Cowboys have more work to do despite latest win
Published 8:06 am Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The name Incarnate Word is unlikely to scare anyone — at least as not as much as an Incarnate Exclamation Point might.
Six turnovers, on the other hand, are enough to send a shiver down a team’s spine. So while McNeese’s upcoming opponent has proven to be in over its head against more established programs this year, last Saturday provided more than enough evidence the Cowboys have issues of their own to work on this week.
McNeese’s 31-20 win over Abilene Christian created the perfect formula for a team getting ready for an overmatched foe. Yes, it was a victory, but one that included just enough flaws that the No. 11 Cowboys (4-2, 2-1 Southland) know they can’t slack off before facing the 1-6 Cardinals.
“It has nothing to do with Incarnate Word. I just love when you win games and can go in and immediately say ‘We’ve got to hit this, this and this,’” said McNeese coach Matt Viator. “It’s fantastic. If you can win a game and don’t lose anybody to injury and yet still have a lot of things you can work on, I think that’s the perfect scenario for a coach.”
Ball protection will be the first item on this week’s list.
“The last three (fumbles) Abilene Christian did a good job stripping the ball as our guys were going down, which is what you should do when you’re losing,” Viator said. “You don’t see a lot of it at the beginning of a game because you’re more concerned with trying to get them down on the ground. But it’s something we need to go back and re-emphasize.”
Viator said it’s natural for a team to find itself more prone to strips as the season goes on.
“Coming out of August camp you’re usually pretty good in those areas because you scrimmage every day and you’re pretty conscious of it,” Viator said. “As you go through the season, unless you play people who do that, we don’t tackle people to the ground during practice. It’s not something that you work every day like August camp.”
It was a seemingly anomalous performance.
McNeese was second in the league with five giveaways going into Saturday and has been among the national leaders in protecting the pigskin the past two seasons.
“That’s coaching,” Viator said. “Just when you think you know a few things, you get hit by it. There’s always something you have to fix.”
Viator wants his running backs to be careful, but not conservative.
“I can go out there and promise you we’re not going to have a guy fumble again all year. But then they’re not going to run the football,” Viator said. “They’re going to run with two hands and be scared to run. So there’s kind of a balance. You emphasize it and run a few drills. But the thing we’ve got going for us is we have some running backs who can run.
“If I harp on it, they won’t fumble. But they won’t run, either. So you’ve got to balance as far as how much you’re emphasizing and how much you’re just trying to correct some fundamentals.”
