A somewhat quick review of the most intriguing developments of the young season so far:
There is such a thing as a moral victory
There will be many here who point to the 7-game streak as some sort of albatross, but the thing to remember is that last year's team was far from impressive during it's 5-2 start. Nothing from that was terribly sustainable. While we've lost two straight at the outset, this is a team that looks different at QB, WR, on offense in general, and improved though still a bit inconsistent on defense. They even look far better on special teams ... oh wait, no they're still atrocious there. (more on this later.) But despite two losses, this is an improved football team. That should feel good for everyone.
This is a new offense
Yes there is new personnel. Yes, many of the plays are the same. Yes, we have been behind in games and had to resort, arguably, to a new tempo. But, ultimately, this is a completely different offense. You can't change the tempo at which you play and claim you're still doing the same thing. Any defensive coordinator will tell you that. They also incorporated pretty heavily the read option, which is obviously a completely different animal to prepare for than straight ahead power football. And while we throw the ball underneath quite often, we've seen far more down the field this year. Those are three HUGE differences in overall offensive philosophy. This is not the same offense. And, by the way, Marrone and Hackett should be complimented for that.
Special teams ... wow
I'm not sure I've ever seen a team hurt itself more often and more consistently than this team does on specials. At one point someone suggested DM couldn't give up his role as a key part of the offense b/c *all* he'd have left to concentrate on were TEs and Special Teams. Umm, anyone else be OK with that? Let's look at the USC game and have some fun with the numbers: 6 punts ... wait for it ... none were fair caught. 2 punt returns ... wait for it ... we lost a total of 6 yards. Punt coverage ... USC two returns for 43 yards. Kick returns ... four for an average of 18 yards. To be fair, kicking was OK. But that is a woeful tale of the tape. Desperately need a fix here. Oh, and to dispell a rumor -- all our "improved depth" didn't magically make us better on special teams. At least not right away.
Defense hasn't been pretty, but not as ugly as the point totals suggest
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm predisposed to defend Shafer's defense on the basis of really liking attacking defenses. But look at this collection of drives and let me know if you see a pattern: USC had TD drives of 43, 55, 22 and 48 yards. NW had scoring drives of 21 yards and 28 yards, plus two non-offense scores (punt return, fumble return). So does this absolve this defense of blame for the first two losses? No, but I think this group is better than the raw numbers suggest. My hope is that they continue to improve as the year goes along.
In-game decisions are still ... curious
I think DM is doing a nice job and I trust he'll figure out specials ... soon ... please ... But the one area where I think he really struggles, consistently, are these key in-game decisions. No, they didn't cost us against USC, which was the better team. But the 4th-and-2 call followed up by the onsides kick along with the early two-point drive. My theory is that DM is at his best when it's game-planning, long-range planning, sticking to routine, tweaking at halftime, etc. But I think the key moments in the game sometimes get the best of him. Hopefully that's just another thing that improves as we move along.
Nassib actually isn't horrible
Are Nassib and Scoop Jardine roommates? If not, they should be. Two of the more criticized Cuse athletes I can remember and I'm not sure either one deserves half the criticism they get. Nassib isn't Barkley and he probably won't even be considered our best QB this decade (let's hope). But he's a solid player and clearly capable of helping us win games and score points. He's, at the very least, not the one holding the offense back. Nice to see him playing pretty well even if he's still had some moments of struggle.
There is clearly more talent here
The continuous referendum on Marrone as a recruiter has to be trending in a positive fashion. Broyld looks good, Kobena has come a long way, Clark has made a play, Gulley is a player, Dy Davis has improved, Lyn, a bunch of the frosh ... I like a lot of the younger players on this team.
Overall, it's hard not to feel pretty positive about most aspects of this program, IMO. Now it's a matter of validating it with some Ws.
There is such a thing as a moral victory
There will be many here who point to the 7-game streak as some sort of albatross, but the thing to remember is that last year's team was far from impressive during it's 5-2 start. Nothing from that was terribly sustainable. While we've lost two straight at the outset, this is a team that looks different at QB, WR, on offense in general, and improved though still a bit inconsistent on defense. They even look far better on special teams ... oh wait, no they're still atrocious there. (more on this later.) But despite two losses, this is an improved football team. That should feel good for everyone.
This is a new offense
Yes there is new personnel. Yes, many of the plays are the same. Yes, we have been behind in games and had to resort, arguably, to a new tempo. But, ultimately, this is a completely different offense. You can't change the tempo at which you play and claim you're still doing the same thing. Any defensive coordinator will tell you that. They also incorporated pretty heavily the read option, which is obviously a completely different animal to prepare for than straight ahead power football. And while we throw the ball underneath quite often, we've seen far more down the field this year. Those are three HUGE differences in overall offensive philosophy. This is not the same offense. And, by the way, Marrone and Hackett should be complimented for that.
Special teams ... wow
I'm not sure I've ever seen a team hurt itself more often and more consistently than this team does on specials. At one point someone suggested DM couldn't give up his role as a key part of the offense b/c *all* he'd have left to concentrate on were TEs and Special Teams. Umm, anyone else be OK with that? Let's look at the USC game and have some fun with the numbers: 6 punts ... wait for it ... none were fair caught. 2 punt returns ... wait for it ... we lost a total of 6 yards. Punt coverage ... USC two returns for 43 yards. Kick returns ... four for an average of 18 yards. To be fair, kicking was OK. But that is a woeful tale of the tape. Desperately need a fix here. Oh, and to dispell a rumor -- all our "improved depth" didn't magically make us better on special teams. At least not right away.
Defense hasn't been pretty, but not as ugly as the point totals suggest
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm predisposed to defend Shafer's defense on the basis of really liking attacking defenses. But look at this collection of drives and let me know if you see a pattern: USC had TD drives of 43, 55, 22 and 48 yards. NW had scoring drives of 21 yards and 28 yards, plus two non-offense scores (punt return, fumble return). So does this absolve this defense of blame for the first two losses? No, but I think this group is better than the raw numbers suggest. My hope is that they continue to improve as the year goes along.
In-game decisions are still ... curious
I think DM is doing a nice job and I trust he'll figure out specials ... soon ... please ... But the one area where I think he really struggles, consistently, are these key in-game decisions. No, they didn't cost us against USC, which was the better team. But the 4th-and-2 call followed up by the onsides kick along with the early two-point drive. My theory is that DM is at his best when it's game-planning, long-range planning, sticking to routine, tweaking at halftime, etc. But I think the key moments in the game sometimes get the best of him. Hopefully that's just another thing that improves as we move along.
Nassib actually isn't horrible
Are Nassib and Scoop Jardine roommates? If not, they should be. Two of the more criticized Cuse athletes I can remember and I'm not sure either one deserves half the criticism they get. Nassib isn't Barkley and he probably won't even be considered our best QB this decade (let's hope). But he's a solid player and clearly capable of helping us win games and score points. He's, at the very least, not the one holding the offense back. Nice to see him playing pretty well even if he's still had some moments of struggle.
There is clearly more talent here
The continuous referendum on Marrone as a recruiter has to be trending in a positive fashion. Broyld looks good, Kobena has come a long way, Clark has made a play, Gulley is a player, Dy Davis has improved, Lyn, a bunch of the frosh ... I like a lot of the younger players on this team.
Overall, it's hard not to feel pretty positive about most aspects of this program, IMO. Now it's a matter of validating it with some Ws.
