It is still baffling to me how USC’s defense went down in flames last Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanford handed the Trojans an emphatic beatdown, putting up 55 points on USC. And if fiendish Jim Harbaugh had more time, he would have instructed his team to punch in more touchdowns. Pete Carroll never imagined that his team would give up the most points in school history, not in his tenure, I bet. Carroll’s track record has been nothing short of brilliant: seven Pac-10 titles, six BCS bowl victories, seven BCS bowl appearances, 63 consecutive games of 20 points, two national championships and the list goes on. What has happened to this team that used to be a juggernaut on offense and played sound defense?
Through the first five games, the defense gave up an average of 8.6 points per game. It started with the Notre Dame game where they gave up 26 points, and they stopped an Irish team that was coming back for the win. The following week saw them thwart an Oregon State team that has given them headaches in the last couple of years, beating them in 2006 and 2008. Then the Halloween game in Autzen Stadium: this scenario could not get any worse. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli unleashed a monster game against the defense, racking up 164 yards rushing and true freshman running back Lamichael James upped Masoli, adding 183 yards on the ground with one touchdown. The Ducks cruised to a 47-20 win. It was embarrassing to see a defense get picked apart like they did. They looked defeated and were outplayed the entire game.
Arizona State was next and this game ended up being a close contest, 14-9. The defense played notably better, making better tackles and their angles of pursuit were more precise. However, the Sun Devils are 92nd in total offense. Hardly an offensive juggernaut, compared to Oregon who is 32nd in total offense and 6th in rushing offense. The city of Los Angeles rested easy after this game and had confidence in Carroll and his staff that what happened against the Ducks would not happen again. But it did.
Last Saturday, the Cardinal team undressed the USC on their home field. Senior running back Toby Gerhart racked up 178 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns, and true freshman quarterback Andrew Luck (who is going to be a star when he comes out) ran for 61 yards for good measure. There wasn’t anything that Stanford did that USC has not seen: North-South running by Gerhart which opened up play-action passes and precise throws by Luck. There was no spread-option attack that Oregon runs, nothing of the sorts. Probably the best facet of the game for Stanford was the play of the offensive line; they mauled and pushed back the Trojans’ defensive line and negated the linebackers. Luck had time to throw, and Gerhart had seems to run through. Basic football, nothing else.
But the blame does not rest solely on the defense’s shoulders. On offense, Matt Barkley threw 3 interceptions and fumbled; these turnovers were converted into points, 28 points. I’m not going to be overly critical of Barkley because for a true freshman he has done well. He needs to improve and do better at taking what the defense gives him.
Injuries have hit USC hard this year similar to Oklahoma: Anthony McCoy, Stanli Havli, David Ausberry, Allen Braford, Damien Williams and the defense has their own share of set backs. A young quarterback needs his safety valves in times when things are not going well. Barkley has a good rapport with Williams (who did not play due to injury) and McCoy (who returned from injury but pulled in one catch for seven yards). The good news was sophomore Brice Butler stepped up with six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown. This was a bright spot for this offense. Even with Butler’s performance, Joe McKnight might have out-shined him with 146 yards on the ground, an outstanding 8.9 yard per carry average. Simply, brilliant by McKnight.
Carroll has raised expectations since he started in 2001. And we are finally seeing that it is hard to maintain that level of success: he has given us a rich piece of chocolate cake with a delectable layer of frosting, but now our piece of cake is devoid of frosting and does not wash down smoothly. We have been spoiled with the reloading of players, but this year we see a noticeable drop off. Also, losing your coaching staff adds to this problem as well. The loss of Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Nick Holt and many others behind the scenes we do not know about. Carroll needs a veteran assistant to help him on gameday to see things he might miss and to give him a hand. He is doing too much.
Tuesday’s practice saw Carroll talking about shaking things up and utilizing other players: “this week, there will be a number of players moving around and playing with the first-team to get a chance to showcase their talents.” The bye week has come at the right time for the players to heal, and for Carroll and his staff to assess new players that can contribute. The open competition will make everyone accountable for doing the best at their respective positions. It cannot get any worse for The Men of Troy. When you hit rock-bottom you can only go up. And if there is anyone I would want guiding my ship through the perilous waters, it is Pete Carroll.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Can USC Stop the Hemorrhaging?
