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#UNC coach Bill Belichick postgame press conference after win at Charlotte
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negativity from the outside, but they
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really just got back to work and you
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know, I thought we played uh you know, a
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lot better tonight. Um and rain delay
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was a little challenging for both teams
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obviously, but um you know, things got
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going and uh I thought we did a good job
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not turning the ball over, which was a
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big improvement from last week. You
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know, played better defense, tackled
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better um and played better in the
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kicking game. Uh we had, you know, some
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decent field position in the kicking
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game. So, thought overall there was a,
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you know, a solid effort. Um certainly a
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lot of room for improvement. we can do a
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better job in all the areas, you know,
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coaching, fundamentals, playing, missed
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some opportunities, but um you know,
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thought those players deserved it. They
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they played well tonight and and again
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came back after a short week, went on
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the road and came in here and and got
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the win. So um you know, good good win.
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You know, we'll move on.
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We get started here with questions. We
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have a microphone. If you could raise
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your hand, we'll pass the microphone
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right here in the front.
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Bill, I'm not sure over the years how
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many game balls he's kept, but given the
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connection to this place that you've
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spoken about since day one with your
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dad. How special is it to get your first
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college win?
1:07
Yeah, it's great. You know, it's great,
1:08
but it's really about the team. You
1:09
know, the players went out there, made
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the plays tonight. You know, staff did
1:12
do a great job. Um, you know, it was
1:15
disappointing Monday night against TCU,
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but you know, these guys bounced back,
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all of them, players, coaches, you know,
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our staff, um, support people,
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everybody, and and just got back to work
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and, you know, we're determined to, you
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know, to have better outcome and so, um,
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yeah, I was really proud of what what
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they did. You know, they they're the
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ones that really deserve the credit
1:31
tonight.
1:32
Right behind it, Mike,
1:34
Bill, Michael Co, wchl, chapel.com. That
1:37
late touchdown drive you guys had in the
1:38
first half, that 80 yard drive after
1:40
Sherman missed the field goal felt like
1:41
a big moment in the game. what was
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working for you guys on offense in that
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drive um to help you get the touchdown?
1:47
Yeah, that was a big that was a big
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drive for us. Um uh you know, I thought
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that uh you know, Gio and and uh you
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know, Freddy uh offensive coordinator
1:55
Freddy and and they really managed the
1:56
clock well. You know, we made a couple
1:58
first downs and then we got in a
2:00
position uh to score and and ultimately
2:02
got the touchdown. Only left a few
2:03
seconds on the clock. So that was a big
2:05
swing for us uh that uh we had a similar
2:08
situation last week against TCU and we
2:10
we kind of messed that up and then they
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ended up kicking a field goal at the end
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of the half. So um that was a big you
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know big drive for us there to to close
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out the half. Um very well executed, you
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know, got a big run there from um you
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know from Bullet on the touchdown run.
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So um offensive line blocked well and
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you know we had some good protection.
2:27
Gio made a couple key plays on that
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drive. So it was really just great
2:30
execution anytime you go 80 yards. I
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don't know how many plays was it, like
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10 plays, something like that. Um, that
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was good. You know, when you don't get
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it all in one play, you got to execute a
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bunch of them and and we we execute a
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few on that drive. So, it was that was
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great.
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One of the real highlights of the night
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honestly was, you know, put together
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that that drive at that time in the
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game.
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Right.
2:50
Hey, coach Grant Ser.
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Um, speaking of the running game, Dean
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Jun was really impressive tonight. You
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really got to see explosiveness out of
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the back field. what did you see from
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him today and what does he still need to
3:01
work on moving forward?
3:03
Yeah, well, we got we got quite a few
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touches to most all of our backs and um
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you know, it's nice when there's a hole
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to, you know, see the backs run through
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it. So, um you know, you got to give the
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line a lot of credit for, you know, for
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opening up some of those those creases
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for him, but um you know, Ju Guu ran
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well. He's got some explosion and it was
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good to see him get, you know, get a few
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carries and and be productive with them.
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But, you know, I thought really all our
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backs ran hard and um you know,
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Charlotte blitz us quite a bit, so there
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are a lot of pass protection situations
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that they had to step up in. Their
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linebackers are good blitzers and and uh
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so that was a challenge for us, but I
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thought those guys did a good job in
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pass protection, too. It's just
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probably, you know, uh as much as
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everybody wants to talk about the
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running game, pass protection is is key
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for the backs and uh certainly nobody
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appreciates it more than a quarterback.
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far right coach
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Bill. It looked like you guys were able
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to get Gio sort of on the move more and
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and you know out of the pocket and and
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able to work with his legs. Was that the
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way he played tonight sort of more of
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what you have envisioned for him
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compared to the opener against TCU when
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he was kind of it seemed like he was
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kind of stuck in the pocket a lot.
