Cinn backers - looking for info
- Thread starter LA Burns
- Start date
Some interesting comments, as usual, from Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly at his weekly news conference today. Here's a brief synopsis:
* Linebacker/defensive end Curtis Young, who's returning from knee surgery, will start Thursday night against South Florida.
"We don't expect him to play every snap," Kelly said. "But we think he gives us obviously the best chance to win when he's in the lineup."
Young might be the team's best pass-rusher. He had 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in his two games before being hurt in practice.
* Kelly wants to get receiver Mardy Gilyard the ball more and in different situations. Gilyard has by no means been ignored; he has 38 catches for 517 yards and seven touchdowns and has been Tony Pike's top target. But Kelly wants to find different ways to use him, including lining him up occasionally in the backfield.
"This isn't about, the offense has to run through Mardy," Kelly said. "But it does require us to be creative and making sure he gets touches."
* Kelly didn't seem too concerned earlier this month about his offense's dwindling possession time. The Bearcats had the ball for fewer than 17 minutes against Fresno State and under 20 minutes against Miami (Ohio). But Kelly said he didn't mind his offense scoring quickly.
After reviewing things during the bye week, though, Kelly now says that's an issue that needs addressing.
"If we could score on every drive in two minutes, that would be fine with me," Kelly said "But I have to be cognizant of the fact that playing 86, 87 snaps on defense is probably not the best thing. We have to be more efficient on third downs defensively and do a better job of possessing the football on offense."
Cincinnati is allowing opponents to convert 49 percent of its third downs, which Kelly said is way too high. And while he doesn't think "possessing the ball" necessarily means running it more, he said the offense must avoid three-and-outs. Sometimes that will mean slowing things down, too.
"Maybe after a score where the defense has been on the field 15 to 18 plays, let's look at that," Kelly said. "I have to be thinking about that as we're managing the entire game."
* Linebacker/defensive end Curtis Young, who's returning from knee surgery, will start Thursday night against South Florida.
"We don't expect him to play every snap," Kelly said. "But we think he gives us obviously the best chance to win when he's in the lineup."
Young might be the team's best pass-rusher. He had 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in his two games before being hurt in practice.
* Kelly wants to get receiver Mardy Gilyard the ball more and in different situations. Gilyard has by no means been ignored; he has 38 catches for 517 yards and seven touchdowns and has been Tony Pike's top target. But Kelly wants to find different ways to use him, including lining him up occasionally in the backfield.
"This isn't about, the offense has to run through Mardy," Kelly said. "But it does require us to be creative and making sure he gets touches."
* Kelly didn't seem too concerned earlier this month about his offense's dwindling possession time. The Bearcats had the ball for fewer than 17 minutes against Fresno State and under 20 minutes against Miami (Ohio). But Kelly said he didn't mind his offense scoring quickly.
After reviewing things during the bye week, though, Kelly now says that's an issue that needs addressing.
"If we could score on every drive in two minutes, that would be fine with me," Kelly said "But I have to be cognizant of the fact that playing 86, 87 snaps on defense is probably not the best thing. We have to be more efficient on third downs defensively and do a better job of possessing the football on offense."
Cincinnati is allowing opponents to convert 49 percent of its third downs, which Kelly said is way too high. And while he doesn't think "possessing the ball" necessarily means running it more, he said the offense must avoid three-and-outs. Sometimes that will mean slowing things down, too.
"Maybe after a score where the defense has been on the field 15 to 18 plays, let's look at that," Kelly said. "I have to be thinking about that as we're managing the entire game."
