Matt Cotcher
Under Contract
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2014
- Messages
- 4,968
What was said after the 28-7 loss to the Bears
Week 6 was another painful loss for the Longhorns. On the bright side, this Texas coaching staff continues to give insightful, realistic answers to post-game questions. Before attention moves North of the Red River, take a look at what was said after the 28-7 loss to Baylor.
Do the quotes match the team’s reality?
Charlie Strong, “Told you guys a while ago, we are going to eventually get over the hump, but we got to win these games. We just got to keep playing, keep playing together.â€
Reading between the lines – Like the UCLA game, and even parts of the BYU game, the coaching staff was focused on only a handful of plays from Saturday’s loss. Rather than saying the team was outplayed, the message from everyone in burnt orange was that the Longhorns missed key opportunities.
There is a lot of confidence from the entire team that as they learn to make (instead of miss) those specific plays, the wins will come. It’s a matter of when it happens, not if it happens.
Charlie Strong, “He's just got to do a better job when he scrambles. Get his eyes down the field instead of seeing the rush and then releasing the ball, because we had some guys open that -- threw the ball deep, just missed some opportunities.â€
Reading between the lines – This is not a Head Coach that is throwing his quarterback under the bus and blaming a loss on one player. This is a Head Coach that is offering insight into one specific area of a first-year starter’s skill set.
Charlie Strong, “We just can't get it to third-and-long because you know, second and five, you can manage that. Second-and-6, you can manage it. But when it gets to third-and-long, that's where it hurts us, because now we have got to protect the quarterback. And then you look at your quarterback position and he's got to make the right throws.â€
Reading between the lines – This is solid insight because it shows the complexity of 3rd and long for the Texas offense. The team isn’t challenged by one specific problem, it’s a series of inter-related issues that make for a classic chicken-egg argument.
Charlie Strong, “They understand that defense is how we are going to win and the plan to win is go play great defense. We have to do that and we know where we are offensively and the players understand. They know we have to play, we have to play lights out to win.â€
Reading between the lines – No sugarcoating; just unvarnished truth.
Shawn Watson, “Again, it's just a lot of fundamental execution coming down to that aspect of it. It's fundamental execution.â€
Reading between the lines – Center/QB exchanges, making run/pass reads, sealing the edge on an off tackle run…if there is one thing that frustrates these coaches, it’s that the team makes fundamental mistakes in games that they do not make in practices.
Shawn Watson, “That drive [at the end of the 2nd quarter], we ran the ball really well and times in the first half we ran it really well. Second half, we came out and we didn't have that aspect of it going and you've got to have -- you've got to get that going. You've got to have enough of it where you can play off of the other things you're trying to do. Otherwise, it becomes one-dimensional.â€
Reading between the lines – Being able to rush the football is something that 90% of coaches value. Here Watson highlights the importance of running by talking about what the rush game does for other facets of the offense. What is left unsaid is that the Texas OL is at a severe disadvantage when the offense becomes one dimensional.
John Harris, “The offense is just hurting themselves. We are hurting this team. We just got to score points. I mean it's tough, we just have to find ways to get points in the end zone. If we can't score then we aren't going to be able to compete in the Big 12. That's just a fact of the matter.â€
Reading between the lines – Just in case anyone thinks the Texas offense is taking their lack of production lightly….don’t kid yourself. The players know full well what’s holding the team back from winning, regardless of how many times you hear about the importance of “winning in all three phases of the game.â€
Art Briles, “Defensively I thought they did a great job of the preparation.â€
Bryce Petty, “I'll have to be honest with you, my head is still spinning trying to think about it. They threw so many looks at us, coverage-wise…I couldn't tell you what they did on consecutive plays.â€
Reading between the lines – Normally after a game a team either offers vague praise for their opponent, or is solely focused on themselves and what they did (or didn’t do) well. With that in mind, to have both the opposing Head Coach and the quarterback mention something specific about the Texas defense speaks volumes.
