Watson Ready to Open Playbook Against Temple
October 01, 2013 | Football
Oct. 1, 2013
POST-PRACTICE INTERVIEWS: Shawn Watson | Jake Smith | Damian Copeland
It's hard to believe that the University of Louisville football team has a lot left in its offensive arsenal. Coming into Saturday's game versus Temple, the Cardinals are seventh in the nation in scoring offense and 14th in total offense and in passing.
But offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said his unit used the non-game week to add to the conservative scheme they used in the first four weeks.
Watson, whose offense is averaging 48.7 points per game, used the first of three bye weeks to get ahead of schedule because the Cardinals have three games in the next 14 days, all conference foes in Temple, Rutgers, and UCF.
“What we tried to accomplish in the bye week is that we tried to get ahead with our work on scouting some of the next opponents,” Watson said after Tuesday's practice. “We have some short weeks coming up, looking at the opponents we have coming up in the next couple of weeks.”
Coaches often use their open weeks to get back to basics, which the Cardinals did, but Watson revealed that he may have a few pages in the playbook that he can show his team for upcoming opponents.
“We made practice a real fundamental-based time and worked on some different personnel combinations,” Watson said. “The last thing we tried to do, we tried to take the next step with our scheme. We are going to add to ourselves because we have been holding some things back.”
There isn't much the Cardinals' offense hasn't accomplished through four games, but the second-year offensive coordinator wants to keep the opposition guessing, which he hopes can create a schematic advantage.
“We always want people when they play us to start working all over again,” Watson said. “We don't want people who play us to have the same look. But we don't want to change things a lot for our players. A lot of changes come in some schematic changes. Other things come in personnel changes, motions, formations and shifts.”
The Cardinals haven't changed too much when it comes to success, as they have raced out to a 4-0 start for the second-straight season. With three wins by 35 or more points, including a 72-0 win over FIU on Sept. 21, the challenge by the coaching staff has been to continue to pursue excellence when they have had so many one-sided games.
“The culture here is just that,” Watson said. “We want to be an elite team. We have to chase that elite status and perfection. We chase it every day. We can't take a day off on the field and in our preparation. If we are truly an elite team, then that is what we will do.”
Senior wide receiver Damian Copeland, who is the second-leading receiver with 14 catches for 240 yards and three scores, agrees with Watson's assessment that the offense to continue to keep working.
“We just want to go out every week, just like coach Watson always tell us, that we have to take care of our business,” Copeland said. “If we go out there and take care of business, then not a lot of people can stop us.”
The Cardinals will get to see how their how work and focus pays off from their off week when they open up conference play against Temple on Saturday.
