Husky Football from 45,000'

Being a member of the FL450 club (Flight Level 450 = 45,000’), I am blessed to have a rather unique view of the world, so this should be my "rather unique" view of Husky football so far this season. One extra benefit of membership in this club, way too much free time. You’ll understand by the time you are done reading this novel.

For me, this season has one common thread that runs through out each and every game: mixed emotions. Last night was the perfect example of just that. Sitting through a putrid third and fourth quarter, I was questioning all aspects of the team and coaching staff. What was wrong with our play calling? Why can’t our offense get going? Shouldn’t we try and stick with one offensive style? Why aren’t we running Polk more? Doesn’t this defense look exactly the same as it did last year? Can Holt coach a defense without USC’s "bullets"? Are we really going to lose this game, go 2-4 and prove all the media pundits right, we really are this bad. Then a miracle happened, Husky  stadium erupted into a roar that hasn’t been heard in over 15 years, and we actually pulled victory from the clutches of defeat. What a finish.

Overall take on the first half of the season: I’m very pleased with 3-3, halfway through the season and we are halfway to a bowl game. Going into the season I expected a 5-7 record, needless to say we are on pace to improve upon that prediction. If you offered me 3-3 record at the beginning of the season, against our schedule, I’d have taken it no questions asked. Could we have a better record, of course, but I blame that on the refs!

QB – I’ve been an avid supporter of Jake ever since his first game against Syracuse. It’s obvious that his short comings in the passing game were a result of inadequate coaching. He is the heart and soul of this team, and has done everything you could have asked of him. He still needs to have a little bit more finess on the long ball, but for every throw that has missed by inches, he has hit somebody in perfect stride, with perfect placement. Jake has all of the tools necessary to be an NFL hall of famer, but I think one more year of Sark would guarantee a long, successful career in the NFL. Grade = A

RB – What a surprise, I was not sold on Chris Polk, especially his durability. I’m glad to say I was very wrong! I’ve heard of "Grease Lightning", but this kid is Greased Thunder!!! We all knew he was quick and agile, but who knew he’d plow through defenders and drag the pile for extra yards on a regular basis. The next 3 years should be very bright. Grade  = A+

WR – Mixed emotions defined. One play we see a ball slip right through a guys hands, dropping a sure touchdown. The next drive they make a clutch catch to snatch victory from defeat. James Johnson is looking like the best under the radar recruit of all time, he’s going to be fun to watch. Overall, I’m a bit disappointed with the number of drops we are seeing from a pretty talented, yet young group of WR’s. If I’m the WR’s coach, these guys are up at 6 am, catching balls from the fastest/hardest football throwing machine I can find, because my "seat" is getting hot. Grade C+

O-Line – Better than expected. They seem to be doing an adequate job of pass blocking and run blocking, some games one and not the other, but still better than expected. I’m a bit scared by the lack of depth, but we still haven’t seen much of Schafer, Ikehara, or a few others. Should be interesting to see how they fill in for Greg Christine. Grade = B-

D-line – Mixed emotions, again. One game they stuff the run, the next we can’t stop it for anything. We’ve got to find a pass rush, it’s not there, and it’s killing our very young, very thin secondary. I was really hoping to see better results from this unit. If we don’t see some improvement, I’m going to buy stock in blood pressure medication, because the entire fan base will be needing large quantities of it! Grade = C-

LB – They are a talented bunch that are working overtime to make up for a weak defensive line. I’d like to see better tackling, but it is greatly improved over last year. I do think they are a bit limited by our schemes, but it probably needs to be that way to protect the young secondary. Grade = A-

CB – Trufant is a stud, watch out Marcus, little brother is going to take your job in a few years! The rest of the cb’s have been up and down, we are giving up way to many yards through the air. They were exposed against Idaho (5-1, who would have guessed??), and taken advantage of against ND and Arizona. Definitely a work in progress, but they are doing better than expected, thanks in part to Trufant. Grade = C

Safety – Tough call, it’s hard to evaluate them when only one player has been a consistent player. Really hurts losing Glenn for the season, Fellner has a very bright future, but will be doing a bunch of tackling drills this week. We really need to find a FS, the revolving door is going to slow the progress of the defensive backfield as a unit, but you can’t plan for injuries. Lots of questions, should be interesting to see how it all pans out. Grade = C

Penalties – If I see one more personal foul that turns a 4th down and 5, into another first down, I’m going to PUKE!!! Enough is enough, the players committing these STUPID penalties better be running stairs until they puke! The most frustrating part of this year is how we keep finding ways to shoot ourselves in the foot. If we want to be winners, this MUST stop, NOW!!!

Coaching – I’ve been very vocal that winning is all that matters. So I’ve got to give the coaches a good grade, they’ve accomplished far more than we expected. There have been times I’ve wondered what the coaches were thinking (see the second half of yesterday’s game), there have been times that they seem like genius’s. I am wondering if we aren’t trying to do too much on offense. I like the fact that we are spreading out the field, but I wonder if we can be masters of both the pro style and the spread at the same time. Polk is running the ball very well, run out of the pro, stick to the pro, and spread the field on occasion to keep the threat of Locker alive and well. We aren’t running the ball well out of the spread, I’d rather stick with the pro and master it, then dable in mediocrity doing both (Crazi is picking his jaw up off the floor!).  Defensive coaching – I know we are thin on db’s, but if I see us come out in a 4-3 defense, against a 4 wide set, one more time, I’ll start calling Nick Holt, Kent Baer!! Our defense is bland and boring, I know we are very young in the secondary, but this isn’t going to cut it, a stunt isn’t being creative, it’s time to dig deep, find an imagination, and GET CREATIVE!!!

Grades  

Coach Sark – B+, Overall he has done a fabulous job, but we have shot ourselves in the foot one too many times to get an A. Good teams don’t beat themselves, we have got to stop beating US.

Coach Holt – C+, Coach Holt, go back and watch game tape of the last four years, bland and basic doesn’t work. Move the linebackers around, fake blitzes, blitz a corner or safety on occasion, just do something different. A predictable defense is a losing defense, I know the "bullets" aren’t the same caliber as USC’s, but you are going to have to get aggressive/creative/unpredictable if you want to be successful.

In conclusion, it is great to care about Husky football again. It’s great to see Husky stadium come to life and roar like she use to, there are some good days ahead. It’s going to take a lot of work by the coaches and the players, it’s a good thing we have a young staff, they are going to need every ounce of energy to get us back on top. The second half of the season could go so many different directions, we could go 5-1, or we could go 1-5. Last year we knew one win was all that was possible, it’s SOOOOOO much better to look forward to each and every game knowing that we have a good chance of winning. The amount of freshmen players having outstanding years really makes the future look bright, the rest of the Pac10 should be afraid, very afraid, Washington is on its way back!

GO DAWGS!!!

P.S. - Took the boat from Ivar's Salmon House to the game, absolutely loved it. Below is a picture I took while going through the Montlake Cut, thought a few of you might enjoy it.