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Gopher FB coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.
Sid: hard to figure out - how well you played against Iowa, OSU - against other teams don't play that well
PJ: we've been very inconsistent. like a roller coaster. we play well on defense one week - not well the next week. that's understandable with the number of FR we're playing. defense can look really good and really bad. yesterday was unacceptable. the blame starts with me. period. we need to see our mistakes and correct them.
Sid: does home-field advantage matter? (Illinois looks better at home than road games...)
PJ: I don't get into comparing teams. that's why college football is special - you never know what's going to happen home/away - it's hard to figure out. we need to get better, keep growing
Sid: missed tackles.
PJ: way too many missed tackles. not just on the back end. also missed tackles at the 2nd level, the front end. a lot to fix
Mona: turnovers?
PJ: we turned the ball over. one thing I felt coming into the year, we knew we'd be young, inexperienced. the ball is the program. talk about 78%. we lost that yesterday. we're 0-5 when we lose those categories, 4-0 when we win them. in my past, had team that was -18 on turnovers at the start of my career. we got to a point where we knew how to win. didn't turn the ball over at all until the 7th game of season. part of the maturation process. need to grow up faster.
Max: on defense, look at film. wide-open holes what do you see? wrong call, personnel?
PJ: it's a combination. schematic, coaching, personnel. some of all of it. whoever's in there has to be able to play that role. where we're at right now, if one person is out of their gap, we're not able to make it right. rarely does a team play perfect - with everybody in their gap on every play. got to look at every category. schematically - need to make it simpler, so players have no doubt where they're going. as far as personnel, have to put our best people out there at this point. everybody has injuries. we knew it was going to be a long haul - playing so many young, inexperienced people. look at it from year 1 to this year. said it was going to get worse before it gets better. yesterday was unacceptable. we understand why we are where we are.
Mona: bateman. what is he capable of?
PJ: I'm a very positive person. there's so much negativity now on defense. I get that. but there's so much good going on. every wants to look at the result. if this was year 4 or 5 , I'd understand. playing 8-9 FR on offense. it's remarkable what they're doing. like to have it all mesh together. we will get everyone on track - offense, defense, special teams. Bateman is one of most premier WR in country. unbelievable. he's doing it running WR-type routes, break points, catching deep balls. to do that at such a young age in the B1G, it's a real compliment to him, to our offensive staff, coach Simon. I said Tyler Johnson's best friend should be Bateman. things will continue to improve as we bring in QB's, develop them in the system.
Max: with Winfield out, do you have playmakers on defense - or potential playmakers among the freshmen?
PJ: we're doing what we can to develop. things happen - Winfield goes out. not a lot of depth in the secondary. lot of these guys are playing for the 1st time. I think Jordan Howden will be a playmaker. Terrell Smith will be a playmaker. we're making young mistakes. inexperience showing - Jordan 2 weeks ago had one of his best games. immaturity. race to maturity. had to be more mature to have success with young, inexperienced team. guys on back end have got to be able to make plays. you can see the difference in speed with some people. need to be able to recruit, develop with strength and conditioning, speed training. we're going in the right direction. I can see it, feel it. focusing on defense.
Sid: offense so young. do you expect to get better?
PJ: playing well right now. would like to see the turnovers become zero. Mo Ibrahim went down. our 3 starting backs are out. another true FR has got to lead the way. I've seen growth from everybody. Curtis Dunlap getting reps. everyone is frustrated right how. as we go through the years, people will see what the long-term plan is. expectations - not meeting that expectation. frustrating for people got to continue to get better. continue to grow.
Mona: with defense. look at players from your recruiting class. position changes?
PJ: don't want to rob peter to pay paul. will look at everything. every coach does that. can this player help at another position? there are 3-4 candidates right now we'll be looking at. Also looking at the incoming 2019 FR class. It's our 2nd time coaching this FB team. we know where our true issues are, where our strengths are. it takes a full 2 years to find that out. we've got to make decisions going forward. coming in as a staff, you don't know the team. have to put a recruiting class together. now we have a feel for what we're going to have to do. look at filling out the rest of the 2019 class. make changes accordingly.
Sid: Douglas.
PJ: very talented. can do lots of things. KR, PR, explosive. become stronger, more dynamic playmaker. we need to see ways to get him the football. We have 4 very talented WR right now. we need to grow our QB's. it all revolves around the QB. the more he can handle, the more we can do. I like the way our QB's are developing - not as fast as some people would like. It's been well-documented how we're going to do it. yesterday was unacceptable. the team is ready to get back to work
Sid: (something about) results?
PJ: results are dated information. doesn't tell you where you're going to be. we need to take the result and respond to it.
Sid: thanks for appearing. wish you better things. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-u-Mah, Go Gophers.
