Post by elp525 on Apr 13, 2008 8:37:26 GMT -5
April 13, 2008
By Nick Scala
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - Evaluating an intrasquad scrimmage can be a difficult proposition.
Since he's looking only at his own players, how can a coach tell if his defense's success is due to his offense's failures, or vice versa?
Well, West Virginia coach Bill Stewart is a glass-half-full kind of guy, so he was quick to find the positive in the Mountaineers' scrimmage Saturday morning at Mountaineer Field.
"Wow, how about those blue shirts?" Stewart asked, referring to the WVU defensive work in the scrimmage. "I'll tell you what, there were some heat-seeking missiles out there today. I was very pleased with the defensive effort of your Mountaineers.
"Guys were flying around, balls were getting knocked loose, jarred loose, picked loose - there were two great interceptions."
That's great, coach, but what about the offense that, besides the two interceptions and three fumbles (one recovered by the defense), was guilty of one holding penalty and five motion penalties? How about getting caught for one safety, and barely avoiding another thanks to some nifty footwork by running back Noel Devine?
"Frustrating. Very frustrating," Stewart said.
In the situational scrimmage - with the offense running from predetermined down and distance situations at various points of field position, rather than keeping the ball until it runs out of downs - WVU's 78 snaps (not counting 2-point conversion attempts) resulted in 375 yards, or 4.8 yards per play. As a point of reference, last year the Mountaineers averaged 6.6 yards on offense and allowed 4.5 on defense.
The two interceptions and lost fumble rankled first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen.
"The thing that's frustrating is the turnovers," Mullen said. That's just not acceptable."
Mullen's frustration boiled over during one possession with backup quarterback Jarrett Brown guiding the second-team offense. The Mountaineers lined up eight times and were called for four penalties, including two delay-of-game flags. After the last delay penalty, Mullen screamed, "Offense, get off the field!"
"False starts, dropped balls - those things, no matter what kind of play you call, you can correct," Mullen said. "That's something that can be corrected. The mental errors are a little more acceptable."
Despite lacking the praise of the coaches, the WVU offense had its moments.
Sophomore running back Mike Poitier rushed for a scrimmage-high 77 yards on 15 carries, including a 37-yard run early in the workout.
Devine's 60 yards on eight attempts included a 34-yarder in which he slipped from the grasp of Scooter Berry - in the end zone - and cut against the grain for a big pickup.
Tyler Rader, the former Nitro standout who's been converted from the interior line to tight end, had a 12-yard first-down catch.
On consecutive plays with quarterback Patrick White and the first-string offense, Will Johnson, the former wideout now getting work at H-back, picked up 5 yards on the ground and made a nifty fingertip catch for 19 yards.
And the biggest gainer of the scrimmage, a 49-yard touchdown pass from Brown to third-string quarterback/emerging wide receiver threat Bradley Starks.
White completed 11-of-19 passes for 71 yards with one interception, Brown went 8-for-12 for 98 yards with one pick and Starks was 2-for-2 for 12 yards.
Still, the day mostly belonged to the defense, which, as it turned out, had some motivation working for it.
"We definitely wanted to kill that white team [offense] after [Friday's] practice," said Berry, who was practicing for just the second time this spring after being sidelined with a knee injury. "They got some big plays on us [Friday] and we were a little mad about that."
Defensive highlights included:
A safety, when White was "tagged down" - QBs are off limits for contact in the scrimmage - after recovering his own fumble in the end zone after being stripped of the ball by Larry Ford.
An interception in the flat by sophomore linebacker Archie Sims, who might have returned the pick for a score had Stewart not asked the officials to blow the play dead.
An interception by junior linebacker Mortty Ivy, who brought in the ball after it tipped off the hands of Alric Arnett.
A nice pass breakup in the end zone by senior defensive back Ellis Lankster on a White pass to redshirt freshman receiver Charles Matthews, who had the ball in his hands before Lankster shook it loose with his hit.
And a fumble recovery by redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Leonard after junior defensive back Boogie Allen stripped the ball from Jock Sanders after a pass completion.
Stewart, as always, accentuated the positive.
"Those [interceptions] were two big, big, big plays," the first-year coach said. "That really excited me, that made my whole week right there. I'll sleep well this weekend.
"Our defense carried us so many times last year, they've carried us in years past and we're counting on our defense to carry us next season."
That starts with the Aug. 30 opener against Villanova. Before that, though, the Mountaineers have three more days of work in spring drills - practices Monday and Wednesday and the Blue and Gold game next Saturday.
