Got back to the hotel at 1:30 a.m. from the stadium and got off to a sluggish start today after a long Saturday. I realized I never posted Donte's transcript from last night, so here it is if anyone wants it:
Opening comments:
"Went out there, played well when it comes to penalties in certain parts of the game -- certain parts we didn't. They had more turnovers than us so we made a couple plays as far as the turnover game, but the bigger problem, we didn't control the line of scrimmage. They ran the ball on us pretty much and had big explosive plays in the run game, especially when it came to tackling. At the same time, we weren't able to run the ball the way we need to. So the biggest thing is controlling the line of scrimmage. You don't do that against a team that has multiple guys that can run the ball, you're going to have issues. We had issues tonight."
How did you feel about the way the QB rotation worked out in general?
"Uhh, I don't feel good anytime you don't score points. When it comes to that, but we had a couple little issues that went on there that led to that. Credit to them, their defense played really well tonight, but there's some things as a whole that we need to continue to clean up."
What do you mean by a couple of issues?
"Just when it comes to as far as coming out after half, Jaxson was going to go but he had a little hand issue that they was looking at. Just little things like that kind of messed up the rotation a little bit."
Do you feel the two-QB rotation is sustainable moving forward?
"You know what, like I always say this, we're going to do what we go to do to win the football game. It's not like either one of them lit it up tonight to say the other one is clear-cut in front of the other. They both made mistakes, just like we all made mistakes."
Why do you feel like a two-QB system is the right decision for this team?
"You know what, right now like I say, we'll continue to evaluate everything, so I can't tell you that it's the right decision, I can't tell you that it's the wrong decision. We're going to make sure we play the best guy, and neither one of them has took the full reigns to say that's the guy, right? So we're still trying to look for answers when it comes to that department. We've got a lot of guys that are dinged up or hurt, so we're trying to find the right rotation with the right guys to make sure we play, whether it's an O-lineman, whether it's a running back, receiver. So we have a lot of guys that are out, trying to make sure we just have the right people in the game period."
How do you choose who plays when -- Dart led back to back scoring drives and then took a seat?
"Yeah, well that was kind of the mishap that he kind of started having a little bit with his hand, but at the same time, when guys are scoring, like we saw before, like last week with Kedon, I would like to keep guys in when they're scoring, keep the hot hand going."
What did you see on the holding call on Steele that led to the key TD drive for ASU in the fourth?
"Uhh, well, I don't want to get into what was said, but at the same time if you watch that film, yeah, you decide if that was a penalty or not. At the same time it was called, it kept the drive going, they ended up scoring on us and it cost us."
What did they do to contain Ingram and the run game?
"For one, he was another guy that was a little dinged up, so that hurt us a lot. We depend on him, he's a big-time player, this is a big-time game so him being a little dinged up kind of got him in and out of the lineup just dealing with what he was dealing with also."
Is he OK going forward?
"We'll see. It's a lot different when a guy's in a football game -- you have a little bit of adrenaline even though you come out you're able to still kind of go back in. So we'll assess him day to day and see where he's at."
What's your conclusion as to why tackling is still such an issue?
"You know what, sometimes the one-on-ones. Because when we gang tackle, a lot of guys getting to the ball, it wasn't like just every play was a gash. The problem was we'd stop them for five or six plays and then the next play is a gash. And if you look at it, every time there was a gash there was a one-on-one tackle and we didn't make the play and they did. So it's something we've got to continue to correct and continue to get as many hats to the ball as possible."
Is that the biggest frustration on that side of the ball?
"Yeah, it is because I believe we have really good players and they're capable of making those plays. At the same time, tonight they didn't, so hats off to Arizona State."
How did you feel about the WRs with London?
"You know what, we're very thin, so it's more than just Drake that's kind of out -- it's a couple guys. I mean it's hard to say and assess without seeing the tape. All I know is that right now Arizona State pretty much held our pass game in check for the most part, which usually doesn't happen, but at the same time two receivers for us, one caught nine balls, one caught six, so we need some other people to also step up and help them out, which we'll get to work on."
This is another game you haven't been able to score a TD in the third quarter going back to Colorado, what can fix this issue?
"Today, the biggest issue was a lot of personnel issues in my opinion, a lot of guys are out so we're having to get used to guys being out of the flow. This is the first real game that for instance Drake was out and you've got Keaontay dealing with an issue, you have offensive linemen out. It's multiple people -- Courtland didn't play tonight -- so it's a lot of guys that are out, but we have to deal with the personnel also as well as dealing with the play-calling and the players making plays. It's a combination of all things. That's what sucks. You look in the first half at the run game, it wasn't like the running back wasn't running hard, it wasn't like it wasn't blocking, but it was always one person on each play that maybe didn't make the correct block. And that led to all of a sudden some plays that didn't bust for us."
What did you see from Alford?
"He's a guy who's been stepping on the field, I believe, since Notre Dame. So the last three weeks have been more and more playing time. A lot of guys right now we're rotating. Like I say, we have quite a few guys out, and he stepped up and made plays. Anytime you have a game you have two interceptions when teams are trying to go at you, that's big-time, especially in one-on-one coverage in the second one. So we just got to make sure we capitalize on the turnovers."
