Speaker 1: Cheg Wars wide receivers coach Keena mccardelli's with us. It's
Speaker 1: week seventeen, coach. The losing skid continues, but here we go.
Speaker 1: This would be a good chance to snap it today,
Speaker 1: it would. I mean, uh, we gotta step up. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's great to be playing a team that's, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: in the hunt for the playoffs. You know, we can
Speaker 1: be the spoilers for these for these guys, So that
Speaker 1: should give you some energy to go out and you know,
Speaker 1: be a spoilers, make them sit at home with you,
Speaker 1: you know. And plus we gotta break up. We got
Speaker 1: break this losing street. I mean this, this is not
Speaker 1: jag War football with this losing losing streets. So we
Speaker 1: gotta we gotta snap out of this. I know you guys,
Speaker 1: certainly the players have been working hard trying to get
Speaker 1: on track and getting everything right during game day, but
Speaker 1: the coaching staff too behind the scenes. I mean, this
Speaker 1: is just seven day a week gig and you guys
Speaker 1: just can't get that winning result at the end of
Speaker 1: the week. But it's not for lack of effort. And
Speaker 1: I know you guys put in the hours day after
Speaker 1: day after day that has to be frustrated. It's very frustrating.
Speaker 1: You know, as a coach, you know you you want
Speaker 1: to win just as bad as the players. You know,
Speaker 1: me being a former player and now a coach, it's hard,
Speaker 1: uh for me because you know, you used to being
Speaker 1: in control, being out there and being able to control
Speaker 1: the actions out there, and now you gotta sit back
Speaker 1: and and and let your guys control the action. And UM.
Speaker 1: For a coach, you just gotta be able to put
Speaker 1: that your mindset and your energy and those guys so
Speaker 1: they can go out and execute the game play in
Speaker 1: the way that we wanted to be executed. And Uh,
Speaker 1: at our position, we understand that that we have to
Speaker 1: go out and give maximum effort each and every week,
Speaker 1: I mean each and every week. You you can't think
Speaker 1: that you can just turn it on. I mean, I think,
Speaker 1: uh this season is a true example of that. You know,
Speaker 1: you you gotta go out each and if we can play.
Speaker 1: If not, you know, it's every team is good in
Speaker 1: this league. Ken card Ellis with a shake wars wide receivers. Coach,
Speaker 1: let's touch on a few of your guys. Your d
Speaker 1: J Truck on the injury report this week with a
Speaker 1: shin issue. But big picture with DJ, towards the end
Speaker 1: of another season for him, what did he do well
Speaker 1: this year? Work could he improve his game moving ahead?
Speaker 1: You know? DJ came out, came out in training camp
Speaker 1: with a with a mindset to repeat the type of
Speaker 1: year he had um at last year. And I think, uh,
Speaker 1: it was a little surprising because people had to get
Speaker 1: ready for him, and plus he moved from Z to
Speaker 1: X and a little justin for him. But he came
Speaker 1: out and took it well and started the season off
Speaker 1: really high. And I think, uh, you know, he got
Speaker 1: banged up a little bit through the middle of the
Speaker 1: season and kind of slowed him down. But that's part
Speaker 1: of being the go to guy. You know, when you
Speaker 1: start faith, when people start to realize that you are
Speaker 1: a number one, people tend to game playing a little
Speaker 1: bit more. I think, Uh, that's the thing that he
Speaker 1: has to get used to, uh, knowing that people are
Speaker 1: going to game playing him. Uh. We as coaches also
Speaker 1: have to try to figure out how to get in
Speaker 1: the ball. But when we do get in the ball,
Speaker 1: he has to go out and make those plays. And
Speaker 1: I think, uh, he got banged up and kind of
Speaker 1: slowed him down, so the looks that he got was
Speaker 1: a little different for him. But as the season went on,
Speaker 1: he starts to see it a little bit more and
Speaker 1: understand what he has to do get open. And he
Speaker 1: realized that, you know, our passing game goes with him
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, like last week he came out
Speaker 1: and made a big play early and then it opened
Speaker 1: up everybody else. So you know, he just has to
Speaker 1: continue to understand that he's a part of our scheme
Speaker 1: that gets other people open sometimes and then when it's
Speaker 1: time for you to get open and one on one,
Speaker 1: you gotta go do it, I mean, and uh, that's
Speaker 1: that's that's the good thing about having guys outside of
Speaker 1: him like Colin Johnson, uh La Visca, Chris Connelly, Keith
Speaker 1: and Cole that they can make place too. So you know,
Speaker 1: he has to me, I think, to take the next step.
