DawgmanRadio: Breaking down the conversations with the UW coaches and players ahead of the Arizona game

Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - broke down the main storylines heading into Washington's Homecoming game versus Arizona. After their UCLA loss, the sense was one of being hurt, but after losing to Arizona State in Tempe this past Saturday, the vibe seemed to be more of the 'pissed off' variety.

The defense is struggling to get off the field right now in a big way, but the coaches have been pleased and impressed with how the players have responded week after week, regardless of the result. They continue to practice hard and fix problems. Against UCLA they struggled to tackle effectively; their Pro Football Focus tackling grade at ASU was 90.0. That's an improvement.

Now they'll have to fix their third down woes against an Arizona team that is top 25 nationally in third down percentage on offense.

The guys talked first about some of the main talking points when Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb, and Co-Defensive Coordinator Chuck Morrell met with the media, including a deep dive into some of the key plays and moments in UW's loss to ASU.

After a quick break, the guys talk about their conversations with the UW players they spoke with this week - Cameron Davis, Rome Odunze, Bralen Trice, Cam Bright, and Alex Cook - with specific reference to the main storylines heading into Saturday's game versus Arizona. UA quarterback Jayden de Laura planted the WSU flag at midfield after their Apple Cup win last season, and that is certainly something that is on the players' minds, even if the only current UW coach that experienced that game was Scott Huff. And there are certainly other UA skill players that Washington will have to focus on, including pass-catchers Jacob Cowing, Dorian Singer, Tetairoa McMillan, and Tanner McLachlan.

After another quick break, it was time to talk about the chats with the media and the other UW coaches they spoke with - Huff, JaMarcus Shephard, Eric Schmidt, and Julius Brown. There was plenty of talk about getting off the field on third down, how the combination of Troy Fautanu and Jaxson Kirkland on the left side of the offensive line is working out, how that might help UW this weekend against an anemic Arizona run defense, and more - including the guys' final thoughts.

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