{"id":68007,"date":"2024-08-28T13:04:52","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=68007"},"modified":"2024-08-28T13:04:52","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:04:52","slug":"everything-rhett-lashlee-said-before-smu-houston-christian-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/everything-rhett-lashlee-said-before-smu-houston-christian-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Rhett Lashlee said before SMU-Houston Christian game"},"content":{"rendered":"

SMU<\/a> head coach Rhett Lashlee met with the media on Tuesday<\/a> and recapped the win over Nevada, looked ahead to Houston Christian and more. Here\u2019s everything Lashlee had to say to reporters.<\/p>\n

On takeaways from SMU-Nevada: <\/strong>\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about it a little bit. I mean, you look back at it, we had 11 penalties for 125. Ten of those were in the first three quarters, most in the first half, which I think contributed to a lot of our offensive woes. There was never any rhythm. We\u2019d do something. We\u2019d go one step forward, two steps back, always behind the chains, all third-and-longs. So we just never really got moving in the first half. Second half, we played pretty good offense. Went right down and got points, moved the ball, even in the drives we didn\u2019t quite get it. <\/p>\n

\u201cScored 19 points, basically two touchdowns and the field goal, I think on five drives in the second half. So we started playing SMU football towards the end. I think we had 200 yards to their 50 in the fourth quarter. We had one penalty, there\u2019s a lot to do with that. Defensively, I thought we played hard. Thought we ran to the ball well. At times we didn\u2019t leverage and stop the run like we want to. It\u2019s hard when everything\u2019s quarterback plus one runs. But still, their average per rush was low. I think we kept them, except for two big plays, from being too explosive in the passing game. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you do things like the penalties, you have a snap go through your punter\u2019s hands and give them a free touchdown, basically. You do those things, it\u2019s a recipe to get beat. And so we didn\u2019t play very well at all first half. There\u2019s just no getting around it. We started playing SMU football towards the end and that needs to continue into this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

On improvement from 1st half to 2nd half: <\/strong>\u201cI think we just settled down. I think we were pressing across the board as a team in the first half, whether it be the play calls, whether it be the way we were playing. There is a factor sometimes you\u2019re too excited to play and so you kind of play emotional and hesitant and your body just, you don\u2019t cut it loose. We gave up some big runs on some QB draws on third-and-long and stuff like that. A<\/p>\n

\u201cgain, we just did a better job of spelling things, containing the edges of the defense and swarming to the ball. Again, our offense moved the ball better, so we controlled it. I mean, the time of possession was like 36-23 and that\u2019s with us winning the fourth quarter. It was hard. We were out there a lot and some of a lot of it was self-inflicted. But like I said, I just think we settled down at halftime, came out, played SMU football. I think had we not had the issue on the fourth-and-30 that gave them a free first down on a long drive, second half might have even felt entirely like the fourth quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

On SMU DB Brandon Crossley\u2019s ejection: <\/strong>\u201cI mean, look, it\u2019s over. It is what it is. I don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s any evidence that he misrepresented our program in that moment. The call was made. We respect it. I think everyone does a good job. We\u2019re moving forward. Look, the penalties are not good. We have to handle our emotion better regardless of what someone does to you. You can\u2019t put yourself in a position to cost the team like that, and he knows that. And same thing with other scenarios when guys maybe retaliated and got a 15-yard penalty. You can\u2019t do that. And look, we allowed them to get us emotionally unstable in some of those situations in the game and it cost us and it could have easily, very well cost us the game. Yeah, I\u2019ve looked at it and we feel like we\u2019re all in a good position moving forward. I think he knows he hurt the team, but also I don\u2019t know if it went down exactly as they said it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Brashard Smith<\/a> and SMU\u2019s run game: <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s a little deceptive. We ran for almost 140-plus yards. We lost all the yards in the punt snafu, so for the game we still averaged over 4 yards a carry. You\u2019d like to be closer to 5. Brashard himself with 6 yards of carry. It wasn\u2019t explosive ever. They did a nice job the way they were playing, that they would rally and we\u2019d get 4 or 5, 6 6 yards. So it needs to be better. Needs to be more explosive, especially when they\u2019re playing pass and we\u2019re not, maybe, being as explosive as we\u2019d like to be. It\u2019s a work in progress. We had a lot of guys playing on the line in different spots where maybe a couple plays, we were just a hair off from making it a bigger play. Hopefully we\u2019ll continue to get better at that. I do think that the really good sign is that drive late, I think we got the ball was like third-and-1 on, like the 32 or 33 and we ran three straight plays for a touchdown. That\u2019s the explosiveness we need in the run game more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

