Postgame Quotes - St. Louis at Dallas
February 9, 2020 - XFL (XFL)
Dallas Renegades News Release
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 - Globe Life Park - Arlington, Texas
ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS Head Coach: Jonathan Hayes
Opening Statement
"The guys fought really hard. The defense played really well. The offense ran the ball when we needed to and really set the tone of the game. I think that carried through late in the game for us. I'm very proud of the guys - their resilience and how they continue to fight through the adversities. We have to eliminate the turnovers obviously and eliminate the false starts, shooting ourselves in the foot. But it was a good road win, getting out on the road against a very good football team and against a guy I truly respect and honor and love as a brother. It was a good day for us."
On the rushing attack
"I think we wanted to play some balance in our offense and I think we did that for the most part. Obviously, that's very key in tight games like we played today. We have to continue to make sure we keep defenses honest and don't make ourselves one dimensional."
On holding Dallas' offense and his team's struggle with self-inflicted mistakes
"I think one thing the defensive coaches got a good feel for was the offense. They like to run a lot of the meshed routes, the crossing routes. We know they're going to try to take their shots when they get an opportunity. We tried to limit those opportunities. So, offensively, I felt like we were moving the ball but we would do something to shoot ourselves in the foot - jumping offsides or taking a loss for a lot of yards, things like that. Those things, we have to get that out of our system if we're going to have any success with our football team
On he and Bob Stoops' conversations leading up to tonight
"Bob and I have been dear friends since I was 18 years old and he was 21. He lived in Youngstown and I lived in Pittsburgh and we would drive back and forth to Iowa City. Bob gave me my first coaching job. Like I said earlier, I have the utmost respect for Bob Stoops and what he has done. I was fortunate enough to be a small part of his staff when we won the National Championship. But I think also, I had a little insight into his thought process. I felt like he was going to make this a defensive struggle, try to, and we were up for the challenge today."
St. Louis Battlehawks players
#26 Dexter McCoil (ILB)
On not allowing big plays:
"Every team wants to keep everything in front of them. You can't allow big plays, no matter what defense or game it is. Usually big plays dictate the momentum of the game, and you usually get points out of them. We knew if we eliminated the big plays and stopped the run that we would be successful."
On holding Dallas to 1 of 10 on 3rd down:
"I didn't know that, but that's pretty good. Every time you come into a game third down is crucial. You want to stop the momentum of the game because you don't want to stay on the field. So being able to get off the field on third downs is big so we can give our offense the ball back."
#10 Jordan Ta'amu (QB)
On how his rushing attack impacted the game:
"It was definitely exciting to go out there and play with live bullets coming at you. One of my strengths is being able to use my legs when there is nothing down field. That opens up our offense a lot."
On how the timing was for the first game:
"I think timing was everything, so being able to work with them from December to now was really good. But I think today I could've made better throws and put it on our receivers more. Our receivers did a really good job of getting open, and our O-Line did a good job of blocking and protecting."
#84 Alonzo Russell (WR)
On his 4th quarter touchdown catch:
"It was a simple Z-route. We practiced it all week...I knew Jordan would end up putting the ball where it needed to be. As far as emotionally, I knew our team needed it so I was happy and blessed that I was able to do that for our team."
DALLAS RENEGADES HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS
DALLAS RENEGADES QUARTERBACK PHILIP NELSON
DALLAS RENEGADES RUNNING BACK LANCE DUNBAR
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 - Globe Life Park - Arlington, Texas
DALLAS RENEGADES Head Coach: Bob Stoops
Opening Statement
"Those guys played a really good game, a tight game the entire way. They made a few more plays than we did there at the end. I thought overall, defensively we did a great job keeping them sitting there. We gave up a couple of big plays. We gave up the quarterback draw on third down, third down and scoring position. Then we gave up an RPO that put them down in scoring position. Two plays really took us out of it and put them in position to score. They executed a great third and 10 down there on the goal line. We had a corner draped all over their receiver and he made a great, tough catch. So I give them credit for that. Offensively, we have to be able to convert down in the red zone and down close. It was too many field goals. I said it and lived it my whole life as a coach, that too many field goals get you beat. You have to be able to put the ball in the end zone and we didn't do that. So overall, I thought the guys played hard on both sides. It was a good clean game and we needed to make some big plays and didn't make them. We needed to be more consistent that way on both sides. We gave them a couple of big plays that did make a difference and that ends up being a difference in the game. The couple big plays that they made and we didn't."
On defensive play tonight and what encouraged him about the defense
"Just overall they were pretty solid in communication and everting. I still feel that we were a little rough tackling and being physical. We allowed too many rushing yards and allowed them to mush us a little bit too much there. It's kind of hard. You only have a 52-man roster and you can only go live so much. So hopefully we can grow from game one to game two in being able to play a little more physically whether it be in tackling or getting off of our blocks."
On the feeling after coaching for the first time since his retirement in 2017
"It was great, outside of the outcome. But the only silver lining there too is that they're not in our division. So, it doesn't sting quite as much but it still stings. Being out there throughout this whole process has been great fun. I loved it. It's great being around the guys and coaching them. They're great players and coaches that I'm working with. So, it didn't feel much different being back out there. I hadn't forgotten. I was excited to be back on the sidelines for sure."
On expectations going into this first game
"I came in all in expecting to win. I'm not doing this for any other reason. I want to win, win big. So, I'm disappointed. I thought we would have played better in a lot of different areas regardless of who was in at quarterback. I don't go there either. Philip [Nelson] does a good job and a lot of some of the inconsistencies aren't on him. We need to play better."
Dallas Renegades players
#9 Phillip Nelson (QB)
On Dallas keeping the ball short tonight:
"In that preseason game that we had against them [St. Louis], we were going over the top of them. You could tell today that they were backing up. Coach [Hal] Mumme says all the time that 'you have to have a great capacity for boredom,' which meant to check it down tonight."
On why Dallas didn't stay up-tempo throughout the game:
"With the new rules, if you substitute the ref holds you up. We were substituting a little bit there, and that's why we had to kind of get away from it. Also, in that second quarter they were giving us a few blitzes and different looks that I had to change the protection on, which probably held us up a little bit too."
On what it means to have high profile football figures in attendance:
"It means to me that it's legit. All these guys here are this close to an NFL roster, so the talent is definitely there. I think they came here knowing that too, so they came to check it out."
#25 Lance Dunbar (RB)
On the environment at Globe Life Park:
"It was a great football environment. It's something new. Fans came out and supported us, and it was really exciting. We didn't win the game tonight, but we're going to get things better and find a way to win next week."
On the amount of media availability during the game:
"It was fun. You get to show your personality a little bit, which you don't really get to do as much in the NFL. The guys don't have a problem with it, and we enjoy it."
• Discuss this story on the XFL message board...
XFL Stories from February 9, 2020
- BattleHawks Spoil Stoops' Return - XFL
- Powell's Pro Football Dream Becomes Reality - New York Guardians
- Postgame Quotes - St. Louis at Dallas - Dallas Renegades
- Best & Worst: Defenders vs. Dragons - XFL
- 3 Takeaways from Vipers' Week 1 Loss - Tampa Bay Vipers
- Post-Game Quotes: New York Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Vipers - New York Guardians
- Tampa Bay Vipers Postgame Notes - Tampa Bay Vipers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
