Vipers Run to Must-Have Win
March 2, 2020 - XFL (XFL)
Tampa Bay Vipers News Release
PLANT CITY, Fla. -- After starting the season 0-3, a sense of urgency hit the Tampa Bay Vipers like a ton of bricks. In what is a short season in the XFL, something needed to change -- and quickly -- if the Vipers had any hopes to salvage the season.
After Week 2, there was a change in offensive play-calling. That helped.
After Week 3, QB/RB Quinton Flowers left the team. That didn't help.
Or did it?
Instead of needing to be concerned with getting Flowers into the game, head coach Marc Trestman and offensive coordinator Jaime Elizondo only had to game plan around a single QB.
And it worked.
QB Taylor Cornelius played with confidence, and it was thanks in-part to a stellar ground performance from RBs De'Veon Smith and Jacques Patrick.
"We go in, and we work really hard with our run game because we think we have two running backs who deserve to handle the ball," Trestman said. "We don't plan on how we're going to get it done, but we work hard both and equally with our run and pass game throughout the week, and I think that takes the pressure off a (quarterback)."
At 49 running plays (including four from Cornelius), the two backs carried the game and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. 230 total yards rushing from Smith and Patrick marks for the league that any RB has posted a 100-yard game. The Vipers are also the only team to have two 100-yard rushers in a single game.
"What a great one-two punch we have with those two guys playing off each other throughout the game," said Trestman.
Smith leads the league in total rushing at 296 yards, and Patrick ranks third with 231.
The first drive resulted in a TD from Patrick, who scored from eight yards out. The former Florida State Seminole took a knee in the end zone to honor his father, Peter Hayes, Sr., who passed away on February 11 from throat cancer at the age of 47.
Patrick knew that, while the run game had been successful all season, they had to get better, and that started with preparation in practice.
"We knew it was a must-win game for us," said Patrick. "Me personally, I just changed the way I prepared this week because we weren't getting the wins that we want on the scoreboard. So, personally, I changed the way I prepared this week. It payed off a bit."
"The energy was great all week," he added. "Coach even told us on Friday that this was the best week of practice we've had since we've been together. So, it payed off. We got a big win, and it was a divisional opponent, so that was pretty cool."
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