Latest / Coaches Corner / Jim Mora - Buffalo Presser Sept 24

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Jim Mora - Buffalo Presser Sept 24 · Coaches Corner

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Everybody coach most thoughts on Buffalo beat.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Excited to get a chance to play a really good
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Buffalo team. They're three and one, they just beat twenty
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: third ranked NIU who beat Notre Dame. When you're watching
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: play on film, they're physical, they're tough, they're gritty, they're disciplined.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: They play really hard on both sides of the ball
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  Speaker 2: and in special teams. So it'll be a really good
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  Speaker 2: challenge for us to go against an established team, and
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: we're excited for the challenge, excited to have another chance
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: to play at home in front of our fans, and
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: you know, hopefully build on some of the success that
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: we've been having and improve on things that we need
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: to improve on. You went back and watch the film
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: from last week.
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  Speaker 1: It wasted.
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  Speaker 2: Positively as we played with good intensity the entire game.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: You know, we didn't have any letdowns save that long
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: run at the end where I didn't think we played
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: that very well. I guess you could call it, you know,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: something that you not necessarily positive but can turn into
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: a positive.
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  Speaker 1: As we left a lot out there.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we had some things even in the run
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: game where we had a lot of success that just
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: weren't clean. And if we can clean that stuff up,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: which we have to, you know, because we're playing a
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: really good defense this week, really good defense. But if
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: we can clean some of that stuff up, then we've
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: got a chance to improve, you know.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: So we're working hard on that.
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  Speaker 2: We had a good practice this morning and guys are
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: locked in and focused and they understand, you know, what
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: we need to do to get better, and that's always
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: a positive. Continue to work on our passing game, certainly,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: you know, we didn't have to throw it much last week.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: When we did, we were pretty effective. But you know,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: just we just want to continue to grow every week,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: you know, and you take the mistakes you made in
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: a game and you fix them and you play and
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: going forward and you hope you learn and get better.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Line, but go ahead.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: The offensive line is so good last week and with
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: that running performances, a starter on the offensive line, and
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: by the way, it was his status for his team, well,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: the offensive line was was okay.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: They were they were, they weren't great.
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  Speaker 2: When I talked about some of the things that need
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: to be better, I was talking about the offensive line.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Running the ball is not in our system. It's not
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: just the offensive line. It's the tight ends, it's the
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: receivers blocking down field, it's the backs obviously knowing when
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: to make their cut, and it's certainly the quarterback, you know,
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: making great decisions in the run game.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: So I think when we we just we.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Just take it down to those five offensive linemen that
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: we're not accurate. So we all need to play better.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: But the offensive line in general has played well, especially
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: given that there's three new starters on the inside and
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: then last week, you.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Know, and having.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Not having been you know, and having Kyle and those
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: guys you know rotate inside. But there's a continuity there
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: there there. They care, they're smart, they're very well coach,
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: they take the coaching.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: So, uh, it's a it's just as a whole, it's
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  Speaker 1: a it's a really good group.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when a guy like Brady Webern who's been
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: here for a while and he's had some injury problems
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and stuff, but he can just hang in there and
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: keep growing and step in for his first start and
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: play the way way he did, it says a lot
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: about what you're you know, what you're trying to grow here.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: How's your advantage after you guys rush eure the game.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Have you know a few guys.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: What's your fanciers are?
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: It's it's big, yeah, And I feel like we have
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  Speaker 2: five because I think we have you know, once Victor
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: comes back, we've got Victor and then we've got a
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  Speaker 2: quarterback who can run the ball. So weapons, you know, right,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: we got to have weapons. And uh, that room's full
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  Speaker 2: of guys that can. You know, they're all a little
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  Speaker 2: bit different too, right, they all they all have a
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  Speaker 2: little bit different style, which I think is good.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 2: You know we saw last week that just the kind
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: of a vast difference between mel and Durrell and what
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: they can do, and they're both very effect of doing it.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: We know that, you know, we've seen what Cam can do.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Cam's a hammer. People don't want to tackle Cam.
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  Speaker 2: And then Victor is to me, just you know.
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  Speaker 1: He is.
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  Speaker 2: He He's just got tremendous versatility.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: So it's a good room.
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  Speaker 2: And then you know, in this day and age in
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  Speaker 2: college football, having a quarterback that can do things with
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: his legs and the run game is a great advantage
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  Speaker 2: to you because it forces a defense to you know,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: maybe play some different coverages or be a little bit
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: slow on the back side, which helps you run game
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: on the front side. I think anytime you have two
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: athletes going opposite ways and the defense has to figure
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  Speaker 2: out where the ball is, that's a good thing. Is
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: if you have a pass that decided he's going to
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: get the ball.
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  Speaker 1: Are you trying to get one guy in the rhythm?
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Where you looking at this what happens early in the game.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: It's all those things.
