Ricky Proehl didn't sugarcoat anything after his St. Louis Battlehawks got punched in the mouth by Dallas on Sunday night. Four turnovers. A wasted chance to build playoff momentum. A reminder that even championship-caliber teams can look lost when they don't protect the football.
"I don't care how good you are, you have 4 turnovers and you can't beat anybody," Proehl said bluntly after the loss. "To lose the turnover battle, I think it was — they may have had 1, we had 4 turnovers. It's hard to overcome."
Wake-Up Call Before the Playoffs
The Battlehawks already knew they'd secured home field advantage regardless of Sunday's outcome. That knowledge might have been part of the problem. Proehl wasn't thrilled that information became public before kickoff.
"Wasn't happy about it coming out that, oh, we got home field regardless of what happens today. You know, that was something that, you know, when you know you're already — whether you win or lose, you're playing at home next week back here in the dome and, and it shouldn't matter."
The coach wanted his team playing their best football heading into the playoffs. Instead, they got embarrassed by a Dallas squad playing spoiler. "We got kicked and punched in the mouth and, you know, it's a wake-up call for sure," Proehl admitted.
Red Zone Struggles Continue to Haunt Offense
St. Louis has been moving the ball effectively between the 20-yard lines all season. But once they get close to the end zone, everything falls apart. It happened again Sunday, and Proehl knows it's becoming a serious problem.
"When I look at our offense, I feel like we're great between the 20s and then we get inside the red zone and we just stall," he said. "We want to run the ball, we want to establish a run, but we haven't been able to."
The running game couldn't get going consistently, especially between the tackles. Dallas clearly game-planned to collapse the pocket around quarterback Luis Perez, knowing he wouldn't extend plays with his legs.
Simplifying the Attack Around Quick Passes
Proehl believes the solution is getting back to basics. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel every week. Focus on what this team does well — quick passes to playmakers who can create after the catch.
"We're not good enough to be throwing it all over the yard, 20, 30-yard passes. We got to start with the quick game, the run game, and get a momentum and then go from there and then sprinkle in some deep passes."
The coach pointed to James Bostic's ability to turn short throws into long gains as an example of what the offense should look like. Get the ball in space to guys like Hakeem Butler and Blake Whiteheart and let them make plays.
"Sometimes you get caught up in trying to add a play here and add play there as the weeks go on, and you never really work on being great at those specific plays," Proehl explained. "That's what I think we need to skim back on the playbook and run plays over and over and over again to where we become really efficient."
Leadership Through Adversity
Proehl's biggest challenge now is keeping his team unified after getting embarrassed. Players were frustrated and started going after each other during the game. That's when leadership matters most.
"That's when I need to step in and we need to bring everybody together as a team," he said. "It's easy when you're winning, everything's going great. But then when you get your ass kicked against one of the, you know, a team that's not really playing for anything, then guys get frustrated and then they start going after each other. That can't happen. It's poison."
The coach prides himself on transparent communication with his players. He speaks the truth, whether it's good or bad news. That honesty has built trust throughout the locker room — trust he'll need to lean on this week as they prepare for their home playoff game.
St. Louis still controls its destiny with home field advantage secured for the postseason. But Sunday's collapse showed this team has serious issues to fix before they can make a legitimate championship run.