Post by stateclub on Nov 17, 2010 7:49:40 GMT -5
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Looking back on the 2010 season, North Carolina A&T head football coach Alonzo Lee tries to avoid the "What If" game.
As difficult as it is, Lee does not agonize over how different things would have turned out if quarterback Lewis Kindle had not suffered a season-ending torn ACL during a preseason practice. Instead, he came to terms with the mishap early and has avoided using it as an excuse for the Aggies' poor record this year.
"God don't make mistakes, it happened," said Lee during Tuesday's weekly Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teleconference. "Kindle learned a great lesson that ‘Hey, I don't throw an interception in practice and go out and try to tackle a linebacker.' The bottom line is there's a process behind everything that happens.
"I don't try to look at ‘What If.' We would have been a different team with Kindle. There's no doubt in my mind about it. The quarterback is the biggest key to your offense. When you have a good one back there, you've got a chance in every single game. There's no doubt about that whatever level you're on. We're not really looking at the ‘What Ifs.' We know if he was, that would have been something. But when we did get a young man (baseball outfielder George Hines) in there to do the things that we needed to do, we started progressing. So, at this point, the record doesn't show, but we made great strides this year and something to catapult us into next year."
Defeating 11th-ranked South Carolina State (8-2, 6-1) for the first time since 2000 and ending its hopes at a Football Championship Subdivision at-large playoff berth would serve as a prime highlight for a losing campaign at North Carolina A&T (1-9, 1-6). Coming off a ‘bye' week, Lee believes his Aggies are well-rested and still motivated to play their best game of the season.
"Right at this point and time, we have one of the top teams in the conference coming in," Lee said. "We still have something to prove. There's no doubt about that. We go down and go into overtime against FAMU (a 22-19 loss on Nov. 6) that could have gone either way and we have great motivation going into this game. We're going to go into it like we're playing for the championship. I just don't believe in taking a back seat to anyone. Regardless of record or anything like that. The motivation is fight - bottom line. We're on the field and we are never going to come off that battlefield without giving 100 percent. Our motivation is like everybody else, which is to win. But we're going to fight for 60 minutes this week."
In last year's 28-10 loss to S.C. State, Lee's defense intercepted quarterback Malcolm Long three times and began the Gaffney native's yearlong passing struggles. Lee is not only looking to repeat the Aggies' defensive success but also "come out a little better."
"He's an outstanding quarterback," Lee said of Long. "I think defensively you have to show them different things. Their coaches do a great job at seeing where you're it and making a call from the sidelines and different things like that. So we have to show them different things and give them different looks and hopefully, he'll give us a few more balls this year."
Offensively, opening holes for MEAC-leading rusher Mike Mayhew and keeping Hines upright against the nation's top-ranked defense, which is also second in sacks, will be a prime focus for Lee.
thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/article_5c04cdd0-f205-11df-8872-001cc4c002e0.html
As difficult as it is, Lee does not agonize over how different things would have turned out if quarterback Lewis Kindle had not suffered a season-ending torn ACL during a preseason practice. Instead, he came to terms with the mishap early and has avoided using it as an excuse for the Aggies' poor record this year.
"God don't make mistakes, it happened," said Lee during Tuesday's weekly Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teleconference. "Kindle learned a great lesson that ‘Hey, I don't throw an interception in practice and go out and try to tackle a linebacker.' The bottom line is there's a process behind everything that happens.
"I don't try to look at ‘What If.' We would have been a different team with Kindle. There's no doubt in my mind about it. The quarterback is the biggest key to your offense. When you have a good one back there, you've got a chance in every single game. There's no doubt about that whatever level you're on. We're not really looking at the ‘What Ifs.' We know if he was, that would have been something. But when we did get a young man (baseball outfielder George Hines) in there to do the things that we needed to do, we started progressing. So, at this point, the record doesn't show, but we made great strides this year and something to catapult us into next year."
Defeating 11th-ranked South Carolina State (8-2, 6-1) for the first time since 2000 and ending its hopes at a Football Championship Subdivision at-large playoff berth would serve as a prime highlight for a losing campaign at North Carolina A&T (1-9, 1-6). Coming off a ‘bye' week, Lee believes his Aggies are well-rested and still motivated to play their best game of the season.
"Right at this point and time, we have one of the top teams in the conference coming in," Lee said. "We still have something to prove. There's no doubt about that. We go down and go into overtime against FAMU (a 22-19 loss on Nov. 6) that could have gone either way and we have great motivation going into this game. We're going to go into it like we're playing for the championship. I just don't believe in taking a back seat to anyone. Regardless of record or anything like that. The motivation is fight - bottom line. We're on the field and we are never going to come off that battlefield without giving 100 percent. Our motivation is like everybody else, which is to win. But we're going to fight for 60 minutes this week."
In last year's 28-10 loss to S.C. State, Lee's defense intercepted quarterback Malcolm Long three times and began the Gaffney native's yearlong passing struggles. Lee is not only looking to repeat the Aggies' defensive success but also "come out a little better."
"He's an outstanding quarterback," Lee said of Long. "I think defensively you have to show them different things. Their coaches do a great job at seeing where you're it and making a call from the sidelines and different things like that. So we have to show them different things and give them different looks and hopefully, he'll give us a few more balls this year."
Offensively, opening holes for MEAC-leading rusher Mike Mayhew and keeping Hines upright against the nation's top-ranked defense, which is also second in sacks, will be a prime focus for Lee.
thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/article_5c04cdd0-f205-11df-8872-001cc4c002e0.html
