University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina Postgame Quotes Vs. Georgia Tech
November 11, 2006 | Football
Nov. 11, 2006
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North Carolina Head Coach John Bunting
Opening Statement
"We're all very disappointed about losing a game the way we did. There was tremendous effort from a lot of individuals and obviously the defense played their hearts out. There were a lot of opportunities to win that game and it is frustrating again to lose it the way that we did. The locker room is not a fun place to be after a game like that. We have had several games this year that have had that similar feel. Our team will be resilient and once again I think they will play hard like they played hard today. Hopefully we can play a little smarter and make a few more plays to win it. We are playing our last home game next week against the Pack and hopefully we can get this into a situation where we can play the complete game and get a win."
On the improved play of the defense today:
"They tackled very well, they fit plays very well, they got after Reggie Ball, they did a terrific job on Calvin Johnson. It was a great scheme and it was some great focus. I am real disappointed that on the one drive in which they do score, we have two penalties--one with an offisdes and one with a pass interference. Either one of those plays and we are off the field."
On the possibility of bringing in backup QB Cam Sexton and the play of Joe Dailey:
"There was no discussion. I went and talked with Joe [Dailey] and I felt it was the right call to keep him in. It's all about making decisions. We knew very much what they would be running in the red zone. They run one of those `red four' coverages, and he had the opportunity to throw short on the first interception and make a play, or go someplace else with it. Instead we tried to go with a corner route and the cornerback had fell off on the corner route. If we go someplace else with it--throw it to the short guy, run it, or have an incompletion--we can just kick a field goal."
On the play calling miscommunication in the red zone:
"Missed calls. There were two or three of those today where we had bad communication between the quarterback and the offense in terms of being able to run the play that was appropriate. I don't have an explanation for it, but that resulted in a negative play [on the first trip inside the red zone] and it resulted in a negative play on the second to last drive when we had penetrated into their territory. It was a first down call and we lost six yards. Probably looked like the ball should have been handed off going the other direction, instead Joe went the other way falling down for a loss."
On the play of senior Larry Edwards:
"He is a determined young man and he loves to play the game. It was exciting to see him out there at practice last week. I still didn't know until Wednesday that he would have an opportunity to play. Then he is chasing the quarterback out-of-bounds over by our sideline he twists his ankle. We thought he would definitely miss the game. We x-rayed it and there was no break. I was told he was not going to be available then all of a sudden he is out there on the field. That kid loves to play football. I am happy that he did get back and play and maybe, based on what we see tomorrow morning in terms of any swelling or that kind of thing, he'll be back ready to play for NC State."
On the importance of next week's game:
"I want every one. I hate to lose. I am not a very good loser, so I like to win all the time. I know that you can't, but I like to win all the time. This is a rivalry game and it has always been a great game. When I've been here and when I haven't been here and it always will be. This will be something that will be very easy for both teams to get prepared for."
North Carolina Player Quotes
Jesse Holley
On playing so many close games:
"It is frustrating, because we're right there. If you come into a game and you say we're just outmatched, you just gotta take that. You gotta go in there and play hard and hope the cards fall in your favor. We went out there, we gave a great effort defensively and we just didn't capitalize on our opportunities that we had. It is frustrating, it is very frustrating. But we can't do nothing now. Like I said, many times before, if we can TIVO the game and go back and play it again; we definitely would. We definitely wouldn't throw those interceptions on the goal line, we definitely wouldn't mess plays up on the field and have drive killers. But we can't so, hats off to Georgia Tech, they beat us. Again, I want to say hats off to our defense they played very, very well and now we just have to look forward to preparing for NC State."
On Joe Dailey's red zone interceptions:
"Anytime you get down in the red zone, the field is a lot more condensed. There's not a lot of room. Sometimes, what you may read, what you may see the same defense in the middle of the field and the red zone and you may think it's going to fall off the same way but when you're in the red zone you run out of space. There is not forty or fifty yards behind you; there's out of bounds. He has good intentions, he doesn't go down there and say okay, let's get in the red zone and lets throw a pick. He doesn't do that. He goes out there and he wants to put us in the best position to score."