It is still baffling to me how USC’s defense went down in flames last Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanford handed the Trojans an emphatic beatdown, putting up 55 points on USC. And if fiendish Jim Harbaugh had more time, he would have instructed his team to punch in more touchdowns. Pete Carroll never imagined that his team would give up the most points in school history, not in his tenure, I bet. Carroll’s track record has been nothing short of brilliant: seven Pac-10 titles, six BCS bowl victories, seven BCS bowl appearances, 63 consecutive games of 20 points, two national championships and the list goes on. What has happened to this team that used to be a juggernaut on offense and played sound defense?
Through the first five games, the defense gave up an average of 8.6 points per game. It started with the Notre Dame game where they gave up 26 points, and they stopped an Irish team that was coming back for the win. The following week saw them thwart an Oregon State team that has given them headaches in the last couple of years, beating them in 2006 and 2008. Then the Halloween game in Autzen Stadium: this scenario could not get any worse. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli unleashed a monster game against the defense, racking up 164 yards rushing and true freshman running back Lamichael James upped Masoli, adding 183 yards on the ground with one touchdown. The Ducks cruised to a 47-20 win. It was embarrassing to see a defense get picked apart like they did. They looked defeated and were outplayed the entire game.
Arizona State was next and this game ended up being a close contest, 14-9. The defense played notably better, making better tackles and their angles of pursuit were more precise. However, the Sun Devils are 92nd in total offense. Hardly an offensive juggernaut, compared to Oregon who is 32nd in total offense and 6th in rushing offense. The city of Los Angeles rested easy after this game and had confidence in Carroll and his staff that what happened against the Ducks would not happen again. But it did.
Last Saturday, the Cardinal team undressed the USC on their home field. Senior running back Toby Gerhart racked up 178 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns, and true freshman quarterback Andrew Luck (who is going to be a star when he comes out) ran for 61 yards for good measure. There wasn’t anything that Stanford did that USC has not seen: North-South running by Gerhart which opened up play-action passes and precise throws by Luck. There was no spread-option attack that Oregon runs, nothing of the sorts. Probably the best facet of the game for Stanford was the play of the offensive line; they mauled and pushed back the Trojans’ defensive line and negated the linebackers. Luck had time to throw, and Gerhart had seems to run through. Basic football, nothing else.
But the blame does not rest solely on the defense’s shoulders. On offense, Matt Barkley threw 3 interceptions and fumbled; these turnovers were converted into points, 28 points. I’m not going to be overly critical of Barkley because for a true freshman he has done well. He needs to improve and do better at taking what the defense gives him.
Injuries have hit USC hard this year similar to Oklahoma: Anthony McCoy, Stanli Havli, David Ausberry, Allen Braford, Damien Williams and the defense has their own share of set backs. A young quarterback needs his safety valves in times when things are not going well. Barkley has a good rapport with Williams (who did not play due to injury) and McCoy (who returned from injury but pulled in one catch for seven yards). The good news was sophomore Brice Butler stepped up with six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown. This was a bright spot for this offense. Even with Butler’s performance, Joe McKnight might have out-shined him with 146 yards on the ground, an outstanding 8.9 yard per carry average. Simply, brilliant by McKnight.
Carroll has raised expectations since he started in 2001. And we are finally seeing that it is hard to maintain that level of success: he has given us a rich piece of chocolate cake with a delectable layer of frosting, but now our piece of cake is devoid of frosting and does not wash down smoothly. We have been spoiled with the reloading of players, but this year we see a noticeable drop off. Also, losing your coaching staff adds to this problem as well. The loss of Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Nick Holt and many others behind the scenes we do not know about. Carroll needs a veteran assistant to help him on gameday to see things he might miss and to give him a hand. He is doing too much.
Tuesday’s practice saw Carroll talking about shaking things up and utilizing other players: “this week, there will be a number of players moving around and playing with the first-team to get a chance to showcase their talents.” The bye week has come at the right time for the players to heal, and for Carroll and his staff to assess new players that can contribute. The open competition will make everyone accountable for doing the best at their respective positions. It cannot get any worse for The Men of Troy. When you hit rock-bottom you can only go up. And if there is anyone I would want guiding my ship through the perilous waters, it is Pete Carroll.
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