Gene Chizik speaks, 10/11

Here are some comments from The Head Coach, who held his weekly Sunday powwow moments ago.

• On the game: ``We didn't make any improvements Saturday. Anywhere. We were por all the way around. You can't have eight penalties and three turnovers on the road -- and win."
  
  
• On practice last week, which some players said was unusually sloppy: ``I just felt like the focus of our team was out there. I didn't think we were focused on the details of the game. I told them that on Thursday. I feel like we played that way."
  
  
• On getting a young team turned around after (edited for politeness) a difficult performance: ``I haven't been through a week where we've lost yet. There are many things we can take from this thing and be a better football team. We're at a point in the season where depth is an issue. We're banged up. These aren't excuses. This is what you're asking. At 5-0, I don't know that we handled all the outside stuff. As coaches, we're supposed to get them ready to play. And they weren't."
  
  
• On Auburn having a lot of trouble with Arkansas in general: ``As history would have it, there seems to be some kind of pattern. I just don't believe in that. I don't think their record, I'm talking about this year, was necessarily indicative of their team."
  
  
• On good things distilled from Saturday's (edited for politeness) difficult outing: ``There are some things that happene din the game that were good. We rushed for 240-something yards. Our third-down defense was better than it's typically been. The outcome was very disappointing."
  
  
• On defensive problems: ``Right now, run defense is an issue. It's only going to get tougher. We've got to shore that up. We're not anywhere close to where we need to be in this league right. We need to be better tacklers."
  
  
• On if he'll get more involved with the defensive game plan: ``I know what we're doing. We have some really good defensive coaches."
  
  
• More on the defense (edited for politeness) not playing as well as perhaps it did in holding Arkansas to a single touchdown two years ago: ``We played 80-something plays. Right now, we need to avoid that situation."
  
  
• On Walt McFadden's injury: ``We don't think it's anything catastrophic."
  
  
• On Craig Stevens: ``He's stacking up the tackles, but that's because we're on the field so much. We'd love to give those guys a rest. That's just where we're at."
  
  
• On playing so many walk-on guys on the scout team: ``We've got to make it work if we're playing against air. Sometimes you have to throw a scout-team tight end at guard. That's not an excuse. That's not why we lost Saturday."
  
  
• He said Harris Gaston is "dinged up". Gaston hasn't been playing.
  
  
• He said Jonathan Evans hasn't been playing much defense and ``needs to come on."
  
  
• On Harry Adams' play Saturday: ``About like the rest of them. Average at best."
  
  
• On Darvin Adams' and Terrell Zachery's recent struggles: ``(Defenses) are more aware of where they're at than they were. They've gotten a lot of people's attention."
  
  
• He again described Eltoro Freeman's situation as "day by day" and a personal situation. (I asked Chizik if he expected Freeman back today.)
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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