When we talked to defensive coordinator Tony White the other day, he mentioned that at the first scrimmage, the conversations on the sideline, the engagement, I guess the attitudes maybe even on the sideline were better he felt like in that scrimmage more than a lot of times last year. Is that something you’ve picked up on and how so, what do you think he might mean by that?
Yeah, I think it’s the ups and downs of football. You’re going to see good plays, bad plays, but what energy are you bringing regardless of the circumstance?
Offensively there was a couple drives just there at the beginning that didn’t go necessarily how guys wanted, but you continue to stay the course, you continue to focus on that next play and some explosive plays showed up after that.
Games are going to look a lot of different ways. There’s going to be times where it might be one side of the ball that’s carrying for a little while the team, but if you’re struggling and the only way you can get through it is you. You got to let your best continue to show up. If you get caught up in your feelings and the things that are not working out or what’s happening to you and not just going to be the best you can be to make the difference as you’re moving forward. There’s a lot of missed opportunities. And I think our guys have embraced those situations where they got to fight, encourage, challenge themselves out of the things that might not go the way that they want in the moment. And you just keep playing.
And that’s where you can hear that, you can feel that. Yeah, there’s times that the wave of momentum, I mean, it’s real, but it only takes one play to change momentum. And that’s where we’re trying to get guys to, whether you’re riding the positive wave of momentum, just focus on the next play, whether it’s stacked up against you, just focus on the next play.
But the attitude, the energy, and the excitement to go be it, that’s got to show up. I think our guys are continuing to work through that, but I think it’s definitely much improved.
