After a tough week four loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks, Arlington Renegades head coach Bob Stoops addressed the media Wednesday afternoon.
The Renegades are coming off a 24-11 loss to St. Louis after the offense struggled with 240 total yards and four turnovers. Arlington is currently sitting at 2-2 on the season as they now have their sights on the San Antonio Brahmas Sunday night. Before that game, Renegades head coach Bob Stoops spoke to the media about his thoughts on week four’s game, the quarterback situation, and how they are prepping for the Brahmas.
Takeaways from Coach Bob Stoops Media Session
Kyle Sloter Not a Lock for Starting Quarterback
Arlington was not able to establish momentum on offense because it was a combination of a lack of running game and turnovers. Quarterback Kyle Sloter threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the loss. Coach Stoops acknowledged the poor performance of Sloter and compared his performance to the previous starter Drew Plitt.
“Well, Kyle had a really poor second half. There’s some throws he missed, the obvious, but overall, I think he and Drew have played similarly through two games each. They’re both one in one. They both have had some good plays, they both have had some poor plays.”
Arlington Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops
One key comment coach Stoops made was that Sloter and former starting quarterback Drew Plitt will be battling it out in practice this week for the starting job. There is a chance they could move to a two-quarterback system like other teams has done this season. The team will decide later this week on who they believe will be their starter for Sunday’s game.
“We’re going to give them an opportunity just to battle it out all week sharing reps, and at the end of the week, who we feel is executed overall the best, and it may be even close, that we’re going to go with that guy to start. And if we’re not going to hesitate if we have some really poor plays to switch you guys. I see other teams in this league in the XFL using two quarterbacks quite a bit consistently and they’re having success doing it. So, if need be, we’ll play two.”
Arlington Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops
Coach Stoops also wanted to make sure to note that the poor performance of the offense doesn’t all fall on the quarterbacks.
“Our offensive struggles aren’t all by any means on the quarterback by a long shot. So we’ve got to run the football better, protect the quarterback better. There’s a lot of different parts of it. We can help them better as coaches getting in the right place. So overall, all of it fits together. It isn’t just quarterback’s problem.”
Arlington Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops
Next Man Up on Defense
The Renegades have seen their fair share of injuries to the defense as they have lost key players at linebacker and in the secondary. Jamal Carter and Josh Hawkins were placed on the reserve list during week three. Linebacker Otaro Alaka was placed on the reserve/injured list prior to Sunday’s game leaving the team to look for other players to step up. Coach Stoops was pleased with the guys who stepped in.
“Yeah, those guys have played well. Darnell (Sankey) was recognized just a week ago, one of our best players on defense and how he played. And Joe (Powell) had a lot of really good plays this week and was really big for us in the return game, punt returns also. So all those guys have stepped up. We missed the other guys. They’re really good players, of course, but these other guys are playing well. The other guys that are stepping in for them have really played in a good way in solid games.”
Arlington Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops
Prepping for San Antonio
The Brahmas have been involved in a lot of close games this season, but that has not always resulted in wins as head coach Hines Ward’s team is 1-3 entering Sunday’s contest. San Antonio’s running game has been inconsistent and quarterback Jack Coan has been also up and down with his play. This led to the team deciding to change offensive coordinators and potentially the quarterback position as well. Coach Stoops understands that San Antonio is not a team to look over.
“Well, they’re a better team than their record shows. I know that they’ve been in tight, close games and same one score games, I think, every one of them. So, they do a nice job. Multiple sets that they give you, they’re pretty balanced running past those kind of things, solid defense. They look good. Hines (Ward) does a really good job with them.”
Arlington Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops
Arlington heads to the Alamodome to play the Brahmas Sunday night at 8:00 PM CST.
