University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. FLORIDA POSTGAME QUOTES
September 18, 2005 | Football
Sept. 18, 2005
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Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer
On the game
"Florida did a good job getting what they needed to get done. I was really proud of our defensive effort. I thought we played well enough to win defensively, but offensively we did not. We have a lot of work to do when we go back home. It's a tough loss but it's not the end of the season."
On the mistakes
"I don't remember this many mistakes in a single game. The noise was a little bit of a factor on the field goal. He asked for the ball but he simply wasn't ready. We didn't communicate well enough, but that's no one's fault but mine. We have some good receivers but we played a good defensive team tonight, their coverage was good and tight. We had three or four balls that were thrown that were long passes. We just have to look at that really hard and figure out why we aren't making the plays."
On the Tennessee quarterbacks
"Eric looked like he was on tonight. He went in there and made a couple of nice drives. But as he said, we weren't consistent in our passing game. So I can't say that Rick had that many opportunities. I don't think I can sit here and give you an evaluation right now. Neither one of them played very good, but the people around them didn't play very good either. It's tough."
Erik Ainge, sophomore quarterback
On the game:
"We left a lot of plays on the field whether it was a bad route, bad throw or dropped pass. I thought we played pretty good, but pretty good isn't good enough against Florida."
Kevin Simon, senior linebacker
On special teams lapses:
"We are a team, and we are all on the same ship. If special teams break down, it hurts me too. I appreciate their effort but it wasn't good enough tonight."
On the game:
"Our defense played their hearts out. We just made more mistakes than Florida's defense did."
On Florida:
"Chris Leak did a great job, and we learned that he can run the ball. {DeShawn} Wynn is a good back and their receivers are excellent. Overall, they are the same team from years past. They have a lot of talent and are well coached."
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer
On the game
"Our defense played outstanding tonight, Chris made some tremendous plays when he had to, and I thought our special teams did well tonight. It was a huge win for us, but we've still got a lot of work to do."
On the injuries
"Bubba Caldwell is a soldier, he will have surgery, he did break his leg. Ray McDonald is another fallen soldier. Both of them are players, both played hard."
On the Florida offensive line
"Our offensive line did not play well tonight. I know Tennessee's defense is supposed to be one of the best in the nation, and they were as tough a defense as I've ever seen, but our offensive line has got to get better."
On Florida's penalties
"We didn't have any turnovers tonight, but we did have an inordinate amount of penalties. That's something I'll address further later, but we have completed three games now, and only have one turnover."
On conference play
"This is a great way for us to open up the conference season, a great win for this team, and we should celebrate this win."
QB CHRIS LEAK
On the win:
"It was awesome. Our guys played great. They came in and worked their butts off."
WR CHAD JACKSON
On the crowd:
"The crowd was with us all night. We moved the ball on offense, and the defense made stops when we needed them to."
S JARVIS HERRING
On winning as a senior:
"I can't really explain it. We have been waiting for such a long time, and we've been through many coaches and many ups and downs.
CB DEMETRICE WEBB
"The defense played well. We knew if we came in playing the way we have been, we would win."
LB BRANDON SILER
On the defense:
"The defense played well. We held them and stopped them when we had to. I'm proud of them."
