Johnson: Commodores must quit hurting themselves with mistakes

Posted 7:08AM on Tuesday 17th September 2002 ( 22 years ago )

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Bobby Johnson insists he is a patient man. Vanderbilt's latest coach and his assistants will need every ounce they can muster. The Commodores hurt themselves with a season-high four turnovers last weekend in a 31-6 loss at Auburn, stretching their Southeastern Conference losing skid to 10 straight games. They also struggled to tackle and made a handful of poor decisions. Johnson, who went 60-36 at Furman before coming to Vanderbilt last off-season, doesn't like losing. But he is realistic. ``Obviously, we're just not talented enough that we can go out and help the other team,'' Johnson said Monday at his weekly news conference. ``We've got to play smart and efficient. We just shot ourselves in the foot several times the other day.'' Prospects of ending a league losing skid that dates back to a victory over Kentucky in November 2000 aren't good. The Commodores (1-2, 0-1) visit Mississippi (2-1, 0-0) Saturday with a backfield that consists at times of two redshirt freshmen and a freshman. Their defense ranks last in the league giving up 397.3 yards and will have to face Eli Manning, currently averaging 246.7 yards passing a game. ``Well, we've got a long way to go,'' Johnson said of his defense. ``We got in position pretty good most of the time the other day. We just couldn't make some plays. We're going to probably be overmatched in a lot of situations all year long. We're going to have to concentrate on good technique. You can become better tacklers. We have to work on that.'' Unlike other SEC stadiums, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium does hold some pleasant memories for the Commodores. They have won two of their last six games in Oxford, including a 37-34 victory in 1999. But Ole Miss leads this series 42-32-2 with a 22-8 edge in games played either in Oxford or Memphis. The Rebels ruined Vandy's bid to avoid a winless SEC record by scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter last Dec. 1 and beat Vanderbilt 38-27, a Commodore team that featured veteran quarterback Greg Zolman. Now the Rebels play their first SEC game of the season coming off a 42-28 loss at Texas Tech. ``We've got to be patient,'' Johnson said. ``Some of these guys are just playing their third game with us and totally, so it's a learning experience for everyone as far as what we expect from them.'' Vanderbilt, which has won just five SEC games since 1995, had its chances against Auburn. The Commodores won time of possession with more than 31 minutes and trailed just 14-6 in the third quarter before stopping themselves with penalties. The Commodores also lost two fumbles recovered by Auburn for touchdowns; additionally Auburn needed only three plays to score after intercepting Jay Cutler for the second time. Johnson said the decisions on when to throw the ball can be controlled because Cutler tried to force a pass into a jump ball and should have thrown it away.

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