

Jason Taylor was like that when we used to play the Dolphins. They have that type of rusher on that side that you have to be conscious of. You have to go into a game plan with that type of mindset that you want to be able to take away that best pass rusher. But they have good players. They have good, strong, physical corners. They're big, they're tall, they use their hands well. They're going to play a lot of press-man, so that's something that we haven't seen a lot of that we're going to see quite a bit of this Saturday. Their corners coming out and playing bump, bump and run and press and probably try to disrupt your ability to run routes down the field.  We're going to see quite a bit of that this week."

On playing Pittsburgh after the Panthers lost to Ohio coached by Frank Solich
"I don't think it's fair to compare the two.  I look at Ohio as playing very well against them and to their credit, I wouldn't want to diminish their efforts.  Like I said last week, in college football, any team can beat any other team.  The parity is so standard across the board.  The Mid-American Conference is notorious for upsetting teams.  If you look at their upsets throughout the years.  I remember being back in the Big Ten at Michigan and suffering upsets by Michigan State.  It can happen.  Those are good football teams in the MAC.  It's not surprising.  It's not shocking."

On matching up against another former NFL Coach in Dave Wannstedt
"This game is not about the coaches.  I really believe that.  It's about the players, especially for us here.  These guys have done tremendous things in terms of their preparation and focus.  For us, to have success we have to continue in that route.  We have to continue in that context of preparation and be diligent about every detail in every phase.  Our defense played well last week and our special teams played well.  Our offense didn't.  But the defense and special teams still don't get a free pass in terms of improvement.  We've got to improve in everything, that's how we get better as a team."

On offensive lineman Lydon Murtha seeing action
"Murtha is going to be in the mix, I will say that.  We haven't determined whether or not playing time will be forthcoming or not.  I think it would be great if we could give them all playing time.  But it's still early in the week.  We have a whole week of practice yet to look things over and get a better gauge of it.  He's just been cleared.  How he responds during a week of practice and how much improvement Lydon can make is all up to him."

On the number of offensive linemen that have played in the first two games
"I'd like to play them all if we could.  I don't know the exact number.  We played a good number of offensive linemen.  I'd like to play a few more, too.  Right now, we're just trying to get our first five tied down, get them playing more cohesively and more consistent and a little bit more efficient than in the first two games.  If we can do that, we'll mix and match them a little more."

On the strong play of Nebraska's linebackers
"I'm not surprised at all.  They are an outstanding group, but we've got a long way to go yet.  This is week two and we've got a long way to go before we get to conference play or before we can throw any accolades on them.  They've produced, but they've got to get better to.  There's a lot of things we came out of the films with that we see needs improvements.  They made some plays, but again there are still areas that we need to shore up on defense.  To their credit, they've done a good job.  But that's in the past.  This week we've got Pittsburgh and they're a big physical group up front.  They want to committ themselves to run the ball and I know we're going to get challenged.  Not only in the running game, but down the field throwing the ball as well."

On the receivers dropping passes
"That comes down to executing under pressure.  We constantly stress making plays in pressure situations, on third down or on the early down so you have the ability to stay in a normal sequence of play.  We make plays during practice, we just need to transfer that into the games.  I think Coach (Ted) Gilmore has stressed that a few times.  Again, I just want to echo what he's continually preaching to our players that what we do on the practice field has to show up on game-day. 

The thing I was impressed about is that we've got a quarterback who can throw the ball accurately down the field.  If you really study his deep throws, he's pretty consistent and he's on location and he doesn't spray the ball much down the field.  We've just got to come up with some play.  That's just part of the game."

On wide receiver Frantz Hardy and quarterback Zac Taylor having a history
"Well they do have a background and they have history with each other.  I think that's important.  We don't dismiss that whatsoever.  I think Isaiah (Fluellen) and Mark (LeFlore), they both played in last week's game and they're continuing to get a lot of reps and they're going to be in the mix quite a bit as we go on.  But both are tremendous players.  They've got talent and speed, they've got good hands. 

Unfortunately they just got knicked and in a way they couldn't get back on the field fast enough before the season arrived.  Coach Gilmore has been very intelligent about their progression and how he's fitting them into their roles.  We'll see more of those guys as we move along down the line.  They're two outstanding senior players in terms of leadership and that receiving corps.  They certainly work hard in everything they do and we're excited to get them back into more of a role as we move forward."

