Breaking down all the xs and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports sporteen fifty.
Hey, everybody, welcome, go I on the ball.
Here on the Fox Sports Sports comes Skim Rivera. Who's Jakes now in the house with us?
Ugly Paul, I want you steal a star, Steve. You're gonna have to bring one of our big sponsors. Hey, we I asked Jay? I asked Jay, how how disappointed or whatever word, whatever word you wanted to use. No, you can't hear me. You can hear me, not even right there. Okay, okay, well we'll get this correct, we'll get this figured out, but maybe take the headphones off. You can hear us well until we get the headphones figured out. So I used I used the word with
uh with a good uh with Jay. His name's j Yeah. I'm trying to forget his name. He's been gone so long, I forgot his name. Uh, you can call me Jake, just some probably late. Hey, is there a disappointment to what you've see? Disappointed or whatever word, whatever word he wanted to use. You can't hear me. You can hear me, not even right there. Okay, Okay, well, we'll get this correct.
We'll get this.
Figured out, but maybe take the headphones off. You can hear us well until we get the headphones figured out. So I used I used the word with uh with a good UH with Jay. His name's j Yeah, I'm trying to forget his name. He's been gone so long, I forgot his name.
Uh. You can call me Jake, just some probably late.
Hey, is there a disappointment to what you've seen so far?
Yes, I'm very disappointed. I'm hurt.
I think there's a lot of adjitive that we can use right now in regards to where things of standing with our program. The football program was going to give the defense an opportunity to be able to step up and be able to step up and allow the off the defense to mature and grow, and but that didn't happen,
and that hasn't happened. So it has put our defense in a bad situation where we got to go out there and protect the field, and a lot of times we're giving up on uh, the possession of the offense. Possessions where our defense backs against the wall, you know, northorine foolish interceptions there, the fumbles that we see here and there.
That's bad for a defense.
I mean a defense you know, can't go out there morale wise, you know, day in and day out and play and play out to be able to protect that and particularly a young, immature defense.
When when you are you able as a as a guy who grew up playing playing defense, are you able to look at this offense and had a sense.
Of what it could possibly be?
I mean everybody's got that question, and I know the coaches are trying to figure it out, But what does it look like to you from where you sat.
I think it's a couple of things that I see from my eye. Naturally, we got to start with the quarterback, and I think, no, personally, it's taking on a lot, you know. I think knowing himself is taking on a little extra because of the fact that you know money's in the game, you know, expectations in the game. No, along with Timac, all those guys say, I mean we're coming back to finish something we started. You and you make that statement like that, I mean, that's a big
statement to make for a young man, you know. So I think he is taking a lot on his shoulders and carrying a lot on his shoulders, and then you married that with you know, some of the things that that is taking place. We lost some key players on offense, you know, some players that he relied on in the past years. We lost a great offensive lineman that he relied on that helped him to protect him in the past few years. I don't think we're running the ball
the way we should be running the ball. I think they need to go to you know, control the game by running the ball first and then that know, or do what he needs to do. So you compound that with all of those different things that's taking place. Me as a football fan, you know, I see that happening, and it is frustrating. It's frustrating, and you know, I'm frustrated for the kids. I'm frustrated as alumni, and I'm
frustrated as a football player. And you know the thing, but when and all of this ben said and done. I listened to Britain speak and not once has this man put anybody else or or put the blame on any but himself. So as far as a player to a coach, I gotta respect that. I totally respect that the way he's handling it as a coach and everything belongs to him. He's taking the ship to everything. Is it getting fixed? No, but at least he's still taking that.
I wanted to go there because he said this to your point, he said this, not once, not twice, maybe three times.
I need to coach better. Yes, I'd like to know what that means.
Well, you know the fact is that you know him. His coaching is not the coaching of the kids. First, you talked about the assistance yet yeah, I mean his coaching is the coaching of the coaches, and of course they implement whatever game plans collectly together. But his job is to coach those coaches and coach them better and making sure they prepare the coaches to the players to be able.
How does that work?
Like you get on them to get on, but if you don't, okay, it must because just.
Respects respect for a grown man.
Grown I don't know once have you seen get on anybody?
But it's again, it's it's it's different coaches has different philosophies, a way of dealing with things.
But there's no doubt in my mind.
Behind closed doors, there's words been said and words been talked about in regards to how he feel that things are happening. I mean, this is this show, this is his show. He got all the right to do these things. This is his show. And there's no doubt in my mind he's managing that way. And it's his ass of course it is not.
