Post by Sly Fox on Oct 17, 2005 9:04:03 GMT -5
Here is Chris' story from the Monday fishwrap:
www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767583491&path=!sports
LU defense short on tackles
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 17, 2005
Liberty University linebacker Manny Rojas is sick of trying to find answers to the same questions after each loss.
Rojas has not been part of the problem. For the third straight week, he had 13 tackles and was all over the place on defense. The same can be said about fellow linebacker Brandon Duke, who had 13 tackles Saturday night in LU’s 38-17 loss to Towson.
The game would have been closer had some defenders done a better job at the basics, i.e. making tackles. On several occasions, Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer slipped from the grip of a Liberty defender and made a big play that kept a Tigers drive alive.
So Rojas was asked the same questions after the loss. Why is the tackling so poor? What can be done to improve it? The Flames have already gone to live scrimmaging in practice, so lack of repetition is no longer an issue.
So just what is the issue?
“You’ve just got to weed out the guys who really aren’t committed, the guys who are here for the scholarship to (go to school) for free,” Rojas said. “You’ve got to find the guys who really want to play. Weed out the weak guys and keep the tough guys.”
The tone of that statement oozed frustration, and for players like Rojas, who knew nothing but success before coming to Liberty, irritation is mounting.
The Flames have lost six straight games for the first time since moving to Division I-AA. They host Big South favorite Coastal Carolina next week in their final home game before heading to Gardner-Webb on Oct. 29. Liberty won’t be expected to win either game. If that holds true, Liberty will have to beat Charleston Southern on the road Nov. 12 to avoid joining the 1981 Flames in infamy. That team set the school mark with a nine-game losing streak to start the season.
Saturday’s loss was a microcosm of everything that’s gone wrong for the Flames this season. The running game never got started. LU had critical turnovers on offense and tackling and assignment breakdowns on defense. And it never had a chance against a hungrier Towson team that played with poise on the road.
“We’ve got to get mentally tougher,” Rojas said. “We’ve got to get tougher on the field. We’ve got to keep guys who like to tackle… . All it is, it’s the mental game. If you don’t have a gut instinct about it, then you can’t be out there with us.”
Liberty’s goals for the rest of the season have become more modest. There’s still an outside shot of playing for a share of the conference title, but only if LU runs the table in its final three Big South games. The Flames are guaranteed their fifth non-winning season in Ken Karcher’s six-year tenure as head coach.
The Flames can play spoiler next Saturday against Coastal Carolina, a team that has played tight the last few weeks. The Chanticleers know they have to win out to have a shot at making the 16-team I-AA playoff field, and because of that, they’ve played recently like they are under an enormous amount of pressure.
“They beat us last year, and we want them,” LU quarterback Brock Farrel said. “We’ve got to beat Coastal.”
Any win would be welcome for Rojas, just so he could talk about something different after a game.
“We definitely took a step back (Saturday), and it shouldn’t have happened,“ Rojas said.
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 17, 2005
Liberty University linebacker Manny Rojas is sick of trying to find answers to the same questions after each loss.
Rojas has not been part of the problem. For the third straight week, he had 13 tackles and was all over the place on defense. The same can be said about fellow linebacker Brandon Duke, who had 13 tackles Saturday night in LU’s 38-17 loss to Towson.
The game would have been closer had some defenders done a better job at the basics, i.e. making tackles. On several occasions, Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer slipped from the grip of a Liberty defender and made a big play that kept a Tigers drive alive.
So Rojas was asked the same questions after the loss. Why is the tackling so poor? What can be done to improve it? The Flames have already gone to live scrimmaging in practice, so lack of repetition is no longer an issue.
So just what is the issue?
“You’ve just got to weed out the guys who really aren’t committed, the guys who are here for the scholarship to (go to school) for free,” Rojas said. “You’ve got to find the guys who really want to play. Weed out the weak guys and keep the tough guys.”
The tone of that statement oozed frustration, and for players like Rojas, who knew nothing but success before coming to Liberty, irritation is mounting.
The Flames have lost six straight games for the first time since moving to Division I-AA. They host Big South favorite Coastal Carolina next week in their final home game before heading to Gardner-Webb on Oct. 29. Liberty won’t be expected to win either game. If that holds true, Liberty will have to beat Charleston Southern on the road Nov. 12 to avoid joining the 1981 Flames in infamy. That team set the school mark with a nine-game losing streak to start the season.
Saturday’s loss was a microcosm of everything that’s gone wrong for the Flames this season. The running game never got started. LU had critical turnovers on offense and tackling and assignment breakdowns on defense. And it never had a chance against a hungrier Towson team that played with poise on the road.
“We’ve got to get mentally tougher,” Rojas said. “We’ve got to get tougher on the field. We’ve got to keep guys who like to tackle… . All it is, it’s the mental game. If you don’t have a gut instinct about it, then you can’t be out there with us.”
Liberty’s goals for the rest of the season have become more modest. There’s still an outside shot of playing for a share of the conference title, but only if LU runs the table in its final three Big South games. The Flames are guaranteed their fifth non-winning season in Ken Karcher’s six-year tenure as head coach.
The Flames can play spoiler next Saturday against Coastal Carolina, a team that has played tight the last few weeks. The Chanticleers know they have to win out to have a shot at making the 16-team I-AA playoff field, and because of that, they’ve played recently like they are under an enormous amount of pressure.
“They beat us last year, and we want them,” LU quarterback Brock Farrel said. “We’ve got to beat Coastal.”
Any win would be welcome for Rojas, just so he could talk about something different after a game.
“We definitely took a step back (Saturday), and it shouldn’t have happened,“ Rojas said.
www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767583491&path=!sports