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  Speaker 2: You know, there's particular plays you want particular players to run.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Who's hot? Uh, you know you don't.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: You don't necessarily I want to take a guy who's
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: hot out of the game. Spreading carries around, you know,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: making sure that you're doing the best you can to
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  Speaker 2: keep guys fresh and healthy as the game goes on.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Cam's fine, I mean, he's he's fine. So, you know,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: my concern is getting Victor back. Hopefully we'll get him back.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: I think we'll know tomorrow if he's going to be
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: able to play this week. He's out there working hard,
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  Speaker 2: and we just have to make sure that we're smart.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he's got long term health that we've got
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  Speaker 2: to be concerned with. But if we can get Victor back,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: that'd be a good thing for us. All, but I
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: guess you have to be aware of where he is.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: I mean he's a great player. I mean he's really
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: fun to watch. I mean he he plays with tremendous motor.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I mean he runs and goes and he's smart and
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: he anticipates well. But that's how they play on defense.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: I mean their whole defense plays like that. But that
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: young man really stands out to you, but you can't.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: You have to be aware of him.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: But you don't change anything, you know, you just have
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: to do what you do. You have to.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: You have to anticipate that he may react faster than
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: guys that you're seeing in practice or you've seen weeks before,
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: and you've just got to make sure that you're technically
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: sound and fundamentally sound and assignment perfect.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Sure, yes, sir.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Do you think the US.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Making you better faster than m.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly, and I think but I think it's that
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: way for everybody, but it, you know, just specific to us.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: It's been an amazing tool to utilize, and you know,
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: it all goes towards the people that have made the commitment,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: you know, outside of this building, in particular to helping
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  Speaker 2: us have a chance in the portal you know, not
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: only our our athletic administration, but you know the people
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: that have donated to our nil efforts, and it's made
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: a huge difference. I think all you have to do
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: is look at some of the guys that have come
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  Speaker 2: in here in the first four weeks and produced from Skylar,
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  Speaker 2: you know, todj to Nick to Mail, to Durrell, you know,
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  Speaker 2: to to Jaden McDonald to uh, you know, uh, Jordan
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  Speaker 2: Wright to to I mean, I could keep naming guys,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: you know, some guys up front that you don't necessarily
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: see a lot. It's uh, it's been a huge help
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: for us. And and uh, you know, there's a lot
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: of uncertainty in in terms of you know, how this
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: thing is going to play out with the NCAA and
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: some of the lawsuits. Hopefully we'll get some clarity soon.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: But it's a chance to bring in veteran players that
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: have played a lot of games, have a physical maturity
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  Speaker 2: to them as well as uh, you know, an emotional
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: maturity and get and get better quickly. So but once again,
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: none of that would would happen without you know, guys
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  Speaker 2: like Mike Burton and and Dennis Naden and and I
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: mean I I, you know, John Malfont, I always say
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: his name wrong, but I'm gonna get it right here,
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: and uh, you know, and many many, many many many others,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: so you know, appreciate all of them come to investors.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I think that every competitor always feels like they have
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: something to prove. But I think, yeah, when you you
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: leave somewhere for a particular reason, you hope that it's
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: not just to chase money, you know, you hope it's
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: to you know, because you want to maybe prove something
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: or have a little bit better opportunity part of something special.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: So I think the further along you get in your career,
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: you know, the more apt you are to invest more
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: of yourself into your career just because it's coming to
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: an end potentially or you see a future beyond college.
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  Speaker 2: But what I've been impressed with is the guys that
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: have joined this program are high character individuals. And that's,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: as I've said many times, the risk in the portal
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: is you don't know these guys as well, and you're
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: taking a chance on uh, disturbing what you're trying to
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: build in your culture, your environment or the way you
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: do things. And our guys that we brought in have
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: all just they've enhanced it rather than detracted from it.
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  Speaker 1: Both of the season is not regard at all.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: They beat a team that beats over what is the
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: the you know three?
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: What makes you do?
