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Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - stupac2 - 09-03-2016

I don't think that's an interesting point. "RB whose OL was getting shoved around only broke a few big plays out of literally nothing." Uh, yeah, and? He still had 120 yards.

I also don't understand how the "Shaw conservative" meme is still around. Did you, like, watch the games last year? Did you think the Pac-12 CG or Rose Bowl were conservative? Was this game conservative? Maybe, I dunno, but the OL didn't run block well and in the second half Burns was kinda bad and we had like 5 meaningful drives. The sample size is too low to be whining yet especially in a game we won by two scores.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - BostonCard - 09-03-2016

Hard to tell if the conservative playcalling was by design, given that we face USC in two weeks, AND it was our QB's first start.  I agree with you that it might have been nice to pass and playaction more, especially since Rector was beating the defense with relative ease.  The problem of course is up front.  Without an effective offensive line, we aren't going to get holes open for McCaffrey, OR time for the WR to run his route.  A couple of times Rector got open but pressure up front forced Burns to get rid of it.

BC

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - CornFed - 09-03-2016

Watching the Univ. of 2nd Choice's defense against Alabama in the early going makes me hope that we were just constraining a high-powered offensive juggernaut last night.  We may need it.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - Mick - 09-03-2016

(09-03-2016, 03:35 PM)Rando90 link Wrote:This guy brings up an interesting point from the Kal board.

Quote:Well we can't run our mouths until we actually beat them but I will note again that a lot of McCaffrey's production comes from his Oline. Last year he wasn't even touched until he was 3 to 4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Here KS got penetration and really shut him down. Yes he reeled off two long runs, but he carried the ball like what 30 times? 90% + of those runs just looked bad. There is a formula to beat him and them and it involves having a strong dline and stacking the box. I don't know if we can pull it off, but I firmly believe several teams will this year.

I don't care who you are..it's hard to run against 8 man fronts when the D is keying on the run. I think we should just mix it up a bit more. Running 30x is fine if it is working. But if it isn't....do some more things. I also think we should avoid much wildcat unless our offense is really flowing. I don't like when we are getting stuffed and then we just keep trying the same things. It seems like we can do better in that regard.

But I don't think McCaffreys production comes from his OLine...I think it comes from his skills + the O Line....but probably more to do with his skill. He is amazing. He has great speed & burst, great agility, and he is very smart when he runs the ball. His strength & power is not lacking. I don't think he has fumbling problems. Pair that with his WR and PR abilities ... and you have yourself probably the best player in the country. His skill cannot be denied.

I think we're going to have a strong team this year. I was very impressed with the passing and execution of our QB. He looked the part. He's big and strong, and can run pretty well. He seems to be a pretty good leader as well. Strong arm. And we have a solid backup option @ QB if we need to go to the bullpen. Our D looks really strong and I think the speed of Rector is going to be a key factor in opening it up for McCaffrey. I hope we really develop  a Mid and Long range passing game...in addition to the short throws which we've been good at for a while now.

My biggest concern is....really just the playcalling. Are we going to keep up the conservative approach? That seems to be the trend under Shaw, though he has had moments of aggression.  Also, just how dominant can our D be? That could determine how far we really go. If our D is top 10 in the country like it has been before....and the offense can hold its end of the stick...than we can beat anybody. There'd be no reason why we couldn't be in the playoffs.

Shaw is conservative in front of a five game stretch against four ranked teams, two on the road.  U$C, UCLA, Noter Dame, Wash and WSU.  He's beat the 12.5 pt. game time spread, so get over it.  It's the smart play.

Second, I noticed that KSU had eight in the box and the safeties were playing 7 yards off the line.  After Burns completed a few passes, Presto!  7 in the box, one safety 10 yards back, one safety 15 yards back.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - BostonCard - 09-03-2016

(09-03-2016, 05:53 PM)CornFed link Wrote:Watching the Univ. of 2nd Choice's defense against Alabama in the early going makes me hope that we were just constraining a high-powered offensive juggernaut last night.  We may need it.

On second thought, maybe not.  HArd to judge though, because Alabama is well Alabama.

BC

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - winflop - 09-03-2016

(09-03-2016, 03:35 PM)Rando90 link Wrote:My biggest concern is....really just the playcalling. Are we going to keep up the conservative approach? That seems to be the trend under Shaw, though he has had moments of aggression.  Also, just how dominant can our D be? That could determine how far we really go. If our D is top 10 in the country like it has been before....and the offense can hold its end of the stick...than we can beat anybody. There'd be no reason why we couldn't be in the playoffs.

I don't think Shaw wanted to give the Toejams much film to look at, and he does tend to be conservative when we go up 2 or 3 scores.  The D was dominating last night.  K-State was able to move the ball in the 3rd & early 4th but really only between the 20s.  Once they got in the red zone they had one productive play all night and that was a perfect throw to a very well-covered receiver.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - BostonCard - 09-03-2016

Wilner shares his few thoughts on the first game:

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_30323729/stanford-beats-kansas-state-what-we-learned?source=rss

Seems about right.

BC

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - doubledub - 09-04-2016

A poster near the beginning said that DBs were good except for Zach Hoffpauir...I totally agree.  He is a liability in coverage.  This was true before he left to play baseball.  I can't understand why he is out there in the nickel package when he normal responsibility would be to cover the slot.  Which Pac-12 team has a slot receiver that he can realistically cover?  And the coaches keep talking about our great depth...you mean to tell me that there isn't anyone better than him for the nickel?  SC will have us for lunch if he continues to play the same way.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - BobK - 09-04-2016

The uSC that scored 3 last night.  Hoffpauir is also the teams best tackler

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - ChicagoCard - 09-04-2016

profootballfocus.com grades these players...

