short ornery norwegian
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Messages
- 19,699
- Reaction score
- 13,425
- Points
- 113
Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO with Sid, Dave and Max.
Sid: last year, you did lose last 2 games by a big margin. But there were 4 games you could have won in the 4th quarter.
PJ: the fact of the matter is we didn't win those games. the staff is dissecting those types of games. statistically, we look at what it takes to win games, and we didn't do those things in those close games. (it's about) wanting to win vs. refusing to lose. try to show them physically what that means; show them on film; show them statistically what that means. we know what we have to do to improve - give ourselves the best chance to win.
Sid: Last year you were 30th in total defense, 11th in passing defense. you've got to be able to stop the run.
PJ: big thing on defense is stopping the run. this is a big boys league. everyone is going to be able to run the football. we've got to be able to stop the run. that relies on having the depth and the right scheme. we work on improving every single day. can't worry about games yet. the team is working hard.
Sid: how do you balance getting ready for the future with trying to win with this year's team?
PJ: winning is a byproduct of the process. we're trying to focus on the process. get better in every area. If you do that every single day, the wins will come. need to focus on getting better, not worry about the result.
Sid: have you ever had such a young team?
PJ: similar to year 2 at WMU. but this is a different time, different place. still, there are so many similarities, with how many young players, inexperienced players we'll have on the field. one thing about young people is they're hungry, they don't have a ton of expectations. they want to learn, get better. they have to be ok with failing. failing is growth. failing is essential to successful teams. look at championship teams, they've failed more than anyone else.
Sid: are there red-shirts from last year you think will help?
PJ: at WR, we have Chris Bell and Demetrius Douglas. Mo Ibrahim at RB. some guys at the LB crew. you'll see some true FR back there, too. entire team will get opportunities to play. a lot of guys will have the opportunity to help.
Sid: do you have any pass rushers on the squad? can you replace the defensive players who graduated?
PJ: only had 23 sacks last year. we've talked about this at length we have to get more pressure on QB. a lot of that depends on the back end - need to trust that when you bring pressure, you're not leaving other areas exposed. we need to be talented enough to do the things we want to do. if we're not ready, we won't do those things. I'm proud of the way the team is bonding, connecting. understanding their individual roles.
Max: does it depend on opposing QB as far as when you bring pressure?
PJ: it's really on the back end. you have to be able to trust the back end. when you bring pressure, you're putting someone on an island. If they're not ready to handle that, you've got a problem. we're not going to try and shove a square peg in a round hole. that really puts the pressure on the front guys. we have to be able to get pressure with 4 or 5 guys. last year, we had to bring 6 or 7 guys to get pressure. that left us exposed.
Mona: asks about more public practices.
PJ: (phone cut out - something about face-painting.....) we want fans to come out and experience our players. yesterday we were inside, but I think the weather is going to be better for next week. we'd love to have people come out on Aug 10. share the experience. see the team. we have 9 scholarship senior offensive and defensive players. fans have an opportunity to see this young team. they'll be around the FR for the next 4 years. get to know them now. that's how we get them to be fans of these players - get to know them at an early age - get to follow them on and off the field. need to get fans out.
Sid: are you deep at WR?
PJ: we're Deeper. we'll find out how deep as we go thru training camp. last year, not much depth at all. couldn't make explosive plays. they took away Tyler Johnson, lets them bring secondary down in box. Rodney got 7 in box, and 1 of them was unblocked. we need to develop guys on outside who can make explosive plays. we've got some now, and more commitments in the '19 class. some incredibly explosive playmakers on outside. fans will enjoy seeing something that has not been seen in a long time. that's what it takes. RB's are better with less guys in box. best friend for RB is an elite WR. there's going to be growing pains. in future, we will have a dynamic WR corps.
Sid: depth in OL?
PJ: only had 4 guys healthy 15 months ago. we were depleted. we couldn't fix that in 1 year. last year, we took 7 OL. that helped the problem. we'll wait for the '19 class to fix the problem. We've got Dunlap, Faalele, Dovich, Oseland, and the group of 5 with experience. everyone's back from last year. it's not just who's the best player - it's how they play collectively. that's what makes strong lines. now in practice we have 3 OL's. we're still inexperienced, but you give a sigh of relief- we have enough bodies to practice. have 1's, 2's and 3's. last year didn't even have 2 deep to do things in practice. Coach Callahan is doing a great job.
