Husky Bye Week Musings
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 2:22 PM PDT
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PrintSo what exactly happens during a bye week when your team is 4-1?
The veterans basically get a week off while the younger players participate in what amounts to being a three day mini camp.
The coaches however take it up a notch because starting on Thursday they are going to be out on the road recruiting all over the west. Expect to hear about rumors of Sark sightings coming from all over the state of California.
The Huskies got off to a great start this recruiting season. They currently have commitments from 17 prospective student athletes and they are expected to sign as many as 28 in February. Of the 17 they currently have a number of them have decided to visit other schools.
A verbal commitment doesn't mean as much as it once did. You can count on plenty of movement and changes between now and signing day.
One such change could be Denver (Mullen HS) QB and Husky commit Cyler Miles who visited Florida this past weekend. Miles insists that he is solid to Washington but he is attracted to the offense that Charlie Weis is running at Florida.
You can count on at least one of the coaches visiting Dominguez HS in Compton, Ca this week. The Huskies are heavily recruiting four players on the Don's roster. OL Lacy Westbrook, CB Brandon Beaver, CB Alphonso Marsh, and DE Damion Turpin.
Another kid from down there that has popped up on the list is 6'4 340 Matt Cochran from Buhach HS in Atwater, Ca. He is a big dude and he really likes Washington. He could either end up at center on the offensive line or he could end up being another run stopper at nose tackle. Cochran goes to the same school as DT Aziz Shittu who is also interested in Washington.
Keith Price's ability to audible a key factor in victory against Utah
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reviews Sark's weekly Pac 12 conference call. It really helps having a smart QB who picks up things easily. Price is really special in that respect.
"He's doing quite a bit of it for us,'' Sarkisian said. "Really, he did quite a bit of it in the second half of the Utah game, as well. So depending on game plans and within the game of the gameplans of what we are calling for him, it allows for more flexibility for Keith there and he's done a nice job with it, whether it be changing plays completely or changing portions of plays or changing protections within plays. He's handling it really, really well for us.''
Brian come back!
SBN Seattle Editor Brian Floyd (who has publicly vowed never ever to visit or post on our blog again after being attacked because he is a Cougar during the Apple Cup) writes a nice article on Austin Seferian-Jenkins and the diversity of the Washington Offense.
Biggest loser?
Ted Miller of ESPN asks who will be the biggest losers in the Pac 12 at the end of the season?
Is there a quarterback controversy at BYU?
ESPN's Andrea Adelson takes a closer look. It must suck to be Jake Heaps who privately told many that BYU was light years ahead of UW in overall talent. I guess Jake may not be the best judge of talent.
Bye Week Factoids
The Huskies are only going to practice three times this week.
The coaches are going to take off and hit the recruiting trail on Thursday.
Washington hasn't had a new football commitment in 83 days. (Jason Thompson)
DT Semisi Tokolahi graded out well in his thirty snaps against Utah. The coaches say they expect him to play quite a bit more against Colorado.
UW announced the Colorado game Oct. 15 will kickoff at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time and be televised regionally by ROOT Sports.
The Oct. 22 game at Stanford, also 2-0 in the Pac-12 North, will start at 5:00 p.m. ABC and/or ESPN will carry that one.
The starting time for the home game with Arizona Oct. 29 will likely be announced on Oct. 17.
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Really hope Sark can get a good one to commit
this week. Seems we need to get fired up here, but can you believe the quality of the PSAs they are going after. Top notch. I Know we won’t get them all, but 33% would be nice as long as Sark keeps the fence up. Garnett, Banner, Russell, Dozier a cal lean. What surprises me is that Cory English hasn’t jumped at the offer yet, and in doing so may lose his spot to Eldrenkamp. Also read that Rector may be willing to gamble his offer and spot by visiting another school.
Like you said, the recruiting boards should be full up with speculation and Sark sightings this weekend. Hope we hear a few WOOFs.
