Brandon Weekly Presser--Trick Play edition

The presser is always all warm and squishy after a win....ahhhhhhhhhhh, feel the endorphins.

Anyway, wise ass commentary is in orange. Enjoy the week, Falcon Nation.

It seemed that you guys wanted to be more creative, not just in the running game, but with the double pass, the onside kick and the fake field goal. Was that what you wanted to do coming into the game -- just show them some different things?
"It was no different than any game. The Miami game we had to save stuff that we had cooked up but we turned the ball over, never took advantage of field position, got behind in the game. We were trying to dig ourselves out of a hole and the tricks don't work. The window of opportunity closed pretty quickly at Miami. The window stayed open at Kent and we exploited it and did a good job of that."

OK, fair enough. Yes, you exploited it at Kent and did a good job. Kept us in the driver's seat. My fans were against the onside kick, but its not fair to be against something only after it didn't work. As I understand it, it almost worked. So, we took four risks (if you count the long FG) and three worked out. And we won the game. mmmmmmmmm

It had to have been hard on Anthony (Turner) going from a starter last year to now. Has he kind of embraced his role and he knows he can still be a big part of this team?
"Yes, I really think so. He was really excited on the boundaries when we made big plays. He was halfway out on the field, jumping around being excited. For the four snaps he got, he had two touchdowns, so that's a pretty productive guy. We've worked with Anthony to try and find his niche in the offense, whether it's continue to play quarterback and being the runner that he is, or moving him to tailback like we have the last couple weeks, or maybe putting him in the slot and doing some things. That takes a season and a spring to find out, but I do know one thing about the kid -- he's a competitor and he's talented. For this stretch of games I think we're going to see more of Anthony."

First, since we won, I'm going to forget that he said "boundaries." Next, I love the way we're using AT. Seeing more of him is a good thing. He is an absolute weapon. I saw Florida run a great goal line play with Tebow. They had him run at the line like a normal, boring QB draw....except he gets to the line and throws a jump pass to a wide open TE, who catches the ball for a TD. Since we never pass with AT taking the snap, this would be a great way to open things up.

How did you find Willie Geter? Did he fly under the radar of larger schools?
"Yes, he was a little guy. He didn't get recruited by the big time schools because they all said he was too small. If you look at him you say, `Yes, you are too small,' but we watched him on film in high school and we actually saw him play in person last year when we went down and played FIU. Coach (John) Hunter went and watched him play in person. I know he's small, but he's so dynamic just watching him play in a live game. That's what you saw Saturday, a kid who can make a guy miss in space, a kid that can break tackles, a kid with a good burst and all those things we recruited him for."

Willie's a good one. If he can stay healthy, he's got a big career ahead of him. He runs and catches.

You have said this before, but if you need a 40-plus yard field goal to win a game you're not afraid to send [Sinisa] Vrvilo out there, are you?
"Sinisa was already halfway out on the field before I even called for the field goal. I asked him what he was doing out there and he told me he would make it."

All Hail Vrvilo!!! We are not worthy!! Man, the guy is freaking deadline. To drill a 49 yarder to put a game away---we've missed that capability.

So he's not one of those guys you have to find and tell him to get out there?
"No. When I looked for him on the boundary I was told, `Coach, he's out there on the hash mark.'"

Jesus, he said "boundary" again. Sounds like the manager of a rugby team.

Does that make a difference then, in your end game situations, maybe when you're running your two-minute drill, how you call things?
"Yes, and one of the things I mentioned to [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Mick] McCall when we crossed the 50 was that a field goal will make it two scores and we will win the game so make sure we keep it within field goal range. I remember the comment I made. I said, 'we are in field goal range, keep it there.' The next play was a loss so I kind of got upset there for a minute."

Doh!

Is he even better than you thought he would be?
"Yes, he's more accurate than I thought he would be. He came on late in the spring and showed some things that made us think,'all right, he's the real deal.' I think it was just him being more comfortable in a new environment, getting to know his teammates -- all those things factored into him flourishing as a kicker. He's a pretty steady guy right now."

Well, he's made 8 out of 10. I doubt if anyone expected him to be that accurate.

After Saturday's game [KSU head coach Doug] Martin said that they weren't really prepared for what Willie Geter did. What does this do going into the MAC, now that teams might think Bowling Green is not just a passing team, and they have to look out for Willie?
"I hope they're saying that. Early on we were throwing the ball really well and we really felt we needed to do that in that part the schedule to have a chance to win some of those games. We really wanted to get the passing game back to what we were used to. You don't just show up on Saturday and do that so we grinded through the spring and worked on it all camp. We didn't neglect the running game, but we emphasized throwing the football and it gave us a chance to beat Minnesota, it gave us a chance to hang in there against Michigan State and the Boston College game kind of set us back. It put Tyler (Sheehan) back on his heels. He's still working through that now, I think. He's still a young quarterback, and having the ability to run the football -- which we've always had -- helped him Saturday and will continue to help him."

OK, this is the key question. I heard Coach talk about this on the Ticket. Obviously, we didn't try to run against the Big 10 teams. His philosophy is that we want to pass the ball. But, the real philosophy is to take what the defense gives you. That's what the spread is all about. So, if the defense is dropping into coverage, you run the ball. He contends we always had the ability and the desire, but didn't need it. Some in the Nation will quibble with the idea that we didn't need it at Miami, where the passing game was in meltdown, but the counter is we were also way behind. Sometimes, you aren't executing the passing game, so you better be able to make some runs. He went on to say that balance was dumb--setting out to throw a certain number of times. Run if you need it, he said. Sooner or later Tyler will get it back on track, because the passes were open Saturday.

Do you feel some of your best offenses since you've been here are when you have versatile running backs that can catch the ball?
"Yes, no question. Even early when I [was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach] I had Joe Alls and John Gibson we had an effective system there running the football. When you have a guy that can run and catch the ball out of the backfield, that's some versatility."

Whoever asked this question should be on the boundary.

How does Ohio's defense look?
"They're still pretty solid defensively, even after they lost some kids in the back end that were pretty good. I think they had two senior cornerbacks last season, so there are some new kids there. We just haven't seen them on film as much as last year. I think their defensive line is the strength of their defense. I think their ends are big, strong, physical guys. Their inside guys, especially number 55, are very quick and active. We've played against him for three straight years now. He's very similar to the kid we blocked last weekend, (Colin) Farrell. They're just good. Their linebackers are very quick and active and they're a good defense."

Solid? My sources from the Rocket game say there were no defenses present that night. I'm sure they are good enough. And I'm sure if we aren't ready, we could get drilled.