Author Archives: dpscansen

About dpscansen

I'm just a mid-20's guy who cares about faith, family, and sports. I do my best to keep it in that order...

by dpscansen | October 25, 2010 · 3:12 pm

Player A vs. Player B

Player A:
158/265—59.6% completion; 2,033 yards; 14 TD/9 INT; 134.7 QB rating

Player B:
131/232—56.5% completion; 1,614 yards; 14 TD/4 INT; 131.4 QB rating

Surprisingly, player A, the one who has more pass yards, a better rating, and higher completion %, is Jeff Tuel of the 1-7 fightin’, scrappin’, WSU Cougars. Player B is, you guessed it…Jake Locker.

Of course, one stat line does not tell the whole story, and Locker has 200 more rushing yards than Tuel, but it is worth noting that Tuel, who is only a sophomore, is quietly putting up a nice season. Meanwhile, Locker and the Huskies are in the midst of a somewhat disappointing season, at least thus far. At 3-4, a bowl game is still within reach, but it is slipping away. Given the hype for the Huskies and specifically Locker heading into this season, his 5th at Montlake, one might have thought Jake would post some huge numbers. Locker has decent stats, he has taken care of the ball well, and in a couple games he has carried the team. The defense, not Jake Locker, deserves most of the blame this season, however, against Nebraska, Arizona State, and Arizona, he was not even the best quarterback on the field. Injuries aside, his inconsistency is a head scratcher, although that’s been the theme of this team.

It’s just been a weird year for the Huskies, with losses to BYU and Arizona State, but wins against USC and Oregon State. I posted a few weeks ago that Jake Locker’s massive potential will not be reached while at the UW, and unlike a guy like Kellen Moore, his best days are probably yet to come. But for a senior quarterback with an NFL future, a great coach and playcaller, a solid group of receivers, and a running game to compliment, you’d think his numbers could at least out duel Jeff Tuel.

-Dan

Pac-10 Picks: Week 8

Last Week: Andrew (3-0), Dan (3-0), Joe (2-1), Matthew (2-1)
Overall: Andrew (38-8), Dan (38-8), Joe (38-8), Matthew (38-8)
WE’RE ALL TIED UP!

Week 8:

UCLA-Oregon

Oregon—The Good Guys

Arizona St.-California

Arizona St.—Joe, Andrew; California—Matthew, Dan

Washington St.-Stanford

Stanford—The Good Guys

UW-Arizona Predictions Later!

-Dan

M’s Hire Branyan’s Big Brother

Eric Wedge, not Bobby Valentine, and not Joey Cora, will be the next manager for your Seattle Mariners. A lot of fan’s first reaction is probably that once again Chuck and Howard don’t want to pay what it takes to bring in a big name, thus we are stuck with a reincarnation of Bob Melvin or Don Wakamatsu. I’ll be honest, my first reaction was how similar this guy looks to Russell Branyan (see pic below). Fans can have whatever reaction they’d like, and no one is wrong. Seattle has seen 7 managers come and go since Lou left, so at this point, Joe Torre could have been hired and some fans would still react negatively. Personally, I think Wedge is an outstanding pick. Here’s why.

The Mariners made no secret about their desire to have an experienced manager this time around. No more rookies! In addition, it seemed safe to assume that a younger guy might be on their wish list, or at least someone who can relate well with young players, because the M’s will no doubt have a plethora of youth in 2011. Furthermore, following the Wak era, I’m sure Jack Z was looking for a manager that would not take crap from anyone (cough Figgy cough). Wedge meets all of these qualifiers, not to mention a nice track record of successfully taking over a rebuilding situation, as he did in Cleveland, eventually getting them to within 1 win of the World Series. At just age 42, Wedge has quite an impressive resume. In 2002, he was hired at age 35 by the Indians, and in 7 seasons he led the tribe to a .495 win%. Not bad for Cleveland.

Yesterday I listened to both Eduardo Perez (ex-player) and Tom Hamilton (Indians announcer), both give ringing endorsements of Wedge. The interesting point that both men made was that Wedge was fired following the ’09 season for the simple reason that Indians management wanted to turn the page, and enthuse the fan base with a managerial switch. It had little to do with Wedge, and in fact, GM Mark Shapiro fought to keep Wedge. Had Cleveland held onto Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez, Franklin Gutierrez, and Brandon Phillips, Hamilton noted that “we would not be talking about Wedge in Seattle, but rather, Wedge and the Indians in the ALCS.”

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Filed under Mariners

Tagged as Don Wakamatsu, Eric Wedge, Jack Zduriencik, Milton Bradley, Russell Branyan

by dpscansen | October 15, 2010 · 5:26 pm

Pac-10 Picks: Week 7

Last Week: Andrew (4-1), Dan (3-2), Joe (3-2), Matthew (3-2)
Overall: Andrew (35-8), Dan (35-8), Joe (36-7), Matthew (36-7)

Week 7:

California-USC

California—Joe; USC—Andrew, Matthew, Dan

Arizona-Washington St.

Arizona—The Good Guys

UW-Oregon St. Predictions Later!

-Dan

Quick Husky Observations, Through 6 weeks

Positive observations—
– Chris Polk and Jesse Callier are an excellent backfield combo. They need more touches!
– Our margin for error is very, very small. It seems like the defense needs to hold the opponent under 24 points, while the offense needs to score more than 24. One of these two typically occurs each game, but having them coincide has been a challenge.
– Locker is one heck of a leader, and doing just about everything he can out there given the hand he’s been dealt. Jake deserves more. He deserves a bowl game, a defense that can occasionally shut out an opponent, an o-line that will protect him, and receivers that will catch the ball consistently.
– We have the right coach leading the program. Recruiting, developing, charisma, and of course in-game coaching, he has it all.

Negative observations—
– Our offense is great at times, and very out of sync other times. Inconsistency is a theme on this team.
– Defense lacks big play potential, and still does not have the athletes to fair well in pass coverage and – – Fundamentals leave much to be desired: tackling, pass catching, kickoff coverage to name a few
– Our defense is like the Mariners offense; multiple contributors must play above their ability, and timely plays need to be made in big situations. Typically this doesn’t happen.
– The void at tight end is being felt. Kavario Middleton took some plays off here and there, but he commanded attention, and had big play potential.
– There is still not enough speed on this team, especially on defense.
– Desmond Trufant is not the shut down corner we saw glimpses of last year, and Quinton Richardson has a few bonehead moments every game it seems. The secondary, which many had thought might be the strength of the defense, is not performing well.
– In a year where the Pac-10 is as strong as ever, the Huskies are close to getting lost in the shuffle, which also means the pre-season bowl hopes are fading quick.

To summarize, the Huskies have 1 predictable win (Syracuse), 1 unexpected win (USC), 1 predictable loss (Nebraska), and 2 toss up game losses (BYU and Arizona State). That leaves UW at 2-3, when 3-2 is probably what we had hoped for at this point. So of course there are more negatives that positives. . Of course, a win on Saturday will change everything!

-Dan

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Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as Desmond Trufant, Jake Locker, Jesse Callier, Kavario Middleton, Quinton Richardson

by dpscansen | October 8, 2010 · 9:45 am