CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman met with the media Monday to discuss his unit’s performance in a 45-22 loss at Georgia Tech this past Saturday night, some things that went well, and some that did not go well.
The Tar Heels allowed six points and 66 yards over the first five Tech possessions of the game, but that is when Jordan Yates was in at quarterback. Over the Yellow Jackets’ final seven offensive series, in which regular starter Jeff Sims was in the game, Tech scored 39 points and accumulated 328 total yards.
Above is the video of Bateman’s presser and below is the full transcript of what he had to say:
Q: What were the challenges that occurred when Sims came in for GT?
BATEMAN: “I really think it was more the mistakes we made to be honest with you. I think Sims is a really good player, I think Jordan Yates is a really good player. They ran the same plays, we just didn’t tackle as well, we didn’t leverage the ball, and we made some really, really bad errors that we normally don’t make. I mean give him credit obviously, especially the last run was a really good run, but I think it was more our mistakes than anything that happened on the other side of the ball to be honest with you.”
Q: What are you missing in order to apply more pressure to the quarterback?
BATEMAN: “I think we have to get them into more downs where they’re throwing it, I think that’s a big part of it. When you’re in 3rd and 3 a lot, you’re in 3rd and 4 a lot, it’s hard to get sacks, it’s hard to dial up pressure, it’s hard for d-lineman to cut it loose, so I think that’s a big piece of it. We’ve played some teams, you know, Georgia Tech was committed to the run game, we knew that going in, didn’t give us a lot of chances to rush the passer. I think Duke’s committed to the run game too. Sacks and turnovers come from run game efficiency, and when you don’t have run game efficiency on defense, it’s hard to get the other two.”
Q: Jeremiah Gemmel mentioned guys being out of place and not getting the calls, is this something you’ve noticed?
BATEMAN: “I’m not aware that we had problems. We’ve signaled this way for a long time now, so I don’t think that was the case at all.”
Q: What are your thoughts on what Jeremiah said?
BATEMAN: “I didn’t hear what he said, so I’ll have to ask him. I felt like we were in the right call most of the time.”
Q: What makes Mataeo Durant so effective in Duke’s running game?
BATEMAN: “I have a lot of respect for him as a football player. I think he’s a really complete football player. He catches it, he blocks, he’s a very physical runner. I remember last year we came in at halftime against him we said ‘look, don’t think for a minute now that we can relax,’ and sure enough, he popped a long one on us, we misfit a split zone play. I think he’s fast, I think he’s tough, I think when he gets his shoulders square he’s a very hard guy to tackle. I think he’s a really, really good player.”
Q: Is this an old-school gameplan for, given how much they tailor the offense to the running back?
BATEMAN: “I think Coach Cutcliffe and his staff have always been committed to running the tail back, and they got a really good one. If you don’t stop the running back against these guys, you’re gonna have a hard day.”
Q: When studying Duke, what do you notice about how Coach Cutcliffe prepares his quarterback?
BATEMAN: “He’s well known in coaching and in football for how he’s developed quarterbacks. I just think he’s got a very thorough process with them. The ball goes where it’s supposed to go, they’re able to handle a bunch of checks in the run game, and in the pass game. A lot like what Phil does with Sam, there’s a lot of times where there’s three or four plays potentially on a play call. I think #12, Holmberg’s playing for them this year, is a really good player. I thought when he came in last year against us he was really good, and I think he’s operating at a very high level. The ball goes where it’s supposed to go a lot, they’re scoring a bunch of points, running for a bunch of yards, and I think he’s controlling the box the way they like to do it with all the RPO’s, and the screen game. We’re gonna really have to do a great job when we’re in man coverage playing man coverage, I think that’s what it’s gonna come down to.”
Q: What was the main difference in stopping the run against Virginia versus stopping the run against Georgia Tech?
BATEMAN: “Certainly missed tackles had a big part of it. I think schematically, we had some major, major errors. There’s three runs that are about 150 yards that, on all three, we had a guy not execute the way we wanted to execute, so I think that’s part of it. That is on me. That’s my job to make sure they’re in the right gap, and they’re doing their job. I think that’s where we gotta make strides. Georgia Tech was a lot more committed to the run than Virginia was. We thought we could get Virginia out of the run, and we did. Against Georgia Tech, they were committed to the run, stayed with it, and found a way to pop some big ones on us.”
