SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
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- I knew we were in trouble when I saw Stanford outfitted in uniforms that looked like Alabama’s. Had they changed the schedule and we were suddenly playing the Crimson Tide? There actually was a block S with a Tree in the middle of it on the side of their helmets but it was small and the S was the same color as the helmets. They played like the Tide at times. If they’d been in their normal uniforms, we’d have beaten them. For sure. I think.
- The whole game was uphill for SU. We got totally outplayed, far more than the score indicated, (just as we out-played Georgia Tech far more than the 31-28 final indicated). The fact that we came back to take the lead in the final minutes was amazing but the better team certainly won this one.
- Stanford dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in the first half. Our defense did a lot better in the second half but our offensive line was terrible the whole game. Our two big guys, 6-8 240 Savion Washington and 6-7 330 Da'Metrius Weatherspoon were like statues covered in the droppings of the bird that flew past them on seemingly every play. Jakob Bradford got blown up on one play, finding himself flat on his back in the backfield as two guys tackled the ball carrier. Kyle McCord got sacked four times, (once by two guys coming from opposite directions who had blown past Savion and Spoon), and hurried on virtually every pass. If we cannot get this problem fixed, it’s going to be a long and disappointing season.
- That seemed to throw McCord off. He threw two interceptions, one more the fault of Dan Villari, who turned in the wrong direction. There were other passes that weren’t close to being completed. Like any quarterback, no matter how great, if he’s threatened by the pass rush on every play, he’s just not going to be the same. His coordination with his receivers, which had bene excellent, was off tonight.
- We had no running game to speak of. We gained 26 yards in 17 carries. 4 of those were sacks for 27 negative yards so there were 13 actual running plays for 53 yards. Both numbers are inadequate. We need more balance of offense.
- Their future NFL receiver, Elic Ayomanor, had 7 catches for 87 yards and 1 score – on an Odell Beckham style one-handed catch. Our future NFL receiver, Oronde Gadsden, had 2 catches for 12 yards. Of course Oronde was double covered much of the time. But he usually is and we still manage to get the ball to him. Not tonight. And, of course, Elic was singled covered on the play of the game. When Fran Brown was asked about this in the post game presser, he said that he’d seen Ayomanor was being covered by Jayden Bellamy so they called a time out and switched the coverage for he was being covered by, (the more experienced), Clarence Lewis who he felt could “make a play”. He never explained why he had to do it alone.
- Malachi James got sick of touchbacks and found out why we accept them when he tried to turn a kickoff and only got to the 15. He got replaced by Trebor Pena who downed the ball in the end zone. attempted to return a punt for the fourth time this year and got three yards. We have 8 yards in punt returns in three games. Both these guys should be weapons that could make big plays for us returning kicks but either we are being very conservative in this area or we don’t seem to be able to spring them for big returns.
- Tackling, a big issue vs. Ohio U. and much improved vs. Georgia Tech, was an issue again. Jayden Bellamy drew a bead on a receiver on a short pass and basically dived into the turf in front of him, (something that Fran had noted happened several times in the Ohio U. game). There were too many other plays where the Stanford runner knocked our defenders back and carried several of them for extra yardage.
- Fadil Diggs is supposed to be a dominant player. He has 6 tackles, 2 of them solo, no sacks and no TFLs.
- I don’t think we had any big injuries tonight but a lot of guys got dinged up and had to get looked at by the staff. You tend to get more injuries when you pay poorly than when you play well. Both can cause each other.
- The whole game was uphill for SU. We got totally outplayed, far more than the score indicated, (just as we out-played Georgia Tech far more than the 31-28 final indicated). The fact that we came back to take the lead in the final minutes was amazing but the better team certainly won this one.
- Stanford dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in the first half. Our defense did a lot better in the second half but our offensive line was terrible the whole game. Our two big guys, 6-8 240 Savion Washington and 6-7 330 Da'Metrius Weatherspoon were like statues covered in the droppings of the bird that flew past them on seemingly every play. Jakob Bradford got blown up on one play, finding himself flat on his back in the backfield as two guys tackled the ball carrier. Kyle McCord got sacked four times, (once by two guys coming from opposite directions who had blown past Savion and Spoon), and hurried on virtually every pass. If we cannot get this problem fixed, it’s going to be a long and disappointing season.
- That seemed to throw McCord off. He threw two interceptions, one more the fault of Dan Villari, who turned in the wrong direction. There were other passes that weren’t close to being completed. Like any quarterback, no matter how great, if he’s threatened by the pass rush on every play, he’s just not going to be the same. His coordination with his receivers, which had bene excellent, was off tonight.
- We had no running game to speak of. We gained 26 yards in 17 carries. 4 of those were sacks for 27 negative yards so there were 13 actual running plays for 53 yards. Both numbers are inadequate. We need more balance of offense.
- Their future NFL receiver, Elic Ayomanor, had 7 catches for 87 yards and 1 score – on an Odell Beckham style one-handed catch. Our future NFL receiver, Oronde Gadsden, had 2 catches for 12 yards. Of course Oronde was double covered much of the time. But he usually is and we still manage to get the ball to him. Not tonight. And, of course, Elic was singled covered on the play of the game. When Fran Brown was asked about this in the post game presser, he said that he’d seen Ayomanor was being covered by Jayden Bellamy so they called a time out and switched the coverage for he was being covered by, (the more experienced), Clarence Lewis who he felt could “make a play”. He never explained why he had to do it alone.
- Malachi James got sick of touchbacks and found out why we accept them when he tried to turn a kickoff and only got to the 15. He got replaced by Trebor Pena who downed the ball in the end zone. attempted to return a punt for the fourth time this year and got three yards. We have 8 yards in punt returns in three games. Both these guys should be weapons that could make big plays for us returning kicks but either we are being very conservative in this area or we don’t seem to be able to spring them for big returns.
- Tackling, a big issue vs. Ohio U. and much improved vs. Georgia Tech, was an issue again. Jayden Bellamy drew a bead on a receiver on a short pass and basically dived into the turf in front of him, (something that Fran had noted happened several times in the Ohio U. game). There were too many other plays where the Stanford runner knocked our defenders back and carried several of them for extra yardage.
- Fadil Diggs is supposed to be a dominant player. He has 6 tackles, 2 of them solo, no sacks and no TFLs.
- I don’t think we had any big injuries tonight but a lot of guys got dinged up and had to get looked at by the staff. You tend to get more injuries when you pay poorly than when you play well. Both can cause each other.
