University of North Carolina Athletics
Bunting Press Conference Quotes
November 6, 2001 | Football
Nov. 6, 2001
UNC football coach John Bunting met with the media Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference. Here is some of what he had to say:
"We're playing a very good football team. They present some serious problems for us. We all know that they've won some games and they've lost some very close games to some formidable opponents. They've played aggressive on both sides of the ball. They've played aggressive special teams. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jim Grobe. I had the opportunity to play some golf with him last year, and find him to be a real interesting, very strong, very disciplined type coach. His team's playing that way. They are playing with tremendous emotion. Their offense does a great job running the football. It's going to be a slugfest. It's going to be a 60-minute game - they play that way. They play to the very end, they play every play hard. They're going to be really difficult for us to contain. If we play run defense like we played last week, we will not contain them.
"Defensively, they scrap for every single yard that an offense gains on them. They're a little different with their look on defense, and they do a lot of things on special teams - particularly their punt team - that make you work and work and work. Some of the things we've been doing to people - we're getting a little does of our own medicine now, with the different formations that Wake Forest does on the punt team. They're very good and they've got some talent on that team. They've got some speed, they've got some strength. They're runners run hard and they just keep appearing. They've got a whole school of running backs that can play for them. They do a great job.
"They're receivers are trained dangerous. They're four-wide a lot and they all can run."
On meeting with team's seniors after loss to Georgia Tech:
"I think they were disappointed. No one could pinpoint an answer as to why we played the way we did. I think we were all a little full of ourselves and a little shocked at the way that Georgia Tech played - I don't know why it would be a shock, Georgia Tech's a good football team.
"I think it's a matter of not yet knowing how to handle the spotlight or being up there in contention. That was something we maybe weren't able to handle as well as we wanted to."
On motivating team for Wake Forest:
"All we have to do is turn on the tape. They can see for themselves how their football team plays - very aggressive, very physical and the quarterback has got a great arm. When they decide to throw, he can throw. They run the ball very effectively obviously, and they can definitely control the ball. That was our problem the other night. We weren't able to get the ball back for our offense very much. We weren't able to make them punt very much. We returned the first punt 26 yards and were only able to force them to punt one more time. This team here, that's their strong suit - keeping the ball, running the clock, pounding on you play after play after play."
On Wake Forest's offense compared to Georgia Tech and Maryland:
"This is a different style of offense. They still use multiple personnel groupings. Within those personnel groupings they're able to run the ball very effectively - whether they're in three-wides or four-wides or three-wides and two backs. So they're going to present different situations, different looks, different motions, different formations that you have to be very quick to identify and very assignment-sound to have a chance to stop them. You have to be assignment-sound and then you have to be ready to play physical. The runners are physical. You better out your big-boy pads on."
On Julius Peppers and his play against Georgia Tech:
"I don't think Julius took any plays off. I think Julius has still got a lot of upside in his game because of experience, (having) different experiences. That's all he lacks. He plays hard. I don't think he took plays off - I think it's an experience thing. The different plays that are run at you week in and week out, when you get into the fast-ball situation of a game, sometimes you're still not in touch with as much as you need to be. That's the only thing that I've ever said that Julius needs is more experience."
On Andre' Williams and Jacque Lewis:
"Andre' is a little fatigued, although I thought the bye week would get him freshened up and ready to go. We want Jacque to get opportunities in the game. He's earned that right. We weren't having much success running the football as it was - we had none. Therefore we tried to get Jacque in there and run a couple of screens with him, one of which might have gone to the house, but another MO (missed opportunity). We had one block to make and we're out the gate - we don't make that block, another missed opportunity. Like I said before, there were many missed opportunities in that game that contributed to the loss, along with the fact that we weren't physical enough."
Notes:
unting announced that there has been a death in the family of both Ronald Curry and Darian Durant. The UNC football program has limited details at this time other than that Curry's cousin and Durant's step-mother passed away.
"This kind of puts football in perspective of what is important. Our hearts and prayers go out to those two gentlemen, two fine people, and their families. What their status will be (for this weekend), I do not know. I am hopeful that everyone in this room and everyone around the country will care enough to let those two people and their families share their grief together, without hindrance."
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