Sunday Night OT with Tracy Claeys 10-23-2016
**Quotes are not verbatim**
General thoughts about the game…
To get back to .500 in the conference and 2-2 was important. We always say we have to win in October to have a chance to be in it in November, and to mean something. We want to have an opportunity in November. Also, if you lose a game at home you have to get a couple on the road, so we have to do that to get back to where we want to be.
Losing our edge after going up 21-3 in the first quarter…
Part of it is playing against teams with certain records, we came out great and thought “since they haven’t won a Big Ten game they’ll give in”. So we started missing a few tackles in the 2nd quarter, missed a few blocks, and dropped some balls. We lost our edge a bit. They came back and put some points on it, and we weren’t able to get any in the 2nd quarter which would’ve helped. In the 2nd half they made it a game, we threw a pick six, and that gave them some life. Every time we’ve gotten in that situation our kids have made the plays we needed to make to give us a chance to win. For our defense to keep them to only 3, and then the good return on the kickoff, we did a good job getting down there and putting us in a position to win. It may have been closer than it should’ve been, but that’s football, sometimes it takes all 60 minutes to win.
Talking about Rodney Smith a lot each week now…
He had the big return for a touchdown after Mitch’s interception. In the return game he had a big day, he caught a big ball in the 1st quarter for us. A lot of what we do is built around him and Shannon. Our return game did well all game long except for the one muffed punt.
Special teams were all over this game, three phase game…
No question. You take out the missed field goal early, we told him to go through his same routine and it’s the next play mentality. He did a good job, they tried to ice him, and he put it though. We had some injuries on the offensive line in the 2nd half, which made it tough. Offensively we have to be better in short yardage situations. Defensively we had a little trouble stopping the run. When the other team moves the chains yard by yard at a time, it makes it a bit uneasy for you. It’s all a learning experience and it’s always better to learn when you win.
Third downs coming from the couple down success…
Yeah, and the missed tackles. The first guy misses the tackle, and you think you have them in 2nd and 3rd and long, then all of the sudden it is 3rd and 2, which is a total different ball game. The odds are then against you. We got a little sloppy, and hopefully we’ll learn from that. I was happy with how we prepared, hopefully we prepare the same, and come out early against Illinois.
Final drive strategy…
I told Coach Johnson, let’s move the chains. For us we try to get to the 30 yard line. I would like for it to be a bit closer, but that’s where we want to get to. Rodney was able to bust one on 3rd and short, which gets it to a short distance. Then the next play was to get it to the middle of the field. We’ve done a pretty good job in those situations, and having opportunities to win games.
How do you think the young guys played this week…
Tyler Johnson had a big catch, he played well. On the defensive side, our young guys continue to improve and make big plays for us. That’s why I get excited. Our older guys are playing well, and the younger guys are starting to as well. We’re going to fill a lot of holes next year with guys that have played, and played well. The future is pretty bright for us.
What adjustments need to be made to get the defense back on track…
Defense now a days, 9 of those were not on the defense. The muffed punt, we stop them to a field goal. The interception for a touchdown isn’t on us. We gave up 23 a game, and we were missing some guys, which we need to get back. Had it not been for the one 90 yard drive, I would’ve said that we played pretty well. We have things to work on, more the missed tackles than anything. We’ve held people under 30 points for the most part, if you do that you have an opportunity to win each week. It’s not like we are playing bad.
Jonah (Pirsig)’s status…
He’s progressing well. We’ll get to Tuesday, and see how he is. This week may be a stretch, but definitely next week for sure. He’s feeling good, but it’ll probably be another week. The good thing is Donnell Greene comes in and has played a bit, so we’re starting to build some depth there, which is good. Jonah has traveled and I told him to be Donnell’s coach. Every now and then I’ll take a couple upperclassmen that can help on the sidelines, so that’s why Jonah has been coming along.
What would you say is the first thing that offense must fix before next week…
Short yardage. We have to get better in the short yardage. We have to use better cadence as well, to keep them off balance. We have to be better on 3rd and short, especially after doing well on 1st and 2nd downs. That was the biggest thing that stood out. When we threw the interception that was a short yardage played that we rubbed each other off. So we need to spend more time on that stuff in practice.
Does offensive line take it personal if they do not get it on short yardages…
Especially in fourth quarter, that’s when you try to do some of those things. Not all of it is the kids fault, since they did move around a bit on the d-line. But it is body on a body, and our backs are good enough to get the yard as long as we don’t let anyone through.
What to expect from Illinois…
Lovie Smith is a very successful NFL coach. Like anybody in their first year, it has been up and down. They handled Rutgers pretty good, so we’ll have a battle on our hands. They try to have a solid running game, and play good defense like us. They have had some quarterback injuries so I’m not exactly sure what to expect there, it’ll be a big challenge on the road, and we’ll have to make sure we’re prepared and ready to go.
