Grading the game
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2009 3:58 PM PDT
19 comments
Quarterback
First of all Jake Locker had a much better game this week. He took the loss pretty hard and blamed himself for letting down his team but I think he is being too hard on himself. Jake was back to his old playmaking self on Saturday and even though we didn't win the game he definitely put his team in position to win it. His stats aren't exactly breathtaking but if you figure in the number of drops by his wide receivers it could have been a career day. He nailed some long passes hittting his receivers in full stride on the hands. I wouldn't put the failure to get into the end zone on two second half drives on Jake. The play calling was a little predictable, a little questionable, but when you cont the number of chances we had you have to put the blame on the offensive line who failed to provide the adequate push.
Grade B
Running Backs
Chris Polk had the best day of his career and would have had the game winning TD if the ref's hadn't have robbed him of it in the fourth quarter. We had a clear view of the play and he was more than in from our angle. Chris is a big time back who only keeps getting better. Paul Homer also had a chance to win the game but fell inches short of the goal line. Johri Fogerson continues to impress with his receiving ability.
Grade A
Wide Receivers
these giuys made a lot of play on Saturday but they also had some important drops here and there which changed the outcome of the game. As young as they are I thought they did fine over all. The drops weren't exactly easy catches either with the xcepting of Kearse's in over time. Did I say easy? Nothing is really an easy catch on a rainy day on the road.
Grade B
Tight Ends
Kavario Middleton had a better day. Was he better than his counterpart at Notre Dame? No, but that will happen over time. Kavario had a big catch on fourth down that kept a drive alive.
Grade B
Offensive Line
We put up a lot of yeards and scored 30 points but when we had a chance to put the game away twice in the second half this unit came up short. Forget the bad calls...we had enough chances to overcome it and did not. One interesting thing is that Nick Wood played most of the second half in place of Greg Christine. Not exactly sure if that will be a permanent move.
Grade C
Defensive Line
Jimmy Clausen had way too much time on Saturday. He was coming off a turf toe injury so he wasn't exaclty mobile. We just didn't get to him enough annd he had a career day passing the football. We did fine against the run keeping the Irish to around 3.7 yards per carry, but when the Irish needed a big play on the ground in the fourt quarter they got it.
Grade D
Linebacker
I thought our linebackers did a decent job and I really like what Cort Dennison is bringing to the squad in the absence of EJ Savannah. They filled in well on the run and Mason Foster was the only guy out there that was really pressuring Clausen. donald butler picked up an interception and was solid in the middle.
Grade B
Defensive Backs
They gave up a lot of passing yards and both our starting safeties were injured. Justin Glenn is going to be out for awhile with a broken fibula, Nate Williams suffered a concussion. I really like the way Desmond Trufant is developing. He is going to be an All Pac Ten player sooner than later. Missed tackles throughout the night lower the overall score for this unit. Golden Tate and the ND receivers picked up way too many yards after the catch.
Grade C
Special Teams
Erik Folk seems to be golden in clutch situations. All he does is hit one clutch FG after another. Kickoffs are a completely different matter. The distance is not there and it is giving the opposition way too much of an advantage when it comes to field position. Mahan was accurate with his punts. He placement is great and ND was unable to make anything out of them. The return game isn't working. We need to start getting yardage out of punt and kickoff returns.
Grade B
Coaching
I think the coaches made some questionable calls in the red zone. Sark doesn't seem to like spreading the field or trying to exploit Jake around the end when the middle is plugged up. I didn't like the decision that led to zero points in the third quarter when we were at the one yard line. If we took those points we win the game. That of course is all about hindsight. You convert the TD situation and Washington puts the game away. We can nitpick all we want but if you compare the coaching to last year it is night and day. Willingham walks in here with the same talent and loses by 30 points. You have to give Sark and his staff credit for getting us in th eposition to win games. You have to give them credit for going for the jugglar when it was exposed. Winners do that and we are just learning how to win.