Offense:
TE Greg Taboada, 78.7
TE Dalton Schultz, 74.4
FB Daniel Marx, 74.1
WR Michael Rector, 73.7
G Brandon Fanaika, 64.8

Defense:
CB Quenton Meeks, 80.7
DI Harrison Phillips, 76.7
LB Kevin Palma, 76.2
ED Mike Tyler, 76.1
LB Noor Davis, 75.2

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - martyup - 09-04-2016

(09-04-2016, 11:39 AM)ChicagoVisitor link Wrote:profootballfocus.com grades these players...

Offense:
TE Greg Taboada, 78.7
TE Dalton Schultz, 74.4
FB Daniel Marx, 74.1
WR Michael Rector, 73.7
G Brandon Fanaika, 64.8

Defense:
CB Quenton Meeks, 80.7
DI Harrison Phillips, 76.7
LB Kevin Palma, 76.2
ED Mike Tyler, 76.1
LB Noor Davis, 75.2

They only gave Burns a 64.5 and gave Ertz a 64.4.  CMAC was not one of the top offensive players?  Hmm . . .

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - stupac2 - 09-04-2016

McCaffrey didn't have a great game, but I think that was his OL not giving him much chance to make plays. Making a guy miss doesn't help when there's 2 more there to tackle you for no gain.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - fullmetal - 09-04-2016

That direct snap play was terrible.  McCaffrey was setup to fail when the D was already loading the box.

Kind of reminded me of the UCF game.  And the Northwestern game.  Therefore I maintain hope that Shaw's conservative playcalling was the reason for the lackluster play.

Also, rushing three vs. 5-6 OL...let's not do that unless we are absolutely sure we'll win...(which was kind of the case but still)

Shaw sure plays these games for the whole season.  Way to keep those cards tight to his chest.

I thought Burns had the yips the entire game, though it didn't always turn out badly.  Chryst didn't have happy feet--he looked poised.  Burns, I think, looked nervous with the happy feet on just about every dropback.  But he did make a few throws.  One of them was into the ground where his receiver's feet were a whole second prior.  That was one of those--"I don't know if he's really the guy anymore" moments.

This OL has two weeks to get ready and beat U$C by more than 50 points...

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - JJJ - 09-04-2016

(09-03-2016, 07:02 AM)paloalto link Wrote:http://www.gostanford.com/news/2016/9/2/football-mccaffrey-electrifies.aspx

Title:  McCaffrey Electrifies

Quotes:

“the rest of the Stanford team beyond McCaffrey combined for minus-21 rushing yards Cameron Scarlett was the only other running back to get a carry, and he lost seven yards on a pair of outside running plays.”

“I wanted him to get in in the third quarter," Shaw said of Chryst. "But we sputtered so much, I didn't want to throw a new quarterback into the mix there. But he'll continue to play.”



Quote:"There is a reason why there are no 97-yard punt returns," Shaw said. "Because you should not catch the ball on the 3-yard line."

About the flag: "It was a good call," Shaw said.

"That's the best punt return that didn't count I've ever seen."

http://twitter.com/StanfordFball/status/772093146280767488

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - winflop - 09-04-2016

(09-04-2016, 11:39 AM)ChicagoVisitor link Wrote:profootballfocus.com grades these players...

Offense:
TE Greg Taboada, 78.7
TE Dalton Schultz, 74.4
FB Daniel Marx, 74.1
WR Michael Rector, 73.7
G Brandon Fanaika, 64.8

Defense:
CB Quenton Meeks, 80.7
DI Harrison Phillips, 76.7
LB Kevin Palma, 76.2
ED Mike Tyler, 76.1
LB Noor Davis, 75.2

The ones on this list that excite me the most are Palma & Davis.  We need great ILB play and this is good indication, although I wasn't seeing it someone with a better eye was watching.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - BostonCard - 09-05-2016

Here's a thought.

https://twitter.com/coachl_anderson/status/772625388249817088

Love the pic.

BC

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - 81alum - 09-05-2016

(09-04-2016, 11:21 AM)BobK link Wrote:The University of Shamed Coaches that scored 3 last night.  Hoffpauir is also the teams best tackler
Early in the game I saw Hoffpauir make two superb open field tackles.  They were good enough that I looked up the number to find out who had done them--Hoffpauir.  Later in the game it was clear he did not have the speed to keep up with some receivers.  Quite a dilemma what to do with him.  I expect the opposing offensive coordinators are going to scheme for ways to isolate him on a fast receiver.  But if we could play him in the zone....

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - Hulk01 - 09-05-2016

Agree with 81alum on Zach's tackling; those were terrific plays.  Notre Dame should retain him as a tackling instructor.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - ChicagoCard - 09-05-2016

Hank's GoMightyCard article included Youtube highlights of both of McCaffrey's rushing touchdowns, and I noticed those plays involved big holes at least partly the result of Fanaika's blocking, not as ogre but left guard. Maybe he and Bright will continue to rotate, like Caspers and Austin in '14.

Re: A Few Thoughts on the First Game - Durty Nelly - 09-05-2016

(09-05-2016, 06:17 AM)ChicagoVisitor link Wrote:Hank's GoMightyCard article included Youtube highlights of both of McCaffrey's rushing touchdowns, and I noticed those plays involved big holes at least partly the result of Fanaika's blocking, not as ogre but left guard. Maybe he and Bright will continue to rotate, like Caspers and Austin in '14.
Fanaika was lined up as the TE outside of Tucker on the second.  He he had a great block and went on to engage a second defender.  Wonder how his pass protection form is.