Warchant TV: Fisher on the loss to Wake Forsest
displayText='Facebook'>
Warchant TV: Fisher on the loss to Wake Forest
Advertisement
SID=1061&CID=1205698">Technical FAQ.
If you are still having problems, please contact techsupport@warchant.com.
Warchant.com recommends a high speed connection (cable, DSL, etc.) when attempting to download video files. When using a dialup connection, users will experience extended download times. This service is primarily intended for users with broadband connectivity. If video delays during buffering stage, please allow video to completely load before playback.
Very disappointing. Very disappointing performance. A lot of the same issues. Five turnovers-you can't win a football game. 13 penalties-you can't win a football game. Had opportunities. Got the momentum back at half time, came out and totally missed the protection on the first play and we ultimately had a run coming off the goal line and we tried to cut back and bounce and that's a golden rule when inside the five-you stick it. They got a safety and we played from behind the rest of the game. Changed the momentum. And we had opportunities, but made a couple poor decisions, had a lot of good plays-I think we had four 20 yard gains and then we had holdings that negated it. Those could have gotten us going. Very disappointing-had a couple facemasks on defense, couldn't get the stop on defense when we needed it. Their quarterback did a nice job, broke out of the third down. We still had a chance and got the ball back and they made plays and we didn't. Bottom line is we got to coach better. Taking responsibility-what we're doing starts with me. I said that last week, but it better start, that's for sure.
Q: It happened the last few weeks, too, when the defense just couldn't get it done.
We're not being able to get off the field at the right time. We're not playing-we've played well at special teams some times and played well on offense at times and played well at defense at times-what we haven't been able to do is play well together. When one side is not feeding off of the other. When one side is playing well and the other needs to convert, we're not doing it. When the other side is playing well and we need a stop, we're not doing it. Or we'll do something big on special teams and get a hold and get it moved back. We're not playing as a unit. As a team. There's not organization together and we need to figure out why. We've got to get that fixed-I've got to figure it out. I thought we had solved it that we were ready to play. We had a good week of practice, played well and I thought we were ready but we didn't carry it out to the field. We weren't consistent. We don't play with any consistency. We had chances to make big plays and had a couple drops at times and didn't make the plays. We're not making the plays we need to win.
Q: It seemed as if Wake Forest was playing with more hunger and intensity ...
I don't think we aren't hungry. We are hungry. Sometimes that's what we do-we press too hard. I don't think it's hunger. It's not effort. We play hard. When you're playing hard and grab a guy by the facemask or don't get your feet in or get a hold-I don't think it's hunger. I don't. Because you look at the film and the effort and that's not it. It's playing intelligently. We don't play intelligently. There are three I's: immediacy, intensity and intelligently. You have to be immediate-you can't wait for tomorrow. You have to be intense and play for a whole 60 minutes and lock in. you have to play intelligently and you have to teach them that. We're not playing with intelligence in the right situations to be able to convert the things we need to win the football game. And that's my opinion.
Q: Talk about starting Clint today.
They told me he [EJ Manuel] could play. But one good shot could set us back six weeks. Because the swelling is down so if he takes a shot or if he falls or gets hit hard-he could go in an emergency if we had to have him. And they would prefer if he had one more week. And we practiced him and he could throw-threw well at times, but he had some pain and they numbed it up. And the way the game was going-Clint had some turnovers and two tipped balls that got intercepted and had the fumble and I think he was a little bit shellshocked. Things weren't going well. And so it was an emergency, we had to have him to go in the game. He played well, had two mistakes. One after a high throw and one after we converted a big third down and he wanted to make it up. The one in the third quarter we wish he had back. Pulled the ball too far across. If he had more stick on it-and sometimes that happens with that left shoulder down. That's when you play with a guy that's injured. But when you're in you need to make the plays and he knows that and no one feels worse. I don't mind the decision-just needs to get more juice on the ball. But he gave us a chance to win the game. Took us back and he played well. But they told me that if he took one good shot we could set him back six weeks. And that was the debate I was having all week with y'all. He's throwing the ball-but getting hit, that's a different line and the doctors said in an emergency. And I didn't think we had any chance to win it the other way so we went with it and had a chance, but it was a little too late.
Q: What can you do about the penalties?
Technique. We gotta coach better. And work our technique better and look at the film and see what they are. Fundamentals. Blocking-they used to say in coaching-we need to block better and we need to coach better. But that's the truth. You need to get back to fundamentals. What's the technique? How do I use the technique? Where do my hands go, where do my feet go-a lot of times I think it happens-I'm anxious to see on film-I think guys are wondering where their help was. Maybe having more help inside and not widesetting as much and not wondering if you got help inside or outside or do I set tighter? I think some of those things. It could be useful. Bobby [Hart] had two or three of them and I couldn't see them. That's another issue with Datko. Datko's shoulder. It's not good. He can't play. The surgeries didn't take.
Q: Talk about the leadership situation on the team.
Well I think it's hard to lead when you're not making plays. I think it's hard to lead when the other guys are making plays. And there are a lot of leaders on this team. Three is a heck of a leader and when we lost him-I said getting him back in there would make a heck of a difference. 95 [Bjoern Werner], on the other side, is a born leader. You can bank on it. He's a born leader. Five tries to lead on the field. It's hard to lead for some of the older guys-whether injured or not-if you're not making the plays. Rashad Greene had another great day. Christian Green had a few drops but made some nice ones. Rodney had some.
The second drive of the game we were mixing in some runs. Keeping balanced. Had some things going and then had a turnover. How many sacks did they have? Because we had 110 running but sacks took some off. So we had 130 yards running or so. That's enough to do it. We ran it down the goaline and stuck it in. We just got behind. Very disappointing. Turnovers. Turnovers affect the game.
Q: Bjoern Werner is playing well on defense, but not many other guys are making big plays. Talk about that.
Well we didn't get a turnover. We have to create turnovers and we're not creating them. We're not intercepting or creating fumbles. And we're not creating them. And we have them. That's the bad thing. We had as many turnovers today as we had all year. We had five in the first four games, which is about one a game, which is solid football. Two of them were on tipped balls today. We're not creating them on defense and we need to do that.
What did you think about your pass defense today?
I think we were prepared. They were just making plays. They threw the ball well and protected well and came out of the scramble a couple times and broke some tackles and made some plays. That really big one on third and ten. Thought we had him and got a chance to get the ball back, but they made the plays. They found the inches. We got to learn to dig our claws in the ground and find the three to four to five inches a game that change the game. That's what we got to do. And I'll give you a note on Chris Thompson. T5 and T6 compression fractures-broke them in his back. It's not related to his other injury and they're not neurological. It's nothing that's paralyzing-he'll be in a brace. Has two compression fractures in his back-has a broken back. He'll be staying here for a few days for evaluation and stabilization and then we'll decide what to do. But he broke his back.