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by | October 13, 2010 · 6:46 pm

Scouting Oregon State – Offense

Saturday is fast approaching (too fast for the Huskies with the illness and injuries lingering) so that means it’s time to take a look at the Beavers of Oregon State.  Here we go!

Quarterback

Ryan Katz had the impossible job of filling Sean Canfield’s shoes this year.  He was adequate in the Beavers first couple games, but nothing more.  But, he may be breaking out now.  Last week, against what may be the best defense in the Pac-10, Katz threw for 393 yards.  He has a very strong and accurate arm.  He’s only thrown one interception on the season and is somewhat  mobile in the backfield.  It’s still his first year starting, so we can’t be sure that he’ll be consistent but Katz is looking like a really solid quarterback.

Running Back

The Beavs have one of the best running backs in the country, Jacquizz Rodgers.  He’s a small, shifty, and very quick back.  He’s ran for over 1,000 yards each of the last 2 seasons and is on pace to do it again.  He hasn’t put up huge numbers yet, but he has faced a tougher task than any running back in the nation.  It seems like he’s ready for a huge game any given week.  Let’s hope it’s not this one.  Oregon State doesn’t use many other backs besides Rodgers.  They do use receivers in the fly sweep though.  With James Rodgers out, Markus Wheaton will probably take over that role.

Wide Receivers

OSU took a big hit last week when James Rodgers went down for the season.  It’s a tough break for a great player.  With that being said, Oregon State does have a good, deep receiving core.  Jordan Bishop and Markus Wheaton are now the Beavers’ leading receivers.  Bishop is tall, 6-3, and the teams deep threat.  Wheaton has emerged over the last couple weeks, he had 7 catches against Arizona.  Oregon State also has one of the best tight ends in the league, Joe Halahuni.  He is a big threat when they get into the red zone.

Offensive Line

This has been the biggest weakness of the Beavers offense so far.  This unit might be the biggest reason why Jacquizz hasn’t gone off yet.  The offensive line only lost one player from last year, so there is plenty of experience up front.  The Beavs’ also started 4 former walk-ons on the offensive line in their season opener.  That’s a testament to great player development by Mike Reilly.  The offensive line isn’t bad, they just haven’t been great thus far.  That could change on Saturday.

The defensive scouting report will be up tomorrow.  Thanks for reading!

Andrew

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by | October 10, 2010 · 3:42 pm

UW-ASU Postgame

Well, that was annoying.  Last night, the Huskies lost 24-14 to the Sun Devils of Arizona State.  It was a wet, rainy night that produced a somewhat sloppy game from the Dawgs.  The Huskies moved the ball, only one three and out, but had too many mistakes to ever keep the drive alive.  It was like the Arizona State 35 yard line had a stop sign on it.  One drive would stall because of a dropped pass, the next would be a holding penalty and so on throughout the night.  It was frustrating, especially considering the outbreak the offense had last week.

So, what went wrong with the offense?  Several factors came into play.  First off, we need to give Arizona State credit.  Their defense is solid and may have finally showed what people were raving about before the season began.  Their front 7 caused a lot of problems for the line and the secondary was quick to the ball all game long.  They were attacking and looked a step faster all game long.

Then there was the health issue.  Erik Kohler was out for the game with mono.  Devin Aguilar was out with a hip flexor injury.  Jake Locker was sick and at about 70% strength.  These are players that are vital to the offense.  With Aguilar out, Jordan Polk got more snaps than he had all season long.  He was okay, but Aguilar is so much better.  Why James Johnson or Cody Bruns didn’t get some of J. Polk’s snaps is a mystery to me.  Erik Kohler might be the second best offensive lineman the Huskies have.  That’s saying something about Kohler, a true freshman, but it’s saying more about the offensive line.  His backup, Greg Christine, gives great effort but just doesn’t have the talent to be an every down player.  He was called for 2 holding penalties last night and was bad in most aspects.  Sark said that Jake being sick affected how he called the game because he couldn’t catch his breath after running games.  I saw him on the bench after one drive and he looked gassed.  That was in the first half.  He didn’t look nearly as explosive as he usually does.  With these 3 not at the level they usually are, our offense is not near the weapon it was against USC.  These guys need to get healthy, and fast.

