(10-19-2018, 06:21 AM)winflop Wrote:(10-19-2018, 05:55 AM)slide Wrote: agreed on the screens
It has to be said - why haven't they done any of this with Love??? Is he really that bad at catching passes? I just fail to understand why Stanford hasn't done more to get him into space - this year or last year.
My guess is that teams key on Love, meaning 1-2 LBs and maybe even DL aren't going to just let him slip free and mindlessly rush the passer. It was similar for Cmac, I don't recall too many traditional screens working for him. He had much better success running routes out of the backfield as a reciever.
(10-19-2018, 05:00 AM)OutsiderFan Wrote: What a predictably boring game. Herm Edwards vs. David Shaw is never going to put many points on the board. David Shaw might as well be 25 years older the way he coaches. Like watching an NFL game from several years ago when there was defense played.
Aside from the mind-numbing number of first down runs that went for mostly nothing for both teams, and Shaw's infuriating idea that running the clock and making the other team use timeouts is more important than getting a first down, two things stood out in that game.
Screens
Stanford ran and executed the two most effective screen passes to a RB I have seen since I can remember. The fact both ended up with flags being tossed against the offense should not dissuade them from being called in the future. The Hamilton penalty on the one for what should have been a TD was dumb to commit and to call, as it had nothing at all to do with the play because it happened after Scarlett went passed the guy Hamilton was blocking. And the late hit on Smith on the other one was just pointless and dumb. But they both were really well executed aside from the unfortunate penalties, demonstrating Stanford absolutely should be able to run them as a way to slow down pass rush and get RBs involved in the passing's game.
Reid
Now y'all can see why I was so high on Gabe Reid and say him as better than Jordan Fox. The dude has an explosive first step no other Stanford pass rusher has. He gets in the backfield better than any other Stanford OLB. He just needs to play under control a bit more because he runs by too many QBs. But you seem him all over the field making his presence felt. He had the most tackles of any OLB last night and he didn't start.
Speaking of OLBs. Wither Alfieri? He started with Toohill, but I don't remember seeing him on the field hardly at all and he didn't dent the stat sheet.
I didn't watch the entire game, so maybe I missed him getting injured?
Edited: Just felt like I came across too negative. I firmly believe there is no such thing as a bad win in a conference game, especially on the road, so to that end the team and coaching staff should be applauded. ASU is not great, but is not a bad team and is better then their record suggests (4 losses by 1 score), so great job getting the W!. Now that being said . . .
I too hate the turtling at the end of games. I especially hate it this year when our run game is so ineffectual. KJ is mature enough to understand game situations and I'd say to let him lead in that setting. Overall I think the odds of KJ throwing for a first down and winning the game when the D is stacking against the run are higher then the odds our defense will get a stop. This, to their credit, they did, but it was a near miss. Just because it hasn't cost a game to my recollection doesn't mean it won't soon.
Overall loved the effort from the defense on the road. The pass rush made it's presence felt, especially Reid and Fox, but both have to learn to break down and get the tackle rather then fly by the QB. LBs had a very good game. We're still too undisciplined on pass rush lanes and mobile QBs make us pay for it, but I'll take that over no pass rush like we saw before. I liked the mix of blitzes we brought on D that were not all on 3rd down. Still too many missed tackles in the secondary but with the exception of that blown zone coverage that let up the 50 yard pass (not sure if Holder's fault for not tracking deeper or Safeties fault for not being over the top), Adebo and Holder had great coverage on the outside.
Offensively I remain convinced that our best bet is to run no-huddle and give KJ the keys to the car. I'm not saying he won't make some dumb plays and was lucky to avoid a pick on that post to smith, but our offense works best when he is out there slinging the ball. No-huddle slows the pass rush, limits the fancy blitzes and pre snap defensive motion that have given us fits, and I think keeps Shaw from getting too cute with personnel packages for televised runs.