Sid: hard to figure out - how well you played against Iowa, OSU - against other teams don't play that well
PJ: we've been very inconsistent. like a roller coaster. we play well on defense one week - not well the next week. that's understandable with the number of FR we're playing. defense can look really good and really bad. yesterday was unacceptable. the blame starts with me. period. we need to see our mistakes and correct them.
Sid: does home-field advantage matter? (Illinois looks better at home than road games...)
PJ: I don't get into comparing teams. that's why college football is special - you never know what's going to happen home/away - it's hard to figure out. we need to get better, keep growing
Sid: missed tackles.
PJ: way too many missed tackles. not just on the back end. also missed tackles at the 2nd level, the front end. a lot to fix
Mona: turnovers?
PJ: we turned the ball over. one thing I felt coming into the year, we knew we'd be young, inexperienced. the ball is the program. talk about 78%. we lost that yesterday. we're 0-5 when we lose those categories, 4-0 when we win them. in my past, had team that was -18 on turnovers at the start of my career. we got to a point where we knew how to win. didn't turn the ball over at all until the 7th game of season. part of the maturation process. need to grow up faster.
Max: on defense, look at film. wide-open holes what do you see? wrong call, personnel?
PJ: it's a combination. schematic, coaching, personnel. some of all of it. whoever's in there has to be able to play that role. where we're at right now, if one person is out of their gap, we're not able to make it right. rarely does a team play perfect - with everybody in their gap on every play. got to look at every category. schematically - need to make it simpler, so players have no doubt where they're going. as far as personnel, have to put our best people out there at this point. everybody has injuries. we knew it was going to be a long haul - playing so many young, inexperienced people. look at it from year 1 to this year. said it was going to get worse before it gets better. yesterday was unacceptable. we understand why we are where we are.
Mona: bateman. what is he capable of?
PJ: I'm a very positive person. there's so much negativity now on defense. I get that. but there's so much good going on. every wants to look at the result. if this was year 4 or 5 , I'd understand. playing 8-9 FR on offense. it's remarkable what they're doing. like to have it all mesh together. we will get everyone on track - offense, defense, special teams. Bateman is one of most premier WR in country. unbelievable. he's doing it running WR-type routes, break points, catching deep balls. to do that at such a young age in the B1G, it's a real compliment to him, to our offensive staff, coach Simon. I said Tyler Johnson's best friend should be Bateman. things will continue to improve as we bring in QB's, develop them in the system.
Max: with Winfield out, do you have playmakers on defense - or potential playmakers among the freshmen?
PJ: we're doing what we can to develop. things happen - Winfield goes out. not a lot of depth in the secondary. lot of these guys are playing for the 1st time. I think Jordan Howden will be a playmaker. Terrell Smith will be a playmaker. we're making young mistakes. inexperience showing - Jordan 2 weeks ago had one of his best games. immaturity. race to maturity. had to be more mature to have success with young, inexperienced team. guys on back end have got to be able to make plays. you can see the difference in speed with some people. need to be able to recruit, develop with strength and conditioning, speed training. we're going in the right direction. I can see it, feel it. focusing on defense.
Sid: offense so young. do you expect to get better?
PJ: playing well right now. would like to see the turnovers become zero. Mo Ibrahim went down. our 3 starting backs are out. another true FR has got to lead the way. I've seen growth from everybody. Curtis Dunlap getting reps. everyone is frustrated right how. as we go through the years, people will see what the long-term plan is. expectations - not meeting that expectation. frustrating for people got to continue to get better. continue to grow.
Mona: with defense. look at players from your recruiting class. position changes?
PJ: don't want to rob peter to pay paul. will look at everything. every coach does that. can this player help at another position? there are 3-4 candidates right now we'll be looking at. Also looking at the incoming 2019 FR class. It's our 2nd time coaching this FB team. we know where our true issues are, where our strengths are. it takes a full 2 years to find that out. we've got to make decisions going forward. coming in as a staff, you don't know the team. have to put a recruiting class together. now we have a feel for what we're going to have to do. look at filling out the rest of the 2019 class. make changes accordingly.
Sid: Douglas.
PJ: very talented. can do lots of things. KR, PR, explosive. become stronger, more dynamic playmaker. we need to see ways to get him the football. We have 4 very talented WR right now. we need to grow our QB's. it all revolves around the QB. the more he can handle, the more we can do. I like the way our QB's are developing - not as fast as some people would like. It's been well-documented how we're going to do it. yesterday was unacceptable. the team is ready to get back to work
Sid: (something about) results?
PJ: results are dated information. doesn't tell you where you're going to be. we need to take the result and respond to it.
Sid: thanks for appearing. wish you better things. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-u-Mah, Go Gophers.