This year doesn't get fixed. Yeah, yeah, well it can be.
There asked to trust trickles down at the end of this year, he's and he has made statements where he evaluates or re evaluates, evaluates his staff damnly or gamely how you phrase it, as he should. So at the end of the year there might be some coaching changes, you know, And and I can see why.
Yeah. No, well, and and that's the thing.
And look, you know we we all everybody wants us to get better, and you want it to get better right now. Clearly, what what we've seen in the first seven games is not something that's gonna fix in a week. Oh, by no means right, I mean you know, I mean you you've been on a team at some point that needed fixing, But I've never been on the losing at some point there was something that needed to be fixed, right, And it doesn't fix at the snap of a finger, or doesn't.
No, it doesn't I mean, it's it's gonna take you know, some getting into the kids head. I mean, so it's it's not just everything on the practice field. I mean there's things again in the classroom, and there's things that I mean, you're dealing with eighteen, nineteen twenty year olds, right they got outside distractions. So the coaching staff themselves got to be able to handle those kids in certain ways just as well.
Well.
And it's very easy for these kids right now to say, you know what I'm getting paid. I'm gone, yeah, And I hope I don't. I don't think we're at that stage with our team because I don't think they're getting paid that much.
But we're at that stage with our team. But that could happen.
Well, let me tell you, because you brought that up earlier than just now, and I've said this for the month or so. Then you've gotten paid upfront. You got paid up front. What's the motivation to continue to get paid?
Well, I mean the motivation is you as a person first and foremost you you as a desire and the love for the game of football.
Okay, and that's the true motivation behind it.
And but again, you know, we we're dealing with these these young kids nowadays, that's basically it should be instant gratification.
But you put water, money is done. It's done, is done, you know.
So, And that's what I say is the coaching staff comes into play when they get it to these kids' head and maybe the kids one or two kids thinking that way. So now it's up to the assistant coach to have those moments with those kids. You know, have those moments with those kids. And and again the best way you you you fix them this. You know, you don't play them, you just don't play them well.
And then there was a whole nother, a whole other thing into the end of the equation, because look, coaching college football is hard enough as it was before all this other stuff entered into it.
Right, Let's say you're Florida State fan and you're.
Paying dj Ungalley million dollars a year and he's having the year that he's having and you're the coach.
Can you bench him? Do you bench him? Do you? You know?
Whereas maybe if this wasn't a part of the equation, you would, but now can you I.
Mean, and who you're pissing off if you're doing exactly because you say, ken, will you and and and and and and The number one thing that I guess the coaching staff got to think about is someone else telling that coach, no, you're gonna play that kid.
Right, That's that's exactly where I'm going, right, that kid getting paid.
So now now you got to you got to look at the soul of that coach. I mean, what means the most for you? Who's going to run your program? Are you going to run your program? Or the people who's seeding your dollars could run your program?
You know.
And there are some coaches that has to go one way exactly, I have to go on down.
But you know what, you know what I mean, A man is a man, you know.
And and if if again, if you're the soul of a person, and you understand that your your job is to make these young men men. You know, you just don't give it to them. If they don't deserving it of it, you take it away from it. Can we get that money?
Well, here's here's the problem to at a place like Arizona. They're already thin in the in the DB's area of the backfield. The light on running backs, light that quarterback you have no choice but to continue to play what you play, play.
What you got to play. Yeah, because but now let's think about that. You got these kids getting this opportunity to play. Sure, okay, they're getting this opportunity to play at this point in time. So now you're developing some players that hasn't had an opportunity to get on the football field, and you you're developing players who wants to be out there for the right reason for.
The playing time, but you also want to win. In this case, you had no all the choice.
You got to play who you got, rightly, That's what we're dealing with.
We love Catch twenty two.
We've got Lamont Huntley here at Soul Sports Casino, the sports book at Casino Soul.
Uh Lamar, We thank you for being here. But a lot of great insight. You know what. First of all, this is a hell of a living room. This would be this would be one hell of a man, k wouldn't the man? I can I can come here and just beat out all day? This is your first time here?
Right?
Yeah, I've never been in I mean, do you have a bar like that at your place?
My wife would allow it even if I could afford it my wife.
And so when you're when you're going through something like this, and again you played on as you mentioned, nothing but winning teams, but every every team has, you know, a tough spot. And you know, one of the things that Brendan has talked about is one of the most important things they got to do is keep this team together.
Yes, who's in charge of that.
