Arizona Football: Kevin Sumlin is on point, it takes a team effort to win

Arizona Football will take on Oregon this weekend for Homecoming, and we all need to keep in mind what Coach Kevin Sumlin is saying, it takes a team effort.

Arizona Football Kevin Sumlin was happy with his teams effort against UCLA last weekend in the 31-30 loss. Sumlin knows that the offense has to stay on the field and score each series. He also has recently been making remarks about the game of football and that it is a team sport and it takes the whole team and coaches working together to win games. That’s refreshing.

It’s not just the quarterback according to Sumlin, the quarterback needs protection, the players need to make blocks, the coaches have to coach properly and adjust, etc.

Three and out’s are not a happy place for the team, and Sumlin is included in those frustrated.

Sumlin reiterated that Khalil Tate was engaged on the sideline during the game. In the UCLA post game press conference, he mentioned that Tate supported Rhett Rodriguez at the QB position. Both Rhett and Tate are players that hate to lose or make mistakes. They make a great QB team.

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In Sumlin’s pre-Oregon press conference he reiterated that it’s not all about the quarterback. “It takes more, and I said this after the game, it takes more than the quarterback to make those plays. There’s protection,” explained Sumlin, “Our protection was good enough to allow Rhett to get the ball in the air and our receivers made some plays particularly in the second half–  So, it’s not always about the quarterback — as I say every week it’s about the ten other guys on the field.”

Sumlin pointed out that wide receiver Shawn Poindexter made some great one-on-one plays. Lamont Lovett and Brian Jeffries also mentioned that Poindexter could not be protected and although they thought Rhett did a fantastic job, some of those passes should have been more of a rifle pass to get to the receiver faster. That Tate may have been able to have had a better chance if healthy to win the game.

Both Rhett and Khalil will be the first guys to tell you that they can do better, they want to win, this is something they both feel to the core of their being.

Closed social media chat rooms, the free ones, take scuttlebutt from the paid online chat rooms from experts and this past week has produced doozies of rumors. Which coach wants what QB. What donor supports what QB. Donors wanting to blame players for their choice in coach. Rumors from media to fans on the sidebar talking about how certain players are acting on the sidelines. Players rebelling in droves against other players, really??? Lots of “insiders” are trying to make names for themselves in our opinion.  It cannot help a team to spread unsubstantiated rumors.

None of us really know, most of it is pure projection. So just relax and try to focus on what goes right and know that everyone is trying to win, No one wants to lose. I commend Coach Sumlin for making and repeating that football is a team sport.