Troy University Athletics
Chip Lindsey Press Conference - Coastal Carolina Pregame
10/29/2019 1:40:00 PM | Football
Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey Press Conference – October 29, 2019
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Obviously, we're disappointed that we didn't play as well as we could or should have. You have to give Georgia State credit. They have a good football team and their record shows that. They played really well the other night in a lot of places that we did not. When you do that against good teams you're going to struggle. Defensively we had trouble stopping the run. It came down to them being able to maintain and keep drives alive on offense. When you look back, we didn't tackle as well as we needed to and didn't do a good enough job of fighting off blocks. I felt like we couldn't get into a rhythm and slow them down on a consistent enough basis. When you look at our defense the last couple of weeks, we were much improved. We did a great job all year of stopping the run until Saturday night. We'll have to address that and find ways to put our guys in better positions to make plays. I thought Georgia State was solid, but we need to play better in all three phases to beat a good football team. Hats off to them. They're one of the better teams in our league, now we need to turn around and get ready for a good Coastal Carolina team.
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On the offensive production
On offense, we put up some good numbers, and Kaleb (Baker) played pretty well considering he practiced just once last week due to the flu. He wasn't as sharp as he has been or can be, but he still made a lot of great plays for us. The receivers played well, and the o-line played well. We gave up four sacks, but those were more on us for holding onto the ball too long, so I'm pleased with how the o-line is playing. Our wideouts continue to make plays down the field and the two running backs who played the other night played extremely well. We also didn't turn the ball over which is a positive. We just need to score more points.
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On the special teams
Special teams we had a couple of nice returns which helped our offense. Reggie Todd has done a nice job in that area and is now third in the country in kickoff return average. Reggie is a tough guy that practices every day despite being a bit banged up. We missed the one long field goal which is my fault because I put him in a bad position. I thought with the wind, Tyler (Sumpter) would have an opportunity to make it, but he just missed it wide-right. Looking back that's probably more on me than him.Â
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On Coastal Carolina
Now we need to turn the page to a good Coastal Carolina team led by Jamey Chadwell. He does a good job and presents a lot of different looks and mixes in the some of the option on offense, so we'll need to make sure we're very sound on defense. They do a really good job of mixing up the formations and getting you out of position. Their QB Bryce Carpenter is doing a nice job this year of executing their plan and they have a great running back as well, so it's another challenge for us. We need to match their physical style and tackle them in space.Â
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On defense, you see them mix up their looks and play extremely hard. Watching the Georgia Southern game they just played, they flew to the ball and did a great job. They're big and athletic up front and present a lot of different looks. Their corners are really aggressive and do a good job of forcing the issue. We need to make sure we play well in all three phases to have a chance. Whenever you go on the road you need to earn a victory, so hopefully we'll respond better than we did last week. I'm really proud of the effort we continue to give in the game and in practice. We just need to play better in the games.
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On the team's mindset:
With five games left, we don't control our own destiny anymore but with so many games left to be played there are many options left. We just need to put together as many wins here as possible and position ourselves to reach our goals. We don't control our own fate as much anymore but we're still looking forward to getting on the field and getting ready for Coastal Carolina.
On if this week is a 'must-win' game
If we want to accomplish our goals, it is a must-win. We try and approach every week the same and we try being consistent. We want our players to feel like we don't prepare any different each week. We know where we are in the standings so you can say it's a must-win, but we'll prepare the same. We'll put together a great plan and go out and try and execute it. That's where we are right now. We have some guys that are playing hard, but we're just not making the key plays which is something we need to do, so we need to continue to focus on making those.
On what they need to clean up
We need to get off our blocks and be a little more physical on the defensive end. That's something we need to stress. We need to make sure we stay in our gaps on defense. Our defense is designed for each guy to have a different gap that they're responsible for and we need to execute the defense to be where we need to be. At times last week we were in the right spot, but we didn't get off the block well enough and then at times we weren't in the right spots. So that's something that's important to us. I thought we contested the deep balls well and we had a tipped ball on the interception. Their run-pass-option was something they had relied on, but the other night they switched their focus to running the ball more traditionally. We're a little undersized at times and in some places, and Georgia State took advantage of that.  It is a combination of things. At the end of the day we just need to play better and do a better job of getting off the field on third down.
On what he's learned in his first season
The biggest thing I've learned is to be positive with our team. I try and come to practice and have a great plan. It's crucial to have good plans. The season is long, and we've had some ups-and-downs, but I think our guys have shown that they'll continue to fight and play. As a coach, I've learned really quickly that you need to prepare multiple players to fill each role because they need to be ready when their number is called. Getting the young guys ready is something that I learned this year and will serve us well going forward.
