For us unable to listen in via the internet, please post the coach's comments here. Thanks in advance.
(Link:http://www.lsusports.com/article.cfm?ref=0002E5E7-15ED-1FB9-95ED80D1FBA4FB8F ) Saban Addresses Media at Weekly Press Luncheon 11/17/03 BATON ROUGE -- LSU football head coach Nick Saban addressed the media Monday during his weekly media luncheon from the fifth floor conference room in the LSU Athletics Administration Building. Archived video is now available to members of LSUsports.tv. Here is the transcript from Monday's media luncheon: Opening Statement: "After watching the film we are obviously very pleased with a lot of things that we saw in terms of how our players competed in the last game. We made some critical stops on defense in some key circumstances after a turnover in the third quarter and two minutes before the half in getting and interception. We also had a couple of other red-area stops. Offensively I thought we got off to a great start in the game and then kind of relaxed a little bit in the second quarter, which has kind of been a pattern for us. It seems that sometimes when we get ahead in the game we relax a little bit and we actually got a few penalties and threw and interception. "Sometimes it is human nature that when you get ahead a little bit you relax in competitive situations. You would like to keep your intensity level the same all the time because all that counts is the next play and all your focus should go on the next play. That message loud and clear this morning in terms of what we talked about with our team. We want our team to play with consistency and there are two times when you are going to get tested in this area, when things go bad, are you going to be able to respond to it, and when things go well, are you going to be able to focus on the next play and keep your intensity where it needs to be. What I am talking about here is intellectual intensity not physical intensity. You have to focus and concentrate on what you need to do to execute. The penalties we got, two of them were off sides, and we had a dropped pass, and an ill-advised interception, so most of the decisions and judgments stopped us, not our physical execution to put us in a bad situation. That is something that I think we need to improve on." "This is an opportunity for our team to win 10 games and I know there have not been a whole lot of team to do that, so it is certainly something that this team would like to accomplish. Ole Miss has got a very, very good team and they are the top scoring team in our league and have one of the best offensive teams in the country. There is no doubt that Eli Manning is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and no question one of the couple of guys who should receive the highest consideration to win the Heisman Trophy. They have good players around him. Their receivers and their offensive line are good. Even though they have had several guys contribute at running back, they have all done a very good job of being effective when they have gotten an opportunity. I think their defense has played much better this year and is much improved in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback and making a lot of plays and giving a lot of problems to a lot of offensive teams that they have played. They have the best kicker in the country probably and are very solid on special teams. This is certainly going to be a challenging game for us and it is a game that, like I always say, we want to bring our "A" game and take it one game at a time. We want to do the best we can to prepare our players in terms of what is and it is the game that is this week. It is a very important game because when you win, the next game is always a big game." "Injury wise, (tight end) David Jones has a sprained elbow and will be in a red shirt today. (Offensive guard) Nate Livings (knee) will also be in a redshirt (non- contact jersey). (Tight end) Demetri Robinson is still probably out and may start doing some light running, but I do not think anybody will have a problem with a game. Nate Livings should be back unless he has some reoccurring problems this week. It just depends on how he practices this week that will determine whether he plays or not. If he does not have any problems and is able to make it through practice without any significant pain or setbacks, I would assume that he would be able to play." On Ole Miss' offensive scheme this year and what team (s) they are comparable to: "They (Ole Miss) are maybe a lot more like Tennessee, whom we played a couple of years ago, than either Louisiana Tech or Florida. They run two-back runs and are very effective at running them. They have very good play-action game and get to three wide receivers a lot with two back, which we have not seen a whole lot of. That is not something that those teams (Louisiana Tech, Florida) did a lot of. Georgia did a lot of that. They run the ball effectively out of it and throw it and they also go to four wide receivers. They have always used formation and motioned us a little bit more than most teams they play, so we kind of expect that to happen as well." On Ole Miss' pass defense: "Well, I think when you have a game like that, one like their game against Texas Tech (Lost 49-45, gave up 661 yards passing), I think it takes more than a season to overcome that. That is why sometimes stats to not speak towards consistency. If you have one bad game it can really affect the stats and if you have one great game it can really affect them in another way. I think they are playing a lot better in the secondary than a lot of people that we have played against. They are physical and aggressive. I think sometimes when you get in those shootout games and everything gets wide open and you are more susceptible to giving up yards because the rushers get tired and it gets more difficult to play pass defense on the down out in situations like that." On focusing on the next play and game and what, if any, players on the team set an example for others related to that idea: "I think we have some guys that do a good job of that. I think Michael Clayton probably is one of the best examples that we have. He always seems, no matter what the situation or circumstance, whether it is running down on the kickoff team, blocking as a wide receiver, or catching one ball in the game or 12 balls in the game, he always seems to be able to do that fairly well. Sometimes the smarter guys have a tougher time of dealing with it than the other guys because they feel like things are in control and that it is all okay now. Clearly in the last few weeks I think we have played differently at times when we get ahead in the game, and not way ahead in the game and we do not really put the other team away. That is a time when you would like to have a little of a killer instinct, is I guess what people call it. Maybe that is what Oklahoma is being victimized by. Maybe their players just go out there and play no matter who is playing or what is going on. You know people always complain about running up the score, but it is the other guys that are playing. Sometimes when we put our substitute guys in everybody says the game is over now and that is not how it is supposed to be. Everybody gets mad at me because they go and do not do what they are supposed to do. Everyone asks why I am so mad when the score is 59-13, well I am mad because the players on the field are not playing the game the way they are supposed to play it and it does not make any difference what the score is." On the play and success of quarterback Matt Mauck this season: "Matt has certainly done an outstanding job for us. I think quarterback efficiency is always critical to offensive success, you know we have talked about that quite a bit. We have talked about the NFL stats about the most efficient quarterback having the best opportunity to win the game and I think that has a lot of validity. Matt has played very well and has kind of settled in and does not press as much. He just takes what is there. He has been very effective in getting us in the right play and being a good leader as well as being able to execute in the passing game to help some of our skill players have a significant impact on what they can do to help our team as well. We are much more effective when we have that balance. It goes hand in hand, you know the ability to run the ball, the ability to play-action pass, being a good third-down conversion team. All those things go hand in hand, like we are a lot better on third and less than seven than we are on third and more than seven, just like most teams are." On Ole Miss' offense: "Ole Miss has a good offensive team. They have a good offensive line, they have good skilled receivers, their running backs, even though people can say they do not have a star player, every guy has been very effective that has played in the role that he has had to play. They run hard and they are aggressive and they do a good job of executing their plays and the runners run them the right way. Eli puts their offense in the right place and then executes and makes some outstanding plays and that is why he is an outstanding player. He contributes a lot to their ability to execute with consistency on offense and making them one of the best offensive teams."