By Nick Scala
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - Evaluating an intrasquad scrimmage can be a difficult proposition.
Since he's looking only at his own players, how can a coach tell if his defense's success is due to his offense's failures, or vice versa?
Well, West Virginia coach Bill Stewart is a glass-half-full kind of guy, so he was quick to find the positive in the Mountaineers' scrimmage Saturday morning at Mountaineer Field.
"Wow, how about those blue shirts?" Stewart asked, referring to the WVU defensive work in the scrimmage. "I'll tell you what, there were some heat-seeking missiles out there today. I was very pleased with the defensive effort of your Mountaineers.
"Guys were flying around, balls were getting knocked loose, jarred loose, picked loose - there were two great interceptions."
That's great, coach, but what about the offense that, besides the two interceptions and three fumbles (one recovered by the defense), was guilty of one holding penalty and five motion penalties? How about getting caught for one safety, and barely avoiding another thanks to some nifty footwork by running back Noel Devine?
"Frustrating. Very frustrating," Stewart said.
In the situational scrimmage - with the offense running from predetermined down and distance situations at various points of field position, rather than keeping the ball until it runs out of downs - WVU's 78 snaps (not counting 2-point conversion attempts) resulted in 375 yards, or 4.8 yards per play. As a point of reference, last year the Mountaineers averaged 6.6 yards on offense and allowed 4.5 on defense.
The two interceptions and lost fumble rankled first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen.
"The thing that's frustrating is the turnovers," Mullen said. That's just not acceptable."
Mullen's frustration boiled over during one possession with backup quarterback Jarrett Brown guiding the second-team offense. The Mountaineers lined up eight times and were called for four penalties, including two delay-of-game flags. After the last delay penalty, Mullen screamed, "Offense, get off the field!"
"False starts, dropped balls - those things, no matter what kind of play you call, you can correct," Mullen said. "That's something that can be corrected. The mental errors are a little more acceptable."
Despite lacking the praise of the coaches, the WVU offense had its moments.
Sophomore running back Mike Poitier rushed for a scrimmage-high 77 yards on 15 carries, including a 37-yard run early in the workout.
Devine's 60 yards on eight attempts included a 34-yarder in which he slipped from the grasp of Scooter Berry - in the end zone - and cut against the grain for a big pickup.
Tyler Rader, the former Nitro standout who's been converted from the interior line to tight end, had a 12-yard first-down catch.
On consecutive plays with quarterback Patrick White and the first-string offense, Will Johnson, the former wideout now getting work at H-back, picked up 5 yards on the ground and made a nifty fingertip catch for 19 yards.
And the biggest gainer of the scrimmage, a 49-yard touchdown pass from Brown to third-string quarterback/emerging wide receiver threat Bradley Starks.
White completed 11-of-19 passes for 71 yards with one interception, Brown went 8-for-12 for 98 yards with one pick and Starks was 2-for-2 for 12 yards.
Still, the day mostly belonged to the defense, which, as it turned out, had some motivation working for it.
"We definitely wanted to kill that white team [offense] after [Friday's] practice," said Berry, who was practicing for just the second time this spring after being sidelined with a knee injury. "They got some big plays on us [Friday] and we were a little mad about that."
Defensive highlights included:
A safety, when White was "tagged down" - QBs are off limits for contact in the scrimmage - after recovering his own fumble in the end zone after being stripped of the ball by Larry Ford.
An interception in the flat by sophomore linebacker Archie Sims, who might have returned the pick for a score had Stewart not asked the officials to blow the play dead.
An interception by junior linebacker Mortty Ivy, who brought in the ball after it tipped off the hands of Alric Arnett.
A nice pass breakup in the end zone by senior defensive back Ellis Lankster on a White pass to redshirt freshman receiver Charles Matthews, who had the ball in his hands before Lankster shook it loose with his hit.
And a fumble recovery by redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Leonard after junior defensive back Boogie Allen stripped the ball from Jock Sanders after a pass completion.
Stewart, as always, accentuated the positive.
"Those [interceptions] were two big, big, big plays," the first-year coach said. "That really excited me, that made my whole week right there. I'll sleep well this weekend.
"Our defense carried us so many times last year, they've carried us in years past and we're counting on our defense to carry us next season."
That starts with the Aug. 30 opener against Villanova. Before that, though, the Mountaineers have three more days of work in spring drills - practices Monday and Wednesday and the Blue and Gold game next Saturday.
