08-24-2025, 02:45 PM
My thoughts:
I would have benched Patterson for the game after his endless, cringe-worthy, fanny-patting dance after his sack. We were screaming in the stands for him to stop, but he just kept going and going and going until the refs had no choice. In a game full of lows, that was the low of the game in my book, and very likely the difference in the game. Let's hope he learns from it, not only on the field but in life...
Coach should have mercy-benched Gulbranson. Put the Tree in if you have to, but don't force a guy to go out series after series looking like that. That's the kind of game that can stick with you forever. Run game was ok, and pass blocking was improved, but Gulbranson couldn't pull the trigger play after play (very reminiscent of, but not quite as frozen as, Jack West actually). When he did throw, his passes were low, high, wide, short, all over the field -- often because he waited until the protection broke down and threw in desperation. The receivers were not getting great separation, and the protection wasn't perfect, but both were good enough. No idea if Brown or Rick or any other the others could have done better, but it's almost irrelevant. Sometimes you have to throw in the towel so the athlete can survive to fight another day. Yesterday was that day.
Hard to imagine, but I missed The Turtle yesterday. Up by 4, running game working, clock dwindling in the 4th, and the brain trust has the the QB -- during a bottom-5-ever performance -- start throwing the ball. I mean seriously, do they not have eyeballs? Could they not see what was happening on the field? Are they so used the NFL where they can just rely on every phase of the game to work somewhat competently?
Stanford's had worse first games and bounced back. Frustrations aside, they weren't far off from winning that game -- play ten times and Stanford probably wins 4 times. In season changes (better qb play, better coaching and player discipline, best game-day players on the field, etc.) could probably push that to 6 or 7 times. Not as bad as the UC Davis game, for example, where the team just seemed uninterested in the game altogether. I sat through that one and came back to see Stanford shine, and I'll come back after this one. When Stanford is next playing on New Years day, and the stands are full of fair weather fans, it will be just a bit sweeter for those who stuck it out in times like these.
I would have benched Patterson for the game after his endless, cringe-worthy, fanny-patting dance after his sack. We were screaming in the stands for him to stop, but he just kept going and going and going until the refs had no choice. In a game full of lows, that was the low of the game in my book, and very likely the difference in the game. Let's hope he learns from it, not only on the field but in life...
Coach should have mercy-benched Gulbranson. Put the Tree in if you have to, but don't force a guy to go out series after series looking like that. That's the kind of game that can stick with you forever. Run game was ok, and pass blocking was improved, but Gulbranson couldn't pull the trigger play after play (very reminiscent of, but not quite as frozen as, Jack West actually). When he did throw, his passes were low, high, wide, short, all over the field -- often because he waited until the protection broke down and threw in desperation. The receivers were not getting great separation, and the protection wasn't perfect, but both were good enough. No idea if Brown or Rick or any other the others could have done better, but it's almost irrelevant. Sometimes you have to throw in the towel so the athlete can survive to fight another day. Yesterday was that day.
Hard to imagine, but I missed The Turtle yesterday. Up by 4, running game working, clock dwindling in the 4th, and the brain trust has the the QB -- during a bottom-5-ever performance -- start throwing the ball. I mean seriously, do they not have eyeballs? Could they not see what was happening on the field? Are they so used the NFL where they can just rely on every phase of the game to work somewhat competently?
Stanford's had worse first games and bounced back. Frustrations aside, they weren't far off from winning that game -- play ten times and Stanford probably wins 4 times. In season changes (better qb play, better coaching and player discipline, best game-day players on the field, etc.) could probably push that to 6 or 7 times. Not as bad as the UC Davis game, for example, where the team just seemed uninterested in the game altogether. I sat through that one and came back to see Stanford shine, and I'll come back after this one. When Stanford is next playing on New Years day, and the stands are full of fair weather fans, it will be just a bit sweeter for those who stuck it out in times like these.