On depth on the defensive line
"It's important to have depth and we're fortunate that we do have depth at that spot.  You look at Ola (Dagunduro) who had a nice game the other night, so did Barry Cryer.  And you've got (Ndamukong) Suh who is coming along as well.  So you've got five players along with Titus Adams and Le Kevin Smith that we're rotating on the inside.  And when you can rotate those big fellows it really helps you get more positive quality play because then those guys don't wear down.  Because as we know, those players are susceptible to getting double-teamed on every play whether it's pass protection or even if it's a run.  So it's important to give those guys a spell, whether it's a series or two and allow some fresh bodies to come in there and do some pounding.  So it's good to have depth, especially at that position. 

At defensive end, along with Jay Moore and Adam Carriker, we've had Wali Muhammed really step up and give us some good play as well with his ability to make big plays for losses.  So again, we're growing and that position in growing.  I think John (Blake) is doing a great job with that front.  Again, it's only game two so I don't get overly excited or too critical with the defensive line.  They've had some tremendous play, but we've got a long way to go yet.  A long way to go.

On whether or not he expected such production out of middle linebacker Corey McKeon
"A year ago, Coz (Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove) really liked his makeup, liked his attitude.  He's becoming a more experienced player now.  He's intelligent and his preparation has improved.  So he's taken it upon himself to become the player that he is right now.  He's got to get better, no question about that.  I think he'd be the first one to tell you that.  But he's a guy that's taken more pride in his preparation.  He understands his role as a leader on that defense.  He'll only get better as we move along as well.  He's a guy that loves football. He's the kind of a guy that's going to rally the troops out there.  He's kind of a bell cow out there and he's going to get everybody on the same page.  He's excitable and he's a good player.  He'll only going to get better, we feel."

On what they need to do to get better defensively
"Again, just more consistency in our run defense, in our coverage, in contesting balls in the outside lane.  We had a coverage breakdown the other night that we weren't really excited about.  But overall we've got to just be more consistent and have more definition as to what we're doing across the board.  We've got more guys that are playing more consistently, but as a unit we can become better.  We can become stronger and more defined in everything we're doing."

On the comparison between Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko and Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor
"Palko has been there.  He's been at Pitt.  And this is Taylor's first season.  Palko has led Pitt to a championship and to a BCS Bowl.  This is a guy that is a tremendous competitor and comes from a coaching background.  So if there's any similarities, it's that they both come from fathers that have coached the game of football.  So it's in their blood, it's in their nature.  That's probably the only comparison I could give you."

On Zac Taylor's ability to take hits
"I think he bounces back well.  I mentioned this in the spring, that his head has bounced off the turf a few times and he bounced back and he's energetic and he's alive and he gets right back into the mix.  He's a tough guy.  In that position, to earn the respect of your peers and your teammates, you're going to have to take a few hits.  That's part of the position.  It'd be great if we kept him clean for the duration of the game.  That's our goal.  But let's be honest, playing that position and when you get heated up with full pressure and blitzes, you're going to get hit.  We don't want him to get hit, we want to protect him.  He's taking a few more hits than we would like.  That's our job.  We've got to do a better job of protection."

On the offensive line's ability to protect Zac Taylor
"I think it's a part of experience and playing under pressure and really getting a familiarity and communicating better.  I think that's the crux of it right there, is really feeling confident in the guy playing next to you and have communcation and that dialogue throughout the game that's natural.  They're learning how to talk and how to see things more. They're learning what the recognition is up front.  And when you play a team like Wake Forest, let me tell you, you're going to spend a long night in the film room, especially on the nickel night.  Because they're going to throw about four or five different full pressures on you and you've got to have the answers.  That means you've got to go to great lengths to find protection and plays against the types of schemes your going to see and the teams your going to face."

On having confidence in the younger players
"What's really helped up is the developmental Monday.  We went through yesterday's practice and we had a lot of players practice and they're getting better and they need continual work to close that gap.  But we have played a lot of young players.  We've played (Zach) Potter. We've played (Ndamukong) Suh. We've played (Phillip) Dillard. We're playing (Marlon) Lucky more.  We're playing a lot of young players, but to get them to where we want to go they've got to take a lot of steps forward.  There really can't be any plateauing, we've got to take a step each week so that we can become the team we want to be.  But they're making improvements and we see a lot of positive things out of those young players."

On his feel toward the offense
"I always feel confident about our offense.  I know we need improvement.  I see that.  It's clear to my eyes and anyone else's eyes, and more importantly our players see that they need to improve.  So when you've got players telling you that they realize where they've faltered, where they need to get better, that's a real positive for us.  Our players understand that they have to get better in order for us to get to where we want to go as a football team.  But I can't make any prediction as to whether it's going to break out.  Every game is different and every defense is different.  We take it like that, we don't make any predictions.  We just want to become consistent and efficient enough to put points on the board.  That's all that matters."