Sid: great ticket deals. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
Sid: last year, you did lose last 2 games by a big margin. But there were 4 games you could have won in the 4th quarter.
PJ: the fact of the matter is we didn't win those games. the staff is dissecting those types of games. statistically, we look at what it takes to win games, and we didn't do those things in those close games. (it's about) wanting to win vs. refusing to lose. try to show them physically what that means; show them on film; show them statistically what that means. we know what we have to do to improve - give ourselves the best chance to win.
Sid: Last year you were 30th in total defense, 11th in passing defense. you've got to be able to stop the run.
PJ: big thing on defense is stopping the run. this is a big boys league. everyone is going to be able to run the football. we've got to be able to stop the run. that relies on having the depth and the right scheme. we work on improving every single day. can't worry about games yet. the team is working hard.
Sid: how do you balance getting ready for the future with trying to win with this year's team?
PJ: winning is a byproduct of the process. we're trying to focus on the process. get better in every area. If you do that every single day, the wins will come. need to focus on getting better, not worry about the result.
Sid: have you ever had such a young team?
PJ: similar to year 2 at WMU. but this is a different time, different place. still, there are so many similarities, with how many young players, inexperienced players we'll have on the field. one thing about young people is they're hungry, they don't have a ton of expectations. they want to learn, get better. they have to be ok with failing. failing is growth. failing is essential to successful teams. look at championship teams, they've failed more than anyone else.
Sid: are there red-shirts from last year you think will help?
PJ: at WR, we have Chris Bell and Demetrius Douglas. Mo Ibrahim at RB. some guys at the LB crew. you'll see some true FR back there, too. entire team will get opportunities to play. a lot of guys will have the opportunity to help.
Sid: do you have any pass rushers on the squad? can you replace the defensive players who graduated?
PJ: only had 23 sacks last year. we've talked about this at length we have to get more pressure on QB. a lot of that depends on the back end - need to trust that when you bring pressure, you're not leaving other areas exposed. we need to be talented enough to do the things we want to do. if we're not ready, we won't do those things. I'm proud of the way the team is bonding, connecting. understanding their individual roles.
Max: does it depend on opposing QB as far as when you bring pressure?
PJ: it's really on the back end. you have to be able to trust the back end. when you bring pressure, you're putting someone on an island. If they're not ready to handle that, you've got a problem. we're not going to try and shove a square peg in a round hole. that really puts the pressure on the front guys. we have to be able to get pressure with 4 or 5 guys. last year, we had to bring 6 or 7 guys to get pressure. that left us exposed.
Mona: asks about more public practices.
PJ: (phone cut out - something about face-painting.....) we want fans to come out and experience our players. yesterday we were inside, but I think the weather is going to be better for next week. we'd love to have people come out on Aug 10. share the experience. see the team. we have 9 scholarship senior offensive and defensive players. fans have an opportunity to see this young team. they'll be around the FR for the next 4 years. get to know them now. that's how we get them to be fans of these players - get to know them at an early age - get to follow them on and off the field. need to get fans out.
Sid: are you deep at WR?
PJ: we're Deeper. we'll find out how deep as we go thru training camp. last year, not much depth at all. couldn't make explosive plays. they took away Tyler Johnson, lets them bring secondary down in box. Rodney got 7 in box, and 1 of them was unblocked. we need to develop guys on outside who can make explosive plays. we've got some now, and more commitments in the '19 class. some incredibly explosive playmakers on outside. fans will enjoy seeing something that has not been seen in a long time. that's what it takes. RB's are better with less guys in box. best friend for RB is an elite WR. there's going to be growing pains. in future, we will have a dynamic WR corps.
Sid: depth in OL?
PJ: only had 4 guys healthy 15 months ago. we were depleted. we couldn't fix that in 1 year. last year, we took 7 OL. that helped the problem. we'll wait for the '19 class to fix the problem. We've got Dunlap, Faalele, Dovich, Oseland, and the group of 5 with experience. everyone's back from last year. it's not just who's the best player - it's how they play collectively. that's what makes strong lines. now in practice we have 3 OL's. we're still inexperienced, but you give a sigh of relief- we have enough bodies to practice. have 1's, 2's and 3's. last year didn't even have 2 deep to do things in practice. Coach Callahan is doing a great job.
Sid: great ticket deals. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.