I wonder if
the emergence of Keith Price, with Nick Montana behind him, and Jeff Lindquist coming in has made Miles rethink his decision. When he committed, our QB position was still very much up in the air. From what I have heard, Derrick Brown has looked impressive as well.
could be
I was surprised when Miles committed because of the stack of guys already here and Lindquist committed. We’ll see. Miles is clearly attracted to going to a school where he will be coached up into an NFL prospect, which was a big reason he committed to Sark. He may be attracted to Florida’s offense under Charlie Weis, but he might want to see how Jimmy Clausen is doing – drafted high after being a 5-star recruit, but not actually producing and beaten out by a raw rookie.
Good observation.
Fact is there should always be QB coompetition at a school with a reputation for developing pro-style QB’s. Also true that QB’s with flshy numbers from a college ‘scheme’ offense get a long hard look from pro’s, as these guys have a very spotty record on the next level.
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 10:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Brian won't post here?
That’s too bad – he’s a good writer. I like all of the guys over at CougCenter, but I thought Brian brought the most to the table. Is he even writing there still, or is he full-time SBNation for the region?
Anyway, he’s done at least one breakdown like this of the Huskies per week, and they’ve all been well-done and worth the read (even when I didn’t agree with him, such as on the Nebraska punt-interference calls).
Yep...Brian is good
He got picked on a bit by the usual suspects and never came back. It is too bad because he always added a lot when he visited. I feel that way about the other guys at Coug Center too.
The thing about the Cougars is that the majority of us root for them whenever they aren’t playing us. They on the other hand root for anybody who is playing against us and hope that all of our children are born autistic.
The average Coug will never like a Husky….despite that the average Husky will always feel sorry for a Coug…they hate that.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Funny thing . . . .
I have been on the road for the last week. Sunday I found myself staying at a place that had every satelite channel in the world. While flipping through way too many channels, I came across Napolean Kaufman preaching at the church he attends. As a devout Husky fan, I had to stop and see what he was preaching about. The main point of his sermon was that we as individuals in the modern world need to develop a thicker skin and stop taking things so personally.
I don’t know Brian Floyd, but I’d highly recommend that he listens to the sermon! This is college football for crying out loud, does he really expect Husky fans to “be nice” to Cougar fans during the Apple Cup? That is as ridicoulus as expecting American Soldiers and Japanese Soldiers to “be nice” to each other during the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the Battle of Midway. Good thing we didn’t have blogs back then!!
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
Edit button
. . . Napolean Kaufman preaching at the church he founded . . . .
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
Eh, I don't even know if it was the Apple Cup.
It was more me being hired by SB Nation full-time and losing pretty much all free time I had to comment anywhere. I read, because I try to read everything from the Seattle blogs, though.
Brian...just saying...we miss you...
…and I promise to defend you if you come back!
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 7:48 PM PDT up reply actions
We DO miss you
and you ARE doing good work on the Seattgle blog; I just found it today!
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Glad to hear it wasn't necessarily Husky fans.
We can get a bit testy during the Apple Cup, but nothing like Duck fans!
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
Well, that's because Huskies and Cougars have one thing in common.
They all applied to UW.
The thing about the Cougars is that the majority of us root for them whenever they aren’t playing us.
I don’t think that’s true. The majority really doesn’t care what the Cougs do, unless the outcome of their game helps or hurts the Dawgs.
Count me as one who roots for the Cougs when they're playing anyone but us
A) I have civic pride, even towards that forgotten other side of the state
B) It’s nice when the Apple Cup means something besides one team making a crappy bowl game.
My best friend for 25+ years is a Coug. Needless to say there is always aphone call after the apple cup.
25 years....
Always a phone call…that is what makes it fun…I have five very close friends who are Ducks…we all enjoy the rivalry but it was much better when UW won most of the time…this current losing streak is killing me.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 7:54 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't know many Ducks,
and, to be honest, the few whom I do know are awful, horrible, stupid, unclean people. But the sample I know is small, and I know it can’t represent all the real people who went to Oregon.