Coach, Head coach, I mean, I mean, first to hand, coach himself. He's the one in charge, and stand in front of his kids and let his kids have that understanding that we're.
Going through something right now.
Man, it's up to us to stay stay together as a family. We can't let outside distraction break this thing up. And then, and I'm sure he has done this too. He has reached out the key players on his team.
Those key players.
He's basically going to players that's particularly maybe position wise or friendship wise, and he probably had some personal words with key players on his team to get his words to those kids, through those kids, to the rest of these players.
But his own Brennan, I mean, his own coach Brennan.
And you know, and the thing is, I mean just I mean, it's just something about coach Brennan that I truly believe it, and I think he's the right person in order to move this thing the right direction.
Well, we got five games, so what do you see? So what do you see?
Well, I see I can see that there's gonna be a change in regards to offensively. I think there's going to be a change. Okay, I think we're gonna run the ball more. We're gonna go more run heavy than what we have done in the past.
I think.
You can see the morale out there. It's gonna be a little different in regards to the kids themselves. Is going to learn to respect the game now respect it versus letting the game just be what it.
Yes, you respect it, I mean shouldn't that should be already inside you.
You can lose it though, I mean you can lose, especially when you when you when you three and four, you're losing, you end up losing it. So you got to get it back and and and again. Coach Brennan is he comes from you know, he comes from that coach Tomy background, or that that that coach Tomy, coaching Tree and coach Toldy had a way of believing of creating the family. You know, and if if you can keep the nucleus of the family going, I mean, you can get some games, you can win some games.
Just all that alone.
I think a lot of of what has to happen here is that, you know that you're almost caught the intangible stuff. Do they need to do some things scheme wise and stuff like that? That, Yeah, I mean, they got to change what they're trying to do because of what they're trying to.
Do isn't working. So they aously got to do that.
But I think more than you know the I think the ability to do that lies in the want.
To do that.
And that's where it starts. Off the field. You create the want in the kids first, right, okay? And you I mean, and you you get them to start believing in the fact that you know what I mean, we went down a dangerous role here, you know, So how do we fix this based on us?
First? How we fix us first?
And once you fix yourself and the football can get back into to play.
You know.
And this week is probably the best week to start fixing it because West Virginia is in worse shape than we are, you know, as far as players, which.
Is scary sometimes if they don't play well and they lose or whatever, then you're in.
Then you there's there's issues.
And and that'll be and and that example that's gonna tell us what team we're dealing with it at this point in time, what you said, as Steve said, we're going in, We're going to the eighth game, and we still almost feel like we don't know.
All right, we gotta take a break. We're going to come back.
We got Lamont Hunley here live at the Soul Sports Sports Book at Casino del Soul. We're going to be here for about another forty five minutes if you want to stop by. As Lamon said, this is one of the greatest man caves ever. We're having a great time. We've got some of our listeners here hanging out with us as well. So come on back and we'll talk more with Lamont and hunt Stick around now.
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Today sis Eye on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio. Just searched Eye on the Ball.
Welcome Xy on the Ball Here, What Sports fourteen fifty Rivera. He's his own.
As you know.
Even even there, the shoe shot guy is missing field goals. Yeah yeah, well let me go to that.
Let me go to this because I've been thinking about, you know, you lose and one of the one of the issues that I think that is big for this team is you and you mentioned it too, is the holes that were left behind by some players who left.
Right.
Every team loses players like that, and it's the teams that have guys you know coming back up, you know, to fill those holes. But it looks like there's these gaps are still there for Arizona. I mean, you've played, you played on the team that you know, you you were there the year after your brother Ricky had gone, you know, two time All American all that the big hole to fill correct and you guys found a way
to fill that. But you know what, what does a team go through when they have to do that, when when all of a sudden a place that was solid for them no longer is and it's a work in progress.
Well, you don't go in with the mindset that you're going to replace the person that's being replaced.
And I think right now.
It's kind of hard to replace Morgan, right, I mean, I mean that that kid was I mean first round drop pick, you know, so that aspect of it, So you don't mean so you got to work around that aspect of it, and you know, and hopefully you can coach that next kid up to least be half of what your what Morgan was or more so that's the hardest thing you I mean, you you just got to go in that mindset again, coach the kid that's there and not try to turn that kid in the kid that you missed.
H from the Morgan to the cow when you know, to the tight end right again. Four guys from the offense in the NFL.
And and the thing too, I think one of the other things we're missing offensively too well, colin particular, but what he did last year, simple simple out routes the quick there in the middle, He'll go across the middle.