Still, the Dawgs were in the game and just couldn’t take advantage of any opportunities.  Jermaine Kearse had more drops.  Nate Fellner dropped an interception that he could have run back quite a ways.  In the first half, there were 3 or 4 “almost” fumbles by Arizona State that came on backwards passes or passes that were dropped.  If any of those close calls were ruled the other way they could have been defensive touchdowns.  Unfortunately, they didn’t and the Huskies lost a game they desperately needed to win.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier and a bowl becomes much less likely.  This weeks game against Oregon State becomes a must-win.  But, we can hope that offense that showed up for the USC game comes back.  If they do they can play with just about anyone.  For now, they’re nothing but an inconsistent football team.

More notes after the jump.  Continue reading →

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by | October 9, 2010 · 11:28 am

Husky Predictions

I’m sorry I didn’t get to a scouting report this week.  It’s been a little busy.  I’ll get back on schedule this week.  On to the predictions!

Joe’s Prediction:

I think this game will be close, ultimately the Huskies win.  I think the Dawgs, at least offensively, turned the corner verses USC.  Locker, Polk, Callier, Kearse, all played well.  The offensive line played well.  The kicking game was vastly improved.  Except for one return, the kick coverage was solid.  Obviously, defensively, the Huskies are terrible in many ways.  ASU has a solid running game, so I expect this to be a high scoring affair.  The reason, ultimately, why I like the Dawgs is because they have more to play for.  I think the Dawgs know this is a must win.  The time of ups and downs is over, they must win against ASU and they must win next week against the Beavers.  I believe they will step up to the challenge.  No excuses.  Defend your home field.  A lot of people are picking ASU to win this game.  Not me.
UW 35 – ASU 31

Matthew’s Prediction:

I’m coming to realize that nearly every Husky game will be hard to predict this year. The hope is that the Huskies found themselves last week, and everything kind of clicked into place, leading to a strong showing and fairly easy win against ASU. That could happen. They could also come out and be terrible and get beat fairly easily. I’m betting more on the former, which along with the Sun Devils killing themselves in the foot again, should mean the Dawgs third win of the year. ASU scares me a bit, but if the Huskies are going to make a bowl, this is a game they need to handle. I’m also predicting a better defensive showing. I don’t know why, but I’m sticking with it!
UW 38 ASU 27

Dan’s Prediction:

Heading into the season, I had practically already penciled in a W for this game. But the Pac-10 is deeper than I had expected, and ASU is no gimmie. In fact, the Huskies have a lot going against them in this game. For starters, you get the feeling ASU is on the verge of a big statement game. Steven Threet has thrown 7 picks in the past 2 games, but the Washinton D has just 1 INT on the season, so Threet may get away with a little more than usual. ASU also has the best return game in the conference, while UW has awful special teams coverage. Lewis and Marshall are formidable in the run game too. So while this reaks of a trap game for UW, I trust that Sark and staff will have the Dawgs in top form for tomorrow’s night game. The offense is beginning to click, and if the D can force a couple turnovers, and not give up anything big on special teams, the Huskies should win. There is the possibility of a letdown following last week’s emotional win, but I think UW realizes how important this game, plus there is the extra incentive of having lost the heartbreaker in Tempe last year, and also having been embarrased in its last home game 3 weeks ago.
Huskies-34, Sun Devils-28

Andrew’s Prediction:

I can’t wait for the Wazzu game because then I’ll actually feel good about my prediction.  As for this week, it’s another guess.  Arizona State scares me, they have a defense that should break out and an offense that moves the ball.  Their running back, Lewis, has rushed for over 100 yards in the last 3 games.  He could rush for 200 today if our defense plays like they did last week.  That being said, Arizona State’s offensive line isn’t near as good as USC.  I think the key to this game is turnovers.  Arizona State is very turnover-prone and the Husky defense doesn’t cause many turnovers.  Burfict not starting for the Sun Devils is a good break, but he’ll play quite a bit.  I really have no idea who’s going to win.  Since I picked USC last week, and the Huskies won, I’ll pick ASU this week and hope for the same result.  Good reasoning, I know.
ASU – 31, UW – 28

Go Dawgs!

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by | October 5, 2010 · 4:01 pm

A Few More Thoughts After Rewatching the Husky Game

Well, it took me 2 days but I finally made it through all of the USC game.  I can only wonder how many times I would watch it if it wasn’t a busy week.   Anyway, I came away with a few more thoughts that I’ll share before putting this game to rest and moving on to this week’s opponent,  Arizona State.

