Five With Fedora - Oct. 16
October 16, 2017 | Football
By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com
1. The offense broke 200 yards rushing for just the third time this season, and the first time in a few games. What was the key to that success against a Top 50 defense that was only giving up less than 130 yards-per-game coming into this weekend?
"I thought our offensive line did one of their best jobs in getting hats on everybody and getting those blocks on the right people. We've struggled before with missed assignments which can cause a breakdown in the play. It only takes one missed assignment to blow up a play. In this game the guys up front communicated the calls better and did their job. I felt like the running backs ran hard, especially Michael Carter. He really did some nice things. He did a great job of finding the seams, putting his foot in the ground and making his cut. I thought his ability to get vertical quickly was the key. That was also possible because we got good blocks on the perimeter which was great to see. Overall I think you saw the guys doing their job on each play, which is what we've focused on in practice. Don't try and make a big play by doing somebody else's job. Just do your job and the big plays will happen in the game. I think that's what we saw in this game. Better execution in the running game."
2. On a second look back, not every interception was on Brandon Harris. When you looked at the film, how did he do with his decision making?
"Overall, Brandon's decision making in this game was good. There was one interception I think he wished he could have back. There was no reason to throw it and he knows that. So that was one play where he forced something he didn't need to do in that situation. He got hit on one of the interceptions and he can't control that part of it. But he was facing a lot of pressure throughout the game and handled it well. Brandon had a great week of practice and he has been a positive guy this season. He helped lead the offense and had a chance to win the game."
3. The defense held Virginia to second lowest third down conversion rate of the season, holding teams now to less than 40% for the fourth time in five games. The level of improvement on that side of the ball seems to grow each week. How would you describe that growth?Â
"Our communication has grown each and every game so they know what they're doing and what their teammates are doing. I thought our guys were in the right places in this game. When you know what you're doing your confidence will be higher. That's been the key for them is their confidence. It's what allows you to play faster and react quickly to what's happening in front of you. We were also able to get pressure on the quarterback no matter what protection they threw at us. We had the most sacks we've had in a game this season and a number of tackles-for-loss. One of our keys to victory was to dominate up front. I don't think we felt like we dominated but we played extremely well there. I feel like they've gotten stronger every week and you can see it in their eyes too. They know they're getting better and it shows in the confidence in how they're playing right now. When we needed a big play there at the end to get the ball back, they made it and gave us a chance to win. The pressure up front gave us that chance. Now, we still gave up a catastrophic play that ended up being the difference in the score. We were right there to make the play but missed two tackles. That can't happen and we still need to eliminate the leaky yardage they got from missed tackles. But the defense has shown growth and played hard week after week. I'm proud of their effort and their progress."
4. One guy on that side of the ball that has battled every week is Cole Holcomb. Needless to say, he's not at a 100%, but he has played with 100% effort every week and now leads the ACC in total tackles. How would you describe how he has played and what he means to this team?
"Cole is just a tremendously tough competitor. Just a tough kid. You're right. He's beat up, banged up, but is still playing extremely hard on every single play. He missed three tackles in this game and that's what he'll be thinking about, but he made so many plays for us. Frankly, I attribute some of that to the fact that he can't get reps in practice because he can't go during the week. I don't think that anybody is good enough to make every play in a game if they can't practice all week. It takes the whole week for him to get himself ready and healthy enough to go when the game starts. But he spends a lot of that time working hard on the mental side of the preparation and helping everybody else be prepared as well. It's no surprise that he's leading the conference in tackles. Cole has been a warrior out there for us."
5. On Saturday you mentioned that a lot of young guys are starting to make big plays for this team. Is that a silver lining to the adversity this team has experienced with all of the injuries?
"Absolutely. I'm excited about the way these young guys are growing and learning. I've said it before and I strongly believe that every rep a player gets is a learning experience that can't be replicated in a meeting room. Whether it's a mistake or a great play it has tremendous value in their development. What we're seeing now is more of the great plays and less mistakes. That has everybody on the staff excited for what these guys can be. You see guys like Tomon Fox, C.J. Cotman, Tre Shaw and Dazz Newsome making more plays the more they play. All of the young guys. That's what you hope to see and we're seeing it. I think the effort they're putting in and the effort you see from these guys in the games has been outstanding. They've worked so hard to be better in practice and have learned the effort it takes to be better on game day. So the playing time these guys are getting now will pay off as we move forward and it helps build for the rest of this season and beyond."