We don't have that right.
And if you sit down and you watch this offense, now, everything at the beginning of the season and maybe hopefully it's change, everything is.
Vertical, vertical and to the side vertical.
And they trying to open up as much as it can with tnat and try to drag him. But when you drag a guy and they take five seconds, it's a little too I mean, you can't, especially when you don't have a good.
Left tackle protecting your quarterback.
Because soon as the ball is snapped, if you watch Noah, he's turning out, you know, to you know, turning out because he's he's protecting his blinds.
You know, by that time, you know the play is it can't develop that quickly, and it's deep and he's deep. It's just gone too far.
Well, you know, somebody asked, why don't we throw the ball over the middle, and I said, because Noah's five foot nine and the middle is stuffed up with guy. The offensive line has not been effective in blocking blocking, and so he's backing up and backing up.
He can't see over those guys.
And again, if you watched last year when Noah was actually when plays was being developed, they created this this cone of lanes in the lanes around him, they allow it the center to open up, so they forced all their defenders to go out, allow him to step up into his past.
Right, that's not big different And you can see that there easily see I see that. I mean, I mean, I think the ball he's running for you never see that. Now, let me let me ask you. Maybe you haven't. Maybe
you haven't. Have you gone to a situation where you had to play for a new coach after playing for one for a while, and and I'm sure, I'm sure to the human nature, you got the new coach in and at some point, whether it was in spring or fall, practic just now games thinking well, he's not Jed, And there's a lot of guys who stayed he's not Jed and I don't know, I don't know. And then where do you find that to play for a guy that you don't know.
And and and again, correct, No, you're very very correct, because I I was not college wise, but I was in that situation when I played pro ball and our coach got fired in the middle of the season.
I actually got fired the medal a game.
He walked down on the field, fired him and had moved up assistant at that time when of the assistant coach that coordinated, he stepped up, but that wasn't the coach, and that replaced him. The coach that replaced him with a coach named Ron my Higher Ron Myers. Ron my apology And so me personally, you know, I saw this gentleman. He looked like a used call shealvesman to me, all right, he had this nice shoot all yes, yes, I remember here back and I say, this man ain't gonna like me,
and I'm not gonna like him. Wow, or the perception exactly. And I created that perception because that's what I saw and exactly. So no doubt in my mind what you're saying is so true. And so you got a lot of kids that believed in what Jed gave them for two years, three years, yes, you know, and that's still resonating to these kids.
Hot, you know, so that is going on. You're absolutely right.
It's like to see that it's like a stepdad. Well, you're not my dad. My dad, don't tell me what to do.
I mean, and that may be more so than we thought, right, because these guys stayed, right, you know, they stayed. But then you know, they were staying into the unknown. And now it's kind of like maybe they're not sure now it's no longer a different guy you know now.
But again, but again, when you make that statement, okay, and it ain't even you know, Coach Brennan at the beginning, he basically gave them the key to the team.
Sure, and he said, you.
Know, this team belonged to t MA act, this team belonged to no you know, this team belonged to Monooth. You know, those guys they said, this is all our team. Unfinished business, you know. So now you made that statement and you can't finish that.
Okay.
So you mentioned Manu, t Mac and Noah and Mine who's gone He's out, he's gone, tm hasn't been TMC and Noah hasn't hasn't been knowing And what do you have left?
See and Steve, I keep going back to the fact that I think it's the personal pressure that they placed on y.
Yeah, yeah, really I agree with.
Your pressure that they put on themselves. And you, I mean, you're nineteen twenty years old kids, and you create this pressure for yourself. Now you took this community on your shoulder because I told him this, and now you're not producing, you know, and now you got to duck your head in the community because of these things.
I mean, I know when I was nineteen and twenty, I wasn't even know there was the only pressure I had was I'm I going to graduate from college and.
Do have a job. Well, Noah, I don't know if you know.
No, but it comes off as a guy who doesn't want to disappoint no one, right, and he's disappointing, so was there. It doubles the pressure and again he and he's he's taking it personal himself because he's the first one to say, you know what I mean, it's on.
Me, you're I mean, that's a lot. That's a lot to.
And so that's why I say it goes back to the coaching staff who's in that in that classroom with these kids at the moment, not just the head coach, but the coach himself.
I mean, there there got to be a lot of me sessions.
They got to be having with one on one with these kids, and you know, and and maybe they don't have the right coach on that aspect of it to have to know how to you know, get with these kids and see what's going on.