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Yeah. Uh yeah, we got him outside on a
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couple plays. Um, you know, Gio, I
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thought did a really good job of
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improvising and extending some plays
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where, you know, there wasn't much there
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and he was able to uh extend the play
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one way or another, either throw it or
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to uh, you know, to pull the ball down
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to run, pick up positive yardage. So,
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you know, he's uh, you know, I think
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that's one of his real strengths as a
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quarterback is just kind of his
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gamesmanship and, you know, making plays
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in those situations. And, um, you know,
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he really helped us out here a couple
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times, uh, where he either got the first
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down or or or got us pretty close to the
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first down on second down. uh you know
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on on plays that he extended by and and
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the offensive line did a good job too of
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you know kind of moving the pocket out
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so there was some space for him to move
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so but yeah some of it was designed a
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lot of it was you know just go and go
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which is good
4:55
right coach on the right
4:57
yeah going off of that to add on to Gio
4:59
not only did he seem you know kind of
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more comfortable moving around he also
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was able to spread the ball around as
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well getting it to different guys things
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like that what do you think kind of
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allowed him to you know maybe spread it
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around more So, uh, in this game
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compared to last week and just, you
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know, as you said, you know, some of it
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by design, some of it was just Gio doing
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his thing. What do you think allowed him
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to be able to kind of spread around
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like?
5:18
Well, we we had a lot fewer negative
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plays. I don't know what the final
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number was, but, you know, we're able to
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move the ball forward instead of, you
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know, last week we had penalties and
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negative runs and and a sack here and
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there and obviously turn the ball over a
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couple times for touchdowns. So, just
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positive plays and staying out of long
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yardage makes everything easier for
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everybody. It it allows you to be
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balanced where you can run or throw, you
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know, get into the second and twelves
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and third 13s and they're just hard to
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convert. You know, it's hard to make 10
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yards on three downs, you know, let
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alone make it on one. So, um, you know,
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just having positive plays just, you
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know, gave everybody more of an
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opportunity to balance the offense out,
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more running, uh, more passes, quick
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passes. We took some shots down the
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field. You know, we hit a big one to
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Chris there, you know, on that first
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drive. So, I mean, it was a great throw,
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you know, great great job by Chris of
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running through the ball, but um just
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having more plays and having more
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balance and staying out of long yardage.
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That was a big key for us.
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On the right, right next to him,
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Shelby Swanson from News Observer.
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Coach, congrats on the first win. Thank
6:18
you.
6:18
Um I'm curious and this is away from the
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game, but um we haven't heard from you
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yet on this. Obviously, reports this
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week of New England Patriots scouts
6:26
being banned from practice. just want to
6:27
give you the opportunity to comment on
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that and provide some sort of
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explanation on that.
6:33
Yeah. Well, no, it's it's clear that I'm
6:34
not welcome there around their facility
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and so they're not welcome in ours.
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Pretty simple.
6:40
Over here on the left here, just a
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second.
6:54
Bill, what were couple of the points of
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emphasis defensively the last few days
6:57
that you saw play out with improvement
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today?
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Better fundamentals. It always comes
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back fundamentals, defeating blocks, um,
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holding our gaps and and tackling.
7:07
Uh, also looked like you guys have
7:10
developed some comfort with some of the
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pass rush groups packets that you put in
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there. Xavier Lewis got some reps in
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there. Can you kind of discuss what you
7:18
guys did against the pass? What was
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obvious pass situations maybe that was
7:22
difficult night or what worked tonight?
7:25
Well, I think we had more positive plays
7:27
on first down. Kind of the reverse of
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what I said about our offense. We had
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more positive plays on first down which
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created second and long and some third
7:33
and longs and and that you know is the
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great situation to rush the passer and
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we played from ahead. So most of the
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fourth quarter you know we're playing
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from ahead. They're down by two scores,
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three scores. uh I don't know like 10
7:44
minutes ago in the game whenever we
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kicked that last field goal. So those
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are those are the situations the rest of
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pass are in and you know we saw what
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happened last week when we were on the
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other side of that when they were just
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teeing off on us with a big lead. So um
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score has a lot to do with it and and if
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you can create long yardage situations
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that's just better for everybody to
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rush.
8:02
Right next
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overall what what did you feel that the
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team improved the most on from Monday
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and then what areas do you think there's
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still a lot of work to be done from what
8:10
you saw tonight?
8:12
Right. So again, offensively, we didn't
8:14
turn the ball over. We had more
8:16
production on first down, uh, which led
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to better production on third down. We
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were two for two in the red area. Um,
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defensively, our fundamentals were
8:24
better. We tackled better. We created
8:26
more first down advantages, uh, for
8:28
ourselves to get them in second and
8:30
third longer, and that helped our pass
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rush and and our third down defense. Uh,
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there's certainly a lot of areas for
8:35
improvement. Thought Tom punted the ball
8:37
well. He gave us a lot of good field
8:39
position. They had very little return
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yardage. I think it only had a few yards
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in the returns. Uh he punted the ball
8:44
well. We made two field goals. So our
8:46
kicking game was was definitely better
8:48
than than what it was last week. And um
8:51
so just all around just a more more uh
8:54
solid effort and fewer mistakes uh more
8:57
positive plays. What do we need to work
8:59
on? I mean everything
9:01
right here on the left.
