October 27, 2009

Tim Murphy Quotes From Ivy Football Teleconference

Photo Courtesy: David Silverman Photography

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, recently took part in the Ivy League's weekly teleconference. Below are his quotes from the event.

Additionally, coach Murphy will give more insight into his Crimson as he takes part in the weekly New England Football Writers' Association Luncheon Wednesday afternoon at Harvard's Dillon Field House.

The event - the nation's oldest weekly football media gathering, now entering its 81st season - begins at noon and features head coaches, players and administrators from around the region from all levels of NCAA competition. For the first time, this year's event will be streamed live via the web on GoCrimson.com.

Fans can login to Harvard's Multimedia section of the website to watch the streams. Recaps of the event will be posted in the afternoon and will be sent to media and area schools as well. Local fans can do even better as the event is open to the public for a fee of $10 per person.

Each school's coach/administrator will speak briefly about his team's last game, a preview up the upcoming games and an assessment of his team's top players. Additionally, the weekly Gold Helmet Award is given to the preceding week's top players. The award is sponsored by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston and the weekly winners - one from Divisions I and one from Divisions II/III - are presented with a plaque.

Tim Murphy Quotes from the weekly Ivy League Teleconference
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

 

Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy opening statement:
Obviously it as a very solid win over Princeton last week. We were pleased as a staff because it was a balanced effort; we only gave up one field goal and 157 yards, we blocked a punt and had 457 yards of offense. It was nothing spectacular and we made some mistakes but we made some progress as well.

Looking to Dartmouth, I said at the beginning of the season, from the bottom to the top of the league is not a very long climb. Dartmouth's decisive win shows they believe in themselves and their coaches. It's going to e a great game.

On the impact Harvard's wide receiving corps:
I t all starts with Matt Luft. He does not have as many receptions as in years passed but the thing is that people have to cover him and know that he can make the big plays. The other guys (on our team) get more opportunities as a result of Matt and that makes things easier for them with single coverage.  

On The Impact of Harvard's 3-Pronged Running Game With James Williams:
The offensive line's strength starts with experienced and big guys and we're fortunate to have some. From (Alex) Spisak (Ben) Sessions and (Jon) Paris. Any time we've had a good rushing attack it's a result of good athletes (in the backfield) but it starts up front. James himself plays with an attitude that you don't see from even a lot of good offensive linemen - he pays with a defensive mentality and is really tough.  

On Defending Dartmouth Running Back Nick Swieger:
Nick is one of the two best backs in the league. We are very familiar with him - he is extremely strong, has excellent instincts and plays with emotion. They do an excellent job of play action pass. They have a QB who was highly recruited, so they have legitimate weapons for the first time in a long time and I think the league is starting to see that.  

On Maintaining Harvard's Standing atop the League:
We're not thinking about titles, the whole key is finding ways to win the next game and have a good practice today. Starting with Dartmouth, people would have thought that looked like a guaranteed "W". We know from our preseason scrimmage with them that we're going to have to play very well. We're a solid team but, boy we've got room for improvement.  

On Bouncing Back From the Lafayette Game:
They key is in recruiting and development. We recruit resilient and tough kids and then coach that way. We got after it after Lafayette game because our kids are tough and have a lot of pride in what they do.