Famous Quotes & Sayings

We need to focus on the things we can control. We know we're going to miss shots, but we have to rebound and we have to get defensive stops, and we just didn't do that tonight.

The defensive line was just flying, though they're making all the plays,

(The defensive line) was a strength for us going into the season, now it's a real question mark. Guys (like Padilla) are going to have to step up and play.

The defensive line and the linebackers are looking real good right now.

The defensive kids, they were smacking; they were just hitting. They all played with a lot of heart. They gave us great field position, and we couldn't do anything with it.

The defensive end wasn't very good and our offensive execution wasn't very good. This is the first time that we've had a team shoot more free throws than we have for a long time. That's terrible, when you give up 31 (free-throw attempts).

We didn't get into (offensive) sets quick enough. And that's too good of a defensive team to not run sharp sets.

The one thing we didn't do well was get defensive rebounds. They just had too many second and third shots.

We learned a painful lesson here today. If you lose focus on the defensive end of the floor, teams can get you. They only had eight steals but all eight of them led to shots we couldn't defend.

We learned a lot about pressure, pressure that other teams were putting on us and how we've got to play with defensive pressure. Everything is faster. It kind of shows you the extremes that are out there. When you play a good team like Bridgewater, you're not going to be shell-shocked.

We have completely stepped up our defensive level. We're much better than what we were earlier in the season. It's kind of what I've been preaching all year long. We're starting to mesh and play together a lot more than we were early in the season.

Rodney Harrison

We understand that they are talented on the offensive side, that they have some good physical defensive players. It should be a physical, hard-hitting game and some points should be put up on the board. Hopefully, by us moreso than them. It should be a great kick-off to the 2005 season.

When you look at this group, you have to play well to have success. We played Noblesville in our (preseason) scrimmage, so we know it is a good team. We'll prepare for them like we do every team with offensive keys and defensive keys.

When you don't shoot well, it magnifies any defensive flaw.

Mehmet Okur

We were taking outside shots, but we couldn't make them and it was tough getting offensive rebounds. They're really rolling right now. They're a better defensive team and they play unselfish basketball.

We've got to come out with a better defensive attitude. Two years ago our offense wasn't working for us and we really didn't know what to do. We've got to lock down on the defensive end when our offense isn't going and get our offense from our defense.

Derek Roy

We've got the line combinations down pat. We've got great goaltending and good defensive pairings. Hopefully we can finish off the season strong.

We're totally about team. It was our defensive line, linebackers and secondary. We all did it. Together we shut down Steve Smith. That's how this team wins. Together.

We knew it was going to be a grinding game. We knew it was going to be a possession-by-possession game. We picked up the defensive intensity in the second half and that made a big difference.

Willie Randolph

We thought he was a defensive guy. Then in spring training, we saw he had some thunder in his hands. We'll take it.

We think we're a very good defensive team. We've got a lot of guys who go out and put pressure on people, and we pride ourselves on that.

To be quite honest, I don't think they knew what to expect from us. We were getting defensive pressure, getting open looks and hitting shots. I don't think they realized how quick we were.

Scott Erickson

This year's team is full of potential. Our skill positions look very solid, as does our defensive secondary.

We didn't handle their pressure on the defensive end like I thought we would after working on it all week. They did a good job of stretching us out on the offensive end, too, to get our big guys on the perimeter.

We were really ripe. You look at our stats, and they aren't much different. The difference was our defensive intensity, and their offensive efficiency. The thing I was happy with, at the end of the game, was that they were making shots, but they were tough shots, they weren't easy. They're a hard team to guard, when they're doing that.

We were worrying about the games we were losing too much, we were worrying about offense too much. We had to get back to us being a defensive team. We are a great defensive team, and I think we showed that tonight. We made it tough for them to score.

We consistently moved the ball. We had some nice long drives. We made a few adjustments after the first drive because their defensive line was crashing.

We really didn't play well to open the game. We called the timeout and tried to get our defensive intensity up.

We quit fouling them and putting them on the line. We made them shoot over us and did a better job controlling the defensive boards.

Troy Vincent

We didn't play good, sound fundamental football. Jerry (Gray, the defensive coordinator) threw everything that was in our game plan, and obviously we didn't make plays. We have to be held accountable as players and make some plays.