9:02
Coach, it seems like Gio's a really
9:04
aggressive runner when he's out um
9:06
scrambling. What is do is that something
9:08
you like? Do you like the physicality of
9:10
him or would you rather him take less
9:12
hits and slide? What's sort of your
9:13
philosophy on that?
9:15
Yeah, well, he's a really competitive
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guy and uh you know, I think when when a
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yard's an important yard, then you know
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he's going to try to get it. I mean,
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difference between, you know, f second
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and 10, second and nine, I don't know
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what that is, but difference between
9:29
getting that first down and not getting
9:30
it on, you know, third and five when you
9:32
scramble is is a big play for the
9:33
quarterback and and he knows that to
9:35
stay on the field. So, you know, I think
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he's a pretty good decision maker and,
9:39
you know, he knows when when to fight
9:41
for a yard and, you know, when when to
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give up on the fight and he journeys
9:44
over. Um, so that's that's a good thing.
9:47
But, you know, we got to make sure that,
9:50
you know, look, we don't want him. He's
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not a halfback. He's a quarterback. So,
9:53
I'm good with him running the ball, but
9:55
you know, we're not going to run him 25
9:56
times a game. That that's not his role.
9:59
Steve Reed, Associated Press. Uh, first
10:03
I know you said it's about the players,
10:04
but I mean is it special at all to you,
10:07
you know, to get the first win as a
10:08
college coach? And secondly, um, what
10:11
are you noticing now after two games
10:13
about the differences between the two
10:15
games college?
10:18
Well, I mean, coaching is coaching. It's
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uh you know, you get into the game and
10:22
you try to do the best you can to help
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your team uh win and what the other team
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does schematically or strategically or
10:30
from personnel standpoint. I mean,
10:31
you're still looking to try to create
10:32
advantages for your team in those
10:34
matchups and and those uh you know,
10:37
schematics. So, that that part is the
10:39
same. Each team has its own style of
10:41
play. you know, it's a lot different
10:42
coaching against Lamar Jackson and the
10:44
Ravens than it was coaching against Pat
10:46
Mahomes and the Chiefs, but they're
10:48
still, you know, they're different, but
10:49
it's still the same competition. So, um,
10:53
you know, that's coaching. Coaching's
10:55
coaching, especially during the game.
10:57
You know, you're just trying to do the
10:58
best you can to help your team. What was
11:00
the first question? I'm sorry.
11:01
And and just I know you talked about
11:03
being special for players, but Oh, yeah.
11:04
You personally, is it special?
11:05
Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. I mean, it's
11:07
always good to win. Um, it's hard to
11:09
win. Um, we saw that last week. It's
11:11
hard to win. You've got to do a lot of
11:13
things right. You got to do them better
11:14
than your opponent. And so tonight we
11:16
were fortunate to do that. Um, so it's
11:19
it's good to be part of it, you know.
11:21
Um, you know, I I tried to do what I
11:23
could to help the team, but look, I
11:24
didn't make any blocks, tackles,
11:25
catches, runs, or anything else out
11:27
there. Players made them and they're the
11:29
one deserves the credit for the win.
11:31
Two more here. David and
11:33
David HSN. You mentioned in the top
11:35
about sort of the out the negativity
11:37
from outside. Did you get a sense from
11:39
the team that that after Monday there
11:41
was a large desire to sort of prove that
11:44
that that was not indicative of of who
11:47
they are or the uh performance that
11:49
they're typically putting on?
11:50
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. that
11:53
was kind of clear in a locker room and
11:55
and as we got out on the practice field
11:57
last week that you know there was a not
12:00
that there wasn't going into TCU but
12:02
there was just kind of a higher level of
12:03
determination and commitment and um and
12:06
it's a recognition of you know the areas
12:08
that we were efficient in against
12:09
against TCU last week. So it was good to
12:11
see some of those improve.
12:13
Last one on the left here
12:14
Bill Rod Baxley Fable Observer Chris
12:17
gets you guys off to that great start
12:19
with touchdown passing and exits in the
12:21
second quarter. Do you have any update
12:22
on on his status moving forward for you
12:25
guys?
12:25
Yeah. Uh no, he wasn't able to come
12:27
back, but uh you know, hopefully well,
12:29
we'll see what it is. Um hopefully it
12:31
you know, it isn't anything too serious,
12:33
but uh he just wasn't able to to finish
12:35
last night or tonight, but we'll see.
12:37
He's a tough kid, you know, so we'll see
12:40
how it goes.
12:41
Thank you.
12:42
Thank you. All right.
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