Tyrique Stevenson blog: We could have been one of nation's top teams if we stopped shooting ourselves in foot with mistakes

PRESENTED BY GONZALEZ & CARTWRIGHT. OUR PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

CB Tyrique Stevenson will have a weekly blog all season at CaneSport.com. In this edition, Stevenson talks about the Duke game and where the team goes from here.

WE’RE STICKING TOGETHER THROUGH ADVERSITY

Off the loss to Duke, you just stick together. Everything, our coaches really preach … we have to stay together. We’re all we’ve got outside of the coaches. This is a brotherhood, this is a family. We preach that every day. We break down on family every day. So we are just sticking together. It might not be the outcomes we want, all the outside noises pitching in too can cause a whole bunch of mess that we don’t need as a team. But we are just sticking together. We still believe in that family, still are believing it’s a brotherhood, still believe that. We’ve got a lot more to prove this year, a lot more to show this year and we know we haven’t played our best game yet and that’s yet to come.

And it doesn’t amaze me we’re sticking together. What’s happening is what needs to happen despite what’s going on. It’s multiple situations and multiple things that have come in and us losing games. This thing was I wouldn’t say a small crack, but a couple of games the defense was pointing fingers at the offense, offense was pointing fingers at defense. And we really settled that down quickly. Older guys on both sides let them know that we need them as much as they need us. Defense goes out and gives up a touchdown, we need to score right back. Offense throws a pick, we have to go right back out there and defend those boys. At the end of the day we’re defending each other, and we’re all we’ve got. We’re just reminding each other we’re all we’ve got, and this is a family.

So I’m not shocked by us staying together. That’s what we need to do as a team, as a family and as a brotherhood. No fingers pointed and just stick together.

WE WERE ENCOURAGING OFFENSE, NEED TO IMPROVE SUDDEN CHANGE DEFENSE

The offense didn’t have a good day, were kind of getting their things together. As a defense we’d just walk over and encourage them. During halftime walked over and encouraged them, after the game walked over and encouraged them. Because we can’t get another offense, we can’t get another set of plans right now. We just grew a bond with each other, just went over and gave them all the confidence, everything they needed to keep going despite the outcome.

The defense not responding in the sudden change situations, it was pretty upsetting. We came in Sunday and we all agreed that we need to be better with sudden change defense. I just feel like as a defense we weren’t expecting that. We never expect that as a defense. Just got off the field, relaxing, trying to get adjustment changes and so fast I just feel like we could have done a better job with that, step that game up. But still proud of this defense and how they fought, how we kept our head forward and never let the outside noise and adversity break us.

The sudden change, you just have to be more into it mentally, be ready for it. Sometimes when defensive guys, even offensive guys come down to the bench just to relax – there’s so much pressure, so tensed up, you have so much going on in your head. You’re trying to block out the outside noise, trying to get the play, trying to do your job. There’s just so much going on with that one play. Sometimes you get to the sidelines you let the weights off and sometimes relax mentally and that’s where that comes from not being able to handle sudden change. That’s something we need to work on as a defense. The coaches gave us an understanding that’s something we’re going to work on, handle it together. With this defense and how we’re wired we definitely can handle that for the rest of the season.

To prepare for sudden change it’s a mental thing, you can never simulate that in practice, that type of juice and that type of adrenaline that comes with that play. But just being mentally prepared for it and being more mentally locked into the game. Once you get adjustments instead of chilling and drinking water, maybe cracking a few jokes with the guys, maybe pay attention to the game, be locked in and see what the offense is doing and you’re not just caught off guard by punt team. The defense, you’re trying to get yourself together. So I feel it’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing.

5:42 starting “not shooting selves in foot

WE COULD BE ONE OF BEST TEAMS IF WE STOP SHOOTING OURSELVES IN THE FOOT

Just this whole season we kind of harm ourselves, shoot ourselves in the foot. That stops us from being one of the top teams in the nation. That’s some things we have to clean up. I feel  this team could be one of the top teams in the nation if we stop shooting ourselves in the foot most of the games.

We know we haven’t played our best game yet. We know we have a full season left ahead of us. I feel the team hasn’t died down, I feel like the energy hasn’t changed. I feel like nobody is doubting this team. Definitely we’re excited to play these next five games. Duke happened, it’s in the past. We came back in Sunday, all looked ourselves in the mirror and all decided we have to clean this up and keep things going.

DESPITE STRUGGLES I STILL THINK WE ARE ONE OF THE BEST DEFENSES IN NATION

Everybody understands we are one of the best defenses in the country despite what is going on this season, despite how things have turned out for us. We are capable and we can play with any offense in this league. We are one of the top defenses in the nation and all we have to do is keep chopping wood and slowly but surely things will turn out positive for us on the back end.

We want to be better, of course. That’s the difference in our attitude – we know for a fact we have one of the best secondaries in the country. We know for a fact we have some of the best linebackers in the country, know for a fact we have one of the best D lines in the country. And we just know for a fact that if all of us lock in mentally on one chain that nobody is really messing with us, nobody can really move that ball on us.

THAT LONG DRIVE DUKE HAD MADE US MAD

We were definitely upset after that long Duke drive after we took the lead. It was an 18-play, 79-yard drive by Duke in the third quarter that ended with a touchdown that put them up 24-21, and we all came to the sidelines and `This is not what we do, this is not who we are. Nobody should be able to drive the length of the field on us. So we were very upset. We shot ourselves in the foot on that drive. We just knew if we cleaned certain things up, the small things up, that they would be punting the ball in a few plays within that drive.

NOW IT’S ON TO VIRGINIA

For me it’s about the enjoyment of the game, just going out there with my brothers and just going out there and everybody with a smile on their face, have everybody next to me actually want to play. That makes the game a whole lot better. We will definitely be locked in as a whole, will definitely be ready and happy to play Virginia. We can’t dwell on last week. It happened. We didn’t expect it to happen, but just keep pushing forward and be 1-0 this week in Virginia.

I have no doubt that we can clean up ourselves, start clicking together like we’re supposed to – there’s no reason we shouldn’t come out the end of the season smelling like a rose despite the beginning of it.

I think guys want to do whatever it takes to win, and if that takes you doing somebody else’s job, `Okay, I will.’ But at the same time we have to come to an understanding that this is a defense that has all working parts. You have to do your job and maybe doing your job will help the next guy instead of trying to make a play. Can’t take anything away from the guys that do that – they want to win, do whatever they can to put their body on the line and make sure this team comes out with a `W.’

The goal is come out smelling like a rose, 1-0 mentality. You can’t start thinking ahead, picking up certain things to focus on. You can’t go into this with a shoulder up, have to go in full throttle. We know we’ll go up there and play our best game and do our job and just try to come out 1-0.

Win that and keep going.

Saturday is the eighth game of the season and I feel every week like it’s starting to come together. We come in, put 1 percent in, I feel like it can be that week. Maybe this week or the next week, you never know how it goes with this football thing. But definitely feel coming into this week the guys have a positive attitude, everybody in the building has a positive attitude. And then we all need to put that together and put in the work and have the outcome show on the field.

And for me I’ll try to be a leader in that. Anywhere I can. Mentally I try to talk to the guys, physically I try to go out there and outwork pretty much everybody and just show how it’s supposed to be. And just be the best me. So we are definitely trying to be a leader for the guys.