Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Head Coach Dale Lennon press conference transcript
11/16/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
Opening Statement:
"We have an expression I've been using with the team: Every week is a season. That's been our approach as we've gone from one week to the next. We're definitely using that this week in our preparation for Northern Iowa. When you look at it that way, it makes this game pretty exciting. There's definitely going to be a big stage. It's very important for Northern Iowa; this is a playoff-type game for them. We know the atmosphere is going to be great. That's what you play college football for. The challenge is there for us and I think our guys will be ready for that challenge and we're looking forward to the preparation of the week."
Q: How much confidence do you have going to the dome? You've won there before so it's not a foreign concept.
"If you've done something before, you know it can be done again. There is reason for confidence there. What we can focus on is not necessarily the elements of the dome but what we can do to prepare to be successful. I think it helps us having played South Dakota just a few weeks ago. Noise was a factor with that game also. We've already gone through a lot of the silent cadences that we use in that atmosphere. There will be some familiarity with the week of preparation leading up to it."
Q: What is great about UNI's run defense?
"Boy, they're physical. They really get after you. They're aggressive, but not in a style where they're bringing a lot of people at you. They're just aggressive in how they play the game. They get a lot of hats to the football. They run well. They're very athletic. They understand their defensive schemes and they don't make many mistakes. You could argue this is the best defense we've seen all year. You could argue a few other schools, too, but this defense is right up there as far as being one of the top in the league."
Q: How similar is Tre Roberson's game to Aaron Bailey's game?
"That's a comparison you can't make by just watching film. They try to do some similar schemes with them like the zone-read concepts, not a whole lot different than what we do with Mark Iannotti. That's some thing were going to have to be aware of, and we're going to have to do a better job defending Bailey on the run than what we did Roberson."
Q: What has impressed you about Bailey?
I think they've been better as the season has progressed. You've seen them, as a football team, get better. The offense has a lot of new players. They lost a lot of guys last year, specifically David Johnson who is making his mark in the NFL. That was a lot of talent that had to be replaced. They're getting better; they're getting more confident, but their offense is also very patient. The one stat that impressed me more than any about their offense is, they've only had three fumbles on the season where they've lost it. To me, that's extremely impressive. They've been coached well; they're not going to take unnecessary chances. That plays into having a good defense. There's a good compliment right now between their offense and defense and how they play the game."
Q: Their defensive line is new, but their linebackers are pretty experienced. How well do they play together?
"The linebacker core is very talented. Coach Farley's son is playing; he's a good one. He played last year against us. He's very confident out there. He kind of runs the show. The linebacker core is always in position to make a play; it's tough to get them out of position. They do well with their read schemes. Their secondary does well. The majority of their experience is in the secondary. They have some impressive numbers back there."
Q: Bailey hasn't been as good through the air. How do you disguise the coverages to confuse him?
"That's always the challenge defensively. You don't want to be predictable. It's just how you rotate your safeties in and out and how you rotate your personnel in and out of the ball game. Down and distance is always a factor. The one thing that Illinois State did well against us was run the ball on third down, and they had some success running the football on third and long. Those are just things that happened during the game. You need to be ready for that; it just depends on how you do your substitutions."
Q: What do you think the legacy of this year's senior group will be when its all said and done?
"What we wanted at the beginning of the year was to define what type of football player you wanted to be. They want to be relentless, passionate, selfless and resilient. I think they hit it right on the nose as far as the legacy they've left on the program. The record is not what we wanted, but the way we've conducted ourselves, the way we've played the game. They've left a great example of what it is to be a Saluki football player for our younger players. We have a lot of younger players that I think have seen the right way of doing things. I think hopefully that will lead to success in the future."
Q: What is the message to the guys returning next year?
"This is a huge game to get feeling good. We want to feel good about this year. We don't want to put everything into next year quite yet, but this a very big game for us just to get the momentum going. We know we have some good young talent that's coming up that is going to be able to be very productive down the road. There is optimism within the program. You're sitting here at 3-7 and that doesn't even sound like I should be talking this way, but the guys haven't given up. That bodes well for the future."
Q: Do you feel like each year the Northern Iowa rivalry has gone up a notch?
"It's intense. I just think as the level of play has increased in the Missouri Valley; that's what is most notable to myself. When I came in, the level of play to the first couple years to where the level play is right now where you have nine teams that are very high quality and are capable of winning at any time. Next year there will probably be 10 teams that are capable of winning at any point and time. There's always been that rivalry with Northern Iowa. Our game last year wasn't the game we wanted, but hopefully that was the one oddity that exists. The games have always gone down to the wire. We've had overtime games with them. The games have always been significant as far as the outcome. This is a big game for them so we want to have a say in that."
Q: Are you surprised at the gap between the total defensive numbers and the red-zone defensive numbers?
"That's what is encouraging is that our red-zone defense is one of the top in the league. What we're not doing well is giving up too many big plays. Some of that will be based on experience--the long pass plays, the Coprich run was just having a guy out of position. It's things that you watch on film and you're frustrated because you're not giving yourself a chance. That's where we have to limit the big plays. If we start knocking off the big plays, you're getting closer to what you want to achieve. The two things that have killed us this year are, number one, our offense has committed too many turnovers, which again with the up-tempo stuff is not surprising. Then we've given up more big plays than normal because were out there on the field more than normal. Those are the two concerns and those are the two things that have hurt us."
Q: What are your thoughts for Iannotti getting offensive player of the year or all-conference?
"I think he's deserving. I'm concerned that I don't know if he'll get all-conference because our record is what it is. Normally quarterbacks that lead their team are successful. It's hard to argue with that. I do know the coaches in the league that I talk to at midfield before kickoff want to talk about if he is for real. He's just that old-school throwback type quarterback that is just tougher than nails. Coaches respect that. I do think he will get some recognition because of his style of play."
