Cam Ward is once again the Heisman favorite after a 319-yard, 4 TD performance against Louisville. He met with reporters after the game to discuss the Canes' offense:
On keeping drives alive: It’s the preparation that we put into it, especially after two weeks to prepare for a good defense like that. They don't really get crazy on third down. They play the same stuff they do on base downs. The biggest thing that we try to focus on is putting the ball in play. When I did scramble, we had a good scramble drill. It left open gaps for me to run. We executed at key times.
On his comfort level in the offense: We've got one of the best lines, one of the best receiving corps. We've got a great O.C. All I've got to do is put the ball in play. You see today I'm throwing the ball at open people, and they make the tough catches when they need to.
At the end of the day, we just have to continue to do the little things. If we do the little things right, all the other plays that we have, the explosive plays, those take care of themselves.
On the touchdown to Jacolby George: I checked the play to the look that we wanted. The route concept, they didn't run it like we need to because of how much depth they got. So we turned into scramble drill. I tell them on the scramble drill to run around in circles, go cross field. Just get over it, and I'll find you. Me and JG, we hit on that before. We're working on that in practice, so he knew the right spot to get to. He got behind the defense. Overall, we did a good job of protecting and letting me escape and make the play. JG went and got the tuddy.
On the wide receivers: I think these past two weeks we took a big step in the receiver room. We watched way more film together. That's something that we have to continue doing down the road. From Sam making big plays, Zay Horton, Strep, and JG, when the ball's in the air, I know them guys are gonna make a play. They're not a selfish group of guys, and I think that was why they were all able to get the touches that they wanted.
The more you bring life to the ball, the more the ball will find you. That's what I try to explain to them. So whenever your teammates make a play, be happy for them, because at the end of the day, the ball's gonna find you.
On the balance in the running game: The O-line in the run game today helped us out a [lot]. We rushed for 200 yards [222]. Man, that's gonna make my job easier. They came out and they established the run game. They protected me. We got key third downs and key fourth downs to keep the drive alive.
On the incomplete pass/fumble review: I couldn't really see after the ball hit my hand, but I knew my hand was going forward. Then they told me it hit the ground, so that's why I wasn't tweaking, because I knew the ball hit the ground, I knew it was going forward. I was trying to get the next play called.
On how the offense can take the next step: We have to connect on the easy stuff. The first drive was all me. Missing easy throws. The first play of the game, I should have progressed. The seam was wide open. The second play, we went to stack. We went tempo. I missed the ball. I had the come back to Zay. I missed the seam to Zay, too. It could have been an explosive play for us. So the first drive was all me.
We have to do the little things, the blocking aspect in the receiving corps, getting our depth on routes. That's stuff that we’ve got to continue to get better at every week. It's paying off for us right now. But we know as we get deeper into the season, we play better defenses. We’ve got to hone in on little things.
On the Louisville crowd: I really don't have feedback on it. They said it was sold out, but I saw a lot of empty seats up there. We went on a silent count just because I really like going on silent. It looks cool. So we ended up going on clap the second half. If we'd have been on clap the first half, that one catch that they overturned by X, we'd end up getting that play off if we'd have been on clap. That was a lesson learned.
But the crowd don't make plays, the players on the field make plays, so we don't tend to look for a crowd. And at the end of the day, we just play football.
On keeping drives alive: It’s the preparation that we put into it, especially after two weeks to prepare for a good defense like that. They don't really get crazy on third down. They play the same stuff they do on base downs. The biggest thing that we try to focus on is putting the ball in play. When I did scramble, we had a good scramble drill. It left open gaps for me to run. We executed at key times.
On his comfort level in the offense: We've got one of the best lines, one of the best receiving corps. We've got a great O.C. All I've got to do is put the ball in play. You see today I'm throwing the ball at open people, and they make the tough catches when they need to.
At the end of the day, we just have to continue to do the little things. If we do the little things right, all the other plays that we have, the explosive plays, those take care of themselves.
On the touchdown to Jacolby George: I checked the play to the look that we wanted. The route concept, they didn't run it like we need to because of how much depth they got. So we turned into scramble drill. I tell them on the scramble drill to run around in circles, go cross field. Just get over it, and I'll find you. Me and JG, we hit on that before. We're working on that in practice, so he knew the right spot to get to. He got behind the defense. Overall, we did a good job of protecting and letting me escape and make the play. JG went and got the tuddy.
On the wide receivers: I think these past two weeks we took a big step in the receiver room. We watched way more film together. That's something that we have to continue doing down the road. From Sam making big plays, Zay Horton, Strep, and JG, when the ball's in the air, I know them guys are gonna make a play. They're not a selfish group of guys, and I think that was why they were all able to get the touches that they wanted.
The more you bring life to the ball, the more the ball will find you. That's what I try to explain to them. So whenever your teammates make a play, be happy for them, because at the end of the day, the ball's gonna find you.
On the balance in the running game: The O-line in the run game today helped us out a [lot]. We rushed for 200 yards [222]. Man, that's gonna make my job easier. They came out and they established the run game. They protected me. We got key third downs and key fourth downs to keep the drive alive.
On the incomplete pass/fumble review: I couldn't really see after the ball hit my hand, but I knew my hand was going forward. Then they told me it hit the ground, so that's why I wasn't tweaking, because I knew the ball hit the ground, I knew it was going forward. I was trying to get the next play called.
On how the offense can take the next step: We have to connect on the easy stuff. The first drive was all me. Missing easy throws. The first play of the game, I should have progressed. The seam was wide open. The second play, we went to stack. We went tempo. I missed the ball. I had the come back to Zay. I missed the seam to Zay, too. It could have been an explosive play for us. So the first drive was all me.
We have to do the little things, the blocking aspect in the receiving corps, getting our depth on routes. That's stuff that we’ve got to continue to get better at every week. It's paying off for us right now. But we know as we get deeper into the season, we play better defenses. We’ve got to hone in on little things.
On the Louisville crowd: I really don't have feedback on it. They said it was sold out, but I saw a lot of empty seats up there. We went on a silent count just because I really like going on silent. It looks cool. So we ended up going on clap the second half. If we'd have been on clap the first half, that one catch that they overturned by X, we'd end up getting that play off if we'd have been on clap. That was a lesson learned.
But the crowd don't make plays, the players on the field make plays, so we don't tend to look for a crowd. And at the end of the day, we just play football.
