By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
October 3, 2009
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Bill Stewart |
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Two teams trying to do a better job of holding onto the football will meet next Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome when West Virginia takes on Syracuse.
West Virginia and Syracuse both have 14 turnovers heading into next weekend’s game, although Syracuse’s 14 turnovers have come in five games as opposed to four for West Virginia.
Yesterday, Orange quarterback Greg Paulus was picked off five times in a 34-20 loss to South Florida. On Thursday night, West Virginia had to overcome a four-turnover performance in a 35-24 victory over Colorado.
Naturally, Mountaineer coach Bill Stewart had to spend the vast majority of his Sunday afternoon teleconference talking about ways his team can get rid of its butterfingers.
“I can’t fault young men for giving effort and reaching for extra yardage and losing the ball – maybe cutting back over the middle and trying to make a big play when he should just get the first down,” Stewart said. “Sometimes you have to play more conservative, more aware and more responsible.”
He elaborated.
“Responsibility is the biggest word I’m going to hit on this week,” he said. “All of those ‘ability’ words – responsibility, accountability, dependability. We have great ability on this football team, but it seems like we are forgetting some of those buzz words.”
Today, Stewart said his team will work diligently on ball handling drills.
“How do you get them to stop fumbling?” he asked. “Well, we’ll put them in gauntlets today. We have ways. We have ways to make them pay for putting the ball on the ground, but there are constructive ways to make them pay. Don’t just scream at them and tell them not to fumble – that’s not coaching. I’m going to run them, and I’m going to run them hard tonight after practice. I’m going to put them through gauntlets and try to punch the balls out and everyday this week, we are going to work on ball security – that’s all I know to do.”
What Stewart said he won’t do is berate or humiliate a player for simply making a mistake.
“I can make them go to class with a ball, and I’m sure that’s quite humbling,” he said. “I could stand and hit them right in the mouth when they come off the field – I’m sure some of the fans would appreciate that. I could make them go run up in the stands and go up and sit in the press box. I could really be a jerk.
“The last thing you do to a guy after he drops a pass is scream in his face like everyone wants to see,” Stewart explained. “That’s the dumbest thing a coach can do. What you do is pull him aside and tell him to strain himself a bit more mentally and that he is letting himself, his team and the school down. You tell him to play tougher. They are giving up 90-95 percent effort, but they aren’t closing the deal. Just hold the ball high and tight.”
Stewart said that he has yet to meet a player that enjoys committing turnovers and making key mistakes.
“Jarrett Brown doesn’t want those turnovers – he likes to throw it to the guys in our jersey. But, to meet him with the numbers and rant and rave like I’m some real tough, disciplined coach? Forget it! I’m not doing that to my quarterback,” Stewart said. “Would I like to see him hold it high and tight? Yes. Is he going to get his heart broken again and break some of ours? Probably. You’d hate it, but in his life he will fumble again and throw another interception.”
Stewart said there is a fine line between playing aggressively and having his players walking on egg shells.
“I want them to play. I don’t like receivers dropping the ball. There are times when you have got to let these young guys make plays – you can’t harp them to death,” Stewart said. “You have to let them make plays. That to me is a fine line.
“I know this, to look like some tough, raven maniac on the sideline and scream at them ‘don’t fumble!’ is not how you coach. End of story.”
Briefly:
Stewart got an eyeful watching Syracuse battle USF yesterday in a 34-20 loss to the Bulls. This is not the same Syracuse team that was 10-37 under former coach Greg Robinson.
“Syracuse was in that ballgame yesterday,” Stewart said. “Paulus scares me to death. We’re going to have to play tough, solid and conservative. We can’t turn the ball over. We have to tighten up.”
Two Orange players really jump out at Stewart – wide receiver Mike Williams and defensive tackle Arthur Jones. Both could wind up being high NFL draft picks.
“I like to watch talented players, I just don’t want them to do the talented things against us,” Stewart said of Williams. “He’s fun to watch. As a player, you want to play against the best. This guy is a great talent.”
In five games this year, Williams has caught 41 passes for 623 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging 124.6 yards per game.
And what are Stewart’s thoughts on Jones?
“He is tough. He is a big, redshirt senior,” he said. “They are coming from everywhere. These guys are pressure defense. When you are restarting a program, you have two schools of thought. You can just go base and try to get better, or you do what they’re doing right now. Their coordinator’s thought is to be helter-skelter, line up and go after it.
“They are just loading up the box and coming,” he added. “If we can protect them, we’re going to try and push them down the field.”
Where was fullback Ryan Clarke last year on all of those failed short yardage situations? Had Clarke been ready to go he could have easily made a difference in at least three losses last year to Colorado, Cincinnati and Pitt when West Virginia could not move the sticks on third and short.
This year, Clarke is helping the Mountaineers move the sticks.
“He’s brought a toughness to the team,” Stewart said. “He’s brought back a running back mentality. He’s also learning to become a model Mountaineer citizen.
“What surprises me about him is that he is so hard-headed and that it took him this long to get here,” Stewart said. “He went through some tough times last year; I wouldn’t have wanted to be him.”
Beside the turnovers, another area that really bugged Stewart after the Colorado game was the team’s performance on third down. The offense was only 4 of 9 on third down while the defense allowed Colorado to convert 10 of 21 on its third-down tries.
“I want to be 6 of 9 (on offense),” Stewart said. “If we don’t fumble the ball, we would be. Colorado was 10 of 21 on third down. That’s not good. I want them to be 7 of 21. We’re just not finishing, but we are a whole lot better.”
Stewart has been very pleased with Scott Kozlowski’s punting. The senior is averaging 48.2 yards per punt and his net average is a very solid 39.2 yards per punt.
“Scotty has matured and he has persevered,” Stewart said. “He is having a banner season and I hope for his sake and for the Mountaineers that it continues.”
