Football Notebook
September 12, 2008 01:58 PM | General
September 12, 2008
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| Brandon Hogan |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coach Bill Stewart, concerned about his team’s play at East Carolina last weekend, vowed to spend this week working hard on the areas that need improvement before facing Colorado next Thursday night in Boulder.
Mountaineer players said Stewart has kept his word.
“It’s been a faster tempo and we have had more tackling drills and more hitting,” said defensive back Brandon Hogan. “We have been doing a lot of open field tackling and angle tackling drills. We have been in full pads more than we regularly are as well.”
Among Stewart’s many concerns was his team’s inability to make open field tackles in last weekend’s 24-3 loss at East Carolina. Several times Mountaineer players were in position but failed to get the ball carrier to the ground. Stewart admitted that some of this is simply a result of inexperience on the part of a defense that has nine new starters.
One of those returning starters, linebacker Mortty Ivy, said better fundamentals is the first step toward improved play.
“We need to work a lot on fundamentals,” Ivy said. “We had to go back and work on fundamentals because last week we had a lack of that. We’re preparing hard this week. We are making things simpler and we are working a lot more on tackling. That’s what we needed to do. We got better and we’re working extra hard this week.”
Ivy says the problems the Mountaineers have getting off the field in their first two games will be alleviated as soon as some of the younger players become more experienced.
“As long as you study your playbook and watch film it’s not that hard,” he explained. “It’s not that difficult – it’s just that a lot of the young guys haven’t been in an atmosphere like this before so then they think on the run and then they’re two steps slow. They have to go with the flow and know their assignments and know what they are supposed to do.”
And while a defense that is allowing its opponents to convert 53 percent of its third-down attempts is very concerning, of even greater concern is a Mountaineer offense that scored only three points against East Carolina.
The Pirates have an experienced defense with a senior-laden defensive front, but that should not have prevented the Mountaineers from reaching the end zone. It was the first time in 79 games that West Virginia failed to score a touchdown dating back to former coach Rich Rodriguez’s first year in 2001.
West Virginia came into this season with its entire offensive line intact and two of the most exciting playmakers in the country in quarterback Pat White and running back Noel Devine.
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| Greg Isdaner |
Junior offensive guard Greg Isdaner said the offensive has worked hard this week to shore up its deficiencies.
“We will do our best to perform and we’re working on it,” he said. “I think the coaches have confidence in us and our ability to get going. I hope that we can have our best performance yet this year, especially running – that’s our forte and we need to get it working.”
When it has chosen to run the ball West Virginia has had some success with both White and Devine averaging better than 5.5 yards per carry. The problem is the duo has only carried the ball 50 times between them. In the meantime, White has tried 51 pass attempts, completing 36 for an average of just 140 yards per game. The Mountaineers run-pass ratio through the first two games is 56-51; last year it was 96-40 run-to-pass.
An effective running game will not only help the offense but it will also assist a defense that has had to defend 158 total plays in two games so far. That’s 19 more plays than the defense had to defend through the first two games in 2007. Keep in mind, too, that many of those plays were when West Virginia was well ahead and the game was out of reach. The time of possession this year also heavily favors the opposition: 36:32 to 23:29.
“We have to get the defense off the field and we need to keep them off the field,” Isdaner explained. “They are doing a heck of a job and are going through 15-play drives and we’re going three and out, or we’re scoring a touchdown in one play (against Villanova). It really puts pressure on them. We are going to do our best to give them a rest during the game so they can perform to the best of their abilities.”
Briefly:
“You have more time to watch film and they give us DVDs to take home and watch,” Hogan said.
From what Hogan has watched so far of Colorado he has been very impressed. “They have a big back just like East Carolina so we just have to prepare for that,” Hogan mentioned. “They have a little bit of a spread offense so they throw the ball downfield, too. We’re preparing.’
The same goes for the offensive side of the ball.
“Everyone knows Colorado,” said Isdaner. “It should be interesting to go out there and play them. A couple of my friends who I grew up with are out there and they said the environment gets pretty crazy. I’m excited to see how it compares to here because we have a great environment. Hopefully we can match their intensity.”
Isdaner is aware that West Virginia has become a red-letter game for all of its opponents this year.
“I don’t want to say we had a let down last week because I don’t think that is what it was. I think they played a better game than we did,” Isdaner admitted. “Always having these highly regarded teams on our schedule definitely gets us up and going.”
McAfee is 3 for 3 so far on field goal tries this year including a season-long 52-yarder against Villanova and he has converted 16 of his last 22 field goal attempts. As a punter McAfee has been just as effective averaging 44.3 yards per punt including a season-long of 64 yards.
One WVU staffer believes McAfee’s leg is best suited for punting and handling kickoffs in the pros. McAfee isn’t sure.
“It depends on the day you ask me,” he said. “Sometimes I punt the ball and I think, wow, I could probably punt in the NFL. But then there are days when I think I can kick the ball well, too. I’m trying to get better at both right now so we can finish out the season well. As a senior you have to look ahead and I really do think I have the tools to do both. I have confidence in that.”