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: They're they're they're extreme, extremely disciplined. They play like y
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: they play square, they play like you know, they they
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: they're up on their toes leaning into it. You know,
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: they're not on their heels, they're not getting turned. They
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: they they manage the line of scrim as well. They
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: tackle very well. You know, they hit you with their chests.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: They uh they catch the ball and they're supposed to
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: they don't. They don't turn it over. Uh, they get takeaways.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: They're just they're very very very very sound. They know
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: who they want to be. They know what they want
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: to do, and they do it well.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: And and when you watch a team like that, it's
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: hard to find weaknesses in 'em. You know, you see
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: a bunch of guys that completely understand how they want
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: to play football and they commit to it as a
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: West Coast guy and you're just.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Like the bass on like that.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I I I I don't even I don't pay any
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: attention to what's going on out there. I mean, I
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: see some headlines every once in a while, but I
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: don't know. I mean, I I grew up a PAC
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: twelve guy, obviously, but yeah, I I I'm I got
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: I got enough to take care of right here that
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: I don't spend a lot of time on that.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: I mean this just a if if I were to
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: spend time thinking about conference realignment, I don't, I wouldn't
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: have time to think about anything else because it's just,
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: you know, it's all over the news and who knows
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: what's going on.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: One of these things in.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Twenty name, huh is that you're a big It doesn't matter.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: You just put the ball down and you play. I
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: I just I'm one of those guys that doesn't think
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: the surface matters at all. You know, I'm not gonna
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: bring it up to our players. They don't care, you know.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's their deal. I I I doubt their
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: coach is saying one word about it. You know, field
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: turf is just like grass now, so I don't th
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: I think those are just throwaways to me. Fall is
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: there a player or like a one batter or that
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: is a lot of kids about wind? It's I'd have
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: to go back through my memory bank. UH reminds me
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: of UH a guy, a coach named jeff Oldbrick, jeff
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Oldbrick who's now the Deems. According to the New York Jets,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: I had br I had Brick for eight years or
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: seven eight years in the seven years I think in
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: uh San Francisco. Then he was my defensive coordinator at UCLA.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: Now he's names coordinator of the Jets. Same type of player,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: you know, just always getting to the ball, very smart,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: high energy, you know, doesn't miss tackles, has long arms,
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: can get his hand on the ball, about the same size,
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: you know, about six one two thirty. Just tough as hell,
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: smart as hell. Guy that you can trust as a
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: play caller. You know, Jeff Brick Olbrich was a guy
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: that you know, I let him call defenses at times.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: You know, he had the option to change defenses if
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: he saw something. Now I'm not saying that this kid
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: does the same things, but I mean, you know, the
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: first thing I did is look to see you know,
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: why hadn't I heard of him before? You know, he's
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: a grad you know, but I just haven't. I just
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: I pay more attention to our team than other teams.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: But I mean, he's a heck of a football player,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: really really fun to watch on film, probably not as
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: fun to watch in person. When you're on the other sideline,
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: that's cool.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: You get out of balance, and how.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: How typical says to do when you're coming off a
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: running game, like you have to say, let's throw the
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: ball on you. Well, balance is critical, but balance to
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: me is not numbers. Balance means when you have to
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: run the ball, you're able to run it. And when
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: it comes time that you are in a game where
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: you have to throw it, then you can throw it.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: That to me is balance. Balance isn't attempts, and balance
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: isn't yards. Balances ability. So balance means if we're't a
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: game that demands we run the football, then we've been
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: be able to run the football. You know, if it's
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: the end of the game, we need to put the
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: put the game, you know, put the game away. Running
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: the football, we have to be able to do it. Conversely,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: if we are in a game that demands that we
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: throw it, we can throw it effectively.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: So that's how I define balance.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: I don't find balance by by run attempts, pass attempts,
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: rush yards or pass yards. It's probably a pretty good
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: thing because when you have sixty six rush attempts, right
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: and most of the world wouldn't see that as balance,
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: but I don't. That's not how I look at balance
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: a team. Oh yeah, yeah, we've got to prove it
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: still in the past game. But I see it, Yeah,
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: I see it. I don't even know if that makes
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: sense to you. That's to me, that's always how every
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: every football coach I've ever been around. That's how football
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: coaches define balance. Not by numbers, necessary numbers when it counts,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: you know, but not overall numbers numbers. Yet so many
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: pieces players really feel like when you kind of stuff,
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: I still don't you know. To me, it's every week proposition.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: You know, you you hope that you're growing.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: A lot of it is evidence in in how we practice.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: You know, are you up and down as a practice
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: team right now? There's a consistency to the way that
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: we practice that indicates that we can make progress. But
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: you've got to go out every week and you've got
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: to you know, you've got to improve and you've got
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: to prove it every week if you want to.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Continue to grow. So I still don't know who we are,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: you know, I don't. I don't yet.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: I think the more you play that, you know, the
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: the more apparent it becomes to who to you as
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: to who you have a chance to become.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: But it's all about the work.
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: So you know, based on today's practice, you know, we
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: mad we made progress today, but the progress made today
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: doesn't mean anything unless we make more progress tomorrow. And
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: that's the attitude that we have to take as a
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: program in everything that we do.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: What do you do balance? Because you see those white
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: papers on offense? Well, I believe we're balanced because we are.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, when we had to throw the ball the
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: other night, we threw it effectively. We just didn't have
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: to throw it a lot because we ran it.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: You know, when we played Merrimac, when we decided to
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: throw the ball, we threw it effectively. So when we
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: played Duke, you know, we were okay, not great but
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: great defense. So like I said to me, I mean, however,
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: you wanted to find balance, you that's your business. You
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: can define it by numbers or whatever. I'm just telling
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: you how football coaches define balance. Okay, thanks, thank you,