Specific Areas Belichick Feels Tar Heels Need to Tighten Up

However, they have a bounce-back game against a Charlotte squad that had lost its home opener as well after a 34-11 loss to Appalachian State.

Here are some notable quotes from Belichick's midweek presser.

Opening Statement

"Okay, so it's a quick turnaround for us this week. I think the guys have really embraced the short week, and we're going as fast as we can to put the TCU game behind us and move on here to Charlotte."

"As far as Charlotte, they're probably feeling about the same as we did. They were in a really competitive game late in the second quarter, and then it got away from them against App State, kind of like our game against TCU. Both teams will be looking to rebound off last week’s games."

"This is a team with a lot of new faces and a new coaching staff. We studied what Coach Alvin did at Ohio U and what some of his staff brought from there, but they’ve also added other people, so it’s a mix. With a short turnaround, it’s a lot to process, but we did some offseason work on them."

"They have an explosive returner in Rutledge, probably one of the best we’ll face all year. Harold at quarterback runs the offense well, and with Coach (Todd) Fitch, it’s similar to what they did at LSU and similar in some ways to TCU—tempo, no-huddle, sideline calls. Offensively, a lot of 11 personnel, not identical but comparable to TCU."

"Defensively, they’re disruptive. They want negative plays, pressure, stunts. They try to cause disruption, get you behind the chains, and put pressure on you. On special teams, (Henry) Rutledge is dangerous, (kicker Liam) Boyd is solid, and they play hard. Overall, it’s a balanced team still finding its way, like we are."

What were your biggest points of emphasis with the team after reviewing film?

"Give TCU credit—they’re a good football team and they played well. But a lot of our problems were self-inflicted: turnovers, giving up two touchdowns off turnovers, defensive failures on a couple third-and-longs, and some long runs that were poorly defended. Special teams weren’t particularly good either: a short punt, a dropped snap, a blocked field goal, and a blocked extra point."

"So in every area, there are things we need to tighten up. TCU exposed some of our deficiencies. We'll address them and hopefully get to a competitive level."

On playing in a 15,000 Seat Stadium ...

"Well, during the COVID year, we played in front of a couple hundred people in bigger stadiums. So, again, we control what we can control. So we control how we prepare, how we play, and how many people are or aren't there, and whatever the weather is and all those things, we have no control over. We can just control our preparation, our performance, our attitude, and how competitive we play. And that's what we're going to focus on."

"It's honestly how we take the approach. We can play anywhere, anytime. Day and night, home and away, in a parking lot in Ireland, in North Carolina, in California, wherever it is. We've got to be ready to play when the games are scheduled."

"We'll control what we can control."

What did you see from Gio Lopez on film, and have you picked a starter this week?

"I talked to Gio this morning. He's doing pretty good. Look, we all have plays we'd like to have back from the game—calls, plays, passes, tackles, you name it. You can't participate in a game like that and not feel like there's some things you could have done better or you'd like to do over again. So learn from those, move on, and get ready for Charlotte. That's all we can control. We need to learn lessons from the TCU game. But at the same time, there's nothing we can do about that one. It's over with. We need to move on."

"We'll see how it goes. We haven't practiced yet this week, so we'll see what things look like today when we get out there."

What’s your philosophy on blitzing with this group after struggling to get pressure?

"Well, it's always hard to talk about rushing the pass and when you're behind. It's a lot easier to rush the pass and when you're ahead. So, you get in a bunch of pass rush schemes when you're behind, and they don't throw the ball. Then you just expose yourself to running plays and different gap blocking schemes and so forth that might not necessarily be good against some of those pass blitzes."

"So, look, the best pass rush is when you know they're going to pass, and if you can dictate those situations, then that's when you should be able to, you know, put your best forward in terms of individual pass rushes and also, scheme rushes based on their protection schemes."

"When you're not, when you're playing from behind, you don't get as many chances to rush a passer. You've got to make them count. But even when you think you have them, you don't really have to throw because, you know, score in the situation."

"So if those things don't improve, then, you know, we'll be facing some of the same issues, you know, against any team. If we can fix some of those, then maybe we can play from ahead and have more opportunities to rush to pass it."