Sun Bowl Game Thread - Printable Version
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RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - winflop - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 12:03 AM)PVTree Wrote: You think Scarlett forgoes his last year of eligibility? I do hope Speights, Maddox, or a frosh wins the position, but Scarlett does offer positive value to the position.
No idea, but I don't see him as the feature running back if he returns. He's not fast nor agile enough. I expect Speights to take the job - much greater versatility & agility.
(12-31-2018, 11:58 PM)SamuelMcF Wrote:(12-31-2018, 11:47 PM)winflop Wrote: Shaw doesn't care about quickness, he cares about ball security. Scarlett returned kickoffs all year.
Was great to see him finish his career with a really solid game today. Shame he didn't get to 100 rushing.
Gutsy win with a limited roster especially on offense. That second touchdown ranks right up there with the Fumblerooski.
Is this insider knowledge that he's not returning? He has 1 year of eligibility left and presumably would start next season.
Sorry my bad. For some reason I thought this was his last year of eligibility.
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Goose - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 06:43 AM)winflop Wrote: No idea, but I don't see him as the feature running back if he returns. He's not fast nor agile enough. I expect Speights to take the job - much greater versatility & agility.I think the coaching staff also hopes Speights gets the job. However, IMHO, Scarlett has shown he is our most effective back. Consider Cal last year, when he ran like 10 straight times at the end to ice the game. Consider Utah this year. We are doing nothing on the ground, they put Scarlett in, he runs several times for positive yards. On one play that was supposed to go inside he jumps it to the outside and makes 10 yards, rather than getting stuffed like we had been. So the coaches take him out and put Speights back in. From then on, nothing. Scarlett may not have the up side of the other candidates (in terms of raw speed), but up to now, he has played better with better results than the other guys. He also can catch passes, both screens and down the field, which the other backs have yet to show they can do.
I think he is the best back we have overall. He is not a CMac or Love, but he is effective. Some of the other guys may rise up and be better than Scarlett, but not so far. Scarlett is faster than he seems. He has "football speed" when he needs it. He for sure runs inside the tackles better than the other backs. He also is willing to break the play outside when there is nothing at the point of attack, which with our OL has been necessary more often than not. Against Pitt, I think some of the runs to the left were ad-libs on his part. It mostly worked. Therefore, I think he is our best back at the moment, and has been most of the year (Love being hurt). Speights runs more like Love, so it may be he was a more compatible backup, but as far as results, Scarlett was/is better, IMHO.
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - BostonCard - 01-01-2019
I think speed is somewhat overrated in a running back. I mean, it is great to have a Love who if they get by people, they're gone. But most plays are not open field runs with a linebacker chasing. One can be a very effective running back with a combination of strength and vision. A running back who can consistently pick the right hole, hit it hard, and not be brought down by arm tackles in traffic and can consistently pick up four, five, six yards running is a valuable asset even if he's occasionally caught from behind in the open field. Scarlett could be such a back, but as I think winflop quipped, he has an uncanny knack for running to the spot where a tackler will be. With better vision, Scarlett could be a very effective running back, but I'm not sure he has it. The other asset that Scarlett has is a pretty good ability to catch the ball in space. Wherever we go next year, it will be a very different run game than last year, and hopefully a more effective one than this year.
BC
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Goose - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 10:25 AM)BostonCard Wrote: Scarlett could be such a back, but as I think winflop quipped, he has an uncanny knack for running to the spot where a tackler will be. With better vision, Scarlett could be a very effective running back, but I'm not sure he has it.I think I know of what you speak regarding him running into the tackle. I have also seen him often avoid doing that and moving away from the designed play with good success. I think this is a byproduct of our offensive blocking strategy being built around CMac and later Love. We rely on the back having patience, reading the blocking, and then darting through a small hole. Scarlett can't do that. He doesn't have the burst needed to make the first guy miss. Love and CMac do, so the approach worked for them. OTOH, when you get "a hat on a hat" blocking, Scarlett is real good at making substantial yards. I think we have seen this on kickoff returns this year. When he doesn't have to beat an unblocked guy, he uses the blocking very well to make substantial returns. If he has to make somebody miss initially to just get started, the results are not as good.