On putting pressure on Tyler Palko
"I think it's really key.  Matt Cavanaugh, their offensive coordinator, coached in the NFL for a number of years - played and coached.  I'm certain as you go through a couple of games, as a coach you realize that there are things you need to change.  If you do have protection errors, you address those problems.  You get to the seat of those problems.  For that staff, they're seeing it for the first time.  For our staff, we're seeing it for the second time around.  We address those issues and we work around that.  We play to our player's strength and you try to fashion your scheme around your player's strength.  That's what we're about, and I'm sure that's what they're doing right now.  You try to find ways to alleviate areas in their game and try to find ways that they can be strong and attack our weaknesses.  I know that sounds simplistic, but that's what occurs as you prepare for an opponent.  I know they're intelligent enough to realize that they're going to do some things differently or get different protection to help the quarterback, just like any team would do."

On Pitt attacking Nebraska's secondary
"They will attack our secondary.  They'll go after our cornerbacks and our safeties, and (Greg) Lee is a great receiver.  He's capable of coming up with a big play at any time.  Of course when you insert speed into that combination you've got to account for it, and we have to do a better job in our deep coverage.  We could be more effective.  I know we've made some plays that have been positive, but I know Coach Elmo (Phil Elmassian) and Coach (Bill) Busch are constantly harping about perfection back there and we're striving for it.  The deep ball is going to be a factor.  The throws on the outside lane, whether they're square-outs or come-backs, or outbacks or circle-outs or whatever you want to call them, they're going to be plenty of those types of routes, and they're going to be routes that our defensive backs are going to have to do a great job against.  But I feel that they'll test our corners just like anybody does.  They'll test our corners, we'll test their corners, it's just the game of football."

On Palko's left-handed throw changing the defense
"It doens't really change it, you just have to get a feel for if they're more left-oriented than they are right-oriented.  If they're playing more to his natural side.  Normally if you have a right-handed quarterback, you're distributed to the right side obviously at a higher percentage.  But with the college football hashes, you can throw that out the window.  If you're on the right hash, they force you to play left-handed, plus you've got to throw all your pass plays into the short field.  So with a left-handed quarterback, the ball is still up, it's just a little different look for the corners perspective." 

On his relationship with Dave Wannstedt
"I'm acquainted with Dave.  He's a good man.  He's a good coach. He's well respected.  In the NFL, he's very well respected.  I mean, look at the championship defenses that he's been around in Dallas and of course, I've always had a tremendous respect for the Miami defense when he was there.  How they performed and how they schemed, they were tough to beat.  You had to plan hard.  We played them in the playoffs in 2000, played them again in 2002, but they were a good football team.  They're really well-coached.  In every detail you can see the techniques he's carrying over from the NFL, and that's part of their makeup, that's what he's known for."

On paying Wannstedt back for beating Callahan the last time they played
"That has nothing to do with anything.  This game is about the players.  It really is.  Our players are excited about playing, just like theirs are.  It's going to be a tough game.  It's going to be physical.  It's a game that will go the length of four quarters.  Anything could happen.  This is the type of team that has their back against the way with two losses and that's a dangerous opponent with an outstanding quarterback, defense and special teams.  Our team has great respect for all teams and you see that in their preparation, the way they come in and the way they prepare.  They come in and ask questions, they want to know who they're playing and what they need to do.  So when you have players asking questions that as a coach you want them to ask, you feel good about that.  So we're continuing to improve our preparation, as long as we continue to get better on the practice field and carry it over onto game day."

On Nebraska freshman place-kicker Jordan Congdon
"He's been outstanding.  For a freshman to come in under that type of pressure is outstanding.  He obviously wants to get better on some of his kickoffs, and I'm sure he wants to lengthen his distance on some of the field goal game, but he's been a hard worker. He's been focused.  He's a guy that comes to work serious about what he does.  Here again, we're fortunate that we have two good kickers.  David Dyches is capable as well to come in at any point in the game and knock it through the pipes.  We've got two kickers that are good in that respect.  And we've got a punter that's very good and underrated as far as I'm concerned, for what he does and that's Sam Koch.  He provides us with great field position.  He put four inside the 20 the other night and knocked one of the longest balls in his career.  So he's very capable of changing the field and we need that type of play out of him again this weekend."