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Here are some news and notes from TCU Football, courtesy of the FWST and HornedFrogBlitz.com:
- Gary Patterson said the team is feeling bad for themselves after a bad start to the season... Accordingly, if they don't grow up, they "won't win any more ball games this year."
- Devonte Fields and Brandon Carter weren't in practice... Instead, they were in "study hall." Gary denied to update Fields injury status, but did intimate that Carter was in his doghouse and thus wasn't practicing.
- Jason Verrett is a little banged up after trying to tackle Texas Tech TE Amaro... He was running around in practice but with a protective jersey on, so this sounds like a minor deal.
- Patterson also intimated that he has been pushing his team harder than he ever had in previous years, and that he was on the verge of having a heart attack at this point.
"If you haven't been around me when things get tough, the tough get going. I haven't been a lot of fun to be around so when I say we're only going to win one game I'm telling you because if they can't handle me then they're going to have a hard time handling 90,000 at Oklahoma."
- Co-Offensive Coordinator Jarrett Anderson is heading up to the box to call plays... He was there last year, but moved to the sidelines to start the 2013 season. Coach Patterson thought the offense did a better job with Anderson in the box.
- Patterson specifically called out the offensive game plan in one specific situation, regarding a fourth down play call:
"I was the one that asked them if they had a good fourth and one call, no more than I asked if they had a good two-point play for Boyce two times," he said. "When you look back at it, why wouldn't you line up in two tight ends and run right at somebody. That's what we do every day in practice; that's what we do in middle drill. We've just got to think a little bit better."
- Patterson also isn't blaming the team's early struggles on Boykin, whom Gary said is just trying to hard to do to much...
"I think he just tried to do too much, he just needs to play," Patterson said of Boykin. "If we would've just handed the ball off twenty more times we would've had a better chance at winning. We've got to do a better job coaching, we've got to go straight ahead when it's fourth and 1 and not go sideways."
- Patterson said Matthews isn't going to jump Boykin right now either, and is still running with the 2s.
- The biggest note to likely come out of the practice is that Dunbar has moved permanently to LT and the team has opened up competition at left guard. This means that Collins has moved to the second team at tackle.
Offensive lineman James Dunbar will move to tackle from guard as his primary position, Patterson said. Dunbar has played well at both spots this season. The move means Jamelle Naff, John Wooldridge and Brady Foltz will fill the void at left guard.
"It's too much for him to rotate back and forth," Patterson said. "Some other guys need to step up at guard."
- One question... Is this actually a good thing? My eyes saw a bad Collins, but they didn't see a good Dunbar either. Maybe Dunbar will be better as a consistent tackle, but this seems to be a move made out of desperation, not necessitated by performance.