Post by rainman on Sept 10, 2007 5:57:08 GMT -5
Rodriguez explains struggling start
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— After studying game tapes of his team’s 48-23 victory over Marshall, Coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday the struggling start was partly because of his team’s poor play and partly because of the Thundering Herd’s strong showing.
“They did a nice job, playing well on both sides of the ball,” he explained. “Offensively in particular, we did not we execute very well in the first half. We had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.
“But, again, there was no panic at halftime. We just made a few adjustments, then went out there and we got a couple drives going early in the third quarter to get some rhythm going, offensively. That was critical.”
Trailing13-6 at intermission, the No. 3-ranked Mountaineers exploded for 21 points in each the third and fourth quarters to make their record 2-0 on the season. The loss left MU at 0-2.
Rodriguez noted that WVU normally is pleasingly productive coming out of the gate, and he thinks it’s capable of doing just that in Thursday night’s clash at Maryland. The Terps are 2-0 after victories over Villanova and Florida International.
It was frustrating at times vs. MU, the Mountaineer mentor admitted. But he thinks it was mostly a matter of execution, or lack thereof, which can be corrected. “We came up a yard or two short on a couple third-down plays,” he said.
“The guys’ focus was pretty good. We didn’t have a lot of missed assignments. But there were one or two here or there that stopped us from having big plays.”
He said defensive line standout Keilein Dykes, who suffered a foot sprain in the first half, is kind of day-to-day this week. X-rays showed that the foot isn’t broken.
Asked about WVU’s pass rush against Marshall, Rodriguez replied:
“It was OK at times and not very good at other times. We used a lot of different pressure packages. The defense was kind of like the offense … at some points it was really good and at some points not as good as we’d like.”
How good is Maryland?
“(The Terps) won nine games last year and they’ve got a lot of key players back,” Rodriguez said. “They’re a big, strong, physical team with a lot of huge size. So it’s another tough road assignment and in a tough environment.”
Rodriguez said Quinton Andrews, who did not see action in the season-opening 62-24 rout of Western Michigan, played solidly in his first appearance of the season. “But he was like the rest of the guys,” he added. “He had a couple good moments but he had a couple bad moments, too.”
He did not think quarterback Patrick White was as sharp in the first half Saturday as he had been in the opening game with decision-making. “But he’s really good at seeing the field,” he said.
Rodriguez thought linebackers Marc Magro and Reed Williams made a lot of good plays. He rates both as probably two of the more active defensive players.
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— After studying game tapes of his team’s 48-23 victory over Marshall, Coach Rich Rodriguez said Sunday the struggling start was partly because of his team’s poor play and partly because of the Thundering Herd’s strong showing.
“They did a nice job, playing well on both sides of the ball,” he explained. “Offensively in particular, we did not we execute very well in the first half. We had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of.
“But, again, there was no panic at halftime. We just made a few adjustments, then went out there and we got a couple drives going early in the third quarter to get some rhythm going, offensively. That was critical.”
Trailing13-6 at intermission, the No. 3-ranked Mountaineers exploded for 21 points in each the third and fourth quarters to make their record 2-0 on the season. The loss left MU at 0-2.
Rodriguez noted that WVU normally is pleasingly productive coming out of the gate, and he thinks it’s capable of doing just that in Thursday night’s clash at Maryland. The Terps are 2-0 after victories over Villanova and Florida International.
It was frustrating at times vs. MU, the Mountaineer mentor admitted. But he thinks it was mostly a matter of execution, or lack thereof, which can be corrected. “We came up a yard or two short on a couple third-down plays,” he said.
“The guys’ focus was pretty good. We didn’t have a lot of missed assignments. But there were one or two here or there that stopped us from having big plays.”
He said defensive line standout Keilein Dykes, who suffered a foot sprain in the first half, is kind of day-to-day this week. X-rays showed that the foot isn’t broken.
Asked about WVU’s pass rush against Marshall, Rodriguez replied:
“It was OK at times and not very good at other times. We used a lot of different pressure packages. The defense was kind of like the offense … at some points it was really good and at some points not as good as we’d like.”
How good is Maryland?
“(The Terps) won nine games last year and they’ve got a lot of key players back,” Rodriguez said. “They’re a big, strong, physical team with a lot of huge size. So it’s another tough road assignment and in a tough environment.”
Rodriguez said Quinton Andrews, who did not see action in the season-opening 62-24 rout of Western Michigan, played solidly in his first appearance of the season. “But he was like the rest of the guys,” he added. “He had a couple good moments but he had a couple bad moments, too.”
He did not think quarterback Patrick White was as sharp in the first half Saturday as he had been in the opening game with decision-making. “But he’s really good at seeing the field,” he said.
Rodriguez thought linebackers Marc Magro and Reed Williams made a lot of good plays. He rates both as probably two of the more active defensive players.