But I know a lot of Cougars, family included, and the vast majority of them are great folks, and that’s why I feel that can make fun of the Cougs so much more than I make fun of any of our other rivals. It also helps that I have spent half my life in Central and Eastern Washington: a big part of it is the self-loathing.
Speaking as the oldest of five boys, I think it’s a big brother-little brother thing. Even if they won’t admit it, they do respect us, and they just want our respect in return. But, even though we do respect them, we don’t respect them as much as we really should, and we don’t let them know that we respect them even half as much we actually do. We never let up on the teasing, and that can push a little brother to the breaking point if we don’t watch ourselves.
Cogent observation
Though I grew up in Seattly, a couple cousins went to WSU, and locals across the state have friends and / or family from both schools.
Hope Cougs catch a break this year.
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 10:57 PM PDT up reply actions
I think that's the other reason I don't hate WSU
they don’t take themselves too seriously. They all realize that Pullman isn’t Hollywood, but they’re proud of going there and they’re all pretty self-deprecating. I respect other people who hate themselves.
about the ducks...
well…there’s simply no other way to say it…ducks consider slugs to be sushi.
It’s gotta be tough when you’re in a macho enterprise and your identifying moniker is prey, rather than predator. Seems to be the heart of their twisted logic.
I DID NOT PICK ON BRIAN (just in case you were thinking of me)
… I love Brian. He really is a good writer.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Me?
But I know a lot of Cougars, family included, and the vast majority of them are great folks
I was talking about one Cougar. You were talking about them all.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
@chrislandon
Anyway, he’s done at least one breakdown like this of the Huskies per week, and they’ve all been well-done and worth the read (even when I didn’t agree with him, such as on the Nebraska punt-interference calls).
They’ve mostly been pretty accurate, too. The Cal one had a few mistakes, but was generally pretty solid. The Sefarian-Jenkins one was great.
I always like having Brian around over here. I remember him getting fairly worked up over the reaction to an article he wrote over at Cougcenter. We all do it sometimes, but it’s too bad that he’s not willing to come back by anymore.
The Cal breakdowns were great.
Brock also did an awesome breakdown on chalk talk. Love seeing that side of the ball.
Someone falsely accused him of not being averse to bestiality and it all went downhill from there.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 6:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Curious what I missed
This is a serious, not attacking, question, because I’m still learning as I go with some of this, especially when it comes to playing around with the UW side.
Well hey Briam...
Consider me and us your friends and we will help you out as we can with SBN Seattle…we are way funnier than Nusser.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 7:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes you do!
The humor and game threads are the best features on this blog!
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Short answer
lots of good exchanges with Husker fans, quite a few with Ute fans,
and occasional obnoxious Ducks stumbling through the thread . . .
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 10:59 PM PDT up reply actions
More seriously
There are still raw feelings about Tye and the Weasel; we’re touchy about them.
Many of us also loathe Barbara Hedges, even after all these years.
Pretty much all the regular teasing is OK, because even though UW has had a really bed recent past in football, we have also had a lot of earlier success. Most of us are also sympathetic to other programs down on their luck.
by HuskyInExile on Oct 4, 2011 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Two things stood out to me. First, it wasn’t four verticals. The outside receiver on the trips side ran an out. It looked like the play was two verticals (far left and inside slot) and a smash, with Allen having the option of going inside or outside on his break. He absolutely froze the safety, and really, could’ve gone either way.
Second, Trufant doesn’t tip the coverage, other than that he isn’t playing press man. Even with a press bail, he can still be doing anything other than bump and run.
Picking nits. I thought it was a good read. And I enjoy the stuff you do at Cougcenter and the Seattle SB Nation site. I hope you take the chance to come by here and spar with us lowly message board posters.
