With a few extra reporters present because they were on the Justin McMillan watch, Tulane practiced this afternoon at the Saints indoor facility. The reason had nothing to do with getting out of the heat. It was move-in day for Tulane's new students, and even all university employees were banned from parking on campus to accommodate them. It would have been logistically difficult to have a practice on campus.
I made it for the last 30 minutes of practice. Jeffery Johnson worked with the first-team defense, something he has not done much recently unless someone was out with an injury, along with Cameron Sample at end, Robert Kennedy at defensive tackle and Patrick Johnson at OLB. That's the starting line most would have predicted before De'Andre Williams' emergence. I'll have to check on Williams' status tomorrow because there were too many distractions today, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said after the practice that Johnson was slated to start against Wake Forest. That does not gibe with what I've seen and been told the past few weeks, but Johnson's potential has been evident from the start.
The other first-teamers in the small segment I saw were Marvin Moody and Lawerence Graham at inside linebacker, Will Harper at nickel, Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes at cornerback and Donnie Lewis and Rod Teamer at safety. Sure starter Zach Harris rotated in, too, but P.J. Hall practiced as a second-team cornerback along with Willie Langham. Hall at cornerback is different from what they've shown since spring practice, but he's versatile and Fritz has stressed getting guys reps at multiple positions repeatedly so that injuries don't sink this team.
Keon Howard, who could have more competition for the starting job next year than he expected, got extensive work as the offense continued to prepare the defense for Wake Forest. He threw a long touchdown pass to Jaetavian Toles against a totally busted coverage, but the defense rebounded with a pair of interceptions. Willie Langham, who makes a noticeable play just about every day, jumped a route for the first one, and Harris snagged a deflection for the second. The defense was active and enthusiastic today.
They also did a fair amount of special situations drills, including Hail Mary attempts and squib kicks. Jonathan Banks is very good at throwing Hail Mary passes. It's a skill some QBs don't have, but he gives his guys a chance to make a play every time, and that's all you can ask.
I hope to have a more full report tomorrow, but they are practicing at the Saints facility early in the morning and I have to drop my kid off at school at 8 before racing out to Metairie. We shall see. I'm interested to see what the defense is doing.
Here are the quotes from today other than the two from Fritz I already posted in another thread.
FRITZ
How confident are you in what you've done this far as far as getting ready for the opener?
"We feel good about it. We did some situations here at the end of practice. There are an infinite amount of situations that can occur in a game. I've been coaching a long time, and every season I'll see something I've never seen before. You try to prepare your guys for every type of situation that can come up in a game. That way when you're on the sideline and you're trying to explain, at least you've gone over it physically or talked about how we handle that type of situation."
Are you worried at all about maybe overcoaching this game because you've had so long to think about it? (This definitely was not my question. I've been around Fritz long enough to know the answer there).
"No. One of the things we're doing is we're taking Friday off. We're going in the morning (Thursday) and are going to lift in the afternoon and are taking Friday off. We're really cutting back next week. We really didn't start our preparation for Wake Forest until Monday. The other part is just us getting better."
How important is it to get a fast start? Last year you kind of struggled early on in the first half. (I'm not sure what this question was about. Tulane outscored opponents by 21 in the first half and was outscored by 41 in the second half).
"It's big to get a quick start. There's an ungodly statistic about first score and leading after the first quarter and leading after the half (I question the significance of this, too, because better teams usually score first and lead after the first quarter and the half. I'd love to see an analysis of how often an underdog wins when it scores first and leads at the half as compared to when a heavy favorite does the same thing). You certainly make it better for yourself when you do that. It makes it a little tougher on you if you don't. Every football coach wants to start fast and finish faster."
What do you like best about Darnell Mooney once the game starts?
"He's kind of a Cool Hand Luke guy there in the game. Nothing gets him rattled. He's just a really smart player. He's thinking one step ahead and knows exactly what you're talking about. You don't have to give him a dissertation. You can give him a couple of key buzzwords and he's able to handle it and digest it. He's just a really smart player. FBI is what people call it--football intelligence."
Is stopping the run a big concern especially because you're facing a team that is going to run the ball a lot?
"They are going to run it at us. They are a big RPO team, so if we take away the run, they are going to throw the ball. There are going to be times where we're going to pack the box and there are going to be times where we're not going to have everybody loaded up. It all comes down to execution and staying on the line of scrimmage at the point of attack with the defensive linemen and linebackers and then really rallying to the ball with leverage with the secondary. Definitely run defense is important every game that you play."
