Defensively Speaking: Washington (from Kevin Bruce)

Maybe HCCH is looking past the Irish already - ND game will not have any impact on the Pac-12 race (although it might have impact on HCCH's future as USC coach!) Any USC coach going into South Bend with a 1-3 record in the last 4 meetings with ND and UCLA surely must know the clock is ticking down for him - especially when the last game in South Bend was such a horrible rout.

I'll give Matt credit for trying to do the right thing in the goal line offense but he has had very little experience in that type of situation and UW is a tough defense to beat in that area of the field. It looked on that one RPO play he might have been able to hand the ball off for a TD rather than try and rollout when most of the UW defense has moving to the perimeter; on the other 4th down the fade route is a tough pass to throw even if you have a great athlete but inexperienced receiver on the other end - would have rather seen that throw made to Pittman or Jones rather than the freshman receiver as veteran receivers might have had a better chance at sealing the UW defender off the ball.

It was also very disappointing to see and hear Brock Huard pretty much do his Romo interpretation by forecasting how the deep throws were going to be very hard to complete and how the Trojans had a huge opportunity of making lots of yards on the ground if they just took what was being given and then could parlay some play-action into some completions. One would think that the USC "brain trust" would have been able to make that diagnosis but on a number of occasions they simply tried to fly into the teeth of the defense rather than exploit it.

 

no doubt about it, he hands off on the rpo, which was the proper read, and it is a touchdown....cannot blame the coaches for that one, he has played enough and practiced enough that we should be able to trust him to see it. Handing off should be the first read on that play, but Fink likes to call his own number a bit too much

 

This staff is either stupid or stubborn or both. Take your pick.

It’s beyond reason why the heck you go away from what got you down the field to be in that position to begin with.

Reminds me of PC in the SB throwing a slant when all they had to do was hand the ball off again.

There are no words.

 

I disagree. The coaches should get the blame because you don’t give your rookie QB a choice. Period.

 

I could be wrong but I remember reading that very few teams if any, including Ala, Clemson, Ohio St., etc, work on live tackling during the season. And the tackling they do learn is at half speed to reduce injuries. I'm not making excuses for our "amazing" coach, just that tackling in football overall is changing...

 

I agree - coaches should understand with an inexperienced QB you want to keep things simple so he can focus on the execution and not have to make too many decisions that you would expect from a 1 or 2 year starter.

 

But seriously folks .. we don't actually ask our QBs to make any reads ... it's all.pre-determined Even the QB keeper for a TD was pre-determined .. not a read. It was the same with SamD. We don't even go thru the pretense with JT and Slovis. i

Pretty sure Fink hasn't practiced 'reading ' on the read option since he last had a real coach, i.e., in High School .. Same.w/ the other QBs. All have regressed since coming to SC ..

 

I am not a defender of these coaches, despite an accusation of such from an idiot named Dr. Heissenberg. But you folks here assume more about what they do and do not practice than I can know.
But,
I do know what I am talking about, I learned that play in the last century, as a 9th grader. The " read progression" is pretty simple. You always look for the easy run first, then, knowing where your primary receivers are supposed to go, you look to pass if the run is blocked. Last resort is to keep it. It is not that hard, if you stay with what you are supposed to do. Fink is a vastly superior athlete to what I was as an undersized 9th grader.

Fink is no rookie . He is in his 4th year. We were told that all the quarterbacks practiced the same amount in spring and fall. They do not have that many plays in this offense, and the rpo is one of their basics. I am assuming he ran it and ran it. Plus they study film a lot. Plus, the coach said this was supposed to be a run after the game. It makes sense.

 

Nope still young, but great upside

 

It sure seems that after a loss, USC players give lots of credit to the opposition for their game plan.

Do USC opponents ever credit USC with their great game plan?

 

He was out for a long time is all I can remember. I remember Ruth teasing us about him being out. But he we teased Ruth first 'cause we flipped him:)

 

I think he may be talking about his back surgery his freshman season.

 

Absolutely right. Colorado, ASU, UA and ucla will have something to say about that.

 

Yes to that. He did not do well. He was not ready for spring practice until the next year at which time I thought the Kenny spell may have been upon him. Very glad to see him back where he belongs.

 

Says who? all the posters and many of the "journalist" say we have to "practice how we play". Full pads and full contact and full anger and full crushing into the ground"

 

After two significant shoulder injuries, you have to wonder if Pola-Mao is trying to prevent getting a 3rd. I can understand why he's a bit gun shy, but of course you can't play football that way.

In his limited time on the field last year prior to his 2nd injury, he seemed more physical. If he isn't going to use his whole body to form tackle opposing ball carriers, it is time to give someone else a shot at the position and see what they can do.

Another year in the weight room and adding 10-15 pounds of additional muscle wouldn't hurt either.

 

He did..and back surgery is always a very serious prospect for a football player. He also missed an entire offseason of weight training as a result of it. He was cleared to play right at the start of fall practice in 2018. Last year, he was basically just getting back in playing shape. He and Tufele give the Trojans two interior lineman set as good as any on the West Coast. People just aren't running up the middle on USC this year. Add Drake Jackson to the mix, and assuming that Jay and Marlon return for their 4th years at USC, the Trojans could have a truly outstanding defensive front in 2020.