In-game adjustments
Liberty is outscoring its opponents by an eye-popping 54-14 in first quarters through the first 6 games of the year. Where the team has lost games, is in the 2nd quarter, being outscored 81-46 in the 2nd period. Why such a stark contrast? In-game adjustments, according to Coach Gill.
“Usually in the 2nd quarter, you’ve usually already had 2, maybe 3 series on the offensive and defensive side of the ball,” Gill said. “So, you’re making adjustments, and you’re either making some good adjustments or you’re not making some good adjustments. I’m reading that we’re not making the adjustments we need to make so we don’t get so far behind.”
The Flames are also struggling in the 3rd quarters, though the disparity is not as bad as in the 2nd, being outscored 63-52 in the first 15 minutes after halftime. The theme of in-game adjustments was a topic of much discussion in Tuesday’s press conference. Defensive Coordinator Robert Wimberly also chimed in on the subject.
“We definitely see the adjustments in the first half, the 2nd quarter,” Wimberly said. “We see it, but when a young man maybe has to go to special teams or get back on the field sooner than later, as a coach, you only have maybe 4, 5, 10 minutes to explain it to them based on how soon they have to get back on the field. Where as at halftime, you can get on the board, you can really show them the adjustments that are necessary, and they can ask you questions and not be rushed. Now, of course, as young men get more experience and see more things, they can probably handle adjustments a little quicker, but, of course, I give a lot of credit to our staff. We’ve been able to see the adjustments, and try to get them made, but it’s just about the young men taking it in and how fast can they process what they’re hearing.”
Gill says everyone, coaches and players, need to do a better job in this area. “We’ve got to do a little bit better job as coaches putting our guys in better position. We’re not that far off. It’s about execution, (our opponents have) coaches, they got players, it’s about making adjustments. You have to get your guys to execute it right now, the next series, the next series, the next series.
Turnover margin
During the Flames’ 3 game losing streak, the team has struggled in the turnover department. In the last 3 games, Liberty is -5 in turnover margin. In the team’s first 3 games of the season, all wins, the Flames were +2 in the category. The struggles have come both with increased turnovers lost and decreased takeaways. The Flames committed 3 turnovers in their 3 wins compared to 7 turnovers in the 3 losses. Meanwhile, Liberty forced 5 turnovers in the 3 wins compared to just 2 in the 3 losses.
Pressure on QB not same as recent years
In the first 6 games, Liberty has recorded 25 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. The Flames are tied for last in the Big South with Gardner-Webb for fewest sacks so far this season. The team is significantly below where it was last year this time, as Liberty had 34 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in the first 6 ball games.
“Definitely, we want those numbers to go up,” Wimberly said. “Me and (DL) Coach Singletary have been talking about things we can do. I thought in the Saint Francis game we saw that we were able to get more (pressure), and we did some things different in that game. We know we have to do a lot of different things. A lot of it boils down to max protection, we’re getting a lot of tight ends and tailbacks staying in for protection. So, now, when you are rushing 4, they’re basically double-teaming 2 of your best players where we haven’t had that too much in the past. I think a lot of opponents respect our 2 defensive ends and their abilities. So, now how do you offset that? You have to start bringing more pressure. We’re looking at some things that we did against Saint Francis, and even Jacksonville State, and we had some good success. So, I do feel like if we continue that process, those numbers will go up.”
Injury update
Damian King was injured against Kennesaw State and Coach Gill says he is questionable for the Monmouth game. Gill is hopeful King will be able to practice some this week.
Notable quotes.
Turner Gill on his team’s performances recently – “For the last ball game, I like the way our players were playing with passion. You continue to see that, and that gives you excitement, hope. Our players are still up to playing to their potential. Our players and coaches continue to work hard and continue to do what we need to do to get on the right track and to do things in the right way so that we can have a chance to be successful on the football field.”
Turner Gill on the team’s energy – “I got some good news today (Tuesday) from our lifting. Today, energy is good. I went down there and peaked in there to see what was going on. Everyone was ready to work. That’s all you want to do, keep coming to work and keep doing what you do, just do it a little bit better. Our guys are ready to turn this around, and the only way to do it is to get better each and every day. I don’t see any concerns, it’s a play here, it’s a play there, and these ball games will turn around. I think that we’re going to do it this week, so I don’t have any problems.”
Robert Wimberly on the team’s losing streak – “Of course everybody was heartbroken because, Homecoming, you want to represent this University in a great way, and we did not do that. We own up to that. We addressed that. I thought Sunday we had a great practice. Our young men are ready to go. We’ve been talking today. The word that I think about is tenacious, we want to be tenacious. You can’t do anything about yesterday. You learn from it, but you’re going to have a mindset of we’re going to go get it, we’re going to go get it.”
My prediction:
Monmouth 28, Liberty 24