Grade B
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Notes on grades...
a) o-line: I’ve noted on several occasions here that the left side was where pressure was consistently coming from and where we had the most trouble running. Christine is a great story, but he’s not good enough to cover up for Ossai’s mistakes, which are too frequent for an upperclassmen. On the plus side, Tolar’s move to C has been mostly pretty good (save a few low snaps) and the right side has held up well
b) running back: did anyone see Chris Polk “the Power Back” coming. His ability to move the pile after contact is a revelation. We’ve not had a back capable of this since Alexis or someone good at it since Dillon.
c) wide receivers: the drops are a pain, but they are part of the learning curve.
d) d-line: the least effective unit on the team. ND did not even bother doubling DTN a good chunk of that game. Granted, we were dropping Crichton into a zone almost every play, but the lack of a pass rush is killing our secondary.
e) linebackers: still suffering way too many lapses in the zone coverage, but they sure do get after the ball.
f) secondary: exceeding expectations despite Richardson having the worst game I’ve seen him play since he’s been here. We are about to learn something about our depth at Safety.
g) special teams: Folk has answered the critics very effectively. Kickoff teams are still a work in progress.
h) coaching: not much to complain about. We might nitpick some playcalling here and there, but the whole body of evidence leads one to believe that this is a pretty remarkable turnaround and that this team could, with a few lucky breaks, make some noise in the conference this year.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
note on coaching grade
Yes, this is the beginning of a huge turn around and yes, this is an immeasurable improvement on the previous coach. But to grade this one game with a B for coaching is too generous. Coaching decisions contributed greatly to this loss. This game was there for the taking on at least two occasions and the play calling and decision making were lacking. It takes some time to learn how to win as a head coach as well as a team. I am very impressed with everything that is going on around the football team, including this coaching staff. But this was a game they need to learn from.
I'm tired of next year. Win now!
by wishfulthinking on Oct 5, 2009 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions
I would put it more on execution of the OL
You need to be able to score form the one.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 5, 2009 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Can't argue with a need for better OL play
but that is why I was surprised to see Jake under the center so much on the goal line. I love that Sark was going for it, but the OL wasn’t quite up to it.
Also, on one of the sneaks the replay shows that Jake mishandled the snap and had to scrape the ball off of his hip. That caused him to lose all momentum on the QB sneak. Again, to your point, that is more about execution.
I'm tired of next year. Win now!
by wishfulthinking on Oct 5, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Not sure what else he could have done...
Gave the team chances to win the game, they have to make plays.
They tried what they’d been successful at all game, mixed in a rollout, some slants, and a clear out.
by PerryCollective on Oct 5, 2009 10:13 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Losing on the last play on the road against ND…with a team that went 0-12 last year?
I think some of the criticism is rough even though I can see where the second guessing is coming from.
Bottom line we need to make those plays.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 5, 2009 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions
I just can't get past the reality that they had the lead and the game was theirs for the taking.
Also, in the game thread I commented on taking the field goal prior to the failed QB sneak in the 3rd quarter. So I am totally taking myself off the hook for second guessing.
Hey, I love what’s going on at UW, last year we didn’t even have anything to get excited or upset about. This is passion speaking not criticism!
I'm tired of next year. Win now!
by wishfulthinking on Oct 5, 2009 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Isn't it nice to actually care again?
I went through 11 games last year expecting them to get their butts kicked by everybody they played. It’s so much better actually being able to care about the team, and being upset because a winnable game got away from them, as opposed to being out of the game by the end of the first quarter.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Coaching decisions contributed greatly to this loss.
How about all the coaching decisions that had us in the position to win the game if the refs didn’t botch their jobs? People are putting waaaaay too much criticism on Sark for the goal line play-calling. Could he have called better plays? Maybe, but his play-calling was defensible. The biggest problem by far was execution – the O-line not getting any push on any of the 3 QB sneaks, and Goodwin for dropping a TD catch on that rollout throw. Credit also to the Notre Dame safety that made a great play to stop Homer short of the goal line on another pass play.
