Oct. 20, 2015
Mason | Scheu & Williamson | Gameday Central | Game Notes
Head coach Derek Mason, tight end Steven Scheu and safety Andrew Williamson met the media Tuesday to discuss Vanderbilt’s next game against Missouri. The contest is set to kickoff Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in Nashville.
Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening statement
“We’re hosting a really good Missouri football team. Coach (Gary) Pinkel has done a terrific job. I’ve tried to watch exactly what he’s done here in this conference. He is a guy I follow based on the simple fact he’s won the SEC East two years in a row. (Missouri) has been opportunistic on offense and they’ve found ways to win close games. That’s a formula in the SEC. Just watching them play, you understand why their defense is No. 1 in this conference. Up front they get after it, play hard, fast and physical. That linebacking crew does a really good job of flowing inside out to the ball. One of their linebackers is leading the conference in tackling. They do a good job of running around. Their secondary is the no-fly zone. They are really good playing the Cover 2 concept. They are good at what they do first-and second-down. We have to attack these guys and make sure we can stay on schedule. They do a really good job at getting teams off schedule. It is going to be a challenge for us.
“When I look at who these guys are offensively, they’ve had to change their quarterback position. (Drew) Lock is a good player, does a really good job at extending plays, and has a good arm. He’s very much like Maty Mauk, but doesn’t have the experience. That is why their ball games have been close. (Lock) is maturing through the process and learning how to play the game and taking care of the football.
“When you look at our football team coming off the last game, … let’s call it what it is – turnovers and penalties. We need to play better defense in my opinion. We’re getting better at that. But we just have to continue all around to be better. Turnovers and penalties have been the nemesis for us. We’re going to figure out exactly what that is. I do know this: you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. With that being the case, we’re looking at every opportunity to get better. That’s how we’re practicing, that’s what we are doing. We’re going to make the changes necessary for us to move forward.”
Against a defense like Missouri’s is it more imperative not to turn it over because you know each turnover can turn the game?
“Absolutely. You have to manage the game. You have to know who you are. I talked to our guys a little bit about teams that have done that in the past. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had to do that. The Baltimore Ravens did it. You have to give guys visuals in terms of what it looks like and how you have to play it and how you are built. Offensively, that comes back to taking better care of the football. I’ve never been involved in a football game where we’ve been successful having four or five turnovers. You just can’t do that because the games in this conference are way too close. The margin for error is very, very slim. We have to take every opportunity and every possession and maximize it. Sometimes the best thing to do is punt it away, play defense, and see what we can get done. We don’t have to turn the ball the way we have. And those haven’t been turnovers; they’ve been giveaways. In my opinion we have to be better and we will be better. We’re addressing that and exploring every option.”
What will you need to see in practice this week to go from exploring different options at positions to making decisions on starters?
“Consistency. All I want to see is the ability – across the board at all positions – to be able to manage the game. It’s not just quarterback play. There are too many drops in critical situations, too many turnovers. For us, you look at running back, quarterback, the receivers, we’ve got to get it all fixed. For us, it is a team thing. I’m exploring every option. I’m looking for guys who are consistent, do it day in and day out. Those guys will be the guys who line up on Saturday.”
Are the giveaways the turning point for you in games that are so close?
“The margin of error for success is slim. We have to play good on special teams, we have to play good on defense, and we have to take care of the football and be opportunistic on offensivel. We haven’t been able to do that. This (South Carolina) game took me all the way back to game one and that’s what you can’t do. You have to be a forward-moving, forward-ascending football team. In that, we’ve gotten better in some areas but not enough for us to see the results we want to see. We’re a 2-4 football team that very well should be 4-2. That’s the way I feel. I don’t see this football team as a 2-4 team but that is what we are. And it has everything to do with how we’ve been able to take care of the football. Take care of the football and hopefully we can put ourselves in position to win games by the way we play and the way we’re structured.”
What sort of challenge does Missouri’s defense present?
“A tough one. They are really good at what they do. They stop the run. They get you behind the chains and what they’re looking to do is get you in that situation, much like we do. That is one of the reasons why we are what we are on third-down defense. When we can get people beyond the chains we’re pretty good. We’re going to have to be creative. We’re going to have find some things that stretch the defenses that they play and attack different guys to find the weak points, the stressors of their defense to give us a chance to have manageable plays that get us to manageable downs – 2nd and medium, 3rd and short. That’s where you want to be, and there is still no guarantee. With that, we’re going to make sure we look at the structure of what we do and we’ll have a good game plan for these guys.”
