Monday Update
August 17, 2009 08:48 PM | General
August 17, 2009
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| Bill Stewart |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Bill Stewart wants a more physical football team. He believes championship teams and physical teams go hand in hand.
“We talk about physical football, and we hit that very hard; we were very demanding,” Stewart said Monday evening. “We worked on short-yardage and goal line situations (today). Much like we did Saturday, it was a full-padded practice and we hit.”
Stewart was once again happy with his defense with the exception of goal line situations. During Saturday’s scrimmage the top two defensive units permitted the offense to go six-for-six in goal line scrimmaging. Last year’s defense was one of the best in the country in the red zone.
“You know how good we were on defense in the red zone last year - what frustrates me is that we let the offenses get down there,” Stewart said. “We need to stop them on third down up near the 50-yard line. I want to keep them from getting down in the red zone.” After reviewing the tape of Saturday’s scrimmage, Stewart wasn’t overly excited with any facet of his team.
We have some talent on this football team, but we have a long way to go,” he remarked. “I was pleased, but I wasn't excited. I was happy the defense kept the offense on the ropes, but they didn't knock them out. That frustrated me. Offensively, that tells you that we came back and fought.
“We have enough talent on this football team to do that against some opponents, but we play some pretty talented teams. If you don't do it week-in, week-out, it's just not going to happen on Saturdays,” he said. “Therefore, what I saw Saturday was we had some nice individual efforts, and we had some playmakers, but I want someone to step up so I know what we can hang our hat on. What is going to carry us when it comes to crunch time? Right now, I don't know that. For three quarters, I thought I knew that, but then the offense came back.”
Monday’s work included a 20-minute scrimmage period devoted to the younger players that did not get into last Saturday’s scrimmage.
”We gave the young guys that did not get many snaps on Saturday more opportunities. We cranked them up and had some fun,” Stewart said. “We had about a 25-play scrimmage and the young guys kicked some pressure-situation field goals at the end of practice. They looked pretty good.”
The plan calls for another full-scale scrimmage on Wednesday.
"We're going to hit. It's all about being physical. If you want to be a champion, you better be tough. You practice tough and you'll live tough,” he said. “I've seen a lot of tough guys without pads - I want to see them in pads.”
Briefly:
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| Freshman Gino Smith has performed well, but Bill Stewart isn't quite ready to name him Jarrett Brown's backup just yet.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“I am not ready just yet, but we're close,” he said.
“I keep going over it, and I script it every day. Our coaches do it, and they implement it,” he said. “Our players know it. We used to call inside the 30 the red zone. Now, our guys are calling in the ‘score zone’ once you get down to the goal line. They know what the mission is. It's blinders on, let's go.
”We'll be OK there; I'm not going to change anything,” he said.
“This IT world has taken football to a different level. The IT world is great, it's new America, but, some things are meant to stay private,” he explained. “I don't want practice to be filmed. Let us show our repertoire to the fans on day one. That's my protocol, and that's how we're going to do it.”
Like everyone else, Stewart said he has a staff of graduate assistants scouring the Internet looking for information that can be useful.
"We use the Internet. I love locker room material,” he said. “Put that microphone in front of a young person long enough, and you'll have all of the locker room material that you need. Someone is going to say something dumb. I try very hard not to let information out or excite anyone. You still need to be a gentleman; let the pads do the talking. But, we get online. They'll talk if you let them.”
The news was not so good for Marc Bulger, who broke the pinkie finger on his throwing hand during practice today and will be sidelined for at least two weeks.