Speaker 1: He has to demand the guy on the other side
Speaker 1: of him to continue to make plays so that they
Speaker 1: can stop rolling coverage to him. We saw that tandem
Speaker 1: approach was you and a guy named Jimmy Smith, right,
Speaker 1: and one guy would play well and then here it
Speaker 1: opens up for everybody else, it does, I mean, uh,
Speaker 1: and that's the thing that I kind of preached to
Speaker 1: them all the time. I mean, you need to not alone.
Speaker 1: If you can get three guys, it opens it up
Speaker 1: for everybody, you know, and uh like I tend to
Speaker 1: tell them the stories all the time. If they're rolling
Speaker 1: and cover six and they're rolling to the X Z,
Speaker 1: you should if you're playing Z, you're the guy that
Speaker 1: should make the plays. And then now you even the
Speaker 1: coverage up and make him play man and man on
Speaker 1: both sides. And now the other guy goes out and
Speaker 1: plays well. And then if they start playing cover two,
Speaker 1: that means they're respecting the guys outside. And now we
Speaker 1: used to always say, Fred, get the cover two off us,
Speaker 1: and they should be talking to James and the huddle
Speaker 1: like we used to talk to Fred, Hey, James, get
Speaker 1: covered two off of us, start running the ball and
Speaker 1: then we'll get eight men in the box and we'll
Speaker 1: get one on one outside. So that's the thing about
Speaker 1: you know, when you have guys that that understand how
Speaker 1: this game is played, and you know Visca being a rookie,
Speaker 1: he starts to understand that, and you know he's coming along,
Speaker 1: Collins coming along, and the group is a group that
Speaker 1: has a lot of potential. The next step for them
Speaker 1: is to grow together. I mean they need to grow
Speaker 1: together as a group and understand one one guy pulls
Speaker 1: a string for the other and and vice versa, and
Speaker 1: and it will get each other there, get each other
Speaker 1: open McDill with us. Let's touch on one other guy.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned his name a couple of times. La
Speaker 1: Viscus Chenault Jr. He's been battling through some nagging injury things.
Speaker 1: That's been the season for him. But here he is
Speaker 1: in Week seventeen on the field contributing again. We've seen
Speaker 1: throughout the year the way he uses his size and
Speaker 1: physicality in the receiving game. We haven't seen that around
Speaker 1: here in a little while. He's a different type of
Speaker 1: body type, if you will, and he's starting to figure
Speaker 1: it out. It feels like how to use that body
Speaker 1: he is. Then he's starting to use it down the
Speaker 1: field to as a receiver. I mean, I think a
Speaker 1: lot of times, uh, we've used him a little bit
Speaker 1: more as a specialty guy. But this week he called
Speaker 1: a post or out for a touchdown. I think it's
Speaker 1: probably one of his longest plays from scrimmage, Uh, down
Speaker 1: the field I mean the more and more he understands
Speaker 1: that you can use that same physicality down the field,
Speaker 1: boxing out little little corners, catching the ball, being strong
Speaker 1: after the catch. I think, Uh, he'll start to mature
Speaker 1: even faster. I mean to be honest with you, I
Speaker 1: I I really like what I saw from him as
Speaker 1: growth wise, as a developing into it more of a
Speaker 1: polished receiver. Uh, still got some things that he can
Speaker 1: work on. His future is bright, man. I think, Uh,
Speaker 1: he understands that he like he loves to play football.
Speaker 1: He just doesn't like to play football. He loves to
Speaker 1: play football. He wants the ball in his hands. He
Speaker 1: wants to be a difference maker. And if you've got
Speaker 1: a guy that's got that type of mindset that wants
Speaker 1: to be a difference maker, you got a player in you. Kenden.
Speaker 1: We appreciate your time all year long. Happy New Year.
Speaker 1: Let's get a W. Let's get a W. I mean
Speaker 1: we got one earlier. Let's get one that's against these guys.
Speaker 1: Let's get one at the end. Also,