Clawson Post-Game Presser

"They almost had to hand us the game.  And then they did, and we didn't capitalize."

                                    ----Dave Clawson

Just watched Coach Clawson's presser.  He was pretty matter-of-fact, but blunt, terming the Falcon's performance very disappointing.

He said we played poorly for three quarters.  We are struggling on offense, upfront, and at QB.  He said that our defense (except for 2 big plays) generated our offense.

He said that while the defense made some big plays, we didn't rush the passer and we didn't cover.  They made a handful of big plays, but were uneven and couldn't get off the field on first down.

He said the offensive line really struggled with run block and with protection.  Blaec Walker was injured at Michigan and couldn't go this week, so there was reshuffling on the offensive line, but beyond that, we were badly outplayed up front.

He said that he went for the two-pointer down 9 for the reasons I speculated last night--he wanted to know if it is a one-score or a two-score game.  Also, we had a 2-point play, and we were going to use it regardless.

(My note:  It looked like that TE throwback where play drifts to the strong side and then a TE leaks off to the weakside and is often alone.  That play has been a staple of the BG program since the UM days.  They covered it, and we missed).

He did note that the wind was severe.  In the stands it did not seem that bad, so I was surprised.  They made a conscious decision to have the wind for the 4th.

He was disappointed that we did not get pressure like we did against Marshall.  We have been hurt blitzing, and thought we could get pressure with a four man front.  The sad things is (and this is now my comment), when your rush 4 the benefit is that you are supposed to have seven guys in coverage, but we rushed four and the middle of the field was still wide open all day.

He finished by saying that youth is not an excuse any more.  Our guys have played 5 games now, and they cannot use youth as an excuse for missed assignments and coverages.