[Fuller/MGoBlog]
Rudock, you seemed really comfortable today. You weren’t 100% this week. Can you talk about your mindset out there?
“I’d say at this point in the season nobody’s feeling 100%. I felt good enough to go, which is all you need; the confidence to go out there and perform. Training staff did a great job of getting me ready to play.”
What did you guys see in looking at Rutgers this week to know that you were going to be able to throw the ball as well as you were able to today?
JB:“They run a lot of middle field open, like Cover 2 and stuff, and that’s one of our strong suits, attacking that kind of a defense. Kind of just liked our matchups against some of their secondary and linebackers and we were able to exploit that and kind of click on some of those balls today.”
Rudock, your rhythm tonight seemed to just have that in-the-zone look. Could you just explain it a little bit? I mean, this is a career high for you. Was this just one of those games where you felt it particularly?
“I think you get those games, as you were saying, but also kind of just getting into a rhythm. Whenever you see the ball get completed and completed you’re seeing the field well. That’s a big thing, and also I think that’s a big tribute to our coaches and really good scheme. All 11 guys on offense really understood and really took [inaudible].”
Jake Butt, take us through the intent to deceive play, like where were you and what did you think of the call?
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know if there was an intent to deceive. I came off the field late. Got the sub call-in late and lined up. Got the look we wanted and completed the pass. I guess there was a flag. We weren’t really ready for the flag to be thrown but, you know, it happens.”
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Rudock, first couple drives were set up by big running back screens following fakes: the end around and jet sweep fake. Was that something you saw on tape with them with other teams running fakes prior to passing or did their defense lose contain on the edges and set up those plays?
“I think that one of the things is when they would go to man they’d bring a couple of blitzes, different blitzes that they’d do a good job getting to the quarterback. I think that’s what we saw is they’re a team that would come after you and hit you. Sometimes with the screen game it’s a little luck, a good job coaching knowing when they’re going to bring something but just because they brought it this percentage doesn’t mean they’re going to bring it again. Kind of worked out really well when we called them.”
Rudock, did you know from the beginning of the week that you were going to be able to go, and maybe talk about some of the soreness you had to play through and practice with?
“I knew I was going to give everything I had to be able to go. It wasn’t a question in my mind. Just go as much as you can. Our coaches did a good job understanding how much to rep me and how much to rest me, which allowed me to be ready. Meeting with the coaches allowed me still to understand the gameplan, just with a few less reps.”
Jake Butt, how much fun as a tight end are you having in this offense? It seems the whole passing game revolves around setting things up for the tight ends. Multiple guys are making a lot of plays. How much fun are you guys having doing that?
“I mean, it’s kind of indescribable. It’s completely different from what it has been in the past. It’s just fun knowing the coaches have trust in you and believe in you, and I think we have a great group of tight ends here. They’re able to call plays to utilize our talents. It’s always fun when you’re catching passes or when you’re at the playside blocking. It’s just great to know the coaches have a lot of trust in you.”
For Jake Rudock, it looks like you guys keep adding more and more; Jabrill Peppers more involved in the offense, the trick play, even the two-point conversion at the end. Do you feel like you guys are trying more things, adding more things, and what was the thinking on the two-point conversion?
“First of, I think you guys may not realize how much we put in during camp. There’s a lot of plays we put in. We installed a ton. Sometimes it’s revisiting and sometimes it’s actually coming up with new plays.
“With regard to Jabrill, he’s a special athlete. He’s a special football player. He’s not only an athlete, he understands the game. He understands where to run with the ball when he has it in his hands and how to avoid people, too. He’s just a good football player. Obviously we like to utilize that on offense.”
My recording was garbage, so thank you to Matt Pargoff for posting videos of these and Isaiah Hole for sharing his audio. It's Isaiah's birthday, so follow him on Twitter. Or you could tell him that you think he's beating Hagrid in their beard-growing competition. I don't know, I'm not your boss.