So you know, you don't like to believe it. It's too so a lot. How much is it is in here ahead rather than in the ability to play the game or at.
This time, I think it's all in their head because what what they the ability to play on the game has already passed them.
And they're good and they're good players. We've seen it happen. So right now, it's it's upstairs, upstairs. How do you fix upstairs?
Like I said, you know, you know those coaches are getting paid half million dollars, thou know they better put this psyche one on one.
On figure it out. Figure out.
We're here with Lamon Huntley at Soul Sports sports book at Casino del Soul having a chat about Arizona football and all the things that are coming with right now. Lamont a little bit about you know, you're in the middle of a season, you're you know, you're having a tough year. Uh, you got to keep your head up, can you isolate each game, you know, and say, let me just worry about this game and not worry about the fact that we got five games. We got to win this number of them to feel like we have
a successful season. How do you how do you deal with that?
Well, you know, every every coach gonna hope you do that, right, Okay, that's what they're gonna put in front of you. This is how we got to take it, you know, game by game, play by play, moment by moment. But it's hard. I mean, it's hard when you when you when you you're a competitive person and and you're out on that field weekend and week out and giving you all and the result is what we see.
You know.
That's hard every week, you know, and that stays in your head.
I mean, and it could be I mean, you could be playing the game and all of a sudden, you know, a bad moment came up that you played against someone the week before.
You know.
But again, you as a coaching staff just just has to get with these kids, you know, and and and even at that moment the sideline. You know, a good coach can you know, see what's going on in the kid at the moment, and if he feel that kid is is not in tuned to the game. You know, let me get this kid, let me maybe you need to pull him out for a player or something like that. But but it's tough, man, It's very tough when you especially when you come from a ten and three or
a ten or two I can three season. I mean you're coming off a big Bowl win like you were, and now this is what we're doing. I mean, it's it's a tough battle.
Well we'll psychologist at it sounds easy, it is, but it's not. It's not. It really isn't. It's not because you know, it was he see, it'd be done.
Yeah, they would be. I mean, everybody be so we talked before you got here the last hour. The thing that disappoints me is they're not play. They're not they're getting get crushed. They're not being competitive the big scores. They're not even score first and then they and then the rest of it's done. That's what to me, just it's not right. Doesn't seem right to me.
Yeah, I mean, and that's hurtful for me also to see that, you know, because I don't want to use the word that giving up or get giving up doing the game because you know, I don't think any kid that get on any competitive situation and you lined up, and you line up for a reason to be competitive and give all y'all each Now, but when you see those things happening, and and you know what, maybe sometimes it's the play calling too. You know, it may get
to that point where it's the play calling. It's the same old thing over and over again. I could sit in the stand and know what the next you're gonna be.
It's blend.
Imagine imagine what those kids are thinking. Why are we playing running this play again? We know that what the outcome was, So maybe you know whoe was calling the plays need to be more creative and makes the difference.
Let me ask Jay this because he he we both covered Dictoma when you first got here. Uh, Dictomy has been romanticized a lot in recent years. Do you think it's been romanticized too much?
Now?
Well, I think it got romanticized because of what happened after the fact, right, But I think but now you know, at the I mean because at the time, you know, I mean, I used to get in arguments with people because he was a friend of mine, sure, right, And I just get in arguments with people who said, you know, he's a terrible coach, he's never going to get us there, YadA, YadA, YadA, And I would say, you have no idea, you know, and and and and that and that in the end is the truth.
You know.
Now, his offenses, Look, he was known for great having great defenses and not good offenses. For people to realize is that the really good teams that he had, they were the best offenses in the Pact, in the PAC ten and so he could coach his teams, could coach offense, but he just got a reputation is not being able to So now he's back and he's yeah, he's right,
and that's what. And I know there's people out there saying that, well, yeah, he's a he's a dick Toomy disciple, which means he can't do you know, he can't run an offense.
I hear that.
Yeah, you know, I hear that. That's why I asked. You were close to him, you knew the situation. Now it's back, and well here we are. Yeah, well and again and Dino Babers was a part of that. You know, people forget that Dino Babers was the OC for the best offense. Maybe that this well, I won't say the bit because rich Rod's offense were pretty damn good. But you know that that ninety eighteen that was a damn good offense.
We only lost one game that year, Yes we lost that was that was the twelve and one team lost one game. Had had and had a great offense. But why did they have a great offense because they had great players. It had a left tackle guy named us Off Scott was an incredible tackle. He had a trunk candidate running back, and he had two great receivers right uh you know. And then Calvin E. Fan the guy who just if you didn't play well, he was just gonna beat the hell out of you, kick your ass.