Tight end Steven Scheu
On turnovers being the deciding factor in wins and losses:
“I absolutely do (agree). You can tell statistically, I know how people don’t focus on statistics all that much, but they’re pretty telling. Offensively we’ve been gaining yards, we just haven’t been able to get the ball in the end zone as much as we need, and that’s all because of turnovers and penalties. Obviously the defense is playing really well and getting us the ball a lot, but we’re just having a tough time capitalizing on those turnovers because were committing so many ourselves. And that’s really the difference right now if we could just eliminate those penalties and turnovers right now it could be a totally different season.”
How exploring QB options changes offense:
“I don’t really think it changes that much. It’s all about trusting our coaching staff and who they put out there. Every quarterback has had a lot of reps with the first team so everybody is comfortable with whoever’s behind center. WE just have to go out and do whatever we can. We can control what we can control, and ultimately that’s the coaches decision.”
Is there more pressure this week with possible changes coming?
“I don’t really know if there’s more pressure, there is a sense of urgency because we do think that we could be in a very different position if a couple things went our way… meaning that we could easily be 4-2 right now. There definitely is a sense of urgency to get back in the win column, and start trending in the right direction.”
Was Johnny McCrary frustrated coming off the South Carolina game:
“After coming off a tough came like that, most guys were frustrated about their individual performances. I’m not going to speak for Johnny, because I haven’t really spoken to him about it, but I know he expects to play better as we all do and that’s really all I can say for him.”
On Darrius Sims’ performance against South Carolina and how teams prepare to play him:
“He’s an explosive player. He’s tough to prepare to for, and when we can get him the ball in a bunch of different ways obviously that puts a lot of pressure and stress on the defenses trying to prepare for that coming up. And really that’s what we’re trying to do. Just put him in the best position possible, because he is so skilled and quick and athletic that having the ball in his hands is a great asset.”
Safety Andrew Williamson
How it has been watching close games from the sideline:
“Oh, that is tough. As a teammate you want to be out there, and do everything you can to help the team. So it’s been a rough few past weeks.”
Does Missouri’s defense inspire/challenge the defense to be its best?
“Yeah, we’re definitely going to go out with the same mindset we have every week. Just keeping the offense from getting into the end zone. It’s really the same mindset.”
On returning for a home game:
“You have to love coming here and playing in front of the fans, and being on the home turf in general. I’m happy about that.”
Running back/receiver Darrius Sims
Where did his performance (104 rushing yards) come from against South Carolina?
“They came from my offensive line. My offensive line game me opportunities and holes that were big enough for anyone to run. The line we have, I guarantee any of those running backs could have had 100 yards. Our offensive line did a great job, which gave me my first 100-yard game without a doubt.”
On his excitement coming off a standout game:
“I’m just taking it one day at a time. My excitement level is high, especially coming off that game, but I’m just trying to get the basics down and the scheme for this week getting ready for Missouri.”
On assessing the QB position:
“That’s what we do in the summer. We grow chemistry with all of our quarterbacks, so whoever gets the job done is who were going for. All three guys are all great candidates for the starting job.”
Trend of having big games against South Carolina:
“I’ve been getting that all week. I can’t tell you if there’s something to that or not. This game just so happened to be South Carolina, it just happened to go my way. If there is a football god, he’s been blessing me against South Carolina.”
If his strong performance makes the offense more versatile?
“Most defiantly, that’s what we try to do. We try to spread the ball around with everybody; Trent Sherfiled, me, Ralph Webb and (Steven) Scheu. We try to give different looks to different people, because people watch film and see the different things that we do well, and they try to key in to that and that just takes away from all the other stuff we have to worry about.”
Issue of turnovers against a low scoring Missouri team:
“See then and watching film on Missouri, just seeing how their guys follow the ball and seeing the type of people they; are it really does make it challenging. But were up for the challenge and the coaches have some great schemes going in. The offensive line has been working really hard at practices, so it’s going to be a tough game and we’re going to bring everything we’ve got.”
What challenges Missouri’s defense brings:
“They’re a fast team and have a great defensive line, just like everybody else in the SEC. But were going to attack it like we do every other game and try to do what we do best and get the job done.”