Kareen Taylor
On the team going forward:
"You know, we're just picking each other up and just keep playing. If you got back and watch the film, I think every linebacker was in the game, from the third string to the first string, every linebacker was in the game and every linebacker made a play. That was one of the key points and just having those guys step up and make a play is a good thing."
Where the problems with the defense come from:
"Take the secondary. We haven't had a bad game all year, except for Notre Dame. We gave up four touchdowns and I don't know how many yards he threw for. So they've got to sit on you some week and the secondary, we took that as a challenge to come back and have a great game."
Ronnie McGill
On today's game:
"On offense, talking the talk but not walking the walk. Defense played great. They needed us to make a play and we just didn't make one."
On the team's problems:
"People not stepping up when it gets to those crucial situations. Throwing the ball in the red zone, inside the 10 twice and got two interceptions. They gave up seven points the whole game and we get the ball back at the end of the game and we don't even move it. We've got fourth and 11 and we punting. People getting mad cause we not going for it on fourth down, well, if we would have made the plays on the first three downs we wouldn't have had to worry about that."
On the upcoming game against NC State:
"Trying to get the fans here (at Carolina) another win. It's been a rough season. Make sure that everybody goes out there and stays focused. Even though the season ain't going the way we wanted it to, we still got to try to make the best out of it. We have nothing to lose; everybody's future for next year is uncertain. Seniors going to be graduating; don't know if they're going to be playing again. Don't nobody have anything to hold back, we've just got to let it all hang out."
On the prospect of beating NC State and Duke making the season better:
"It makes you feel better, but the season's been so frustrating. I don't think two wins is going to make everything better. We come out there and beat State, there will be a lot of happy people but it's still going to be a disappointing season."
Larry Edwards
On the defense playing so well compared to the offense:
"It's always frustrating, one side of the ball having nice success and the other one suffering. Win as a team, lose as a team; all this is a team effort. We're not going to point the fingers, we're just going to come back next week and say what can we do better to help our offense and we gotta score points, we gotta put them in a position to score points easily. Get the ball inside the 20, the 30, put them in position to score."
Joe Dailey
On many of his interceptions coming in the red zone:
"Usually, it's probably not enough on it. You don't want to stretch the field that much in the red zone because everything's so condensed, so you try to be too precise and obviously, I didn't put enough on it or put too much on it and it's not what I need. That's pretty much the issue there with not trying to force the ball because you obviously don't want to overthrow them."
Georgia Tech Head Coach Chan Gailey
On what this game means:
"It means we get to go to Jacksonville and have the opportunity to win the ACC Championship, that's what it means."
On being quiet after the game:
"I think we're drained. I think it was a tough, physical game. It was hot. I think we're physically and emotionally drained, that's what I think. They had to fight to win this thing. It didn't come easy."
On games billed as one-sided:
"That's not your worst fear. Your worst fear is not winning. You keep trying to tell the players how talented they (UNC) are, how physical they are, and it was true today. It was true, they were physical, they were tough, they played well, especially on defense. So it was a tough game, and it's kind of what you thought it could be. I was hoping it wouldn't be, but you thought it's what it could be."
On the offense's lackluster performance:
"I would say that it was a lot of stuff that was us. I would say it was a lot of stuff that we were not able to generate any kind of consistency at all, and we missed our big plays. We had about 4 opportunities for big plays and we missed our big plays. That's something we haven't been doing in games passed, and we missed them today."
"You just go into the game and you try to see what's happening and you do the best you can to adjust. They (UNC) did some good some things, but we didn't execute the way we're capable of executing, that's for sure."
"They felt like they had to stop the run in the ballgame. I mean, they were doubling Calvin every snap, not every now and then, but every snap. And we had James for several shots and just didn't hit them."
"It's our first shutout since 2000. It's hard to shutout anybody, I don't care who it is, but this team, that had been playing a little bit better, and the two red zone turnovers were huge in the ball game. I thought the second half we really got after them, really played well the second half. We gave up a couple of plays, a couple of pass plays, but really, on the whole, we got after them the second half, maybe as good as we've done all year in a half of football.
