Some More Perspective (Diaco Teleconference)
Photo credit: Kallie Elizabeth – THE BONEYARD BLOG
The Huskies enter their second bye week of the season with one win and five losses. Scoring three points against Tulane is unacceptable, but big picture, the team is making progress in all areas of the game. That fact, is flying under the radar.
Yesterday, we looked at the running game and particularly the production from two true freshmen, Arkeel Newsome and Ron Johnson. Head coach Bob Diaco talked about their performance during today’s teleconference with the media, to wrap-up the game against Tulane.
“Execution all across the board on offense was much better,” he said. “Those two [Newsome and Johnson] are very talented players. They are working hard and we will continue to give them the ball and allow them to make plays. The execution will only continue to improve.”
That improved execution, refers to the more than handful of runs that saw both backs reach the second and third levels of Tulane’s defense, something that was non-existent in the first five games. It’s a testament to the play of the offensive line, which has now begun to open up some holes.
“They [the offensive line] are so much better than they were just a few weeks ago,” Diaco confirmed. “I have one play family that I am concerned about as it relates to them mentally understanding. The rest of the game plan that was installed, there are very few missed assignments and mental errors. The plays that were negative were either the defense creating overloaded situations at the point of attack, or a player getting beat physically, which is going to happen in the game. You’re not going to win every [one-on-one] match-up, but we have come a long way offensively and the offensive line, in particular, has come a long way in terms of executing assignments and execution of plays.”
On the other side of the ball, the Huskies defense has quietly moved up to 20th in the nation.
“They’re executing the plan,” Diaco said. “We knew that based on what we were going to do, there was going to be a little bit of rushing yardage [given up on Saturday]. It was built by design and it was articulated to the players. They executed our system and the game plan wonderfully.
“At the end, we came off the game plan to try to get a stop and they [Tulane] got their longest run of the game,” he added. “We were fighting and straining to try to dig the ball out [which caused some YAC]. Sometimes that stuff happens at the end of games, but all in all, the defensive players and coaches put together a wonderful game plan and the players executed that plan.”
The discipline and the mental focus has also seen improvement. The Huskies committed just one penalty on Saturday, a season low.
“There is detail in the assignments, the minimizing of procedure penalties, pre-snap errors and selfish errors, are being eliminated,” Diaco said. “We are pleased with the overall mental toughness and discipline of the group and their focus.”
Diaco doesn’t play coy, however. A loss is a loss and a 1-5 record is unacceptable.
“There is no question,” he said. “I understand that everybody is hurting over the results and no one more than the people in our organization, no one more than us.”
But Diaco does recognize that things are changing. Slowly, the rocks he overturns have less fungus than the day before and progress is being made.
“Execution is improving in all three phases,” he said. “We just need to get some points on the board and we will. We are moving forward in so many areas and our culture is taking root. We are in and competing in every game, every game is down to the wire. The players can play hard for long stretches, they give great effort and they have spirit and belief.“
That spirit and belief will be there next week, but in order to compete and get a win against a high flying East Carolina team, the offense will have to produce points and finish drives. They have ten days to get it right.
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