  • Let’s start with the worst part of the game, the rushing defense.  There’s no denying that they were terrible.  After watching it again, it was very clear that the problems weren’t because of a lack of schemes.  They tried just about everything.  They put at least 8 guys in the box every time.  I counted 10 guys in the box for several plays.  10 guys!  They also tried a 3-4 several times to be a little more athletic.  The problem was with what was happening on the field.  The defensive line was terrible.  Ta’amu played a decent game, but the rest of the defensive line was awful.  There were guys getting pushed back 5-10 yards every play.  Then, the linebackers seemed a bit timid.  They didn’t attack the runner for most of the game, they let the runner come to them.  By the time the runner got there, those linebackers were blocked.  I understand that they can’t completely sell out against the run because they have to watch for play-action, but their reaction time does need to be quicker.  Last but not least, the tackling was terrible.  It was just as bad as it was against Nebraska, if not worse.  I was on a mission to count the missed tackles but I lost track.  I lost track at the end of the first quarter.
  • One more negative thought on the defense before we move to brighter spots.   I think several players had the worst game of their career on Saturday.  Nate Fellner had one great pass break-up, but the rest of the game he struggled.  He was sucked into the wrong position and missed quite a few tackles.  Quinton Richardson missed an easy sack on Barkley because he forgot he had arms on the play.  He was taken out after that, I’ll be interested to see if he plays as much the rest of this season.  Where is Adam Long?  Cort Dennison looked a little rusty and slow after missing the Nebraska game.  Those players, along with the defensive line, were beaten up pretty well on Saturday.  Thank goodness we have Mason Foster.
  • With all that, give credit to the defense for not allowing a touchdown in the 4th quarter.  They buckled down and made some stops.  There’s no doubt they need to get better, but they made some plays that kept the Huskies in the game.

More thoughts after the jump. Continue reading →

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by | October 3, 2010 · 1:12 pm

UW vs. USC: Postgame

When we began the season, 2-2 was the record most people predicted after4 games, myself included.  A win against BYU and Syracuse and then a team that would probably be out-matched by the talent of Nebraska and USC.  That’s not exactly what happened, but it’s better this way.

After showing a serious amount of inconsistency the first 3 games, the Husky offense turned in a showing that all Dawg fans have been dreaming of since demolishing Cal last December.  Because of this, the Huskies won their first road game in 3 years and started Pac-10 play with a victory against powerhouse USC.

Since many people have covered this game, and did a better job than I could, I’m going to keep this short.  I’ll have more in-depth analysis once I watch this game again later tonight but for now, I’ll look at what this game means.  As several coaches and players said, this win was huge for a number of reasons.  Let’s take a look at those reasons.

  • Redemption: The Huskies were just 2 weeks removed from playing the worst game of the Sark era.  Being embarrassed at home, 56-21, caused many people to question whether the program was actually on the right track.  There were all kinds of criticism coming at the Huskies, and rightfully so.  The game-plan was bad, the team didn’t, and Jake Locker played the worst game of his career.  But, last night the Huskies came back and had the best game-plan (offensively, anyway) of the Sark era, showed more heart than I’ve seen in years, and had Locker play the best game we’ve seen yet.  People didn’t know if this team was built up too much, and they still have reasons to question that, but last night, the Huskies found redemption in the L.A. Coliseum.  And, for a week at least, that feels pretty good.
  • A Road Victory! As I mentioned earlier, the Huskies had not won a road game since 2007.  That was against a bad Stanford team.  You could argue that this is the most impressive Husky road victory, as far as quality of opponent, since their 2002 road victory at Oregon.  Now, the monkey is off the back.  Of course, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to go on and win the rest of their road games.  But, as we saw with this years Husky basketball, winning that first road game can do wonders for a teams psyche.  If nothing else, people won’t be able to say that, “They just don’t know how to win on the road.”  Which is a blessing in its’ own right.

More after the jump.  Continue reading →

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by | October 1, 2010 · 11:08 pm

Husky Predictions: USC

Matthew:
In my opinion, this is the hardest game to call on the Huskies’ schedule. I’m nowhere near ready to join the “USC is overrated” crowd, but there are clearly a lot of questions about them. Sarkisian’s claims that they’re the most talented team in the Pac-10 are accurate or very close to it. Still, they have some turmoil and a little less momentum in the program than anytime in recent memory, and when a team finally knocks them down, they might stay there a little longer than we’re used to. Can the Dawgs deliver the blow? Sure, could happen. Will they? My head says no, but I’m going to say they will. This team is bound to pull out a game sometime, and I’ll take a stab that this is the week. Call it wishful thinking.
UW 24- USC 21

