g$$
11-08-2006, 04:33 AM
**Fran's comments about Lane & other calls in the game below. Note his sarcastic tone at times with the media. He specifically mentions the issue with Lane at the bottom. Spin control if I ever heard it! He knows he needs him to have a chance in the coming weeks.
THE QUESTION: Third and 2?
COACH FRAN: We talked it over as a staff and yards were hard to come by. We had worked really hard on red zone and goal line thoughts on the week. We felt like we had a good play called. It was very much like the play that we had hit earlier to Chris Alexander for a big first down. You know, it didn’t work out. We thought it was going to be a good call or we wouldn’t have called it. You have got to make a decision then if you can go for it or do you get points. As hard as yards had been to come by and Layne (Neumann) was kicking good, I felt like we get the three our defense is playing good, we kick it out of the endzone which we did pin them on the 20. We stop them we are going to get the ball back with a minute 20, minute 25 somewhere in there I think. Short field. I mean, you have to think you’re going to get it around the 40 maybe and we’ve been really good in the last couple of minutes of halves in games of moving the ball down the field and in this case we don’t have to have a touchdown we just need about 25 or 30 yards of offense to be in fieldgoal range and Layne has kicked the ball good. So that was the choice that we made.
THE QUESTION: With the great numbers that (Jorvorskie) Lane has in these situations is it hard not to give him a chance or is it almost to obvious to give him the ball?
COACH FRAN: It’s a little of both, Jeff. Hindsight is always easy and you certainly rethink everything that you do in situations. We wouldn’t have called the play on third down that we called if we didn’t think it was going to work. Jorvorskie was another option in that situation and we chose our direction and went that way and it didn’t work out. If it works out then all is good. So again, it’s something that we have to execute and make it right when we make that decision.
THE QUESTION: I looked it up and I think Jorvorskie has converted on 15 straight third our fourth down plays. As long as it’s working, why change something that simply has worked all year long?
COACH FRAN: Well, a lot of those are not on the 2-yard line where defenses are bunched down as close as they are. A lot of them are in the field in a little bit different situations. Now there’s nothing wrong with that call, I’m not saying there is.
THE QUESTION: Did you already know that you were going to kick the fieldgoal if you didn’t convert on third down?
COACH FRAN: No. There was a chance for Stephen (McGee) to run that in, there was Chris (Alexander) in the flat, there was Martellus (Bennett); and that was kind of the option we were looking for in that situation. That play was the high low with those two guys that had been very good to us.
THE QUESTION: Is that one draw back to throwing in that situation is that if you don’t score you are probably not going to get any closer for fourth down.
COACH FRAN: Well, there’s no guarantee if you run it you’re going to get closer either. Last I looked nothing’s a guarantee there. It was tough sledding and if I had had any guarantees, I would have probably been real interested in those.
THE QUESTION: Coach, there was some stuff being made of Jorvorskie’s demeanor coming off the field after that. Did you hear any of that?
COACH FRAN: No, but guys want to win. You want players that want the ball and want players that want to win. There’s nothing wrong with guys being like that. I didn’t talk to him.
**& a little more to chew on (Houston Chronicle):
But third downs have been almost automatic for Lane this season. He has converted 15 straight third and fourth downs for a first down or touchdown. He's 24 of 27 on the season. Even better, all eight of his touchdowns in Big 12 play this season have come from one or two yards out.
Franchione was obviously unaware of this fact when answering reporters' questions Tuesday.
Lane was not made available for comment Tuesday after he appeared to exit the field upset after the failed third-and-2 play Saturday.
THE QUESTION: Third and 2?
COACH FRAN: We talked it over as a staff and yards were hard to come by. We had worked really hard on red zone and goal line thoughts on the week. We felt like we had a good play called. It was very much like the play that we had hit earlier to Chris Alexander for a big first down. You know, it didn’t work out. We thought it was going to be a good call or we wouldn’t have called it. You have got to make a decision then if you can go for it or do you get points. As hard as yards had been to come by and Layne (Neumann) was kicking good, I felt like we get the three our defense is playing good, we kick it out of the endzone which we did pin them on the 20. We stop them we are going to get the ball back with a minute 20, minute 25 somewhere in there I think. Short field. I mean, you have to think you’re going to get it around the 40 maybe and we’ve been really good in the last couple of minutes of halves in games of moving the ball down the field and in this case we don’t have to have a touchdown we just need about 25 or 30 yards of offense to be in fieldgoal range and Layne has kicked the ball good. So that was the choice that we made.
THE QUESTION: With the great numbers that (Jorvorskie) Lane has in these situations is it hard not to give him a chance or is it almost to obvious to give him the ball?
COACH FRAN: It’s a little of both, Jeff. Hindsight is always easy and you certainly rethink everything that you do in situations. We wouldn’t have called the play on third down that we called if we didn’t think it was going to work. Jorvorskie was another option in that situation and we chose our direction and went that way and it didn’t work out. If it works out then all is good. So again, it’s something that we have to execute and make it right when we make that decision.
THE QUESTION: I looked it up and I think Jorvorskie has converted on 15 straight third our fourth down plays. As long as it’s working, why change something that simply has worked all year long?
COACH FRAN: Well, a lot of those are not on the 2-yard line where defenses are bunched down as close as they are. A lot of them are in the field in a little bit different situations. Now there’s nothing wrong with that call, I’m not saying there is.
THE QUESTION: Did you already know that you were going to kick the fieldgoal if you didn’t convert on third down?
COACH FRAN: No. There was a chance for Stephen (McGee) to run that in, there was Chris (Alexander) in the flat, there was Martellus (Bennett); and that was kind of the option we were looking for in that situation. That play was the high low with those two guys that had been very good to us.
THE QUESTION: Is that one draw back to throwing in that situation is that if you don’t score you are probably not going to get any closer for fourth down.
COACH FRAN: Well, there’s no guarantee if you run it you’re going to get closer either. Last I looked nothing’s a guarantee there. It was tough sledding and if I had had any guarantees, I would have probably been real interested in those.
THE QUESTION: Coach, there was some stuff being made of Jorvorskie’s demeanor coming off the field after that. Did you hear any of that?
COACH FRAN: No, but guys want to win. You want players that want the ball and want players that want to win. There’s nothing wrong with guys being like that. I didn’t talk to him.
**& a little more to chew on (Houston Chronicle):
But third downs have been almost automatic for Lane this season. He has converted 15 straight third and fourth downs for a first down or touchdown. He's 24 of 27 on the season. Even better, all eight of his touchdowns in Big 12 play this season have come from one or two yards out.
Franchione was obviously unaware of this fact when answering reporters' questions Tuesday.
Lane was not made available for comment Tuesday after he appeared to exit the field upset after the failed third-and-2 play Saturday.