Oct. 12, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY
Bronx, N.Y. - The third weekly Monday Night Quarterback Coaches Show was held tonight in The Marketplace in the McGinley Center with appearances by Fordham head coach Tom Masella, defensive coordinator Patrick Moore and players Xavier Martin and Jordan Bledsoe.
WFUV announcer Brian Clark led off the show with audio highlights of last Saturday's 35-7 win over Bryant University and then went into an interview with Masella on the game. Here are some quotes from the questions:
On the offensive display last week
"The running game really helped us again this week. When we can run the ball it opens up the passing game. And John did a great job in the game taking what the Bryant defense was giving him and not trying to do too much."
On the play of the defense against Bryant:
"We had some guys step up on defense especially the senior linebackers. They played a hard and inspired game. It was great to see the defense be so effective."
On the losses to the defensive line:
"We came into the game without Darzell Wright and Thomas Lloyd and lost Patrick McGee early in the game. But some of the younger players such as John LaSure and Alex Locker stepped in and contributed and did a great job. The defensive performance was a total team effort last week. "
On the performance of the defensive backs:
"I think Bryant was looking to go deep but Kelvin Colbert wasn't going to allow that. Jamal Haruna also had a solid game, leading the team with eleven tackles. Bryson Wilson and Isa Abdul El-Quddus also played a good game in the backfield."
On the kicking game which had been inconsistent coming into the game:
"Kevin Heinowitz did a nice job on Saturday. He seemed relaxed and I didn't feel the need to say anything to him. He was consistent on Saturday and that's what we need from him."
On playing just some of the younger players on Saturday:
"The guys who don't get to play a lot work hard in practice so it's nice to see them get some playing time. I think Jamir Livingston did a great job running the ball and Douglas Papy did a good job running the offense."
Next up was an interview with Moore. Here are some quotes from his appearance:
On the defensive effort last Saturday:
"It was the first game where we stopped the other team's offense on their first possession. Having a team punt on their first offensive possession is big for your momentum. The big thing was we came out and executed our game plan."
On the overall defensive play so far this year:
"We need to be more consistent and play to our potential. We have a lot of older guys on defense who tend to push when things aren't going well. But our defense is an assignment defense and when you press you start to miss your assignment which affects the entire defense."
Next up was Martin, the team's leading rusher who gained more than 100 yards in each of the past two games and who is the second leading rusher in the Patriot League.
On his recent play:
"It all comes down to the offensive line. The offense starts with the line and they have been playing well lately."
On the passing game:
"It's good to see the offense becoming more balanced. When you can run and throw the ball it opens up a lot of thing for the offense."
Bledsoe followed Martin:
On the defensive effort against Bryant:
"It was a team effort. The linebackers did a good job at helping us out by calling the plays and we did more talking on the defensive line."
On his play this year after moving over from the offensive line:
"I just want to make plays. On the offensive line you don't get a chance to make plays where everyone can see what you've done. I like being able to step up and make a big play when needed."
On his big game against Old Dominion when he led the team in tackles:
"I knew that we would need a big game from the defense to win. Going in to the game coach told me that it was going to be my week to make plays and I responded to that."
On the overall play of the defense:
"We're starting to come together as a team. The first few weeks we struggled with our execution. But the coaches have simplified things a little to allow us to be more effective. The big thing is understanding what the offense is looking to do in different situations."
Masella then returned to the headset and wrapped things up with some questions from Clark on the upcoming Cornell game.
"Cornell wants to run the ball and have played a couple of different running back and quarterbacks. They are a talented team that is well coached and have a great tradition. It will be a big game for them as we are their Homecoming game."
If you couldn't make it to the show you can listen to the archived shows at wfuv.org.