And he was the perspiration I would call you know that inspirations. He was the guy that was getting your face, make sure the game is going.
So that had all those pieces that this team has almost none of them. What happened the next year they lost a bunch of those guys and went scenario.
But you know, I mean again, Brennan, it's not a defensive guy though he's an offensive guy. I mean yea offensive minded guy from from the He played offense. He's always coached on the offensive side of the ball. Did I'm seeing I don't know. Did he coach defensive? I think we've been offensive coaches. You know every time he says so, so he should have that, you know, creativity, the imagination, you know, to make things a little different offensively.
You like to think, and you know, and and and say say what you want about Jed in his carpetbagging and all that stuff. He's coached a lot of years under a lot of great coaches. I thought he was a good Ex's and O's coach. I really, did you know? He stole from everything right exactly?
Did I did?
I want him to be the guy running the program. I never thought he was going to run the program long term. But I have to give him props for his offensive uh play calling and the system that he ran. You see, you still see it. You see the Washington Now they're not doing as good as people, but they lost a lot of guys.
They lost a ton of talent too. That's the question you had asked in the year. You know, is it the system? Is it talent? Is it coaching? I mean, what really makes a team. Well, you've seen the first year of coaches struggle.
They want to and then you know, people aren't all that happy with jed up in the up in Seattle. All right, we got to take another break. We're gonna we're here at the Dalla Saul Sports Sportsbook here at Casino d'l Saul. Lamon Huntley joining us graciously for the hour. Steve's run off to go you know where. And there's some drink spectels here if you want to come on in cheap beers three seventy five for various beers, and they've got some interesting cocktails.
So stick around. We got one more segment with Lamon Huntley. If you're an.
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Org, streamy live on the iHeartRadio. While this is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Okay, now you can go.
Okay, hey talking on the mic.
One, I'm going for me purpose I'm Steve Vera, He's Jenkins. Also we got he even have to read his name.
In the neck.
Lamont Honey where at Soul Sports sports book here a casino Del Saul. We got a good group hanging out here with us. Yeah, we got a couple of a lot of having a lot of fun with Lamont Honeley. So all right, we're gonna take questions from the audience. The listener, VIC is here to ask a question.
Okay, Lamott, I got a big time question. We're all talking scheme, and we're all talking this and that. Do the guys not communicate with their coaches? Like when you were playing, did you not say, coaches, isn't working. I mean even some of my baseball teams, I had kids come up to me and say, Hey, coach, this ain't working.
We got to do it this way.
Doesn't Noah and Tam Mac come up to them and and basically say, hey, we have to do it this way.
This ain't working well. And of course they they.
That communication is there, That communication always going to be open. The coaches themselves gonna encourage them because they are true eyes on the field. You know, the coaching staff are sitting sitting on the sideline, but the players are playing their true eyes on the field. So a good staff would hold up with his players and say, what did you see out there? What are we not seeing? What can we do to make a difference? Here me looking down?
You know from my seats to the huddles, do I see that happen?
No?
Is it happening? I don't know.
But it should happen, you know, because again, a player knows more what's going on in the in the meat of things. When it's happening, you know much better than a coach will. And it's better to adjust. Why are you fresh coming off the field versus trying to adjust once you come out of the locker room.
So it should happen. All right, We've got another question. Tell them.
The last couple of years, our defense or just our team in general, hasn't had a lot of injuries. We had a really, really good weight training guy went with Jed Fish to Washington this year with a new guy. What do you think about their conditioning? Do you think the conditioning is having causing the problem with these injuries that we're getting. If you recall the last couple of years, when we got up to the fourth quarter, we were going to out hustle them we were in great shape.
Right and that was that was that was you know, part of coach fish mantro is the I'll hustle, you know, play hard four quarters. As far as injuries per se, it does happen, it could happen because of the way you're training and the way you're training leading into the season and the way you train also during the season.
I have met the strength coach that's there.
He he does have a different philosophy as far as of coaching the kids when it comes to way training and training then what the previous coach was. So some of the injuries that that's taking place could be contributed to the way he's coaching the kids. And because there has been quite a few injuries that's that happened on the field, and then that'd be a you know, there's been quite a few just fluke injuries that's taking place.
You know, Manu kicking the ground, you know, that's that's not an indication of training, that's indication of just being stupid. You know, he's kicking the ground or kicking at the ball per se. You know, a kid getting his foot stuck in the ground. Those things happen, But you know is the new strength coach. The reason why they are.