The performance of the defense is largely being lost in Saturday’s offensive ineptitude. The performance obviously made an impact on Baylor.
Week 6 was another painful loss for the Longhorns. On the bright side, this Texas coaching staff continues to give insightful, realistic answers to post-game questions. Before attention moves North of the Red River, take a look at what was said after the 28-7 loss to Baylor.
Do the quotes match the team’s reality?
Charlie Strong, “Told you guys a while ago, we are going to eventually get over the hump, but we got to win these games. We just got to keep playing, keep playing together.â€
Reading between the lines – Like the UCLA game, and even parts of the BYU game, the coaching staff was focused on only a handful of plays from Saturday’s loss. Rather than saying the team was outplayed, the message from everyone in burnt orange was that the Longhorns missed key opportunities.
There is a lot of confidence from the entire team that as they learn to make (instead of miss) those specific plays, the wins will come. It’s a matter of when it happens, not if it happens.
Charlie Strong, “He's just got to do a better job when he scrambles. Get his eyes down the field instead of seeing the rush and then releasing the ball, because we had some guys open that -- threw the ball deep, just missed some opportunities.â€
Reading between the lines – This is not a Head Coach that is throwing his quarterback under the bus and blaming a loss on one player. This is a Head Coach that is offering insight into one specific area of a first-year starter’s skill set.
Charlie Strong, “We just can't get it to third-and-long because you know, second and five, you can manage that. Second-and-6, you can manage it. But when it gets to third-and-long, that's where it hurts us, because now we have got to protect the quarterback. And then you look at your quarterback position and he's got to make the right throws.â€
Reading between the lines – This is solid insight because it shows the complexity of 3rd and long for the Texas offense. The team isn’t challenged by one specific problem, it’s a series of inter-related issues that make for a classic chicken-egg argument.
Charlie Strong, “They understand that defense is how we are going to win and the plan to win is go play great defense. We have to do that and we know where we are offensively and the players understand. They know we have to play, we have to play lights out to win.â€
Reading between the lines – No sugarcoating; just unvarnished truth.
Shawn Watson, “Again, it's just a lot of fundamental execution coming down to that aspect of it. It's fundamental execution.â€
Reading between the lines – Center/QB exchanges, making run/pass reads, sealing the edge on an off tackle run…if there is one thing that frustrates these coaches, it’s that the team makes fundamental mistakes in games that they do not make in practices.
Shawn Watson, “That drive [at the end of the 2nd quarter], we ran the ball really well and times in the first half we ran it really well. Second half, we came out and we didn't have that aspect of it going and you've got to have -- you've got to get that going. You've got to have enough of it where you can play off of the other things you're trying to do. Otherwise, it becomes one-dimensional.â€
Reading between the lines – Being able to rush the football is something that 90% of coaches value. Here Watson highlights the importance of running by talking about what the rush game does for other facets of the offense. What is left unsaid is that the Texas OL is at a severe disadvantage when the offense becomes one dimensional.
John Harris, “The offense is just hurting themselves. We are hurting this team. We just got to score points. I mean it's tough, we just have to find ways to get points in the end zone. If we can't score then we aren't going to be able to compete in the Big 12. That's just a fact of the matter.â€
Reading between the lines – Just in case anyone thinks the Texas offense is taking their lack of production lightly….don’t kid yourself. The players know full well what’s holding the team back from winning, regardless of how many times you hear about the importance of “winning in all three phases of the game.â€
Art Briles, “Defensively I thought they did a great job of the preparation.â€
Bryce Petty, “I'll have to be honest with you, my head is still spinning trying to think about it. They threw so many looks at us, coverage-wise…I couldn't tell you what they did on consecutive plays.â€
Reading between the lines – Normally after a game a team either offers vague praise for their opponent, or is solely focused on themselves and what they did (or didn’t do) well. With that in mind, to have both the opposing Head Coach and the quarterback mention something specific about the Texas defense speaks volumes.
The performance of the defense is largely being lost in Saturday’s offensive ineptitude. The performance obviously made an impact on Baylor.
