Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Iowa State

On if Pelini is tired of talking about dirty hits
"Really, yeah, a little bit."

On if the whole hit thing has run its course
"It just seems like I was sick of it three weeks ago. Obviously, nobody wants anybody to get hurt. I think they just blew it up so much. I just don't like that it seems like the NFL dictates so many things now. I'm a little bit tired of that."

On how realistic it is to miss a guy by a couple of inches, having played safety earlier in his career
"It's not. It's not realistic. Especially because surfaces change and people duck and so many things happen so fast. I think officials try to do a good job of talking about intent. I think every situation is a bit different, and it has gotten to the point where it is hard for officials to call it. It's a difficult thing. There is such an emphasis on it, and it is so blown up. It is damned if you do and damned if you don't for the officials. I kind of feel for those guys at times. And really everybody involved in the decision and enforcing it and what the media has done with the whole issue. It's not an easy thing right now. It's hard to coach."

On if eventually there will be a time where hits will have to be coached differently
"We don't teach anybody to do that. I don't' think anybody is out there intentionally doing it. I really don't. I think sometimes things happen in the emotion of the game, but I don't think anybody is out there intentionally trying to hurt anyone. It's a physical sport and things happen fast. It's not an easy thing, and it is something we are all working through together. Coaches, officials, conference officials, everybody. Players alike, everybody is working through this together and it's not an easy thing. It takes time. Like I said, you just have to keep educating people on it."

On what Pelini would like to see happen on the field with the way the calls are so subjective
"I don't think there is an easy way. I think they are trying to handle it the right way. I mean, I think the intent is there. It's not an easy thing for anybody involved. Things happen in the sport and they happen fast. It isn't easy to call or easy on people setting the rules. It isn't easy to coach or for the players. It is going to take time."

On if the game has become more violent since Pelini has played
"Oh no. I don't think it has become more violent. It has blown up a lot more. The ESPN's of the world and the media is so much more in the spotlight that they forget this has been happening in football for a long time."

On how much the subject was approached before the three big hits in the NFL in one week
"We've always talked about it. But not much. The officials and conference always talked about it and players safety. Player safety was an emphasis for a long time. You know, from a coaching standpoint, we don't want a 15-yard penalty. So you do coach it. You also coach it in practice because you don't want guys doing it to your own guys. It's a constant education and like I said, sometimes it isn't an intentional thing."

On Pelini's interpretation of the rule
"It is pretty black and white. As far as how to state the rule and targeting a defenseless player intentionally with the crown of the helmet. It isn't an easy thing to call."

On if Pelini had heard from the Big 12 regarding Courtney Osborne
"No. I'm assuming we would have heard something by now."

On if Pelini takes into account speed of the athletes increasing since his playing days
"There were some pretty fast guys playing then, too. There has been speed in the game for a long time. The hardest thing I thought of, playing as a safety, when you go across the middle, and you're going to dislodge them from the ball and you're going to hit the receiver and the guy ducks, those are the hard situations. A guy across the middle and another goes up high, and targets the head, that guy should get penalized. But every situation is different and that is what is hard on the officials. Making the calls. Every situation happens in a game is different. I say it is a bang-bang play for the player and it's the same for the officials, and it isn't an easy thing to call. It's not easy. There are going to be mistakes made, but it's difficult."

On if Pelini ever hit a guy in the head, or got hit in the head
"I got hit in the head too many times. I think you guys all know that. Yeah I hit some guys up high. Like I said, it wasn't like I was trying to take someone's head off. Sometimes you look up and it's a flash in front of your eyes. You look up and someone is in your face. That happened to one of our guys earlier in the year. He was covering somebody else and the ball was thrown and he looked and there was a guy and he got hit. He didn't get hit with a suspension or called on the play. He might have got called, I don't remember. But it happened bang-bang. Literally he turned and the guy was right in his face and he was trying to defend himself. Things happen and I don't think there was any intent there."

On how Pelini interprets the term 'defenseless player'
"I mean I think it is common sense, what a defenseless player is."

On what Pelini thinks of Iowa State
"Good football team. Well-coached. Very sound in what they do. I think they are a very well-coached football team. Which they are very capable and have our full attention."

On the prospect of winning the Big 12 North after a big win over Missouri
"It was the next win, so it was big. It is no bigger than the one coming up."

On the timetable of Taylor Martinez's return
"I don't know. We aren't sure if he will go today or not. He is still a little sore but making progress. He is day-to-day. Remains to be seen. He will be out there, depends on how he feels. He responds well but is sore a little bit."

On if Zac Lee will start if Martinez can't go this weekend
"I'll have to comment later in the week to see how that all plays out."

On if Alfonzo Dennard had a true concussion
"Oh yeah, he got hit. Once again, our guy was going to make a tackle and our own guy hit him. He took a shot in the head."

On if it is safe for Dennard to play this weekend
"That's not my decision. It's the doctor's decision. He won't be out there today. He is doing a lot better. He has passed the impact test they have, but we are holding him for a bit. It's not something that we will put him out there until he is 100 percent, and that is something you don't rush a guy back from too quickly."

If Martinez has to make it back by a certain point to start the game Saturday
"Probably. Like I said, I'm not exactly sure. It is day-to-day and how he feels. We will play it by ear."

On if Martinez doesn't get to a certain point, whether the upcoming games become more important
"The next game is the most important game. I don't think there is walking on any fine line. We have a lot of confidence in all of our guys. Obviously, we'd love for Taylor to play, but if he doesn't, we will be prepared to win with whoever trots out there at quarterback."

On how Pelini had spoken Saturday about Martinez's injury and if the status had changed since then
"Yeah, I wasn't sure what it was. It's about the same as I thought though. It just comes down to everybody healing differently. Like I said, I think he is doing well. It is nothing long-term, I can say that."

