[JohnR34231]

[quote author=teejers1 link=topic=18293.msg217603#msg217603 date=1512801682]
I'm not following your logic, Red State.  The Stanford D was bad; the O was great; ergo, the Pac 10 was the laughingstock of the country. 
Plus, an undermanned Cardinal team went toe-to-toe with Wisconsin from the Mighty Big 10, and I think the Cardinal wins if McLaughlin and Walters are healthy.

But regardless, I have yet to see why Stanford cannot have a good defense and a dominant pro style offense, circa 1999/2001.  More fundamentally, I don't know why anyone would want Stanford to strive for any other kind of offense.  It's freaking mind-boggling. 

Expand your horizons, Cardinal Fans.  Yes, the team's W/L record has been very good under this regime.  But guess what?  It could have/should have been better.  It's okay to believe that.  Really, it is . . .

A number of people really dislike Stanford's offense, say, since 2012, which was the first of Shaw's 3 Rose Bowls. The biggest disdain is not from Stanford's fan base, however, but mostly from coaches, players and fans of opposing teams. Over the past few seasons I've read and listened to comments from Oregon, U$C, UCLA and UW people who HATE Stanford's offense, not so much because of what it does to their defense, but rather what it does to their offense.

This is not Todd Husak era football. With so many P12 teams running spread, high tempo, run-oriented offenses that feature a lot of speed, Shaw and Staff have smartly countered those schemes with the very best antidote: Keeping them off the field. Stanford's Power O ball control offense drains the clock and protects an often depth-challenged D. But at its best, what it does is frustrate opposing offenses that thrive on playing fast, running A LOT of plays, and getting into a rhythm. I've seen it happen many times, the opposing offense on the sideline for 6, 7, 8 minutes, and then pressing and making mistakes, especially when they've fallen behind.

The most striking example of this was Oregon '13, which was the highest profile game to be played at Stanford in over 40 years. #3 Oregon was riding high with Marcus Mariota and their high-powered offense. How did Stanford win? Brutally. Tyler Gaffney carried 45 times and Stanford held the ball for 43 Minutes. Absolutely Beautiful. I saw Oregon players in tears, and droves of silent Duck fans, most of them were gone before Q4. Do I think Stanford could have won that game with any other kind of offense that night? Absolutely not. And Stanford wouldn't have gone to Rose Bowl, either.

Is Stanford's Power O offense better/more efficient some seasons than others? Yeah, just like any other offense. Do I think the offense could be tweaked or have a new wrinkle? Depending on the personnel available, yes. Do I think this offense should be scrapped in favor of a more finesse, crowd-pleasing O? Hell, No. That would be a sad goodbye to Intellectual Brutality.

Sorry, Teejers, the Stanford yesteryear offense is not coming back, certainly not as long as Shaw is HC. You're just going to have to find solace in 9-10+ win seasons, P12 Titles and major bowl games.
[/quote]

The Duck fans who left in Q3 missed a pretty exciting finish. Oregon came to life in the fourth quarter and we had to hold on by our nails for the victory.

[JohnR34231]

[quote author=teejers1 link=topic=18293.msg217603#msg217603 date=1512801682]
I'm not following your logic, Red State.  The Stanford D was bad; the O was great; ergo, the Pac 10 was the laughingstock of the country. 
Plus, an undermanned Cardinal team went toe-to-toe with Wisconsin from the Mighty Big 10, and I think the Cardinal wins if McLaughlin and Walters are healthy.

But regardless, I have yet to see why Stanford cannot have a good defense and a dominant pro style offense, circa 1999/2001.  More fundamentally, I don't know why anyone would want Stanford to strive for any other kind of offense.  It's freaking mind-boggling. 

Expand your horizons, Cardinal Fans.  Yes, the team's W/L record has been very good under this regime.  But guess what?  It could have/should have been better.  It's okay to believe that.  Really, it is . . .

A number of people really dislike Stanford's offense, say, since 2012, which was the first of Shaw's 3 Rose Bowls. The biggest disdain is not from Stanford's fan base, however, but mostly from coaches, players and fans of opposing teams. Over the past few seasons I've read and listened to comments from Oregon, U$C, UCLA and UW people who HATE Stanford's offense, not so much because of what it does to their defense, but rather what it does to their offense.

This is not Todd Husak era football. With so many P12 teams running spread, high tempo, run-oriented offenses that feature a lot of speed, Shaw and Staff have smartly countered those schemes with the very best antidote: Keeping them off the field. Stanford's Power O ball control offense drains the clock and protects an often depth-challenged D. But at its best, what it does is frustrate opposing offenses that thrive on playing fast, running A LOT of plays, and getting into a rhythm. I've seen it happen many times, the opposing offense on the sideline for 6, 7, 8 minutes, and then pressing and making mistakes, especially when they've fallen behind.

The most striking example of this was Oregon '13, which was the highest profile game to be played at Stanford in over 40 years. #3 Oregon was riding high with Marcus Mariota and their high-powered offense. How did Stanford win? Brutally. Tyler Gaffney carried 45 times and Stanford held the ball for 43 Minutes. Absolutely Beautiful. I saw Oregon players in tears, and droves of silent Duck fans, most of them were gone before Q4. Do I think Stanford could have won that game with any other kind of offense that night? Absolutely not. And Stanford wouldn't have gone to Rose Bowl, either.

Is Stanford's Power O offense better/more efficient some seasons than others? Yeah, just like any other offense. Do I think the offense could be tweaked or have a new wrinkle? Depending on the personnel available, yes. Do I think this offense should be scrapped in favor of a more finesse, crowd-pleasing O? Hell, No. That would be a sad goodbye to Intellectual Brutality.

Sorry, Teejers, the Stanford yesteryear offense is not coming back, certainly not as long as Shaw is HC. You're just going to have to find solace in 9-10+ win seasons, P12 Titles and major bowl games.
[/quote]

The Duck fans who left in Q3 missed a pretty exciting finish. Oregon came to life in the fourth quarter and we had to hold on by our nails for the victory.