**Quotes are not verbatim**
General thoughts about the game…
To get back to .500 in the conference and 2-2 was important. We always say we have to win in October to have a chance to be in it in November, and to mean something. We want to have an opportunity in November. Also, if you lose a game at home you have to get a couple on the road, so we have to do that to get back to where we want to be.
Losing our edge after going up 21-3 in the first quarter…
Part of it is playing against teams with certain records, we came out great and thought “since they haven’t won a Big Ten game they’ll give in”. So we started missing a few tackles in the 2nd quarter, missed a few blocks, and dropped some balls. We lost our edge a bit. They came back and put some points on it, and we weren’t able to get any in the 2nd quarter which would’ve helped. In the 2nd half they made it a game, we threw a pick six, and that gave them some life. Every time we’ve gotten in that situation our kids have made the plays we needed to make to give us a chance to win. For our defense to keep them to only 3, and then the good return on the kickoff, we did a good job getting down there and putting us in a position to win. It may have been closer than it should’ve been, but that’s football, sometimes it takes all 60 minutes to win.
Talking about Rodney Smith a lot each week now…
He had the big return for a touchdown after Mitch’s interception. In the return game he had a big day, he caught a big ball in the 1st quarter for us. A lot of what we do is built around him and Shannon. Our return game did well all game long except for the one muffed punt.
Special teams were all over this game, three phase game…
No question. You take out the missed field goal early, we told him to go through his same routine and it’s the next play mentality. He did a good job, they tried to ice him, and he put it though. We had some injuries on the offensive line in the 2nd half, which made it tough. Offensively we have to be better in short yardage situations. Defensively we had a little trouble stopping the run. When the other team moves the chains yard by yard at a time, it makes it a bit uneasy for you. It’s all a learning experience and it’s always better to learn when you win.
Third downs coming from the couple down success…
Yeah, and the missed tackles. The first guy misses the tackle, and you think you have them in 2nd and 3rd and long, then all of the sudden it is 3rd and 2, which is a total different ball game. The odds are then against you. We got a little sloppy, and hopefully we’ll learn from that. I was happy with how we prepared, hopefully we prepare the same, and come out early against Illinois.
Final drive strategy…
I told Coach Johnson, let’s move the chains. For us we try to get to the 30 yard line. I would like for it to be a bit closer, but that’s where we want to get to. Rodney was able to bust one on 3rd and short, which gets it to a short distance. Then the next play was to get it to the middle of the field. We’ve done a pretty good job in those situations, and having opportunities to win games.
How do you think the young guys played this week…
Tyler Johnson had a big catch, he played well. On the defensive side, our young guys continue to improve and make big plays for us. That’s why I get excited. Our older guys are playing well, and the younger guys are starting to as well. We’re going to fill a lot of holes next year with guys that have played, and played well. The future is pretty bright for us.
What adjustments need to be made to get the defense back on track…
Defense now a days, 9 of those were not on the defense. The muffed punt, we stop them to a field goal. The interception for a touchdown isn’t on us. We gave up 23 a game, and we were missing some guys, which we need to get back. Had it not been for the one 90 yard drive, I would’ve said that we played pretty well. We have things to work on, more the missed tackles than anything. We’ve held people under 30 points for the most part, if you do that you have an opportunity to win each week. It’s not like we are playing bad.
Jonah (Pirsig)’s status…
He’s progressing well. We’ll get to Tuesday, and see how he is. This week may be a stretch, but definitely next week for sure. He’s feeling good, but it’ll probably be another week. The good thing is Donnell Greene comes in and has played a bit, so we’re starting to build some depth there, which is good. Jonah has traveled and I told him to be Donnell’s coach. Every now and then I’ll take a couple upperclassmen that can help on the sidelines, so that’s why Jonah has been coming along.
What would you say is the first thing that offense must fix before next week…
Short yardage. We have to get better in the short yardage. We have to use better cadence as well, to keep them off balance. We have to be better on 3rd and short, especially after doing well on 1st and 2nd downs. That was the biggest thing that stood out. When we threw the interception that was a short yardage played that we rubbed each other off. So we need to spend more time on that stuff in practice.
Does offensive line take it personal if they do not get it on short yardages…
Especially in fourth quarter, that’s when you try to do some of those things. Not all of it is the kids fault, since they did move around a bit on the d-line. But it is body on a body, and our backs are good enough to get the yard as long as we don’t let anyone through.
What to expect from Illinois…
Lovie Smith is a very successful NFL coach. Like anybody in their first year, it has been up and down. They handled Rutgers pretty good, so we’ll have a battle on our hands. They try to have a solid running game, and play good defense like us. They have had some quarterback injuries so I’m not exactly sure what to expect there, it’ll be a big challenge on the road, and we’ll have to make sure we’re prepared and ready to go.
