Coach Brewster Post-Game Comments

2010 Spring Game Post-Game Press Conference
Minnesota Head Coach Tim Brewster

Opening Statement: "I was really pleased with the spring game today. It was our 15th opportunity to improve this spring, and I felt we took advantage of it. The competition phase of where we're at obviously shows up on the field. We had one versus one most of the afternoon. I thought there was great competition on both sides. I thought both sides had their moments where they played well. I was pleased with the way we finished today. It was a relatively clean scrimmage. Again, the competitive part of it-the finish part of it-I thought was very good."

On the competition at linebacker, and the defense overall: "There are a lot of young guys. Obviously, we're an extremely young defensive football team, but we're talented. You can see we've got some guys who can really run and love to play, and that's what's really exciting for me-to see the development of Chris Lewis, to see Spencer Reeves and Keanon Cooper, and to see how Brandon Kirksey's playing. I thought Jewhan Edwards did a nice job. Overall, I was really pleased with what I saw. Those guys were out there competing. Nobody feels comfortable, and I think that's a very positive thing, when you don't feel comfortable. There were a lot of anxious guys in the locker room before the spring game today, knowing that this was a game and an opportunity to go out and compete. I liked that feeling that we had in the locker room."

On Sam Maresh's play this spring: "He's done well. He's continuing to improve. He's a hard worker. This next phase of improvement for Sam Maresh is going to be critical. The summer phase of the strength and conditioning is going to be very important to our whol e football team, but to him in particular. But you can see Sam has a nose (for the ball), he has instincts for the game. He made some plays today. He had a couple good hits, and I thought he ran around pretty good."

On the play of the running backs and offensive line: "I thought that all the running backs, starting with DeLeon Eskridge, then Duane Bennett and R.J. Buckner all had their moments. I thought that they were physical. Our offensive line is going against a pretty good defensive front-a big, strong, physical defensive front-and that our offensive line really did good some things today. They opened up some nice holes, and obviously, it's tough sledding running the football against that group. I thought the backs did a nice job. I thought they ripped off a couple of good runs, and I just liked the demeanor of all three of those running backs."

On the gains made from last year by the running backs: "I just felt like they were better. They've improved this spring. DeLeon and Duane, and again even R.J. Buckner, have taken a step up, and competition forces you to do that. There's going to be even more competition when we come together in fall camp. There are three more young running backs that are going to be coming and will have an opportunity to show what they can do. Competition elevates the competitiveness of your football team. We have one extremely competitive situation at running back. It's all very positive."

On whether or not he considers DeLeon Eskridge the starting running back at this point: "I wouldn't consider him a starter. I wouldn't consider anyone (a starter). We're competing. We haven't had a chance to really look at the tape. We'll look at this tape very closely, and we'll have an idea of what we want going into fall camp. That'll get established as we keep going. We'll make a decision on who our starting quarterback is. We will not go into fall camp not knowing who our starting quarterback is. That will be done in the next week or two."

On the play of the wide receivers: "The secondary really made some plays. I was disappointed-we had our hands on a couple of balls that I felt that we should have caught, but credit our secondary. They put their hats on the ball and they stripped a couple of balls out. But I think we've got to be mentally tougher at the receiver position to make those tough, hard catches. We made some plays down the field, obviously. We made some catches, but I was a little disappointed we didn't do more."

On the secondary players playing for injured players: "It's exciting for our team to see young guys like Kenny Watkins and Chris Lewis and Kyle Henderson and Michael Carter-all those young guys-back there. They all had a sense of confidence. They've got a sense of belonging back there, and I was really pleased with the way they attacked the football today. They really made some plays. I think as we move forward that's going to be a considerable strength for the team when we get Kim (Royston) back, when we get Kyle (Theret) back. We also have some young guys coming in. We've got Herschel Morton who will be coming in, and he's going to make an impact in that secondary. Dwight Tillman's coming in. He's an older, more experienced guy. He's going to have an impact. We're developing some depth there."

On Mike Rallis: "I think Mike was as good a player for us all spring (as he was today). I think he's really developed into a leader on our football team. He's an outstanding technician of the game. You could see today-he flies around; he runs extremely well; and he's going to be a playmaker for us. He's going to be our starting strong side linebacker, and he's going to be a leader on this football team. I couldn't be more pleased with Mike Rallis."

On what will be considered in making the starting quarterback decision: "Just looking at the film. Looking at the film and seeing how guys performed today in a game-like situation, game-like environment. I thought Adam Weber looked extremely comfortable out there on the field today. His fifth-year experience showed up. Some of MarQueis' (Gray) inexperience showed up today. We'll take a good hard look at it. I will make a decision on who our starting quarterback will be."

On why the tight ends didn't get many looks today: "That's just the way that it shook down today. I'm really pleased with the tight end play this spring. Those guys have done a great job blocking the point of attack. They're going to be a big part of our offense. Today in our spring game, you've got continuous different situations, but they'll be a big part of what we do in the passing game."

On the Broncos' third-round pick of former Gopher Eric Decker and the Vikings' fifth-round selection of former Gopher Nate Triplett: "I talked to both those young guys. I couldn't be more proud or pleased for Eric Decker. He's going to a wonderful city and a tremendous organization. There are really good people in Denver. They're getting one heck of a wide receiver. Then today, there was a huge uproar in the locker room when the Minnesota Vikings took Nate Triplett in the fifth round. Our team was just so proud and excited. Nate's here today, and he watched the scrimmage. What a great opportunity for him. I talked to Brad Childress at length about Nate. He knows exactly what he's getting in Nate Triplett. He's going to be a good draft pick for them. I'm very proud of the homegrown man from Delano, Minnesota, staying at home and playing for the Vikings. You talk about a dream come true."

On the state of the offense so far under new offensive coordination: "There's not a lot changed. I thought we had excellent continuity. Jeff (Horton) has done a really nice job this spring. We're doing a lot of the same things. We're doing less of some things, more of some others, but I thought their execution this spring was really pretty good. I was really pleased with how clean the scrimmage went and how we executed offensively. We had a couple of situations where we gave up a couple of pressures, and we gave up a couple of sacks, but overall I thought offensively we've made a step forward this spring."

-UM-

4/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football