Dan:
When UW upset USC last year 16-13, little did I know it would be the beginning of the end for the USC dynasty. As it turned out, USC failed to win the Pac-10, Carroll left for Seattle, and the sanctions came down hard on the Trojans. Despite the unravelling, there are two staggering numbers that cannot be ignored in this game. First, USC has won an amazing 32 consecutive home night games. Second, the Huskies have not won a road game in nearly 3 years, dating back to November, 2007. Streaks are made to be broken, and the Huskies certainly have a shot tomorrow night, but I don’t see it. USC should be able to run at will on the Huskies, which will open up the passing game for Barkley. Revenge is also on the Trojans’ minds, after what happened in Seattle last year. As for the score, I see a shootout between two offenses that are ready to get on track.
USC 42, UW 27
(I might feel more optimistic if I wasn’t currently watching Utah State handle BYU 24-7 at halftime…)

Joe:
For some reason, I like the Huskies in this game.  Everything, of course, is against them.  A still talented USC team, night game in the Coliseum, two weeks to chew on getting whipped by Nebraska, the nations worst special teams kick coverage, a ton of downer press for Jake Locker, etc.  I think these reasons are precisely why I like the Dawgs.  They should come out with fire, us against the world, chip on their shoulder attitude.  I think they will channel all the negative juju of the past two weeks and turn it into a fine performance.  Look for Jake Locker to bounce back, as USC has nowhere near the secondary Nebraska has.  I see a big game from Kearse, and James Johnson should be back for added help.  Defensively, the Dawgs must keep contain and take correct angles in tackling.  It’s really not that hard.  Stick to the basics and you’ll be fine.  I am still worried about the special teams, but Sark has made it clear they have focused on that team quite a bit at practice.  Historic road win for the Dawgs. Yes, I still believe.  UW 31 – USC – 28

Andrew:
I was going to pick the Dawgs in this game.  I want to pick the Huskies to win.  But, can they really do it?  They are outmatched at just about every position except for quarterback, and that is even closer than I ‘d like to think.  USC might pound the ball for what feels like an eternity and this game will feel lost before it ever begins.  Or, maybe the Huskies come out and show a decent run defense like they had in the first two games of the season.  Maybe the running game will finally get going a little bit.  Maybe the Jake Locker that we all expected will finally show up.  The secondary could play tight defense and the receivers could get some separation.  All of this could happen, but I don’t see it all happening.  I hope I’m wrong but for now I’m going to pick USC in a close one.  This game could be devastating if it’s a close road loss.
USC 35 – UW 31

All of the Good Guys’ are 2-1 on the year with Husky predictions.  Enjoy your Saturday and thank God for college football!

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by | October 1, 2010 · 2:28 pm

5 Things To Watch: USC

I thought I’d add a little segment to our Husky game previews about 5 things I will be watching closely on each game.  Five seems like a good, solid number.  Quick, name your favorite athlete that wears the number 5!  It’s harder than it should be for current athletes but Joe DiMaggio wins this game easily.  Okay, here we go!

1.  Jake Locker
Obviously, this is one thing to always watch if you’re a Husky fan.  The team goes as Jake goes and they’re going to need him to get going on Saturday.  This week is a little more intriguing though because he’s coming off the worst performance of his college career (actually, I imagine it’s his worst performance he’s ever had in any sporting event.  Really).  His draft stock has fallen and his team is on the brink of falling into the same terrible seasons they’ve grown accustomed to.  If anyone has the talent to turn this season around in one game, it’s Jake.  I’m hoping that Locker shows up and has a game we all remember, if he does the Huskies will be in good shape.

2.  UW receivers vs. USC secondary
Coming into the season UW supposedly had one of the best receiving corps in the Pac-10.  Through the first 3 games, that hasn’t been the case.  Sure, Jermaine Kearse had a great day against Syracuse, but there hasn’t been separation downfield and they were simply awful against Nebraska.  This week they play a secondary that is not near as good but still has talent.  The Huskies will surely test that secondary.  I’m sure the USC secondary is ready to prove themselves.  Let’s hope that the Dawgs’ receivers are the ones who prove something.

3.  The Special Teams
The Huskies face the best special teams unit they have faced all season and will need to show a ton of improvement.  UW has been absolutely terrible on special teams.  The kicker and punter have been okay.  There isn’t much of a return game to speak of and the coverage units have been just about the worst in the nation.  The hope is that this has improved in the bye week.  If it hasn’t, the Huskies don’t stand a chance.