On SMU\u2019s depth: <\/strong>\u201cProbably in some positions, yes, and some positions, no. I think the depth helped us. We won the fourth quarter and we finished and that was really important. So we were fresh. I think you look at the team, depth helped us in places like RJ Maryland got a big game. He only played 38 plays because Matt Hibner played 34, Stone Eby played 10. In the past, RJ would play 60-70 plays. I don\u2019t know how much he\u2019d have left in the tank in that fourth quarter, but he was fresh and those other guys made plays. Then there\u2019s other areas that maybe guys didn\u2019t get in as much as we had hoped. And sometimes when the game goes the way it did that happens. We\u2019ll continue to play the guys that deserve to play and hopefully that\u2019s a lot because we\u2019re going to need that depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

On using Kevin Jennings and what went into rolling with Preston Stone in the 2nd half: <\/strong>\u201cWe followed our plan going to the game. Preston was going to start, go the first two drives. Kevin knew he was going to play the third and fourth series, so that was how we went into the game. Thought (Jennings) did really well, including even the second series taking us on a touchdown drive. We went back to Preston, that was always the plan. We told both those guys, no matter what happens in those drives that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do because you don\u2019t want them out there pressing and going, \u2018Man, I\u2019ve got to score or I\u2019m not going back.\u2019 Go play. <\/p>\n

\u201cDid intend to play Kevin more and the game went the way it did. There\u2019s a lot of people that can say what they want. We won, so feel good about what happened. But Kevin did really well, which you expected him to, and he earned the right to continue to play and hopefully play even more. I suspect you\u2019ll see more of him this week. That\u2019s not a slight to anybody, that\u2019s a compliment to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

On communicating the plan to SMU\u2019s QBs: <\/strong>\u201cI think so. As a quarterback it\u2019s hard if, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re going to go this series.\u2019 Well, one series, sometimes the series doesn\u2019t go well and it\u2019s not your fault. You want them to get in a rhythm as much as they can, and that\u2019s the challenge with playing two guys. At the same time, if you don\u2019t know, it\u2019s \u2018Hey you\u2019re going to play,\u2019 but you don\u2019t tell them when, then either he doesn\u2019t know when to expect it and sometimes the situation dictates that you don\u2019t do it. So by telling them, it helps us do it. I think that\u2019s the best way, at least we\u2019re taking it week-to-week right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what he wants from his team in this matchup before a run of tough games: <\/strong>\u201cWell, we need to win. That\u2019s all we\u2019re worried about. Last week, probably, teaches everybody that. And we need to play four good quarters of football. First game of the season, they\u2019re always crazy and weird. They just are. Sometimes it goes the way you want, like it has for us the last two years. Sometimes it goes like it did Saturday night, but we won. Now we have to start to see that consistency of performance. We did play some guys in some different spots. In some places we feel like that\u2019s best. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn some places, we\u2019re going to move some guys around. I do think we feel like, on both sides of the ball, now that we\u2019ve had summer, fall camp and an actual game in an adverse situation, we know one, how our team will respond. We just don\u2019t need to put ourselves in those positions anymore than we have to. And two, I think we know where all the pieces need to go not only this week, but over the coming weeks. It\u2019s the best fit for our team whether it be O-line, wide out, D-line, DB. I just want to see us play harder and start better. Last year we were a great first quarter team. The other night we were a terrible first quarter team. So hopefully we can start faster and continue to finish the way we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Houston Christian: <\/strong>\u201cJason\u2019s taken over as head coach. Phenomenal job with the offense (last year). They had their winning season last year. So, explosive. They spread the field. They can play fast, they can throw it, they can run it. They do a nice job offensively. They got a new defensive coordinator, he\u2019s one of the best defensive minds coming from our state. It\u2019s two weeks in a row that we don\u2019t have any game film on our opponent and they have tons of film on us. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of it. Usually you play one game a year like that, we\u2019re playing two. I think we have to be ready to adjust. We have an idea what they\u2019re going to do offensively. We have an idea on defense, but they\u2019ve got a new DC and they\u2019ve had all off season. So you have no idea what you\u2019re going to get defensively. You plan the best you can, but you\u2019ve got to be ready to adjust in-game. I think they\u2019re going to be well coached. They\u2019re going to be excited to play. It\u2019s their first game. And then, hopefully, we can make a big jump from Game 1 to Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

