Nov. 2, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY
Bronx, N.Y. - The sixth weekly Monday Night Quarterback Coaches Show was held tonight in The Marketplace in the McGinley Center with appearances by Fordham head coach Tom Masella, offensive coordinator Bryan Volk and junior linebacker Andre Delaire.
WFUV announcer Gregg Castera led off the show with audio highlights of last Saturday's 41-27 Patriot League loss to Holy Cross and then went into an interview with Masella on the game. Here are some quotes from the questions:
On the game
"Dominic Randolph is a great quarterback as is our guy. The defense intercepted two of his passes and I thought we could have had three more but we didn't make the plays. But it's not for a lack of effort. The balls just don't seem to be bouncing our way. On offense we moved the ball well with over 600 yards of offense but we didn't put enough points on the board."
On offensive momentum gained from Old Dominion and Bryant games:
"We like what we're doing on offense. We think it's the right offense for us to play and from a player's standpoint we have the right players to run the offense. Bryan Volk has done a great job teaching it and the kids have done an excellent job picking it up. It's an exciting offense to run and we're confident it's going to put a lot of points on the board."
On the play of the defense:
"The good thing is that the defense is starting to cause turnovers. I thought we played extremely hard on defense last week but Randolph made some great throws. Our defensive guys are going in the right direction. We need the defense to make stops and cause turnovers. I think there's a lot of good to take away from the way our defense has played the last couple of games. Unfortunately we haven't won any of them."
On how the defense approached Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph, a quarterback they have intercepted eight times over the past four years, including two on Saturday:
"We gave him a lot of different looks and that seemed to work a little. Like I said, we had two interceptions and were in position to pick off three more on Saturday. We switched coverages a lot and have good players who can make plays. David Mendez made a great play on his interceptions and freshman Robert Palmer came up with a big play to stop a scoring chance."
Next up was an interview with Delaire. Here are some quotes from his appearance:
On his health after opening the season with an injury:
"I think I'm at about 90% now. I had to compensate earlier in the season with my injury because it took away from my speed."
On the slow start of the defense:
"It's hard because of the way we lost some of the games. It was a couple plays here or a couple of penalties there. It wasn't like we were getting beat badly. We were just a few plays away from turning a loss into a win. Part of that is that we seem to play well on first and second down but then give up a big play on third down."
On dealing with Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph:
"He's a great quarterback and we knew he would throw the ball all over the field. We were a little surprised at his running ability, which is something we haven't seen before this year."
On the progress of the Fordham defense:
"We seem to be getting better as the year goes on but we still have to make plays. Some underclassmen are stepping up and contributing which is nice to see. I think the more they play, the younger guys will become better players and pick up experience for next year."
On his role as a senior linebacker in 2010:
"I'm more than ready to step up and provide leadership next year. I think my experience can help turn things around."
Next up was Volk.
On the offense's problem scoring points:
"We have the opportunity to put a lot of points on the board but don't seem to have that killer instinct when we get in the red zone. We can drive the ball up and down the field but can't get it in the end zone. We need to start clearing things up with the offense this week and carry that momentum into the off-season."
On the play of record-setting quarterback John Skelton on Saturday, who set school records with 43 completions, 67 attempts and 427 passing yards:
"He's a pretty talented quarterback who should have had bigger numbers on Saturday but we had eleven dropped passes and two fumbles. We've got to fix the problem with turnovers and drops by developing a mental toughness that seems to be missing now."
On the hurry-up offense employed by the Rams:
"It's been fun for us to run this year and it helps the offensive line. A couple of times on Saturday the Holy Cross defense couldn't get lined up before we snapped the ball. This helps the offense move the ball and results in fewer three-and-outs which helps the defense get some rest. It's a way we can control the game. The defense can do lots of things but they have no control over when you snap the ball. If you don't use it to your advantage, you're not using all your offensive weapons."
Masella then returned to the headset and wrapped things up with some questions from Caserta on the upcoming Bucknell game.
"Hopefully the seniors use these last three games to show the underclassmen that we have to stay committed. And the seniors have done a great job all year showing a commitment to the program and a commitment to winning. You hope that the younger guys understand that even if you work hard, you're not always going to win but if you don't work hard you won't have success. We have a chance for a winning season but we know it won't be easy"
On past games with Bucknell:
"We haven't beaten Bucknell since I've been here. The first year we lost in the last minute and the second year we lost because we had already won the Patriot League and I didn't think we were focused. Last year we had it won but they scored with four seconds left to tie it and then won in overtime. They're a team that plays extremely hard and gives a great effort."
On stopping the Bucknell offense:
"They're no different offensively than they've been in the past. They're an option team, though for some reason they seem to be throwing the ball more this year. So we need to come up with stops and force turnovers. But they're a well-coached team that plays extremely well."
If you couldn't make it to the show you can listen to the archived shows at wfuv.org. And remember to come out to Jack Coffey Field on Saturday to watch the Family Weekend match-up between the Rams and Bucknell at 1:00 PM.