I can't say yes to that because I do believe in some of his his coaching and his philosophy and his thinking of strength training.
Per se ye Rennon mentioned in one of the Brennon mentioned in one of his interviews that he would probably would have to look at their conditioning and how they prepare their players over the summer and.
For the season.
But you know, I don't see in the kids, you know, at the end of the game, you know, hanging over look like they're out there tired and you know, out of breath or out of condition or anything like that. You know, I mean, we're in one hundred and twenty degrees. I think it is hot down field.
I don't think they have another choice but to be in shape and be in condition to compete, you know.
Uh.
At again, like I say, I have personally met the strength coach that's here, and I just lack some of the philosophy as far as of the way he coaches the kid in regards to trying to what we call is you know, you elongate the muscle to make the muscles lasts longer, per se. And that's his thinking that his philosophy, whereas the previous coach, he just I mean, he just put a lot on the muscle, you know, and try to make it strong. You know, sometimes you
can't sustain that way. So everybody got different philosophy.
Let's go back to what I asked earlier with Loop tell her Loop when things go bad, even the good things go bad. And in the Guns Texas Tech, had he hit that shot, hit the kick, they might have won probably when the game and then.
Things that aspire, Yeah, momentum shift, you know in regards to oh, he don't like that way. That way, so in regards to you know, that change of momental they take place at that point in time, and you know, and and it's a kick that he would normally make. You know, it's a kick that he won't make, and that could have been the whole you know, change of thinking or feeling of that that out come of that game.
So let me ask you, because they say this all time, do you believe in superstition? Do you think this team is is uh curse or the program? Come on, come on, no, no wait because of Halloween coming around.
No, just in general, Lamont, I don't I can't curse.
I mean, I I don't believe in you know the fact that you know someone's cursed because they was getting in three the previous year and now you know you can't sustain what was going on, so you cursed.
It's happened a number of times. And there's other things that have happened. I mean, you know, it's it's it's what's going on. It's what's in front of us. It's just it is. You know, how do you keep the car? How do you create a curse? So how you define it as being cursed. That's why we need to do some research in sixty nine because.
Bad things happen for no reason. Lamont, Bad things happen for no reason, and that's what's happening to us right now.
Oh No, that's an all about it. You're trying to make your I'm rolling that out there, baby, I'm rolling that out that's trying to make yourself feel good about what's in front of you.
No, I'm trying to make myself feel less bad because I'm not going to feel good until this thing turns around.
You know, that's a good thing. You know, they don't want to feel good until it's better. All right, We got another question from Charles here, how you doing, sir coach?
I just want to know how easy is it to determine throwing the challenge flag when there's a challenge flag on the field at real time?
Well, again, the coaching staff is in place where they got guys up in the box and they actually see a play, and it's up to that coach up in the box to relay down to the coaching staff on the field, we should challenge this particular play. You know, most coaches you know that's on the field not going to automatically challenge it because they really can't see it.
The coaches up in the box, they can see it first hand, they see the replay, so that gives them an opportunity to push down to the field and say we should challenge.
This or not.
You see the thing in the Texas the game where they changed that pass interference call. You didn't see that? Oh?
Okay, you know what because was watching Arizona game maybe you? Okay, yeah, of course I was. It was it was after the game when I was over there. Just anyways, so what happened? Because I want your opinion if you'd have lost your mind as a player or even a coach on this, a pass interference call gets there's an interception, gets run by Texas, gets run inside the ten. They call past interference and and they give the ball back to Georgia.
All right, fans start throwing stuff on the field, beer bottles, stuff like. There's a big delay and during the delay they changed the call.
Would you have just lost your mind out of out of went crazy over something like that? I I you know, yeah, that that had been that had been ugly, you know, to see that happen when it was the game in Georgia.
The game it was at Texas, Texas at Texas, so the Texas fans through stuff on the field, and Texas benefited from from that.
They're trying to figure out ways to not let that ever happening, but I don't think they can. That's they're still talking about it this week, about that happening. Just let the play go, you know, you take take that stuff out of the game. Let the game be won the right. Well, all right, we got Howard with a question.
Well, okay, first off, I want to wrap it up with what you said. Uh, I think there's just a lot of getting used to from the boosters traveling over to the Big twelve, and not only that, the players.
It's just a new experience.
And I agree with you one hundred percent, Lamont that Brent Brennan is a good guy.
I think.