On in-helmet communication: <\/strong>\u201cI think it\u2019s an adjustment. Offensively, other than the fact that the first three plays I didn\u2019t even use it because one, you\u2019ve never had it, and two, in practice you talk into a walkey and in game you\u2019ve got to push a button. I think it was a third play, Preston screamed from the field, \u2018I can\u2019t hear you.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019ll fix it.\u2019 I just needed to hit the button, so there\u2019s a reason he wasn\u2019t hearing me. I was calling plays like I\u2019ve done for 15 years. Usually have to use my hands, but I think it was good. There was once or twice that it kind of stalled out for a play or two, but nothing major. (Stone) may have a different opinion, you can ask him. I think defensively it\u2019s a different adjustment.I think because defenses have to react to the offense. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo if the offense is going fast, they\u2019ve got to get a call in. And sometimes, doesn\u2019t matter if you got a helmet on one guy, there\u2019s still 10 other guys out there, right? And then, offenses are smart. We do it some now too, when they\u2019re not going (fast), huddle up and defensive coordinators can\u2019t see the picture to call their defense on. That\u2019s what they like to do now. That\u2019s how they\u2019ve adjusted to teams that spread the field and no huddle, like us. They see the formation to call their defense based off tendencies and formations. So if you\u2019re not going fast, you give a defensive coordinator an advantage. But also, if you huddle and bust out and snap it somewhat old school, you kind of mess with them now because they\u2019ve adapted. I think our defense probably learned a lot. I think they\u2019ll adjust. I think it was probably a bigger challenge for them than it was for us offensively. And then hopefully we\u2019ll just get better and better. But I did like the idea, in especially those last two drives late in the game, I was able to call the play and then just give Preston like a thought. So he knew he and I were on the same page on that last drive. I think it helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

On SMU\u2019s special teams: <\/strong>\u201cThat one play was really, really bad, but other than that thought we played well on special teams. I think we dominated on kickoff coverage. We tackled him inside the 20 a few times. Then they had the misstep where they stepped out on the 2. Kickoff return, wee got the ball at midfield twice. That\u2019s big time. We didn\u2019t get a chance for a (punt) return. But we also, had one where I think we could have blocked. We just missed. I thought our punt return unit was good, like I said. I think punt team, other than the one play, they were solid. We\u2019ve probably got to finish the tackle a little bit better, we gave them like a 10-yard return a couple times. But we were running down there, playing hard. We protected well. We just can\u2019t have a high snap and let it go through our hands and give somebody free points. Wee did miss a 51-yard field goal, which was unfortunate, but we also made a 52 and a 35 and our protection was good. So I think we were a lot better than we were in the areas we needed to be. But the one glaring issue is a really big one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Everything Rhett Lashlee said before SMU-Houston Christian game<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee met with the media on Tuesday and recapped the win…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68038,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68007\/revisions\/68038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}