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Obviously, we're disappointed that we didn't play as well as we could or should have. You have to give Georgia State credit. They have a good football team and their record shows that. They played really well the other night in a lot of places that we did not. When you do that against good teams you're going to struggle. Defensively we had trouble stopping the run. It came down to them being able to maintain and keep drives alive on offense. When you look back, we didn't tackle as well as we needed to and didn't do a good enough job of fighting off blocks. I felt like we couldn't get into a rhythm and slow them down on a consistent enough basis. When you look at our defense the last couple of weeks, we were much improved. We did a great job all year of stopping the run until Saturday night. We'll have to address that and find ways to put our guys in better positions to make plays. I thought Georgia State was solid, but we need to play better in all three phases to beat a good football team. Hats off to them. They're one of the better teams in our league, now we need to turn around and get ready for a good Coastal Carolina team.
Â
On the offensive production
On offense, we put up some good numbers, and Kaleb (Baker) played pretty well considering he practiced just once last week due to the flu. He wasn't as sharp as he has been or can be, but he still made a lot of great plays for us. The receivers played well, and the o-line played well. We gave up four sacks, but those were more on us for holding onto the ball too long, so I'm pleased with how the o-line is playing. Our wideouts continue to make plays down the field and the two running backs who played the other night played extremely well. We also didn't turn the ball over which is a positive. We just need to score more points.
Â
On the special teams
Special teams we had a couple of nice returns which helped our offense. Reggie Todd has done a nice job in that area and is now third in the country in kickoff return average. Reggie is a tough guy that practices every day despite being a bit banged up. We missed the one long field goal which is my fault because I put him in a bad position. I thought with the wind, Tyler (Sumpter) would have an opportunity to make it, but he just missed it wide-right. Looking back that's probably more on me than him.Â
Â
On Coastal Carolina
Now we need to turn the page to a good Coastal Carolina team led by Jamey Chadwell. He does a good job and presents a lot of different looks and mixes in the some of the option on offense, so we'll need to make sure we're very sound on defense. They do a really good job of mixing up the formations and getting you out of position. Their QB Bryce Carpenter is doing a nice job this year of executing their plan and they have a great running back as well, so it's another challenge for us. We need to match their physical style and tackle them in space.Â
Â
On defense, you see them mix up their looks and play extremely hard. Watching the Georgia Southern game they just played, they flew to the ball and did a great job. They're big and athletic up front and present a lot of different looks. Their corners are really aggressive and do a good job of forcing the issue. We need to make sure we play well in all three phases to have a chance. Whenever you go on the road you need to earn a victory, so hopefully we'll respond better than we did last week. I'm really proud of the effort we continue to give in the game and in practice. We just need to play better in the games.
Â
On the team's mindset:
With five games left, we don't control our own destiny anymore but with so many games left to be played there are many options left. We just need to put together as many wins here as possible and position ourselves to reach our goals. We don't control our own fate as much anymore but we're still looking forward to getting on the field and getting ready for Coastal Carolina.
On if this week is a 'must-win' game
If we want to accomplish our goals, it is a must-win. We try and approach every week the same and we try being consistent. We want our players to feel like we don't prepare any different each week. We know where we are in the standings so you can say it's a must-win, but we'll prepare the same. We'll put together a great plan and go out and try and execute it. That's where we are right now. We have some guys that are playing hard, but we're just not making the key plays which is something we need to do, so we need to continue to focus on making those.
On what they need to clean up
We need to get off our blocks and be a little more physical on the defensive end. That's something we need to stress. We need to make sure we stay in our gaps on defense. Our defense is designed for each guy to have a different gap that they're responsible for and we need to execute the defense to be where we need to be. At times last week we were in the right spot, but we didn't get off the block well enough and then at times we weren't in the right spots. So that's something that's important to us. I thought we contested the deep balls well and we had a tipped ball on the interception. Their run-pass-option was something they had relied on, but the other night they switched their focus to running the ball more traditionally. We're a little undersized at times and in some places, and Georgia State took advantage of that.  It is a combination of things. At the end of the day we just need to play better and do a better job of getting off the field on third down.
On what he's learned in his first season
The biggest thing I've learned is to be positive with our team. I try and come to practice and have a great plan. It's crucial to have good plans. The season is long, and we've had some ups-and-downs, but I think our guys have shown that they'll continue to fight and play. As a coach, I've learned really quickly that you need to prepare multiple players to fill each role because they need to be ready when their number is called. Getting the young guys ready is something that I learned this year and will serve us well going forward.
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