I think I have a good feeling about him too. It's like, we're not going to fire him how many I don't care if he inherited a good team from Fish. It's still a new experience for him. He's not going to hit the ground running. I just get wait till next year. Like you guys were saying earlier, I think it's going to be a good experience. And as far as the curse, I can answer that for a really quick This is a basketball town.
Get out of here. Get out of here, and you're gonna be a desert.
You're gonna dry out and die because there's no future for a football period.
You in the rule.
Yeah, seriously, take the mic away from that guy. A football to one controls all the budget here. Exactly whose screens are called?
I don't know. I don't know. Football brings all the money. We're gonna put.
Howard's picture at the door for next for our next show here, but on you know, we're we've only got a couple more minutes left.
Your your your what what do you feel? What do you want to see this week? What do you feel?
Besides the win obviously, but what do you what do you want to see when they're on the field as the as the game develops.
Well, you know, first I want to say, come out of the tunnel, you know, show some excitement, show some energy, show some fear the opponent, and you know, I want to see start with that, you know.
Offensively, I want to see them run the ball, run. I want to see them to.
Really control the possession game, keep the ball in their hands. And if I think if they can control and the ball with the possession game and keep the ball on the positive side of the field, that's going to allow our defense to get in and probably play with some enthusiasm,
play with some hunger, create some turnovers, you know. I mean the best thing to see, particularly when our defense is playing well, is when you see you know, Duwayne and Keena running up and down that side like like a big kid.
That's what I want to see. I want to see a lot of that happening.
And that's and that's the byproduct of our defense getting out there slapping in the face and making things happen. So you know, enjoy the game again. Get out there, enjoy your game. You know, have fun with the game. Coach Smith used to tell us all the time the number one things have fun. So hopefully these kids can get out there have fun again. So I just want to mention real quick.
And Lamon's going to be with me on Saturday pre game at noon on the station for the eight team. It's just gonna be Lamonton and I doing some pre game on the West Virginia game.
So tun Inn, you have my date. Hope you bring you lunch. We got to break as long as I've known, you haven't.
Fed me yet.
And uh, and I'm going to Dodger Stadium tomorrow. I'm excited. I'm going to going to game one. Man, I'm excited. I'm excited. I can't believe I'm doing this for my son and I trip of a lifetime. We're driving out of here first thing in the morning, going straight to the stadium, catch a game, look Commando Raid, spend the night and come back get ready for the West Virginia game.
Thank you.
We're excited, but we appreciate, uh, everybody who's been here. At Soul Sports Casin. We're going to do this again on I think, no remember the fourteenth, We'll be back out Here'll be heading into uh another great weekn of Arizona football, Arizona West virgin In this week at four o'clock, Lamonta, Man, I got to see something, right, we got it.
I mean, you know, I have to believe so, and I do. I mean I believe that there's something that could be come positive out of this. And and like I said, I think West Virginia probably in the worst situation that we are physically, you know, so maybe that gets in our maybe they break the curse.
You know what this isn't This isn't a curse that breaks in the in the in the game. I mean, you know, this was the thing where something good had to happen this year. What is considered breaking the curse? Another another ten and another ten win season after a ten win season?
What everything?
You know?
I mean, I was hopeful for seven wins? Really yeah, I mean going to the season, well it's hopeful for seven wins.
Well, he's still get to say here, here's what I wanted, a field good season after a ten win season.
Wins this but this is not a field good season yet and wins will be yes, maybe that's a bowl game. It is a bolt. So now you know what I go through with Lamon good luck.
I don't know, I don't know, but uh yeah we it's okay. Something's good has to happen this week. Something good has to happen. We'll be on the other side. Let's say forty seven. Yeah that that, yeah, you spoke Maybe I'm course exactly all right. We've had a good time out here at Sold Sports sports Book, at Consumed, I sold Jean Vic Howard.
A couple more guys walked in the door here afterwards. Sorry, I forgot your names already.
Conrad sponsor from Pyramid pretty Union, right, all right, appreciate you being here, Conrad Lamont, one of our sponsors.
This was a lot of fun today. We're gonna pay to be here, and exactly you did pay to be here. All right.
We're gonna be here again on the fourteenth, Veronica, thanks for having us over here again.
We'll see you in a in a few weeks.
Listen to Steve all week on the show fourteen fifty Fox Sports fourteen fifty three to five. Steve, Thanks man, thanks for having me again, Steve. This is always a lot of fun, all right. We'll see you guys in a couple of weeks.