Opening comments:
"Went out there, played well when it comes to penalties in certain parts of the game -- certain parts we didn't. They had more turnovers than us so we made a couple plays as far as the turnover game, but the bigger problem, we didn't control the line of scrimmage. They ran the ball on us pretty much and had big explosive plays in the run game, especially when it came to tackling. At the same time, we weren't able to run the ball the way we need to. So the biggest thing is controlling the line of scrimmage. You don't do that against a team that has multiple guys that can run the ball, you're going to have issues. We had issues tonight."
How did you feel about the way the QB rotation worked out in general?
"Uhh, I don't feel good anytime you don't score points. When it comes to that, but we had a couple little issues that went on there that led to that. Credit to them, their defense played really well tonight, but there's some things as a whole that we need to continue to clean up."
What do you mean by a couple of issues?
"Just when it comes to as far as coming out after half, Jaxson was going to go but he had a little hand issue that they was looking at. Just little things like that kind of messed up the rotation a little bit."
Do you feel the two-QB rotation is sustainable moving forward?
"You know what, like I always say this, we're going to do what we go to do to win the football game. It's not like either one of them lit it up tonight to say the other one is clear-cut in front of the other. They both made mistakes, just like we all made mistakes."
Why do you feel like a two-QB system is the right decision for this team?
"You know what, right now like I say, we'll continue to evaluate everything, so I can't tell you that it's the right decision, I can't tell you that it's the wrong decision. We're going to make sure we play the best guy, and neither one of them has took the full reigns to say that's the guy, right? So we're still trying to look for answers when it comes to that department. We've got a lot of guys that are dinged up or hurt, so we're trying to find the right rotation with the right guys to make sure we play, whether it's an O-lineman, whether it's a running back, receiver. So we have a lot of guys that are out, trying to make sure we just have the right people in the game period."
How do you choose who plays when -- Dart led back to back scoring drives and then took a seat?
"Yeah, well that was kind of the mishap that he kind of started having a little bit with his hand, but at the same time, when guys are scoring, like we saw before, like last week with Kedon, I would like to keep guys in when they're scoring, keep the hot hand going."
What did you see on the holding call on Steele that led to the key TD drive for ASU in the fourth?
"Uhh, well, I don't want to get into what was said, but at the same time if you watch that film, yeah, you decide if that was a penalty or not. At the same time it was called, it kept the drive going, they ended up scoring on us and it cost us."
What did they do to contain Ingram and the run game?
"For one, he was another guy that was a little dinged up, so that hurt us a lot. We depend on him, he's a big-time player, this is a big-time game so him being a little dinged up kind of got him in and out of the lineup just dealing with what he was dealing with also."
Is he OK going forward?
"We'll see. It's a lot different when a guy's in a football game -- you have a little bit of adrenaline even though you come out you're able to still kind of go back in. So we'll assess him day to day and see where he's at."
What's your conclusion as to why tackling is still such an issue?
"You know what, sometimes the one-on-ones. Because when we gang tackle, a lot of guys getting to the ball, it wasn't like just every play was a gash. The problem was we'd stop them for five or six plays and then the next play is a gash. And if you look at it, every time there was a gash there was a one-on-one tackle and we didn't make the play and they did. So it's something we've got to continue to correct and continue to get as many hats to the ball as possible."
Is that the biggest frustration on that side of the ball?
"Yeah, it is because I believe we have really good players and they're capable of making those plays. At the same time, tonight they didn't, so hats off to Arizona State."
How did you feel about the WRs with London?
"You know what, we're very thin, so it's more than just Drake that's kind of out -- it's a couple guys. I mean it's hard to say and assess without seeing the tape. All I know is that right now Arizona State pretty much held our pass game in check for the most part, which usually doesn't happen, but at the same time two receivers for us, one caught nine balls, one caught six, so we need some other people to also step up and help them out, which we'll get to work on."
This is another game you haven't been able to score a TD in the third quarter going back to Colorado, what can fix this issue?
"Today, the biggest issue was a lot of personnel issues in my opinion, a lot of guys are out so we're having to get used to guys being out of the flow. This is the first real game that for instance Drake was out and you've got Keaontay dealing with an issue, you have offensive linemen out. It's multiple people -- Courtland didn't play tonight -- so it's a lot of guys that are out, but we have to deal with the personnel also as well as dealing with the play-calling and the players making plays. It's a combination of all things. That's what sucks. You look in the first half at the run game, it wasn't like the running back wasn't running hard, it wasn't like it wasn't blocking, but it was always one person on each play that maybe didn't make the correct block. And that led to all of a sudden some plays that didn't bust for us."
What did you see from Alford?
"He's a guy who's been stepping on the field, I believe, since Notre Dame. So the last three weeks have been more and more playing time. A lot of guys right now we're rotating. Like I say, we have quite a few guys out, and he stepped up and made plays. Anytime you have a game you have two interceptions when teams are trying to go at you, that's big-time, especially in one-on-one coverage in the second one. So we just got to make sure we capitalize on the turnovers."
