Syracuse Football
Syracuse vs. Washington
August 31, 2007
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Quarterback Andrew Robinson:
On his debut as Syracuse quarterback:
“The first word that comes to mind is sloppy. I missed a couple of throws that I should have made, I took a couple of sacks that I probably shouldn’t have taken and I missed a couple of protection adjustments that kind of cost us in the lost yardage area. I think I definitely have room for improvement in those areas.”
On next Saturday’s game at Iowa:
“Iowa’s always a perennial power as far as college football goes. It’s going to be a rowdy atmosphere. It’s going to be eight o’clock on a Saturday night and it’s going to be their second game of the season. Their fans are going to be hyped, their players are going to be hyped and we’re going to have to bring our A-game.
On Washington’s defense taking advantage of his inexperience:
“They bluffed me a couple of times as far as their blitzes go. After they got up on us pretty good they were able to mess with us a little bit because they didn’t have to worry about giving up the big play as much as they did earlier on when they had less of a lead, so I got bluffed a couple of times and it kind of cost us in the protection area.
On his first touchdown pass of the season to Mike Williams in the fourth quarter:
“It’s always a good thing to go out there to throw a touchdown pass whether you’re up by 40 or down by 40. It’s always a learning experience and to get those kind of plays in is always a good thing. It’s also a good confidence booster. We can go out there and get touchdowns and that’s what we have to do from here on out.”
Defensive End Jameel McClain
On the defensive line struggles:
“I don’t know. I can’t point my fingers on it because I didn’t watch film yet. I’ll be in the film room tonight and a couple of my defensive lineman, we’ll be there, trying to figure out what’s wrong and how to correct it next week.”
On supporting the team as a co-captain:
“I can let them know that one game doesn’t determine the season and you have to keep trucking. ‘Without struggle, there is no progress,’ Frederick Douglass said. We have got to keep working. We have got to keep becoming a better team and we have got to stay tight and make sure nobody points fingers because when you point fingers you start with yourself.”
Safety Joe Fields
On the team’s defensive effort:
“I think we did a lot of things to hurt ourselves out there today. Washington’s a great football team and they showed that, but I feel we did a lot of things to hurt ourselves, just missing tackles, diagnosing, and not being in the right area and filling the gap.”
On Washington’s emphasis on the run:
“We definitely expected them to throw more. A couple times they caught us in a couple of pass situations, in passing defense and they ripped us. They have a great running back and the quarterback also runs well, too.”
On not being able to get a defensive stop in the third quarter:
“You come out at halftime and you’re feeling like we made our adjustments and we think we have together what we have to do, and when that happens its definitely demoralizing.”
Running Back Curtis Brinkley
On tonight’s game:
“We just didn’t finish the plays that we had. We just didn’t do a good job today at all. We have to do a better job of competing if we want to get to a bowl game.”
On his play:
“I feel alright. I’m not 100 percent, but I feel like if I bring my heart, the rest of my body will come.”