Q & A with Willie Fritz
12/3/2011 7:09:00 AM | Football
Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz talks about today's playoff game against Stony Brook.
Question - What's it like finally getting to play a playoff game after finishing the regular season two weeks ago?
Fritz - It's very exciting. We've had a fantastic year and we want to keep it going. We're very proud of the players and each other. Getting into the playoffs is great, but we want to do more than that. We're looking forward to this ballgame.
Question - With this time off and the pleasant weather that Huntsville has had this week, is there much of an advantage against Stony Brook, which comes from Long Island, N.Y.?
Fritz - I'm not quite sure. We've got to play no matter what the elements are. I don't talk about that a whole lot. I talk about it before the game just as far as situations go - alignments on kickoffs and punts and philosophy. We don't whine about stuff to our guys. We just get out there and play ball.
I would imagine that (Stony Brook) is excited that they're going to get to play in 75-degree weather. We're both going to play in it, so that's an equalizer. Whether it's 20 degrees or it's 75, we're both going to play in the same elements.
Question - Looking at the style Stony Brook prefers to play, there's not a whole lot of surprises in their run-heavy offense, but what makes the Seawolves' running game so effective?
Fritz - Number one, they believe in it and they understand it's their bread and butter. They've got two outstanding backs they can give the ball to and they make good decisions. They have a very good offensive line. Their receivers are willing to block and they've got good schemes. You put all of those things together and you've got an opportunity to have a great running attack.
Question - With opposing defenses trying to load defenders in near the ball to stop the run, that leaves them vulnerable to the play-action pass. What do the Bearkats have to do to prevent those breakdowns in coverage and downfield play-action passes?
Fritz - We've done a good job with that. We just have to have good eyes. We have to tell our DBs and corners that if it's a run, then you're a linebacker. If it's a pass, you're a corner. They're going to key us and tip us off (with different alignments).
We just have to decipher it and play what they show you.
Question - How do the Kats go about trying to slow down the Seawolves' running game?
Fritz - The big thing is they like to get you unbalanced at times. When they do that, you've got to become unbalanced and make an adjustment. If they shift, we've got to shift. The other part of it is, when they pull a guy, you create a couple of more gaps on each side of that player and we've got to have enough guys to fill those gaps. It's a numbers game.
They're trying to get one more guy over there blocking than you have a defender and we're trying to have one more defender than they have blockers. Alignments and fits are going to be crucial tomorrow.
Question - Over the course of the game, defenses can wear down, especially against teams that run the ball a lot. Do you think that's going to be a problem with the number of guys you can plug in on the defensive line?
Fritz - We're very fortunate that we do have very good depth. We've got a bunch of defensive linemen we can play. We got a bunch of linebackers we can play. We're able to roll a little bit with our defensive backs also. We've got good depth and we're not going to change anything. We're going to continue rolling the guys just like we roll them.
The other thing, too, is that it's a TV game. If you can't play hard in a TV game, you can't play hard. There seems like there's a break every couple of minutes. I tell them if you're tired, just hang on, there'll be a break in a little bit.
Question - Having some speedy athletes like Richard Sincere and Torrance Williams, how will you be able to utilize them on the perimeter?
Fritz - One of the things that we've got to be able to do is establish the inside run game and also be able to establish a perimeter run game. We've got some guys that can run.
I always kid our offensive coaches that I like those plays when we get fast guys in open spaces and they always seem to be good plays. I'm being sarcastic when I say it, but that's a big part of what those guys try to do every week is figure out how to get those guys in open spaces. That's always a part of our game plan each and every week, as it is for everybody.
Question - Playing against mostly spread offenses throughout the season, how is the game plan different against Stony Brook, who like to run the ball around 70 percent of the time?
Fritz - It'll be a little bit defensively because of how they run the ball.
Our philosophy is going to be the same. We've got to do a great job securing the football, making good decisions with our quarterback, we've got to ball-hawk defensively and the run game - we've got to rush for more yards than they do.
