CHRIS PARKS: Loss hurts, defense expects better
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:25 pm
Cornerbacks are a little like pitchers in baseball. When they make plays, it often is viewed as merely doing their jobs. When they don’t, they get called out. Just as every pitcher gives up a home run and must figure out a way to come back and get the next hitter out, every cornerback will get beat by a receiver and must be able to forget the play and come back ready to shut down a receiver on the next play.
"‘One snap and clear’ - we say it all the time," junior SMU cornerback Chris Parks said. "We live by that. You can’t forget a play completely - it’s still in your head, and you have to make adjustments based on what happened the last time.
"But even if it’s a good play - say you make an interception or knock the ball away - it’s "one snap and clear" then, too. You can’t live off the last play, good or bad. It’s all good and dandy after the game. If you made a certain play and you won the game, then you can celebrate. But after any play, good or bad, you’ve got to shake your head, get up and make the next play."
Parks knows of what he speaks, having been the defender on Baylor’s 37-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Yes, Parks dealt during the game with cramps that required an IV at halftime left his hamstring "still tight" Tuesday morning, and he made several plays, but after going through the game film with the rest of the defensive backs, Parks was not satisfied with his performance.
"It was a good starting point, I guess," Parks said. "Everybody has to start somewhere. We did some things well, but any time you give up 59 points, we obviously didn’t do everything well. But after watching the film, there’s a lot to work on, in technique and in communication on the field. We had to get in to a rhythm, and once we did, we started playing better."
Head coach June Jones referred to the "fog of war" when explaining some of the breakdowns the Mustangs suffered Sunday in Waco.
"That just means when you’re out there, and everybody’s tired, you can get away from your fundamentals, your technique," Parks said. "Everyone can do it. You just can’t let yourself get distracted and get away from what you’re supposed to do.
"The crowd didn’t bother us. Once the game started, we didn’t think about the crowd. We didn’t even notice the crowd. Once you get on the field and you get in your ‘zone,’ that doesn’t even factor in. You think about your assignments and the next play. You’ve still got a job to do."
Parks owned up to his errors, adding quickly that they’re correctable through film study and practice.
"When you watch film, you see what you messed up," Parks said. "I see that. Everyone sees that. Like when we were in a Cover 3 and I shaded over a little too close to one receiver - I take the deepest guy, but you have to be leery of both. We need to be better on alignment, but that’s something ‘Coach O’ (secondary coach Derrick Odum) can help us fix in the film room and on the practice field."
Coaches often talk about the improvement teams make between the first and second games of the season, after they have a game on film they can show and study with their teams. The adage often is applied to a team’s offense, but Parks said the SMU defense can make a similar jump.
"Everybody learns from that first game, when you finally get to go against someone different," Parks said. "After the first game, you get a chance to look at the film and correct some things, so you shouldn’t make some of the same mistakes the next week. There should be a lot of improvement between week one and week two. We have to make that progress to reach our full potential."
Parks admitted that the number of points allowed added to the negative feeling after the game, but said that ultimately, it’s still only one loss in the standings.
"You don’t want to allow any points, so when you get beat and allow a lot of points, it doesn’t sit well," he said. "There are some plays you can point to and say, ‘if we did this or that, maybe it’s a different game.’ Maybe it is, but we didn’t make those plays Sunday.
"We don’t want to allow a lot of points - we don’t want to allow any points. This loss hurt us, but we have a good defense and we expect to play like it."
"‘One snap and clear’ - we say it all the time," junior SMU cornerback Chris Parks said. "We live by that. You can’t forget a play completely - it’s still in your head, and you have to make adjustments based on what happened the last time.
"But even if it’s a good play - say you make an interception or knock the ball away - it’s "one snap and clear" then, too. You can’t live off the last play, good or bad. It’s all good and dandy after the game. If you made a certain play and you won the game, then you can celebrate. But after any play, good or bad, you’ve got to shake your head, get up and make the next play."
Parks knows of what he speaks, having been the defender on Baylor’s 37-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Yes, Parks dealt during the game with cramps that required an IV at halftime left his hamstring "still tight" Tuesday morning, and he made several plays, but after going through the game film with the rest of the defensive backs, Parks was not satisfied with his performance.
"It was a good starting point, I guess," Parks said. "Everybody has to start somewhere. We did some things well, but any time you give up 59 points, we obviously didn’t do everything well. But after watching the film, there’s a lot to work on, in technique and in communication on the field. We had to get in to a rhythm, and once we did, we started playing better."
Head coach June Jones referred to the "fog of war" when explaining some of the breakdowns the Mustangs suffered Sunday in Waco.
"That just means when you’re out there, and everybody’s tired, you can get away from your fundamentals, your technique," Parks said. "Everyone can do it. You just can’t let yourself get distracted and get away from what you’re supposed to do.
"The crowd didn’t bother us. Once the game started, we didn’t think about the crowd. We didn’t even notice the crowd. Once you get on the field and you get in your ‘zone,’ that doesn’t even factor in. You think about your assignments and the next play. You’ve still got a job to do."
Parks owned up to his errors, adding quickly that they’re correctable through film study and practice.
"When you watch film, you see what you messed up," Parks said. "I see that. Everyone sees that. Like when we were in a Cover 3 and I shaded over a little too close to one receiver - I take the deepest guy, but you have to be leery of both. We need to be better on alignment, but that’s something ‘Coach O’ (secondary coach Derrick Odum) can help us fix in the film room and on the practice field."
Coaches often talk about the improvement teams make between the first and second games of the season, after they have a game on film they can show and study with their teams. The adage often is applied to a team’s offense, but Parks said the SMU defense can make a similar jump.
"Everybody learns from that first game, when you finally get to go against someone different," Parks said. "After the first game, you get a chance to look at the film and correct some things, so you shouldn’t make some of the same mistakes the next week. There should be a lot of improvement between week one and week two. We have to make that progress to reach our full potential."
Parks admitted that the number of points allowed added to the negative feeling after the game, but said that ultimately, it’s still only one loss in the standings.
"You don’t want to allow any points, so when you get beat and allow a lot of points, it doesn’t sit well," he said. "There are some plays you can point to and say, ‘if we did this or that, maybe it’s a different game.’ Maybe it is, but we didn’t make those plays Sunday.
"We don’t want to allow a lot of points - we don’t want to allow any points. This loss hurt us, but we have a good defense and we expect to play like it."