Play Review
I was unimpressed with the play-call on a third-and-20 situation in the fourth quarter from the USC 14 with Oregon State ahead 21-14. Mark Sanchez threw a short pass to Joe McKnight, who gained 13 yards. I felt the play showed a lack of confidence in Sanchez, so I asked offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian about the play.
``We were only down one score and we needed some punting room,'' he said.
That's the kind of coaching/play calling that will lose games like Stanford, toOSU (twice) and FUCLA. You have to go out and take the game from the opponent. You can't just play/coach not to win.
I've said it here before. The problem with this coaching staff is that they spend too much time figuring out how not to lose instead of trying to win the games.
We need to see more man to man coverage on defense, and more verticality (not a real word) in the passing game.
Fight on!
The really sad part was the defense. OSU ran 4 plays all night that worked and ran them over and over again.
Run trap up the middle. WR Screen. RB Screen. WR Skinny post.
Sad. Sad. Sad.
Also glad to see Sark's confidence in Sanchez from the outset of the game. Great Job Sark.
Lets look at this game from another angle. Realistically the defense gave up 21 points subtracting the last 2 yard run (from the interception). We can even say that the last play of the half was really lucky but lets not go there. So 21 points. While that maybe be a lot coming from an Oregon offense, it is a small enough number that our offense should have still been able to put up more points.
I think Scott has it right when he talks about not winning without Chow. While we dont need to pray for the impossible (getting Chow back) we can look forward. It is time for Sarkisian to go. He has no creativity. No a direct snap to Joe McKnight on 3 and 7 is not creative its just stupid. How many plays did we through to the tight end? How about the FB? Come on Havilli (SP?) is amazing and is way underutilized by Sark.
Its time to let Sark move on. Come on Carroll cant you find him a nice job in the NFL somewhere like u did Kiffin. You got rid of one let get rid of the other so we can rely on play calling and coaching rather than just raw talent.
I think it's time to put Joe McKnight a couple spots back in the rotation.
If the players truly earn their spots week by week, then I think Stafon Johnson should get a few more carries a game.
I just don't understand why it took Sark so long to realize that McKnight was not doing anything positive for the offense. Stafon should have been used much earlier. And why did CJ not get as many reps?
I agree with the posts above in that Sark needs to go (or at least think long and hard about his offensive philosophy). His play calling is much too predictable. If us laypeople watching on TV know the play before it happens, surely the opposing defensive coordinators are more than ready.
Still have faith in Pete, but its very hard to stick up for Sark and Holt after such a poor performance.
Boy, when a team loses all of the "psychologists" and "self-appointed coaches" come out of the woodwork.
First, just because a team knows what is coming does not mean they will be able to stop it i.e. Oregon State ran basic running plays, mainly up the middle, and SC could not stop them.
Second, this was a game that played into the hands of the underdog. Get off to a good start, get a couple of good breaks (the fumble recovery and tipped pass touchdown), and then with the lead play the second half conservatively, not to lose.
Third, SC got caught in a 'runaway train' situation. Oregon State's little back was quick and shifty and SC was not prepared for this type of back. It had nothing to do with not being up for the game or not taking Oregon State seriously. You think these Trojan kids, with NFL aspirations and on national t.v. were not trying their best? Get real. Much as in tennis with differing styles, SC did not match up last night with an inferior team, and it cost them.
Fourth, Scott Wolf is obviously not a football man. He of course never played the game, but yet like so many men who never played the game, he loves to be the know-it-all, cerebral expert. Your expertise, Wolfie, comes a dime a dozen. What incited this particular blog "analysis" about SC being in dire straits at its own 14 yard line, all I will say is that when a team is in a 3rd and 20 situation at its own 14 yard line, the percentages are pretty low that the team will pick up a first down. Better to play it conservatively, which is what Troy did, and had moderate success.
I'm not saying anything about the coaches other than Sark. Ive been saying this for a couple of years now, Sark is just to inexperienced at offensive coordinator. Hes a fine quarterbacks coach but relies heavily on sheer talent to win games. Like I pointed out above, why was there no tight end plays, why no passes to the FB. How many slants did we run? This didnt just occur in this game, this has been going on for awhile now. This was our bread and butter a few years ago and it worked. Now we didnt run them every play but mixing them into the playbook really helped open up the rest of the field and kept the defense honest. I mean especially with the "traditional" plays not working why not mix it up, go into the play book and use the plays that worked game in and game out a few years ago. They have disappeared under the Sark era as coach.
You got your clock cleaned by an Oregon State team who could only beat an awful Hawaii team. Drop them out of the Top 25.
Bill is an idiot.
Bill is worse than an idiot. He's a bruin.