Sunday With Guy
9/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2006
After Saturday's heartbreaking 17-15 loss to Washington State in Seattle, the 1-2 Baylor football team hosts 1-2 Army on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in Floyd Casey Stadium. Here are Baylor coach Guy Morriss' thoughts on last Saturday's loss to Washington State.
Was this a tougher loss than the TCU game?
"Both of them were tough losses and both of them in the same kind of manner. Just dumb penalties, illegal procedures and dropped balls. You name it, we did it to ourselves."
How many drops have you seen on the tapes?
"I haven't counted them, I don't know. Probably in double digits. They give us the official scoring (off the play-by-play), but I kind of see it a little differently. If you get your hands on it, you need to catch it. We had some of those where we had both hands on the ball and we dropped it. The official scorer doesn't count it as a drop, but we will."
How did Justin Fenty play?
"For me as a player and a coach, the guy has got courage. That is what I noticed more than anything. He has got courage going across that middle. I think he had a drop, but for a freshman in his first start, I think he gave a pretty good accounting of himself. He'll do nothing but get better."
Did you see enough good things from Justin in practice to play him?
"We like what we saw from him, but we felt like we had so many people in front of him that were a little older, a little more experienced. We were going to try and red-shirt him, but with the injury to Carl [Sims] we kind of had to make a decision to play him. And he's going to play more. I guarantee it."
What do you say to your players when they don't make the play?
"The only time I ever call a player out is when it is in a positive way. I'll say `Hey, Dominique, you are a great play-maker.' We have great playmakers like Trent Shelton and Trey Payne... The message is that there are a ton of play-makers on both sides of the ball here, and when its your turn to make it, we have got to make those kind of plays."
Do you ever worry about finger pointing from the offense or defense?
"Well I don't really worry about that too much because number one, our coaches point the finger at themselves first, and then we do a good job at trickling it down to the players and say that we had our chance and every phase of the game had their chances yesterday. We win as a team and we lose as a team. And we really preach and promote that. I don't think we have any of that going on."
How did Washington State's three man rush change the game?
"They went to the three man rush. They were playing two deep and six under. We couldn't get deep because the two deep safeties were really bailing. And there were six guys clogging up lanes underneath. Then they would come after us with five at times, blitzing, just enough to keep you honest. That was the only change that there is really."
Did you ever really adjust, particularly after the interception?
"No, we didn't really. We would get things going, and we would always stop ourselves. And that's the frustrating part about it. Every time we had a chance to get on track, we would get rolling, and we would look up and it would be second and twenty because we jumped offside or had a holding (penalty). Then we would have a drop or bust of some kind. We were just killing ourselves."
Why did you go for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter?
"Well we just felt like we needed to get something going. If we punt it away, we may not get it back. I think we felt pretty good about picking it up and getting the first down."
Is it okay to take sacks with this offense?
"Maybe that's the way you need to think. But with me being an offensive line coach, that is the worst sin in the passing offense is to give up a sack. Of course, my thinking is the same way. We have got to keep number 11 (Shawn Bell) on his feet. You don't want your starting quarterback stretched out on the turf, that's for sure."
Have you been pleased with Shawn Bell's performance?
"Yes, well he was almost 65 percent on completions with about 10 drops. But he has some things that he could better. Everyone does. Overall he has done a pretty good job."
Is Shawn finding the right receivers?
"For the most part, yes. The thing that would benefit him more is to trust his protection. If he starts to feel [the pocket closing], he needs to step up and through instead of trying to escape out. He doesn't have the speed to do that... He needs to trust his protection a little more. When he tries to go outside of the whole pocket, he is getting himself into trouble because the pocket is collapsing. The tackle is trying to block the [defensive] end and if Shawn takes off, the tackle doesn't know that, and the end comes off and gets the sack."
How are the coaches bouncing back after this loss?
"Well, I've played it over and over in my mind. I'm sure [the players] are hurting just as bad as we are. I'd rather get pounded 100-7 than lose one like that. We had all kinds of opportunities, but we just can't seem to take advantage of them."
How is Paul Mosley (turf toe) coming along?
"He ought to be pretty much full speed, come Saturday. He was still hurting a little bit last week and he didn't have a great week (in practice). It is hard to throw them in there if they aren't 100 percent."
Sunday Notes: Baylor reported no serious injuries from Saturday's game at Washington State ... Baylor has held its first three opponents to 17 or fewer points in each game, which marks the first time it has opened the season with three consecutive games allowing 17 or fewer points since 1996 ... Baylor has not allowed a first-quarter score in four-straight games dating to last season's season-finale vs. Oklahoma State, outscoring its opponent 37-0 in that span. In fact, over the last four games, the Bears have outscored their opponents in the first half by a combined 74-14 ... Senior CB Anthony Arline's 40-yard fumble recovery TD was the first score of his Baylor career and the Bears' 15th non-offensive score in 37 games under fourth-year coach Guy Morriss ... Senior CB C.J. Wilson recorded his fourth interception of the season at Washington State, one less than he recorded in 11 games a year ago ... Wilson, who leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 2 nationally with 1.33 interceptions per game, has nine career interceptions and needs one to crack Baylor's all-time top 10 list ... Wilson has recorded at least one pick in three straight games, four of his last five and six of his last eight. All nine of his picks have come over the last eight games ... Senior QB Shawn Bell recorded his fifth-straight 200-yard passing game with his 256-yard effort at Washington State. That is the second-longest 200-yard game streak in school history behind Don Trull's school-record seven-game string in 1963 ... Bell recorded his 10th career 200-yard passing game, joining Trull (12) and Cody Carlson (11) as the only Baylor quarterbacks with at least 10 career 200-yard passing games ... Bell ranks third in the Big 12 and 16th nationally in total offense (265.0 ypg) ... Senior WR Trent Shelton, who has recorded at least one reception in a school-record 36 consecutive games, ranks third in the Big 12 and 17th nationally with 6.33 receptions per game ... Shelton is also third in the Big 12 and T-28th nationally with 81.33 receiving yards per game ... Senior P Daniel Sepulveda is fifth in the Big 12 and 19th nationally with his 43.39 punting average ... Sophomore return specialist Queito Teasley is third in the Big 12 and 11th nationally in kickoff returns with a 31.00 average ... True freshman IR Justin Fenty was pulled out of a redshirt year and saw extensive action vs. Washington State. Fenty had five receptions for 65 yards and his first reception as a Bear was a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bell ... Baylor returns to action on Sept. 23 with a 6 p.m. game against Army at Floyd Casey Stadium. Last year, Baylor recorded a 20-10 victory at West Point.
