Over your career, what makes a team better at not turning the ball over as the season goes along? What kind of things you need to emphasize? How much of it is coaching? How much of it is a mental part? Physical part?
Turnovers are one of those areas where it's never just one thing, and it certainly isn't something you can address overnight. It’s a combination of coaching, mental focus, and physical execution, but as the season goes on, you start to see which teams really emphasize protecting the football and which ones don’t. From a coaching perspective, it’s all about repetition. You need to drill ball security constantly, making sure guys know how important it is to secure the ball in any situation, whether it’s a running back going through the line, a quarterback in the pocket, or even a wide receiver after the catch. Coaches play a big role in making sure everyone understands the fundamentals and techniques that go into holding onto the ball. It’s also about situational awareness, making sure players are mindful of when to take risks and when to play it safe.
Mentally, this is where the game becomes a lot more nuanced. As the season goes on, players get fatigued, both mentally and physically, and that’s where mistakes start to creep in. You have to emphasize mental toughness—making sure guys are sharp and focused, especially in late-game situations when turnovers are most costly. A lot of it is about decision-making. The quarterback has to make quick reads, the ball carrier has to know when to fight for extra yards and when to go down, and everyone has to understand the importance of ball security. So much of this game is mental, and you can’t take that for granted. Physically, of course, you’re working on the fundamentals every day. That means holding the ball high and tight, using proper technique to avoid strip sacks, and keeping the ball off the ground. But if you’re not locked in mentally, all the physical training in the world won’t help. It’s a balance, and that’s what we try to get across to the team.
How valuable is the self-scouting process that you go through during the Bye Week? There's the physical piece, but also that component, as well.
The self-scouting process during the bye week is crucial for us, and it’s something we take very seriously. It’s more than just looking at what other teams are doing; it’s about taking a hard look in the mirror and understanding where we’ve fallen short and what we can do to improve. The physical part of it is obviously important—making sure guys are healing up and getting back to 100%, but it’s the mental and strategic side that often goes overlooked. We go back over the tape, not just to see what worked, but more importantly, to see what didn’t. We break it down play by play, series by series, looking for tendencies we’ve fallen into and areas where we’ve been predictable. It’s about identifying those small details that can make a big difference.
During the bye week, you also have more time to really get into the weeds of things. We can look at our tendencies on third down, red zone efficiency, or how we’re handling situational football. This is the time to tweak those things that might not be working and to figure out how to play to our strengths better. You also get a chance to give guys individual feedback, which sometimes gets lost in the week-to-week grind of the season. Self-scouting is as much about personal accountability as it is about team performance, and that’s a message we try to instill in everyone. This process helps reset us for the stretch run, where every mistake and every missed opportunity becomes magnified.
Can you describe kind of the energy or the mood and the vibe in the building now coming in the home stretch?
We’re 2-8, so obviously this isn’t where we wanted to be, and there’s no hiding from that. But at the same time, the mood in the building is still focused and determined. We know we’re not mathematically eliminated, and we’re going into every game with the intent to win and continue developing our players. It’s easy to let the record define the energy, but the reality is, we still have a lot of football left to play. There’s a lot of pride in that locker room, and no one is mailing it in. We’ve got young guys who are still learning, and these last games are crucial for their development.
The energy is one of resilience and focus. We know the odds are stacked against us, but we’re not going to let that dictate how we approach each week. Every game is an opportunity, whether it’s to develop players, tweak schemes, or simply to fight for pride. When you’re in a situation like this, it’s about finding those small victories that build toward something bigger, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now. It’s about going out there, competing at a high level, and preparing the foundation for what we hope will be a better season next year. The vibe is definitely one of determination. No one’s hanging their head, and no one’s quitting. We’re still focused on doing what we can to win every game we play.
