More quotes from Georgia papers

CLE = Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
TFP = Chattanooga Times Free Press
MT = Macon Telegraph

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About how they need to cut down on the YAC, Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said:
"There is some simplicity to that, because you're not going to be able to get to him. He's going to get rid of the ball quickly. You might hurry him up and get a little pressure here and there, but we've got to do a good job of making plays in space and having 11 guys running to the football. We have to minimize their gains." (TFP)

Comparing UH's offense to Troy's offense, Martinez said:
"Hawaii is different than Troy, but I wouldn't say unbelievably different because the style of the run-and-shoot comes out quick. If you try and pressure Brennan, you're really not going to get there a lot of times, so you just teach your defense that they're going to get some yards and some completions, but you can't let them break them into big plays. That's where we've got to do a good job. We can't let a 10-yard catch turn into 40, 50 or 60, because that's where they have hurt some people." (TFP)

TFP Note: "Bulldogs defensive end Marcus Howard said the Troy game was the most tiring for him because of the "dinking and dunking" the Trojans did with screen passes. It tired the front more than other levels of Georgia's defense; linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, for one, didn't feel as fatigued."

About how Troy's screen passes didn't tire him out, LB Dannell Ellerbe said:
"I was most tired after Alabama, because I played a bunch of special teams that night. All that running around off screens and getting off blocks can take a toll on your body, so we don't want to go into this game out of condition. I don't think it will be a factor. I feel real good about this game." (TFP)

TFP Note: "Georgia improved down the stretch -- holding Auburn, Kentucky and Georgia Tech to an average of 276 yards -- largely because more people played. The Bulldogs are expected to counter Hawaii's offense with a rotation of five defensive ends, four defensive tackles, five linebackers, five cornerbacks and four safeties."

About how they have depth at D, which is important against UH, Martinez said:
"I think what gives us some confidence is that we've been able to play a lot of guys. That will help us because they will obviously run a lot of plays and will get their yards. Hopefully they won't get a ton of points. Brennan is an excellent quarterback with excellent receivers and an excellent offensive line. Their offensive line is probably the best combination of athletic ability and strength that we will face this year." (TFP)


About UH's offensive system, Nevada coach Chris Ault said:
"When you have a system you believe in and you continue to recruit better and better players, you are going to get pretty doggone good, and that's what June has done over there. Their system fits their personnel, and their personnel fits their system. Most importantly, it's what they believe in." (MT)

MT Note: "Jones has numbers to back up his belief. For the seventh year in a row, the Warriors finished the regular season in the nation's top two in passing yards. This year they are second with 450.2 per game. They lead the nation in scoring with 46.2 points per game and are third in total offense with 529.3 yards per game."

About how JJ knows his offense well, BSU coach Chris Petersen said:
"There are a lot of good ways to skin a cat, and Coach Jones has been honing that offense for most of his football life. He knows it inside and out and has assembled some good players to go along with it. The interesting thing about this is we'll see how this run-and-shoot does against a team like Georgia, which is a heck of a team and a heck of a program." (MT)

Unsure how UH's offense will do, but not sounding very positive, Petersen said:
"It's hard for me to answer that question," he said. "Coach Jones ran this in the NFL. The bottom line is, it always comes down to players. It doesn't matter what system you run, if you've got a lot better players than I've got, you're usually going to win. They do a great job with that system, and they've got some good players to go into it, so it'll be interesting." (MT)

MT Note: "If the system is so wonderful, why aren't their more copy cats? The spread offense seemingly has swept the nation due to its success at places like West Virginia and Florida, but the run-and-shoot remains marooned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only one true devotee. Neither Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt nor defensive coordinator Willie Martinez can remember facing a true run-and-shoot."

About how he's never faced a true run-and-shoot offense, Richt said:
"I don't think anybody is willing or patient enough to do that. A lot of people feel like you have to have some kind of balance in your running game or you can't survive in anybody's league. You've just got to be sold out to it. The head coach has got to be sold out to it, and the coordinators have to be sold out to it." (MT)

About how the defense needs to have a lot of good coverage people, Ault said:
"You better have a lot of people that can play some pretty good coverage because they can move the ball around. It's really a fun offense to watch and very difficult to defend. The different situations they can put you in based on down and distance really can raise havoc with a defense." (MT)


About how UH improved a lot of defense this season, BSU coach Chris Petersen said:
"Hawaii's always scored a lot of points and I think they've probably taken more strides on the defensive side of the ball than anywhere else. They lead the nation in scoring, so they do about as well as they can do there, but that's where they make it tough. Their defense has tightened up and you've got to score with them. So when the defense is playing well and playing their game, they're tough to beat." (CLE)

Crediting Glanville for the start of their turnaround on D, JJ said:
"I think Jerry Glanville got us started in '05 and '06 kinda back to playing hard-nosed, tough football." (CLE)

About how GM adding his touches to Glanville's schemes, JJ said:
"He kinda came in and the same schemes that we used -- zone blitzing, a lot of the different things that we did the last couple years, Greg just kinda added his touch on 'em." (CLE)

CLE Note: "Of course it helps McMackin's cause that he has talent to work with -- and he's benefited from the emergence of several young players. Three of Hawaii's five first-team all-Western Athletic Conference defensive players are juniors -- linebackers Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian and defensive end David Veikune -- while a pair of seniors, defensive tackle Michael Lafaele and cornerback Myron Newberry, also made the all-conference team."

About how they have better players on D now, JJ said:
"I think physically we're better. We have to have front-seven people and we do have some guys up front that can play." (CLE)

About UH's D, Georgia QB Matthew Stafford said:
"(Hawaii isn't) overly sophisticated in what they do, but they do what they do well." (CLE)

About how they need to keep UH's offense off the field, TB Thomas Brown said:
"The defense doesn't get much credit, but they're a lot better than they were last year. They've gotten better in that phase of the game and they're gonna be a challenge for us. I think it's gonna be important, especially for us as an offense, to make sure we don't turn the ball over and keep (the offense) off the field as much as possible." (CLE)


About Logan Gray's attempt to imitate Colt for their scout team, Mark Richt said:
"I can't sit here and say he throws the ball as good as Colt Brennan. It's so hard to simulate what they're doing with our guys. You draw on a card and you say, 'Read this card and do it the way they're doing it.' It's just impossible. Hopefully you can get lined up properly and can at least get a little bit of semblance of what the route looks like -- what the route should look like. To do it as well as they do it, there's no way." (CLE)

CLE Note: "What Logan Gray is trying to do this week might be impossible with months of practice, much less on short notice. The Georgia freshman quarterback is doing his best Colt Brennan impression during Sugar Bowl practice, trying to simulate the run-and-shoot passing attack that helped the Hawaii quarterback become a Heisman Trophy finalist. But asking Gray and the rest of the scout team to provide a close simulation of the nation's highest-scoring offense is a tall order."

Praising the job that their scout QB is doing, senior safety Kelin Johnson said:
"Logan's gonna be real good. He tore us up one practice. He didn't need anybody out there, he played offense and defense." (CLE)

About his play with the scout team, Gray said:
"Obviously going against the first-team defense, especially for Georgia, you'll have your ups and downs. But whenever you make some plays and stuff, it definitely does build confidence." (CLE)

About how he's learned a lot from being on the scout team, Gray said:
"It's been fun to take on the role each week and run the other team's offense and stuff. But I still feel like I've got a lot out of it this season and I think all the scout team guys have still gone hard every play and tried to get the most out of it as they could. I think I've learned a lot from this year, especially (since) the speed of Georgia's first-team defense will get you acquainted to everything." (CLE)