Post by rainman on Sept 6, 2007 5:57:34 GMT -5
Magro: Strong start to be vital
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Linebacker Marc Magro thinks it’s important that No. 3-ranked West Virginia (1-0) get off to a strong start against Marshall (0-1) in the Friends of Coal Bowl at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday at Huntington.
“The crowd is going to be jumping down there, so it would really help if we could jump on them quickly and quiet their fans,” the 6-3, 240-pound senior said. “That would be a big plus for us.
“Marshall has its game plan. But regardless of what it is, our philosophy is to stop the run first and then control the pass. So we will be playing aggressively.”
Magro, who had nine tackles and a sack in the 62-24 opening rout of Western Michigan, believes pass defense requires all 11 players to contribute — not just the five-man secondary.
“It takes everybody,” he said.
“The defensive line has got to pressure the quarterback. Linebackers have got to rush the quarterback, and, obviously, the secondary has got to defend the pass. So it’s not just one position but the whole (defensive) team.”
Junior linebacker Reed Williams thinks getting a good pass rush is the biggest key.
“When you get a pass rush, that’s your best defense against the pass,” he said. “You try to stop one phase so you can make them one-dimensional. You try to slow the game down a little bit, and that makes it easier on yourself.”
Williams, who had eight tackles and an interception last Saturday, thinks the defense is oh-so-close to refining its pass rush.
“We just need to stick on those guys a little bit, try to kill those short underwraps as they try to eat away and move the ball down the field,” he said. “If we can cut down the offense, that would be really good.”
Both linebackers think a few missed assignments can be corrected before the trip to Huntington, WVU’s first in football since 1915.
“Some of that was because someone wasn’t in the right spot, and some because someone was in the right spot but he didn’t see the quarterback or the ball to make the play,” Magro said. “At times some of us were just a hair away from making a big play. We just weren’t hitting on all cylinders at times.”
He thinks Marshall, a 31-3 loser at Miami in its first game, has some good backs and receivers. He expects the Thundering Herd to try to play fast, just as the Mountaineers do normally.
Both teams boast about their speed.
“This is a big game, no matter what,” Magro said. “But because it’s in state does make it a little bigger. We’ll be hearing about this one for years to come. I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere down there.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Linebacker Marc Magro thinks it’s important that No. 3-ranked West Virginia (1-0) get off to a strong start against Marshall (0-1) in the Friends of Coal Bowl at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday at Huntington.
“The crowd is going to be jumping down there, so it would really help if we could jump on them quickly and quiet their fans,” the 6-3, 240-pound senior said. “That would be a big plus for us.
“Marshall has its game plan. But regardless of what it is, our philosophy is to stop the run first and then control the pass. So we will be playing aggressively.”
Magro, who had nine tackles and a sack in the 62-24 opening rout of Western Michigan, believes pass defense requires all 11 players to contribute — not just the five-man secondary.
“It takes everybody,” he said.
“The defensive line has got to pressure the quarterback. Linebackers have got to rush the quarterback, and, obviously, the secondary has got to defend the pass. So it’s not just one position but the whole (defensive) team.”
Junior linebacker Reed Williams thinks getting a good pass rush is the biggest key.
“When you get a pass rush, that’s your best defense against the pass,” he said. “You try to stop one phase so you can make them one-dimensional. You try to slow the game down a little bit, and that makes it easier on yourself.”
Williams, who had eight tackles and an interception last Saturday, thinks the defense is oh-so-close to refining its pass rush.
“We just need to stick on those guys a little bit, try to kill those short underwraps as they try to eat away and move the ball down the field,” he said. “If we can cut down the offense, that would be really good.”
Both linebackers think a few missed assignments can be corrected before the trip to Huntington, WVU’s first in football since 1915.
“Some of that was because someone wasn’t in the right spot, and some because someone was in the right spot but he didn’t see the quarterback or the ball to make the play,” Magro said. “At times some of us were just a hair away from making a big play. We just weren’t hitting on all cylinders at times.”
He thinks Marshall, a 31-3 loser at Miami in its first game, has some good backs and receivers. He expects the Thundering Herd to try to play fast, just as the Mountaineers do normally.
Both teams boast about their speed.
“This is a big game, no matter what,” Magro said. “But because it’s in state does make it a little bigger. We’ll be hearing about this one for years to come. I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere down there.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
