[Langdude]

4. The pass rush would be better as a result of Gabe Reid
My favorite post of this year was when Toohill went down and I said this would give Gabe Reid a chance to step up, only to have several peeps take issue that I didn't have enough fait in Jordan Fox. Gabe Reid's highlight videos showed an explosive first step and ability to play low that no other Stanford pass rusher had IMO. Lo and behold, even though he didn't get as many snaps as Fox, Reid led Stanford in sacks, was #4 in the Pac-12 with 5.5 and Stanford finished one sack behind WSU to lead the conference. Another future All Conference performer.

As one of the "peeps" who said that Jordan Fox was better suited to start than Gabe Reid when Casey Toohill went down, I stand by that assessment. Fox had more experience, had a great tape himself, and had already acquitted himself well in his limited PT. I will happily confess that Reid did better this year than I thought he would, and for that I am thankful. However, I think that Fox did great, too. He did have two fewer sacks than Reid. (By the by, it is interesting that 5.5 finished as fourth in the conference, because it isn't a stellar number. That would have finished 15th last year.) But if you want to get pedantic, Fox had one more TFL, one more PBU, and one more quarterback hit, so maybe we call it even at that point. However, Fox had waaaay more tackles (55 to 34), fourth on the team, in fact (behind the ILBs, natch, and Paulson Adebo), and therefore, I think, a more all-around solid season than Reid. I suspect that the biggest reason that Fox had so many tackles and Reid finished slightly ahead in sacks is the positions they tended to play. When they were both in, Fox played the Sam and Reid played the Will; as anyone who has played in a 3-4 knows, the Will gets the glory, the Sam is the anchor.

But, arguing who had the better season has no answer. They both did great and exceeded expectation. If Toohill comes back next year, OLB will be a strength.

-m.

[Langdude]

4. The pass rush would be better as a result of Gabe Reid
My favorite post of this year was when Toohill went down and I said this would give Gabe Reid a chance to step up, only to have several peeps take issue that I didn't have enough fait in Jordan Fox. Gabe Reid's highlight videos showed an explosive first step and ability to play low that no other Stanford pass rusher had IMO. Lo and behold, even though he didn't get as many snaps as Fox, Reid led Stanford in sacks, was #4 in the Pac-12 with 5.5 and Stanford finished one sack behind WSU to lead the conference. Another future All Conference performer.

As one of the "peeps" who said that Jordan Fox was better suited to start than Gabe Reid when Casey Toohill went down, I stand by that assessment. Fox had more experience, had a great tape himself, and had already acquitted himself well in his limited PT. I will happily confess that Reid did better this year than I thought he would, and for that I am thankful. However, I think that Fox did great, too. He did have two fewer sacks than Reid. (By the by, it is interesting that 5.5 finished as fourth in the conference, because it isn't a stellar number. That would have finished 15th last year.) But if you want to get pedantic, Fox had one more TFL, one more PBU, and one more quarterback hit, so maybe we call it even at that point. However, Fox had waaaay more tackles (55 to 34), fourth on the team, in fact (behind the ILBs, natch, and Paulson Adebo), and therefore, I think, a more all-around solid season than Reid. I suspect that the biggest reason that Fox had so many tackles and Reid finished slightly ahead in sacks is the positions they tended to play. When they were both in, Fox played the Sam and Reid played the Will; as anyone who has played in a 3-4 knows, the Will gets the glory, the Sam is the anchor.

But, arguing who had the better season has no answer. They both did great and exceeded expectation. If Toohill comes back next year, OLB will be a strength.

-m.