Head Coach Mike Macdonald Recaps The Week 7 Win vs. Houston

Mike Macdonald (0:01)

You good?

All right, all right. It's been a whirlwind, however many hours it's been, but going into the bye. A lot of positive things from the tape, like we talked about last night. A lot of things to work on, which is great. So just it's a good position to be in, figuring out ways to win games, and you also feel like you had a lot of room to grow as well. So that's, but the importance of this week is we get some rest, we're a group, get a great feel for the things that we're doing well, things we need to improve on, and then have a great plan of attack going into next week.

SPEAKER_2 (0:43)

How do you approach self-scouting in the bye week differently maybe this year than you did your first year?

Mike Macdonald (0:50)

I think we have a better idea of just how we do things and who we are, so really to me, it's a function of where we need to go, how can we go into focus on some certain things, what we're asking the guys to do, who's doing it, all those things. So I don't think we need to be searching for, we don't need to be reinventing the wheel, but I think there's things that we need to attack as well.

SPEAKER_3 (1:20)

You get a chance to go back and watch the film, the end of the first half, he has had three timeouts inside a minute to go, and 20 seconds the end of the first half, he has had three timeouts inside a minute to go, and 20 seconds to melt it off the clock for he has had his first timeout. How do you feel about the way that that entire sequence played out?

Mike Macdonald (1:32)

Not good, yeah. We want to end the half of the ball. So they had three timeouts, they were getting the ball at the half, so you want to not let them double up, and we let them double up.

SPEAKER_4 (1:47)

Mike, going to be this week is a year since the trade verse. What can you say about what he's meant to be meant to last year?

Mike Macdonald (1:57)

I don't think I can say anything that you guys haven't seen. I mean, you need someone in the middle of your defense to be an anchor and to patrol the middle of the paint and make plays in the run of the pass game, and he's doing that. And then you add his mentality and his toughness and leadership, it's been a difference for us.

SPEAKER_5 (2:20)

How is the way your front has been playing the run since it's over? How well the defense is ultimately playing as a whole?

Mike Macdonald (2:26)

Well, you're right with the run or with the front. It's also second level guys and third level guys. So I think we're playing team defense when it comes to the run game. Our coaches are doing a good job of coming up with good, solid game plans on the front end of the week. And then as the game declares, coming up with answers on how we want to play things. So it's a team effort. But the guys up front, they're playing at a high level right now. They're doing a great job.

SPEAKER_5 (2:55)

The guys on the back end in that regard, in terms of limiting the explosives in the run game, how have you gotten to do that given the musical chairs you're playing back there in the second level?

Mike Macdonald (3:07)

When you're in shell, those guys are making alley-type tackles or third level-type tackles, to your point, limit explosives. We've missed some of those tackles throughout the year and guys have made a concentrated effort on improving their technique and getting guys on the ground when they need to, making fast reads, getting in the alley, taking the proper leverage on the ball is huge.

It's just a function of reps and how you practice. I mean, you can go out there and just do all the plays and whatever and not have the right intent and then you're not stacking the things the right way. So I think our guys are stacking those plays so they can see progress, so they can end up making the plays when it counts.

SPEAKER_2 (3:50)

There's been a couple of substitution issues on defense the last couple of weeks that have cost you guys some time outs. Is there a process issue there you guys have identified?

Mike Macdonald (3:57)

I just need to see the person a little better.

SPEAKER_6 (4:00)

Last night when Darnold got slammed down on the sideline, when Graze Abel shows up on the seat first, how much do you as a coach appreciate that, as teammates appreciate it?