4.  Erik Kohler
Kohler has been a bright spot in this early season so far.  The true freshman has played pretty well in the last 2 games and I look forward to taking a closer look at him on TV.  He’s going up against one of the better defensive lines in the country and will be matched up against Jurrell Casey, who was a pre-season All-American in some circles.  This is the second time in as many games our true freshman has been matched up against an All-American candidate.  I hope he holds his own and makes a little room for Chris Polk to run.

5.  The Coaches
The first match-up between Lane Kiffen and Sark provides another interesting aspect to the game.  Sark knows USC’s scheme and players pretty well.  Does that matter?  I don’t know.  It might have a tiny bit last year but it wasn’t what won the Huskies the game.  Both teams are close to the same schematically and there will be some mind games going on between coaching staffs.  Hopefully, the Dawgs win and then Kiffen says something stupid, because you know he would.  That guy drives me crazy.

-Andrew


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by | September 30, 2010 · 8:40 pm

Scouting the USC Defense

On to the Trojan defense today.  The Trojan defense struggled mightily the first game against Hawaii.  Since then, they’ve gotten progressively better but they still have some obvious weaknesses where they haven’t put it all together.  The talent is there though.

Defensive Line:
This is an area that most people regard as the strength of the defense.  That much has proven true in USC’s first 4 games, although they haven’t truly been tested.  Chris Polk will be the best back USC has faced this year and the Huskies offensive line might be the best they’ve faced also.  That’s pretty pathetic.  Anyway, the Trojans are led by Jurrell Casey.  Casey is a big 305 lb. defensive tackle who was a pre-season All American in some publications.  He’s perhaps the biggest reason USC is stout against the run and poses quite a few match-up problems up front.  Other names to watch on the line are Armond Armstead, Nick Perry, and DaJohn Harris.  Armstead and Perry have been hurt as of late but are probable for the game Saturday.  If they can’t go that is obviously a big hit to the USC defense.  They do have some decent depth here unless one or two more guys get hurt.  The Trojans’ need to rely on their pass rush to take some of the heat off the much-aligned secondary.

Linebackers:
The Trojans have had more talent at the linebacker position in the last decade than some NFL teams.  Last year, they took a little bit of a step back and it’s yet to be seen how good they are this year.  Obviously, there’s talent.  That goes for all of USC’s positions.  USC has three players in their linebacking corps who saw quite a bit of time last year, Michael Morgan, Malcolm Smith, and Derek Kennard.  Morgan has good size and is one of the fastest players on the team.  Smith started all of last year at weak-side linebacker.  Both Morgan and Smith are team captains.  Derek Kennard takes the middle linebacker spot.  He split time with Morgan last year at strong-side linebacker and now slides over.  These guys deserve credit for helping shut down team’s run games but also deserves a little of the blame for not helping the young secondary.

Secondary:
On to that weak secondary I keep alluding to.  Let me say that they haven’t been as bad as I might have let on.  The Hawaii game was truly atrocious.  The secondary was carved up the entire game and never looked that close to stopping them.  They have been better since then but not entirely.  Wazzu moved the ball pretty well through the air against the Trojans but couldn’t take advantage.  USC does have 6 interceptions on the year, that’s pretty good but when you see the amount of passing attempts against them, it make a lot more sense.  The best player in the secondary is Shareece Wright.  It seems like he’s been a Trojan for forever.  He’s the guy who laid the late hit on Jake in 2007 that most Husky fans count as a cheap shot.  He’s also a very good cornerback.  Most teams stay away from him and I imagine that the Huskies will on Saturday.  USC has been breaking in a new corner and two new safeties outside of Wright.  This will be the first time this unit has been really tested since Hawaii and will be a good gauge of their improvement.  Thank goodness this isn’t Nebraska!

Usually I end the scouting reports here but I feel like I should add that USC’s special teams are excellent.  They are the best the Huskies have faced this year.  This is an obvious area of concern since the Dawgs have been terrible in special teams.  So, consider yourself warned in that area.  I really think that might be where this game is won, which doesn’t bode well for the Huskies.

Thanks for reading, lots more coming tomorrow!

Andrew

This is our 300th post.  The 4 writers here try not to get to into numbers or stats but this seems like an appropriate time to thank you all.  I’d like to think that I’d keep writing these posts if we didn’t receive any views.  But, the reality is that supplying the reader is motivation to write.  This year has been a great start to the blog and we owe that to you all for reading!  We look forward to the next 300 (and more) posts.

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