I watched Coach Chavis in his Arkansas interview yesterday and was once again struck by what a heady coach this guy really is. Coach Chavis starts off the session and before anyone can ask a question he immediately enters into an explanation of what happened on the fourth and one play from our 30 that Nevada broke for a TD.
He states that, "the coaching staff has to do a better job of putting our players in position to be successful". He continues by saying that 'we had a defense called and we were trying to check out of it but did not get it in."
What a master! I watched that play several times and this is what I saw. The original defensive set stopped the play at the point of attack. The ball a carrier, a stocky and quick back, bounced the play outside, gained the corner and ran untouched into the end zone. Unless we are in an all out blitz this should never happen. What happened on the play is that our safety, Justin Evans, who was lined up about 10 yards off the ball made a critical mistake.
At the snap Evans sees the handoff and immediately runs up. At this point two things happen, first, he momentarily loses sight of the ball carrier behind the mass of bodies on the line of scrimmage and second his line of advance takes him to far inside, directly behind the defensive line, and when the ball carrier bounces outside he is out of position and has no angle as the ball carrier gains the corner. Evans essentially ran himself out of the play.
Now what does this tell us about Chavis? It tells us the Coach Chavis nurtures the confidence of his defense like a gardener nurtures a seedling. Chavis understands that after the last 2 seasons that defensive confidence is a fragile thing. He will take the blame on the coaching staff in an effort to minimize the play so that it does not damage the psyche of his defense and undermine his efforts to grow the confidence of that unit. He understands that Evans made a mistake but knows the Evans already realizes what he did wrong and has learned from it.
Chavis is a great coach not only because he understands the Xs and Os but because he understands how to motivate, support and build young men.
He states that, "the coaching staff has to do a better job of putting our players in position to be successful". He continues by saying that 'we had a defense called and we were trying to check out of it but did not get it in."
What a master! I watched that play several times and this is what I saw. The original defensive set stopped the play at the point of attack. The ball a carrier, a stocky and quick back, bounced the play outside, gained the corner and ran untouched into the end zone. Unless we are in an all out blitz this should never happen. What happened on the play is that our safety, Justin Evans, who was lined up about 10 yards off the ball made a critical mistake.
At the snap Evans sees the handoff and immediately runs up. At this point two things happen, first, he momentarily loses sight of the ball carrier behind the mass of bodies on the line of scrimmage and second his line of advance takes him to far inside, directly behind the defensive line, and when the ball carrier bounces outside he is out of position and has no angle as the ball carrier gains the corner. Evans essentially ran himself out of the play.
Now what does this tell us about Chavis? It tells us the Coach Chavis nurtures the confidence of his defense like a gardener nurtures a seedling. Chavis understands that after the last 2 seasons that defensive confidence is a fragile thing. He will take the blame on the coaching staff in an effort to minimize the play so that it does not damage the psyche of his defense and undermine his efforts to grow the confidence of that unit. He understands that Evans made a mistake but knows the Evans already realizes what he did wrong and has learned from it.
Chavis is a great coach not only because he understands the Xs and Os but because he understands how to motivate, support and build young men.