Coaching is a big reason this was such a close game instead of a blowout win for the Irish.
Polk
What a surpirse, I was very concerned about Polk being durable enough to make it through the season, but instead he shows us a running style we haven’t seen in YEARS!!!! I have been very surprise with his physical running style and the consistent fight for more yards, I’m very impressed.
Coaching decisions: 4th and goal on the goalline, you go for it each and everytime, very, very, very few exceptions. I do think Sark should have been much more creative with his play calling. The o-line was getting dominated, it was time to try something else.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Biggest Pac !0 Issue
Much agree with JB & Gekko. Now then, after being at the game and being frustrated first-hand, and then reviewing some of the plays and calls, this is what I feel that needs to be publicaly expressed: The PAC-10 Ref’s get an F once again.
Big East Refs
They did the video reviewing. They get a big F also.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Big East?
I think it was PAC-10 ref’s on the field, and then Big East ref’s who need new specs when watching a video screen?
To be fair to the replay refs, they are hamstrung by lousy equipment and are at the mercy of the broadcast crew. They can only review whatever feed the broadcasters decide to provide them, and they were operating with 21" and 13" monitors, neither of which were HD.
The NCAA really needs to step up and provide equipment similar to what the NFL does and better rules for how those crews get video feeds.
grades and refs
First, the OL and DL was and will be, obviously, our weakness going forward. I don’t know or see a resolution for this. Hopefully the coaches will be able to seal the lines with some schemes. Scary thought to have to rely on schemes instead of talent. I was looking at the possible new recruits we have committing and see a lack of DE’s and DL. Hope this picks up significantly. I thought the play calling was fine for most of the game but was awful on the goal line(s). Duh. We couldn’t do roll-outs? No passes? Just run into the middle that we could never break thru all day? I love Coach Sark but he is really conservative. What do you think? Having said all that ….
You know, the great thing about all this is that we are talking about a young, energetic, smart, gifted coach (and staff) and a young up-and-coming football team that was 0-12 last year, almost beating Notre Dame, beating USC and giving a game to LSU. Wow. What a year! I am soooo proud of these guys!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
We couldn’t do roll-outs? No passes? Just run into the middle that we could never break thru all day? I love Coach Sark but he is really conservative. What do you think?
I think you are using selective memory here.
To recap:
On the first series near the goal line:
1st and goal at the 8 – toss to Polk for 4 yards.
2nd and goal at the 4 – QB draw by Locker out of the shotgun for 3 yards.
3rd and goal at the 1 – QB sneak for half a yard.
4th and goal at the 1 foot line – QB sneak for no gain.
On the second series near the goal line:
1st and goal at the 1/2 yard line – toss sweep to Polk for loss of 1.5 yards.
2nd and goal at the 2 yard line – play-action rollout pass to Goodwin that is dropped.
3rd and goal at the 2 yard line – rollout play-action play with no receivers open – Jake tucks and gets back to the line of scrimmage.
After the personal foul on the FG attempt:
1st and goal at the 1 yard line – dive play up the middle to Polk for no gain
2nd and goal at the 6 yard line (after 5 yard false start penalty) – play-action pass to Homer for 5 yards.
3rd and goal at the 1 yard line – QB sneak for no gain.
This was actually a pretty varied set of play calls, and the sneaks were defensible play calls. Would I have done things a little differently? Yes, but I don’t think you can accuse Sark of not trying a variety of things.
The blame rests mostly with the players for lack of execution.
Oh, by the way ....
Oh, by the way, I think the referring this year has stunk on almost every level. When are we going to get professionla refs? One’s that train all year and are employees, etc?
The Refs
Some big calls haven’t gone our way. The officiating in the Pac 10 needs to be cleaned up…it isn’t working.
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