On if Pelini has a policy about not practicing during the week, if he can get a start
"Do I have a policy? Every situation is a little bit different. If you don't practice at all, I don't know how you could be prepared to play."

On how impressed Pelini is with the job Coach Paul Rhodes has done with ISU
"He has done a great job. I've said it, I think they are a well-coached team who is very sound. They are fundamentally sound. I think he does a great job."

On if Ciante Evans showed Pelini anything he hadn't already seen
"He played well. We didn't redshirt him because we thought he was a good football player. I guess you never really know until you throw him into the fire, which he was. Obviously, Coach (Marvin) Sanders has a huge amount of confidence in him, and he went in there and responded well."

On what Pelini saw from Evans in August that separated him from other freshmen
"We had a couple guys knicked up, and he got a few opportunities and I like that whole class. Our freshman DB's have a lot of potential. He is a guy who picked things up quickly and showed us good ability from the start, and because of mixing and matching, he had a lot of opportunities."

On if Pelini expected Evans to help on run-support like he did
"Oh he will come up and tackle. He has tackled from the start."

On what Pelini saw out of Kevin Thomsen against Missouri
"Carl and J.P. (John Papuchis) have liked him from the start, and there are always situations that lend a bit more to a certain guy's skill set. Carl and J.P. put him in there and thought he could do well in the role we put him in, and he did."

On Nebraska's defensive progression to be able to be flexible like they were against Missouri Saturday
"Well, yeah. Anytime you have been together a long time, you complete things a bit more. Guys have a better understanding and respond a little bit with more ease. I think that was the case Saturday. It wasn't anything mind-boggling that we did. It was very similar conceptually, but our guys and coaches taught it well."

On last year's game against ISU and if Pelini had ever been part of a game that strange
"What game? I don't know what you're referring to. Next question."

On the role Cameron Meredith played on Saturday
"He did a lot. He is a versatile guy and we have certain guys that we stand up to do some of those things with, and he did a bit of it earlier in the year. We tweaked it a little bit this week and how we did it, but he is a guy who can do a lot of different things."

On how different helmets are today than Pelini's days at Ohio State
"I haven't put one on in a while, but it looks a little different and the technology keeps getting better. I don't care what helmet you have on, there is only so much a helmet can do. I do know that they continue to improve and it is a big emphasis. They keep testing and doing all of those things and hopefully it keeps going in the right direction."

On if Pelini wants the players to be wary of last year's ISU game and how ISU tends to create turnovers
"Our players know and understand that. They have our full attention and are a good team. We have to be ready on the road and will be prepared to play our best football."

On what Pelini saw in the Texas game from ISU
"They executed well. They had a game plan and they executed. They had a plan and they stayed with it, and I believe they came off of a tough loss at that point. It was just before they had come off a tough loss and I remember seeing that score later on and saying that team showed a lot of character. It's a testament to their coaches and their program right now. That they can respond from a loss like they did and come back and do what they did in Austin. That in itself should get our full attention."

On if the number of guys playing defense last week was something Pelini wanted to do all year
"I've said it all along that we have more depth. We have options. We are at the point where the season goes on and you can get better because we are playing more guys, and we didn't have that luxury two years ago, or even last year. We are deeper and more confident in a multitude of guys, which gives us opportunities to play more people, which is the best-case scenario."

On Mike Ditka's comments about removing a portion of the facemask to make players hold off on harder hits
"Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what the answer is to that. That is way outside of my expertise. I don't claim to be an expert on helmets and that stuff, but you just hope they continue to get better."

On if Pelini has had a chance to follow Ndamukong Suh in the NFL this season
"He had a great game last week, I know that. He had two sacks in the first half and obviously it doesn't surprise us. He is a good football player and we are proud of him."

On if it surprises Pelini that Suh is making an impact so soon
"That is why they took him so high and why we told people to take him that high."

On if there is a trend in the NFL that rookie players don't make an impact off the bat
"Well, I don't know that I'd say nobody ever does. I've been around some rookies that have had huge years. And everyone is different. Playing time is different and systems are different. Sometimes stats don't show it. In this case, they are."

On Tyrone Fahie
"Well he is a guy who has given everything he could to the program. He has a tremendous attitude and is a guy that won't get out there every Saturday, but he busts his butt everyday and it shows the heart and character. I think he is a tremendous role model for our younger guys and our program. He is a true team guy and we are proud of him. I know he is a great guy to have on our team."

On the team's confidence level after beating two undefeated teams
"I don't know. I don't buy into all that. I hope and I think they are a confident group. In the end it comes down to execution and continued improvement, and we continue to do that. We are still not the finished product. There is a long way we can go. We have a lot further to go to reach our potential as a football team. We are gonna have to in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead, and Saturday just provides us with our next opportunity to do that. We are going to be challenged. You gotta be ready for those challenges each and every week."

On what Joe Moglia has meant to Pelini
"I can't stand the guy. Joe means a lot. He has been great to have around and is a phenomenal person and leader. Obviously he has accomplished so much in his career. He is a very driven person. I know myself and the whole staff has learned a lot from him. Just being around and talking to him about a multitude of things. Like I said, he is very driven. He wants to and has a passion for coaching and football, and for him to be going around like he is, it isn't an easy thing. It takes someone who has done what he has done in his life to make that decision and really sacrifice a lot of things to chase his dream. I think that says a lot about him. He is around almost every day. He has done a lot for our program and serves a number of different roles and has done a great job."

On Iowa State quarterback Austin Arnaud and how he compares to other quarterbacks
"He is a good player who can do a lot of things. He can hurt you with his feet and his arm. He is a smart player who makes good decisions, and he is a good quarterback."