Why do you think you're improved in that area?
"We've got a lot more veterans playing for us. We're a good tackling team. The big thing for us is trying to stay away from the big play, whether it be run or pass. We need to make them go down the field eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 plays. The percentage (of teams scoring) is not good when they have to do that."
JACK CURTIS
How comfortable is everyone with the 3-4 now?
"We decided to make that move to the 3-4 last year because of our personnel. There are some adjustments that are a little different. Not only the players had trials, but we did, too, as coaches. We cleaned up a lot in the offseason, and I think we'll be much improved."
How about on the nose? If you are going to play that defense, you have to be pretty good there.
"We do, and we're going to be starting a true freshman there, Jeffery Johnson. He's a big kid--6-3, 320. He's going to be a really good player. It will be interesting to watch him play for the first time in a college game. He's a starter. He's 18 years old. We have to expect a lot out of those young guys."
That's a lot of responsibility.
"It is, and especially in the first game. There are emotions in the first game, so hopefully we can get him calmed down. We've had two or three scrimmages with him, but there's nothing that can take place of that first game. We've got to get him settled down early. He's going to have to play quite a bit, and we're going to have to get some of the other young guys in. The guys we're going to replace him with are going to be young at the position."
How much do the RPOs Wake Forest runs scare you?
"It's very tough. They were able to score a lot of points on a lot of good teams. I think they put 59 on Texas A&M and 40-something on Notre Dame. They know what they're doing. The senior quarterback last year did a fantastic job. I'm hoping the lack of experience with the quarterback they are going to play (against Tulane) can't do what they did last year. but the offense does test you. You are defending the run and pass on every play. They want to create space and get those receivers open. You've got to be very disciplined when you're in zone coverage not to come up too quick. It does create quite a challenge."
If all of these guys come along, do you feel like the future is bright?
"I do. We've got a real good young group. It's all tied in together, but we've got some good play happening in the back end. The corners are playing extremely well. We've got great play with Rod (Teamer). It all kind of ties together so if you're able to play some more run-stopping defense because you can man up on the back end, it makes your front stronger. You are able to take a few more chances with maybe some pressures and create some more negative plays. It's all tied in. Some of the strengths we have in the defense right now is in the secondary, and that hasn't been the case until this year. We've finally got some numbers that are going to help us do some more packages and play some more people in those situations."
I made it for the last 30 minutes of practice. Jeffery Johnson worked with the first-team defense, something he has not done much recently unless someone was out with an injury, along with Cameron Sample at end, Robert Kennedy at defensive tackle and Patrick Johnson at OLB. That's the starting line most would have predicted before De'Andre Williams' emergence. I'll have to check on Williams' status tomorrow because there were too many distractions today, but defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said after the practice that Johnson was slated to start against Wake Forest. That does not gibe with what I've seen and been told the past few weeks, but Johnson's potential has been evident from the start.
The other first-teamers in the small segment I saw were Marvin Moody and Lawerence Graham at inside linebacker, Will Harper at nickel, Jaylon Monroe and Thakarius Keyes at cornerback and Donnie Lewis and Rod Teamer at safety. Sure starter Zach Harris rotated in, too, but P.J. Hall practiced as a second-team cornerback along with Willie Langham. Hall at cornerback is different from what they've shown since spring practice, but he's versatile and Fritz has stressed getting guys reps at multiple positions repeatedly so that injuries don't sink this team.
Keon Howard, who could have more competition for the starting job next year than he expected, got extensive work as the offense continued to prepare the defense for Wake Forest. He threw a long touchdown pass to Jaetavian Toles against a totally busted coverage, but the defense rebounded with a pair of interceptions. Willie Langham, who makes a noticeable play just about every day, jumped a route for the first one, and Harris snagged a deflection for the second. The defense was active and enthusiastic today.
They also did a fair amount of special situations drills, including Hail Mary attempts and squib kicks. Jonathan Banks is very good at throwing Hail Mary passes. It's a skill some QBs don't have, but he gives his guys a chance to make a play every time, and that's all you can ask.
I hope to have a more full report tomorrow, but they are practicing at the Saints facility early in the morning and I have to drop my kid off at school at 8 before racing out to Metairie. We shall see. I'm interested to see what the defense is doing.
Here are the quotes from today other than the two from Fritz I already posted in another thread.
FRITZ
How confident are you in what you've done this far as far as getting ready for the opener?
