[JohnR34231]

Thanks. 

 I’ll say  this: I think the odds of Shaw being fired are slim and none.  Whether they go 3-9 or 6-6. (Or, for that matter, even had they gone 1-11.)  So, I’ll gladly take a win. As such, the heart and head thing isn’t a thing for me.  As bad as they are, they are a brain-fart away from being 4-3.  If nothing else, give some credit to the kids for not caving.  And I do think the defense is improving.

Offensively, I’ve made my disdain for the Slow-Mesh clear. I’d rather see them play straight up.  Some I, some shotgun. Some split back.   More traditional play-action (one of their biggest gains was on a play action out of the I).  But that’s not gonna happen.

On McKee - I thought he had a rough game.  Said it during the game.  But his receivers sure didn’t help him. The first three drives should have ended in touchdowns.  Dropped passes, including a TD on drive one and easy third and fourth down catches that weren’t on drive 3. If memory serves, McKee missed on two throws that could have either been TD’s or put Stanford  inside the 10 on drive 2.  (Admittedly inside the 10 doesnt guarantee a TD, but it would have been nice to have the shot)

I also think he’s in an offense that does not play to his strength- which to me is a big time downfield arm.  Course you need time to run those routes. And some speed would help. 


O-line pass protected pretty well for the most part. Part of that, I’m sure is ASU’s lousy pass rush.  But you line up against who you line up against, and all-in-all I thought the protection was more than adequate. (Although they had a of immense proportions fail on the third down on their last possession when no one picked up the corner blitz.  Good defensive call.  But still…)

As for the running game.  It’s been lousy for a few years now. To me that is the number 1 culprit for THE COLLAPSE.  At this point, add the fact that they probably will play with a third string back the rest of year and it’s hard to see any improvement. (Perhaps the lin3 getting healthier will help a little.) So, get used to 40 to 50 passes.  

Finally, they sorely lack speed and big play capability.  Making execution (that word again) crucial.  It’s been poor.  And without big plays, it becomes even more important to avoid negative plays.  Which they haven’t done.  The result is not pretty  - thank goodness for Karty.

Agree with the notion that Shaw isn't going to be fired any time soon. So I can't relate to the hope we lose so they get rid of Shaw crowd. I'm always going to hope we win, no matter how ugly.
My impression before the season started was that we had some good young defensive players and as they got some experience the defense would improve. That seems to be happening, although we'll see how they do against the Bruins.
The offense has been a big disappointment. With McKee and a crew of capable receivers I thought we would be doing much, much better.
Anyway, UCLA and Utah are probably wet dreams, but I think we stand a decent chance against the other three. So 6-6 is still a possibility

[JohnR34231]

Thanks. 

 I’ll say  this: I think the odds of Shaw being fired are slim and none.  Whether they go 3-9 or 6-6. (Or, for that matter, even had they gone 1-11.)  So, I’ll gladly take a win. As such, the heart and head thing isn’t a thing for me.  As bad as they are, they are a brain-fart away from being 4-3.  If nothing else, give some credit to the kids for not caving.  And I do think the defense is improving.

Offensively, I’ve made my disdain for the Slow-Mesh clear. I’d rather see them play straight up.  Some I, some shotgun. Some split back.   More traditional play-action (one of their biggest gains was on a play action out of the I).  But that’s not gonna happen.

On McKee - I thought he had a rough game.  Said it during the game.  But his receivers sure didn’t help him. The first three drives should have ended in touchdowns.  Dropped passes, including a TD on drive one and easy third and fourth down catches that weren’t on drive 3. If memory serves, McKee missed on two throws that could have either been TD’s or put Stanford  inside the 10 on drive 2.  (Admittedly inside the 10 doesnt guarantee a TD, but it would have been nice to have the shot)

I also think he’s in an offense that does not play to his strength- which to me is a big time downfield arm.  Course you need time to run those routes. And some speed would help. 


O-line pass protected pretty well for the most part. Part of that, I’m sure is ASU’s lousy pass rush.  But you line up against who you line up against, and all-in-all I thought the protection was more than adequate. (Although they had a of immense proportions fail on the third down on their last possession when no one picked up the corner blitz.  Good defensive call.  But still…)

As for the running game.  It’s been lousy for a few years now. To me that is the number 1 culprit for THE COLLAPSE.  At this point, add the fact that they probably will play with a third string back the rest of year and it’s hard to see any improvement. (Perhaps the lin3 getting healthier will help a little.) So, get used to 40 to 50 passes.  

Finally, they sorely lack speed and big play capability.  Making execution (that word again) crucial.  It’s been poor.  And without big plays, it becomes even more important to avoid negative plays.  Which they haven’t done.  The result is not pretty  - thank goodness for Karty.

Agree with the notion that Shaw isn't going to be fired any time soon. So I can't relate to the hope we lose so they get rid of Shaw crowd. I'm always going to hope we win, no matter how ugly.
My impression before the season started was that we had some good young defensive players and as they got some experience the defense would improve. That seems to be happening, although we'll see how they do against the Bruins.
The offense has been a big disappointment. With McKee and a crew of capable receivers I thought we would be doing much, much better.
Anyway, UCLA and Utah are probably wet dreams, but I think we stand a decent chance against the other three. So 6-6 is still a possibility