Team hopes to correct flaws

Things were looking pretty good for the Florida A&M University Rattlers (3-2) this season, until they lost in the game against South Carolina State University on Saturday. However, since the defeat, the Rattlers have been fine-tuning their game plan in preparation for this week’s game against Winston-Salem State University (1-4) in Bragg Stadium.

In Tuesday’s press conference, head football coach Joe Taylor expressed his expectations for this week’s game and the changes made to reach those goals.

“The team is working on improving formations, plays and the overall morale of the team,” Taylor said.

Even with the disappointing defeat, he remains optimistic about future games.

“I am dissatisfied with the loss, but South Carolina State is a strong team,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he has high expectations coming into the WSSU game.

“We expect to go in and play well, and when you play well, you are expected to win,” Taylor said.

The team is excited about performing on their home turf and they plan to use this game to redeem themselves.

Curtis Holcomb, a sophomore cornerback from Miami, mirrored the positive demeanor of his coach.

“The fatal flaws that were made during last week’s game were that too many tackles were being missed, and offense did not capitalize on its scoring opportunities like they should have,” Holcomb said.

In light of this week’s game, the team has been preparing vigorously for Thursday.

“The team has been watching film from Winston-Salem State’s team, so we can learn the plays they like to use and use them to our advantage so that we can dominate them with their own plays. If we dominate, we win,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb said he uses the loss as a stepping-stone.

“I hate to lose, but I consider losing learning from the mistakes you did when you lost,” he said.

Holcomb also said he and his teammates did not point fingers after the disappointing game.

“I feel like no matter what happens, losing is a group thing because this is a team and in the end the whole team loses,” Holcomb said.

Leroy Vann, a junior defensive back from Tampa, said that the Rattlers must watch for turnovers coming into the game.

“I feel that the Rattlers need to go into this week’s game strong to come out with a solid win,” Vann said. “Defense needs to tackle better and create more turnovers so that offense will not have to go the extra distance. This should create an equal balance.”

Taylor said the Rattlers must not forget the loss to SCSU and should take note and correct each mistake made.

He also said they must win the next games and correct errors that can keep them from a victory.