"We feel good about it. We did some situations here at the end of practice. There are an infinite amount of situations that can occur in a game. I've been coaching a long time, and every season I'll see something I've never seen before. You try to prepare your guys for every type of situation that can come up in a game. That way when you're on the sideline and you're trying to explain, at least you've gone over it physically or talked about how we handle that type of situation."
Are you worried at all about maybe overcoaching this game because you've had so long to think about it? (This definitely was not my question. I've been around Fritz long enough to know the answer there).
"No. One of the things we're doing is we're taking Friday off. We're going in the morning (Thursday) and are going to lift in the afternoon and are taking Friday off. We're really cutting back next week. We really didn't start our preparation for Wake Forest until Monday. The other part is just us getting better."
How important is it to get a fast start? Last year you kind of struggled early on in the first half. (I'm not sure what this question was about. Tulane outscored opponents by 21 in the first half and was outscored by 41 in the second half).
"It's big to get a quick start. There's an ungodly statistic about first score and leading after the first quarter and leading after the half (I question the significance of this, too, because better teams usually score first and lead after the first quarter and the half. I'd love to see an analysis of how often an underdog wins when it scores first and leads at the half as compared to when a heavy favorite does the same thing). You certainly make it better for yourself when you do that. It makes it a little tougher on you if you don't. Every football coach wants to start fast and finish faster."
What do you like best about Darnell Mooney once the game starts?
"He's kind of a Cool Hand Luke guy there in the game. Nothing gets him rattled. He's just a really smart player. He's thinking one step ahead and knows exactly what you're talking about. You don't have to give him a dissertation. You can give him a couple of key buzzwords and he's able to handle it and digest it. He's just a really smart player. FBI is what people call it--football intelligence."
Is stopping the run a big concern especially because you're facing a team that is going to run the ball a lot?
"They are going to run it at us. They are a big RPO team, so if we take away the run, they are going to throw the ball. There are going to be times where we're going to pack the box and there are going to be times where we're not going to have everybody loaded up. It all comes down to execution and staying on the line of scrimmage at the point of attack with the defensive linemen and linebackers and then really rallying to the ball with leverage with the secondary. Definitely run defense is important every game that you play."
Why do you think you're improved in that area?
"We've got a lot more veterans playing for us. We're a good tackling team. The big thing for us is trying to stay away from the big play, whether it be run or pass. We need to make them go down the field eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 plays. The percentage (of teams scoring) is not good when they have to do that."
JACK CURTIS
How comfortable is everyone with the 3-4 now?
"We decided to make that move to the 3-4 last year because of our personnel. There are some adjustments that are a little different. Not only the players had trials, but we did, too, as coaches. We cleaned up a lot in the offseason, and I think we'll be much improved."
How about on the nose? If you are going to play that defense, you have to be pretty good there.
"We do, and we're going to be starting a true freshman there, Jeffery Johnson. He's a big kid--6-3, 320. He's going to be a really good player. It will be interesting to watch him play for the first time in a college game. He's a starter. He's 18 years old. We have to expect a lot out of those young guys."
That's a lot of responsibility.
"It is, and especially in the first game. There are emotions in the first game, so hopefully we can get him calmed down. We've had two or three scrimmages with him, but there's nothing that can take place of that first game. We've got to get him settled down early. He's going to have to play quite a bit, and we're going to have to get some of the other young guys in. The guys we're going to replace him with are going to be young at the position."
How much do the RPOs Wake Forest runs scare you?
"It's very tough. They were able to score a lot of points on a lot of good teams. I think they put 59 on Texas A&M and 40-something on Notre Dame. They know what they're doing. The senior quarterback last year did a fantastic job. I'm hoping the lack of experience with the quarterback they are going to play (against Tulane) can't do what they did last year. but the offense does test you. You are defending the run and pass on every play. They want to create space and get those receivers open. You've got to be very disciplined when you're in zone coverage not to come up too quick. It does create quite a challenge."
If all of these guys come along, do you feel like the future is bright?
"I do. We've got a real good young group. It's all tied in together, but we've got some good play happening in the back end. The corners are playing extremely well. We've got great play with Rod (Teamer). It all kind of ties together so if you're able to play some more run-stopping defense because you can man up on the back end, it makes your front stronger. You are able to take a few more chances with maybe some pressures and create some more negative plays. It's all tied in. Some of the strengths we have in the defense right now is in the secondary, and that hasn't been the case until this year. We've finally got some numbers that are going to help us do some more packages and play some more people in those situations."