Sept. 10, 2011

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |   

Opening Statements:
"I'm trying to find positives from a second half that wasn't very good. I'll talk about the first half and the fact that we started off a little slow on offense. We stayed with it, we didn't panic. We did what we needed to do. Defensively, we couldn't stop running water in the first quarter. We've got to get better with our fits and our tackling. Once we started to slow them down and our offense got going we got a really good rhythm going."

"I'm still frustrated with some of the things we did on defense and special teams; personal fouls, substitution issues. We challenged the players at halftime. We said if you're going to mature and become a championship-type football team, you've got to learn how to finish an opponent off. We challenged them offensively to score 14 points in the third quarter and for the defense to stop them from scoring. Offensively, we only got one touchdown. We got sloppy on offense. When our center went out, we had some snap issues with the center. It really caused some issues because our snaps were off. We couldn't get the handoff exchange, and I think it hurt our tempo. That's what happened too when you start to substitute. We had no choice with the center. It was a cramping issue."

"I told them in the locker room that if this team wants to take another step forward they need to be able to play four quarters. We played two quarters of good football on offense."

"On defense, I'm not sure how good we were all evening. We've got to get better there. Those young guys, they've had two games under their belts. I'm not sure they're too young anymore. They need to learn how to tackle and play."

On adjustments made defensively to stop the rush:
"It was the players. We didn't panic. We talked to the offense about going out and doing their job. Their job is to score more points than the other team. With a pistol, no-huddle offense, you score as many points as you can score. If they score forty nine, we have to score fifty. That's the mentality that we have to have on offense. Defensively, we didn't adjust. They got their points pretty fast. We had a hard time stopping the power early. We said all week that he was a good running back. He had a little ball security issues, but the guy runs hard."

Maturation of Pechloff:
"Until we watch the film, it's hard to say how his reads were. I thought he was off on a couple of throws this evening. He had a couple of nice throws, but when you have one week to prepare, you have four practices as opposed to 29 practices in the pre-season camp, that affects you. I think as he grows, he gets better. He took care of the ball. He didn't throw any picks. He was smart with what he did. He's got to understand, though, that we need him to start developing a leadership role. That doesn't mean he has to be a cheerleader, but he has to be a leader on the field and let those guys know that when there's a tough situation that he can make a play and make things happen for us."