I think Scarlett had been told by the staff to run the called play and don't freelance. The result on short yardage plays has been him leaning on an stationary pile. (An example being in the second game against USC in 2017). That still happens sometimes, but he is freelancing more to better effect this year. When our OL wins the battle, he doesn't need to do that, but when they don't, he has to. He can't wait for the "crease" because he can't use it. He ends up running into the guy closing the crease, while Love would already be through it. For a while, I think the coaches didn't like him reading the play and freelancing when there was no hole (and pulled him when he did it). Maybe the coaches finally realized that with this years OL that is the only way he can be effective. In short, he is more Stepfan Taylor than CMac/Love
Quote:The other asset that Scarlett has is a pretty good ability to catch the ball in space. Wherever we go next year, it will be a very different run game than last year, and hopefully a more effective one than this year.Scarlett for sure is our best pass-catching running back. He is good on the wheel route and on screens. He can be a "check down" receiver, although he won't make a linebacker miss the tackle as often as CMac did. He does not run patterns as well as CMac, but he can be effective. I think his pass blocking has been criticized, although I haven't seen him being worse than anybody else out there. Some say Speights is a better blocker(?).
BC
As far as our running game being different, I am not sure what will happen. I am not sure we have the ability to revert to a more "power running" approach, because I am not sure our OL can do that. OTOH, I am not sure we can continue with the "read and go" we have used the last few years either. It takes a special back to do that, and it is not yet clear we have a CMac ->Love->? available. For sure, whatever it turns out to be, it needs to be more effective!
lex24 - lex24 - 01-01-2019
Agree with a Goose. I thought Scarlett was Stanford’s best back the second half of the season. He doesn’t have that extra wiggle. But I think he does a nice job of getting extra yardage after getting hit. He quietly had a very nice game Monday. To me, he is their most complete back going into ‘19.
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Hurlburt88 - 01-01-2019
I do expect us to revert to more power-blocking, and believe we have the talent to do it. Key trigger is type of running backs we have going forward, i.e., not CMac and Love with their unique talents. Hope one of them emerges as the next Kulabafi!
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Redrum - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 12:05 PM)Hurlburt88 Wrote: I do expect us to revert to more power-blocking, and believe we have the talent to do it. Key trigger is type of running backs we have going forward, i.e., not CMac and Love with their unique talents. Hope one of them emerges as the next Kulabafi!
Ummm, what consistent talent for OL power blocking did you see this year that gives you optimism? I didn't see all the games this year but my impression was Costello and the receivers were our more reliable drivers of the offense.
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Goose - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 12:42 PM)Redrum Wrote: Ummm, what consistent talent for OL power blocking did you see this year that gives you optimism? I didn't see all the games this year but my impression was Costello and the receivers were our more reliable drivers of the offense.Unfortunately, you are probably correct. This year, many hoped/expected that Little, Herbig, Sarell, Burkett, Hall plus the others would form a very good OL. Due to injuries and just plain under-performance, that didn't happen. It may be that the players we had were unsuited to our blocking scheme, but I don't hear anybody arguing that. The OL was average to good (probably more toward good) in pass blocking, so there is some talent there. Despite lots of discussion, I know of no clear reason(s) other than injury that it just didn't happen on the OL. Maybe it was personalities. Maybe it was lack of leadership from the players. I have no idea. Whatever it was/is, it needs to get fixed.
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - Hurlburt88 - 01-01-2019
My optimism in line talent admittedly may be misplaced. It is based on the talents of Little & Foster, plus belief that coaches are well aware of the problems and will focus. And I also would not be a bit surprised to see an OL line coach change.
We shall see in Sept . . .
RE: Sun Bowl Game Thread - d4cohn - 01-01-2019
(01-01-2019, 02:00 PM)Hurlburt88 Wrote: And I also would not be a bit surprised to see an OL line coach change.
We just hired a new OL coach before this season (albeit due to Coach Bloomgren taking the Rice HC job). Everything I know about Stanford athletics and Coach Shaw would have me absolutely shocked if any coach was replaced after just one season.
I share your optimism though re Sarrell, Little and the talented OL prospects for our incoming freshman class.