Football Notebook
August 29, 2005 01:24 PM | General
August 29, 2005
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| Robinson |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said Monday that he is impressed with West Virginia’s unique offensive and defensive styles.
“They’re a good football team and they’ve gotten after Syracuse the last three years,” Robinson remarked during his portion of Monday morning’s Big East coaches’ teleconference. “Offensively they’re unique in their style: no huddle and the way that their system operates with the quarterback-coach concept which you don’t see very much. That is taxing in itself.”
From what he’s seen, Robinson says West Virginia’s version of the no-huddle, spread offense revolves around the running game.
“They are a very good running team,” he noted. “Their offensive line is very well coached fundamentally and they know what they’re doing. Their backs have reaped the benefits of that. Obviously I don’t know about their quarterback situation. Last year’s quarterback (Rasheed Marshall) was a gifted player. As for their receiving corps, I know they lost the one kid (Chris Henry) but I know they’ve got some people back.”
Robinson says West Virginia’s passing game is also effective enough to keep defenses honest.
“They are very efficient as a passing team. I think they do a good job with it,” he said. “They’re going to challenge you downfield and if you play the running game too hard they peck away at you with the passing game. It’s a good system.”
Like their offense, West Virginia also presents problems with its three-three stack defensive alignment.
“Their defense really kind of fits in with what they’re doing on offense,” he mentioned. “Their scheme is different. Their rover concept with the three-man front is unique. They give you problems schematically with their defense that challenges the offense. As I look at it they truly have, just on paper, offensive schemes and defensive schemes that create problems for a football team.”
When asked, Robinson refused to divulge in general how you defend the no-huddle, spread offensive concept.
“I think I’ll wait until Sunday until I talk about that one,” he said. “I really don’t talk a lot about strategy too much. I’d like to leave that for the game.”
Robinson was also evasive about whether or not West Virginia’s closed practices and limited media access has had any impact on his team’s preparations for Sunday’s season opener.
“I don’t know about all of that. I don’t really worry too much about that,” he said.
Briefly:
“It’s really hard for me to say I’ve got a great feel of where is our team right now. I feel good with the way that we’ve worked. I see progress from our football team and we need to go against another team to truly judge where we’re at,” he said.
“That was the last time I was a head coach. It might have only been for a day or two,” he recalled.
“We’re going to decide that later in the week,” he said.
“He’s worked very hard and that’s what I’ve asked him to do,” Robinson said. “His dream is to go on to professional football and I thought he had a lot of work still ahead of him. I think he worked hard in the spring but it’s a process. What we’re really trying to get him to be is a consistent back in pass protection as well as running the football and staying healthy. I hope he’s going to continue to develop as the year goes on.”
Rhodes’ backup Tim Washington has been slowed by a stinger suffered during practice last Thursday and will be behind Kareem Jones on the depth chart for Sunday’s game, according to Robinson.
“Tim was having a very good camp and then last Thursday we had a goal line scrimmage and he got a stinger,” he said. “That knocked him out for a couple of days and we’re hoping today he’s back and ready to go. He’s had a very solid camp. Kareem Jones will be the number two back going into this game and will Tim see action? He very likely could. I don’t want to make a definitive statement about him. A lot of that will depend on how he feels.”
“It’s an intimate place. It’s noisy and it has an atmosphere,” he said. “The way it’s been dressed up with our new field turf and some of the other things they’ve done in the Dome it’s added an appeal to it. I think it’s going to be a very nice venue for us and college football will be something that represents our university very well as it has in the past.”
Robinson also believes the Dome will continue to be a tough place for opposing places to get used to.
“I haven’t been in a game there yet but I like the looks of it,” he said.