Question - What's it like finally getting to play a playoff game after finishing the regular season two weeks ago?
Fritz - It's very exciting. We've had a fantastic year and we want to keep it going. We're very proud of the players and each other. Getting into the playoffs is great, but we want to do more than that. We're looking forward to this ballgame.
Question - With this time off and the pleasant weather that Huntsville has had this week, is there much of an advantage against Stony Brook, which comes from Long Island, N.Y.?
Fritz - I'm not quite sure. We've got to play no matter what the elements are. I don't talk about that a whole lot. I talk about it before the game just as far as situations go - alignments on kickoffs and punts and philosophy. We don't whine about stuff to our guys. We just get out there and play ball.
I would imagine that (Stony Brook) is excited that they're going to get to play in 75-degree weather. We're both going to play in it, so that's an equalizer. Whether it's 20 degrees or it's 75, we're both going to play in the same elements.
Question - Looking at the style Stony Brook prefers to play, there's not a whole lot of surprises in their run-heavy offense, but what makes the Seawolves' running game so effective?
Fritz - Number one, they believe in it and they understand it's their bread and butter. They've got two outstanding backs they can give the ball to and they make good decisions. They have a very good offensive line. Their receivers are willing to block and they've got good schemes. You put all of those things together and you've got an opportunity to have a great running attack.
Question - With opposing defenses trying to load defenders in near the ball to stop the run, that leaves them vulnerable to the play-action pass. What do the Bearkats have to do to prevent those breakdowns in coverage and downfield play-action passes?
Fritz - We've done a good job with that. We just have to have good eyes. We have to tell our DBs and corners that if it's a run, then you're a linebacker. If it's a pass, you're a corner. They're going to key us and tip us off (with different alignments).
We just have to decipher it and play what they show you.
Question - How do the Kats go about trying to slow down the Seawolves' running game?
Fritz - The big thing is they like to get you unbalanced at times. When they do that, you've got to become unbalanced and make an adjustment. If they shift, we've got to shift. The other part of it is, when they pull a guy, you create a couple of more gaps on each side of that player and we've got to have enough guys to fill those gaps. It's a numbers game.
They're trying to get one more guy over there blocking than you have a defender and we're trying to have one more defender than they have blockers. Alignments and fits are going to be crucial tomorrow.
Question - Over the course of the game, defenses can wear down, especially against teams that run the ball a lot. Do you think that's going to be a problem with the number of guys you can plug in on the defensive line?
Fritz - We're very fortunate that we do have very good depth. We've got a bunch of defensive linemen we can play. We got a bunch of linebackers we can play. We're able to roll a little bit with our defensive backs also. We've got good depth and we're not going to change anything. We're going to continue rolling the guys just like we roll them.
The other thing, too, is that it's a TV game. If you can't play hard in a TV game, you can't play hard. There seems like there's a break every couple of minutes. I tell them if you're tired, just hang on, there'll be a break in a little bit.
Question - Having some speedy athletes like Richard Sincere and Torrance Williams, how will you be able to utilize them on the perimeter?
Fritz - One of the things that we've got to be able to do is establish the inside run game and also be able to establish a perimeter run game. We've got some guys that can run.
I always kid our offensive coaches that I like those plays when we get fast guys in open spaces and they always seem to be good plays. I'm being sarcastic when I say it, but that's a big part of what those guys try to do every week is figure out how to get those guys in open spaces. That's always a part of our game plan each and every week, as it is for everybody.
Question - Playing against mostly spread offenses throughout the season, how is the game plan different against Stony Brook, who like to run the ball around 70 percent of the time?
Fritz - It'll be a little bit defensively because of how they run the ball.
Our philosophy is going to be the same. We've got to do a great job securing the football, making good decisions with our quarterback, we've got to ball-hawk defensively and the run game - we've got to rush for more yards than they do.
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