Watching it again now, I agree.
It looked like the outside receiver on the wide side was getting vertical, but I can’t tell from the angle. He doesn’t appear to be running a route in earnest, either — or he’s slower than I thought, not sure which. The receiver to the short side was just obliterated by the jam, so it’s hard to tell — it was a great jam, by the way.
On Trufant, I also agree. And I worded that kind of funky to begin with, which is something I should do better. It’s not that he tipped off his coverage by completely giving it away, it just looked — to me — like he started into his backpedal early.
It was a delayed deep out from the outside receiver.
And it looked like Allen had the option of going either way, which is what’s called a smash route (the combo of a delayed out by the outside receiver and a deep corner or post by the guy inside of him). If you ever did a breakdown of the Polk TD catch from that game, you’d see that the Dawgs did essentially the same thing on both sides of the field (a double smash) to hold the DB’s a half-second longer, and put the linebacker covering Polk in stress and keep the safeties wide.
The Huskies (and a lot of teams, really) run a lot of press-bail. The idea is to begin that back pedal right before the snap so that the QB and WR don’t have too much of a chance to change a route based on the coverage – it becomes an on-the-fly adjustment instead of something that’s changed pre-snap. Trufant did a good job of baiting Eastern’s QB with press-bail on the interception at the end of that game. It’s all about the timing.
Ducre (the DB on the single receiver side) has really stepped up. He was a safety/OLB hybrid in high school that never played corner until he got here. I didn’t know that until this week. But he’s physical, and really taking to the position.
I certainly didn’t mean to come off as overly critical in my first post. It doesn’t appear that you took it that way, but it wasn’t my intent regardless.
Oh, no I didn't take it that in a bad way at all.
I’m always open to discussing it, especially because you guys know a lot more about the Huskies’ coverage scheme than I. And your description certainly makes sense.
Also, Polk’s TD, which I saw the same way as you, I believe.
Yeah, I just kind of play around and pick out whatever jumps out.
Kind of have a blank slate with UW since I just started doing this with your guys’ team, so there’s a ton of material I can work with.
I debated the Nebraska punt returns for a long time
And even passed it to my Washington guy to see what he thought. I came away from it thinking the calls were a lot closer than they were portrayed, by I’m not still not sure what was right or wrong.
(I also went into writing that thinking UW got screwed on the calls. I drifted more toward 50/50 while researching it, but I don’t know I could say definitively either way whether you guys did or not).
Anyone hear about Cyler Miles?
I guess he was clad in Florida get-up over the weekend. Think it’s something we should be concerned about?
LOL...
missed that part of the article. But seriously, I like Cyler way more than Jeff. And I’m an MI grad.
MI Grad
So you have serious ATD and a trust fund.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Oct 4, 2011 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Why Cyler or Jeff?
If memory serves, Jeff did better at the Elite 11 camp, which could be scaring Cyler away.
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
They were roomates for most of it I believe
It’s tough to expect them both to end up here. I’ve been high on Jeff since I saw his highlight video a couple of years ago, so I’d be thrilled if he ended up here alone or with Cyler. There is also the fact that Jeff is a local product who’ll have a bunch of press and a decided “hype” edge coming in. Can’t fault Cyler for bailing, but I hope he signs with us this Feb.
so what?
Montana had a lot more hype coming in, but look how Price is working out.
not sure there's a hype difference
Both are highly rated by the recruiting services. Lindquist might get a slight edge based off their performances in the Elite 11 challenge, but not much. Main edge Lindquist has is being a local kid, but once they start competing on the field, that’s a non-factor.
I hope Miles signs with us, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up elsewhere.
Montana is also a year behind
if they came in the same class I have no doubt the competition would be miles (pardon the unintentional pun) closer.
There is also one other thing to consider
Trent Dilfer takes himself way to seriously and I’m not the least bit sold on his evaluating abilities.
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