1. The offense broke 200 yards rushing for just the third time this season, and the first time in a few games. What was the key to that success against a Top 50 defense that was only giving up less than 130 yards-per-game coming into this weekend?
"I thought our offensive line did one of their best jobs in getting hats on everybody and getting those blocks on the right people. We've struggled before with missed assignments which can cause a breakdown in the play. It only takes one missed assignment to blow up a play. In this game the guys up front communicated the calls better and did their job. I felt like the running backs ran hard, especially Michael Carter. He really did some nice things. He did a great job of finding the seams, putting his foot in the ground and making his cut. I thought his ability to get vertical quickly was the key. That was also possible because we got good blocks on the perimeter which was great to see. Overall I think you saw the guys doing their job on each play, which is what we've focused on in practice. Don't try and make a big play by doing somebody else's job. Just do your job and the big plays will happen in the game. I think that's what we saw in this game. Better execution in the running game."
2. On a second look back, not every interception was on Brandon Harris. When you looked at the film, how did he do with his decision making?
"Overall, Brandon's decision making in this game was good. There was one interception I think he wished he could have back. There was no reason to throw it and he knows that. So that was one play where he forced something he didn't need to do in that situation. He got hit on one of the interceptions and he can't control that part of it. But he was facing a lot of pressure throughout the game and handled it well. Brandon had a great week of practice and he has been a positive guy this season. He helped lead the offense and had a chance to win the game."
3. The defense held Virginia to second lowest third down conversion rate of the season, holding teams now to less than 40% for the fourth time in five games. The level of improvement on that side of the ball seems to grow each week. How would you describe that growth?Â
"Our communication has grown each and every game so they know what they're doing and what their teammates are doing. I thought our guys were in the right places in this game. When you know what you're doing your confidence will be higher. That's been the key for them is their confidence. It's what allows you to play faster and react quickly to what's happening in front of you. We were also able to get pressure on the quarterback no matter what protection they threw at us. We had the most sacks we've had in a game this season and a number of tackles-for-loss. One of our keys to victory was to dominate up front. I don't think we felt like we dominated but we played extremely well there. I feel like they've gotten stronger every week and you can see it in their eyes too. They know they're getting better and it shows in the confidence in how they're playing right now. When we needed a big play there at the end to get the ball back, they made it and gave us a chance to win. The pressure up front gave us that chance. Now, we still gave up a catastrophic play that ended up being the difference in the score. We were right there to make the play but missed two tackles. That can't happen and we still need to eliminate the leaky yardage they got from missed tackles. But the defense has shown growth and played hard week after week. I'm proud of their effort and their progress."
4. One guy on that side of the ball that has battled every week is Cole Holcomb. Needless to say, he's not at a 100%, but he has played with 100% effort every week and now leads the ACC in total tackles. How would you describe how he has played and what he means to this team?
"Cole is just a tremendously tough competitor. Just a tough kid. You're right. He's beat up, banged up, but is still playing extremely hard on every single play. He missed three tackles in this game and that's what he'll be thinking about, but he made so many plays for us. Frankly, I attribute some of that to the fact that he can't get reps in practice because he can't go during the week. I don't think that anybody is good enough to make every play in a game if they can't practice all week. It takes the whole week for him to get himself ready and healthy enough to go when the game starts. But he spends a lot of that time working hard on the mental side of the preparation and helping everybody else be prepared as well. It's no surprise that he's leading the conference in tackles. Cole has been a warrior out there for us."
5. On Saturday you mentioned that a lot of young guys are starting to make big plays for this team. Is that a silver lining to the adversity this team has experienced with all of the injuries?
"Absolutely. I'm excited about the way these young guys are growing and learning. I've said it before and I strongly believe that every rep a player gets is a learning experience that can't be replicated in a meeting room. Whether it's a mistake or a great play it has tremendous value in their development. What we're seeing now is more of the great plays and less mistakes. That has everybody on the staff excited for what these guys can be. You see guys like Tomon Fox, C.J. Cotman, Tre Shaw and Dazz Newsome making more plays the more they play. All of the young guys. That's what you hope to see and we're seeing it. I think the effort they're putting in and the effort you see from these guys in the games has been outstanding. They've worked so hard to be better in practice and have learned the effort it takes to be better on game day. So the playing time these guys are getting now will pay off as we move forward and it helps build for the rest of this season and beyond."
Players Mentioned
Tailback
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Cornerback
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Quarterback
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Linebacker
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Wide Receiver
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