University of Minnesota Athletics
Player Quotes - Purdue
9/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Quarterback Adam Weber
On the offense’s focus this week
“There are a lot of big plays to be had out there and we know that if we can take advantage of that and minimize our mistakes that we’ll actually be a pretty good team. Of course it's easier said that done, minimizing mistakes, but as you’re watching tape, some of those mistakes are pretty simple. Things like hanging onto the ball, that’s stuff you can work on in practice. Its not anything that we can’t fix.”
On the mistakes over the weekend against Florida Atlantic
“It drives you crazy a little bit, but you learn to put it behind you and try to focus on the next play and the next game and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
On playing his first road game
“Last year I traveled with the team, so I had a lot of experience about what to expect from how traveling goes. As soon as we got out there, Florida just felt like a hot Minnesota day, so it felt like we were playing pick-up with friends out in the front yard. Playing outside was fun again.”
“It was fun to play in a big stadium and that’s a bonus of playing football in the Big Ten, you get to play in so many cool stadiums.”
On the possibility of the Purdue game being a shootout
“If that’s the case, we’ll be ready for it. That’s what we’ve prepared for this whole summer, the games that are going to last a long time and are going to be exhausting. We feel that we’re in the best shape and we’ll be in better shape than our opponents. If the game is long and drawn out, we’ll be fine.”
Linebacker Mike Sherels
On starting the Big Ten schedule
“The biggest positive of a 1-2 is that the real season starts now. These are the games that are going to matter and these are the games we’re going to have to put a lot of emphasis on. Especially for us older guys, we definitely know the difference between a non-conference game and a conference game. Everything has to raise up, from the level of play to intensity during practice to intensity watching film and studying and preparing. Everything gets heightened and everybody is more aware.”
On the Purdue offense
“We’re definitely expecting a challenge. They’re a team full of veterans. All those guys over there are part of a team I’ve respected my first three years playing against them and Curtis Painter is leading a great group. They’ve got a couple of other guys back, they’re full of a lot of talented veterans and that’s probably why their offense has been so strong.”
“There’s no formation they won’t show. They throw a lot of everything at you. We have the advantage of having seen them before, whereas teams like Florida Atlantic we didn’t exactly know what to expect and how they were going to play us. With Purdue, it’s a little different. We’ll know what to expect a little bit more.”
On making big plays on defense
“The biggest determiner of whether a team is going to be good or great is being prepared to make a play on every snap. Teams that can do that on a consistent basis - play each play like its like it’s the last play of the fourth quarter and is going to be a game-changing play.”
Cornerback Jamal Harris
On simplifying the defense
“It comes down to simplifying the game plan and sticking to things we do the best and cutting back on some of the things we aren’t the best with. What we really need to do is to make plays when it's time to make plays. Simplifying the game will help in certain aspects of the game, but putting us in the best position to win is the most important thing.”
On the Purdue offense and quarterback Curtis Painter
“He’s a good player, I can tell you that much. A lot teams are going to be throwing it against us, because there are some areas where we’ve been lacking as a defense. He will come out throwing the ball and we expect that. A lot of people have been talking bad about the defense, so we want teams to believe that so we have a chance to come out and redeem ourselves.”
On the offense’s focus this week
“There are a lot of big plays to be had out there and we know that if we can take advantage of that and minimize our mistakes that we’ll actually be a pretty good team. Of course it's easier said that done, minimizing mistakes, but as you’re watching tape, some of those mistakes are pretty simple. Things like hanging onto the ball, that’s stuff you can work on in practice. Its not anything that we can’t fix.”
On the mistakes over the weekend against Florida Atlantic
“It drives you crazy a little bit, but you learn to put it behind you and try to focus on the next play and the next game and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
On playing his first road game
“Last year I traveled with the team, so I had a lot of experience about what to expect from how traveling goes. As soon as we got out there, Florida just felt like a hot Minnesota day, so it felt like we were playing pick-up with friends out in the front yard. Playing outside was fun again.”
“It was fun to play in a big stadium and that’s a bonus of playing football in the Big Ten, you get to play in so many cool stadiums.”
On the possibility of the Purdue game being a shootout
“If that’s the case, we’ll be ready for it. That’s what we’ve prepared for this whole summer, the games that are going to last a long time and are going to be exhausting. We feel that we’re in the best shape and we’ll be in better shape than our opponents. If the game is long and drawn out, we’ll be fine.”
Linebacker Mike Sherels
On starting the Big Ten schedule
“The biggest positive of a 1-2 is that the real season starts now. These are the games that are going to matter and these are the games we’re going to have to put a lot of emphasis on. Especially for us older guys, we definitely know the difference between a non-conference game and a conference game. Everything has to raise up, from the level of play to intensity during practice to intensity watching film and studying and preparing. Everything gets heightened and everybody is more aware.”
On the Purdue offense
“We’re definitely expecting a challenge. They’re a team full of veterans. All those guys over there are part of a team I’ve respected my first three years playing against them and Curtis Painter is leading a great group. They’ve got a couple of other guys back, they’re full of a lot of talented veterans and that’s probably why their offense has been so strong.”
“There’s no formation they won’t show. They throw a lot of everything at you. We have the advantage of having seen them before, whereas teams like Florida Atlantic we didn’t exactly know what to expect and how they were going to play us. With Purdue, it’s a little different. We’ll know what to expect a little bit more.”
On making big plays on defense
“The biggest determiner of whether a team is going to be good or great is being prepared to make a play on every snap. Teams that can do that on a consistent basis - play each play like its like it’s the last play of the fourth quarter and is going to be a game-changing play.”
Cornerback Jamal Harris
On simplifying the defense
“It comes down to simplifying the game plan and sticking to things we do the best and cutting back on some of the things we aren’t the best with. What we really need to do is to make plays when it's time to make plays. Simplifying the game will help in certain aspects of the game, but putting us in the best position to win is the most important thing.”
On the Purdue offense and quarterback Curtis Painter
“He’s a good player, I can tell you that much. A lot teams are going to be throwing it against us, because there are some areas where we’ve been lacking as a defense. He will come out throwing the ball and we expect that. A lot of people have been talking bad about the defense, so we want teams to believe that so we have a chance to come out and redeem ourselves.”
Players Mentioned
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