Sept. 18, 2008

In Attendance: Don Markus (Baltimore Sun), Camille Powell (Washington Post), Bill Wagner (Annapolis Capital

Wagner: Has it been a good week of practice?

Niumatalolo: Yesterday was better than today.

Wagner: Can you talk about the importance of this game? Rutgers isn't exactly the team you want to be seeing after losing two games in a row.

Niumatalolo: This is by far the best team we've played so far. They are the best overall team we have played as far as offense, defense and special teams and if we think anything differently because of their record we aren't very smart. We've played these guys, we've seen what they are and we know their personnel. These guys are good. They have played Fresno State and North Carolina and the final scores have not been indicative of the game. All we can control is us and we have to get things cleaned up. We had a chance to win the last two games and we didn't get it done. We know they (Rutgers) are going to be good and we know their backs are against the wall too. We have to make sure we are taking care of our own business and cleaning up our own house before we worry about anything else.

Wagner: Clearly you will have to play at the highest level you've played all season if you expect to win.

Niumatalolo: We need to do that just to have a chance to win. We have to play with our hair on fire and eliminate the mistakes we've had in the past to even have a chance to compete with these guys. We have to take our game to another level.

Markus: How concerned are you with the pass defense at this point? Is it still the issue of guys not being in the right position?

Niumatalolo: We have a lot of issues. We had some coverage busts; guys not being where they are supposed to be and we need to get more pressure. Pass coverage is a combination of stuff. You need to get pressure on the quarterback and you need to be where you are supposed to be with your drops. It's an area that we continue to address and to get better at.

Markus: Is it difficult to determine against the real athletic teams you have been playing when to send pressure and when to drop guys in coverage?

Niumatalolo: You are always rolling the dice on that. You have calculated risks that you have to take.

Markus: Does their three tight end formation give you problems?

Niumatalolo: Everything they do gives us problems. They get in an empty set that gives us match-up problems as well. They are a hard team to match-up with. They can run the ball right at you or they can spread you out. We have played some teams that can do one or the other. They are very similar to Ball State in that they can do it all.

Wagner: Kettani did not practice today, what does that mean?

Niumatalolo: He did all the fundamental stuff at the start of practice.

Wagner: Do you think he has a chance of playing on Saturday?

Niumatalolo: Oh yeah. We kind of stopped him. We didn't want him to go too far. He did all the fundamental stuff. We just kept him out of live contact.

Wagner: I don't profess to be a trainer, but Kaipo does look a lot better this week.

Niumatalolo: He looks a lot better. Every day he gets better, every day he gets in better shape. He has the mental part down, you could see last week he knows what is going on. He just has to get in game shape. He is getting better and better.

Wagner: So do you sense he is getting closer and closer to where he needs to be?

Niumatalolo: Closer, but he is not at his top level yet. He is definitely better than where he was last week.

Wagner: Did McGinn practice today?

Niumatalolo: Yes he did.

Powell: Offensively, what has frustrated you?

Niumatalolo: Just finishing drives. We need to finish drives and finish the games. The offense is still averaging 30 points per game, but the standard we have here for the offense is pretty high. We need to finish drives.