Huskies 2018 season

[TheDayMan]

On a scale of 1 to 10 where are your nerves heading into this game? BYU unexpectedly ranked and already have knocked off a top 10 (lolz on that) team in their house. They run a pesky offense that will likely keep UW in a fairly vanilla defense much of the game, but then UW isn't a big time blitzing or exotic look defense normally anyway.

I don't expect their shifts to cause as many problems for this defense, but they do have a fairly strong ground game and have been pretty solid at scheming it up thus far. That Canada feller put up 118 on wisky and they had 191 overall yards on the ground. They also gave up nearly 200y rushing by Wisky. The biggest difference in that game was likely the one wisky turnover.

Both teams are about equal in team rushing defense giving up about the same number of yards/carry. No surprise, but UW's pass defense is considerably higher ranked. BYU's passing offense is ranked 120th while UW's is 29th.

Their passing game isn't their strength and stopping it is ours. UW should be able to drop 8 in a base defense that ignores their overuse of shifting at the line and push them to pass. I just don't see them balanced enough to push that defense around on their home turf.

Not particularly nervous about winning, but that line is a bit steep. Say maybe a 3 on the nerves meter?

Agree, 3 sounds about right. Feel like it’ll be a somewhat comfortable win, but probably not a blowout. Sort of like the ASU game, only a bit more comfortable.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Scale 1-10 Im going 4, I seriously think the Dawgs roll them at home.
I know I said it last week about Sparky, but I think they are still working adjustments and to be fair was looking to get the W and coast the rest of the way....BYU I don't see it that way this week, ranked team coming in and I believe Dawgs speed is way to much for BYU..

 

[RegentDenali]

BYU is an offense you have to monitor and adjust to quickly as their constantly in motion and use alot of pre-snap deception and sweep plays.

The Huskies are up to the task with our D, but watch how much motion is involved with these guys when they have the ball. They're moving all over the place.

But this game is in our house. Huge advantage for this matchup. Especially if BYU decides to test our backfield with the pass.

Its nice to see us taking on a ranked team which is great boost to SOS for the polls, but I still think were going to handle these guys well. The point spread shows again the confidence and talent difference between these teams.

 

[WizardHawk]

They are ranked now, but I'm not betting they will be at seasons end so I'm not sure how much of an overall boost beating them will be for UW's ranking.

BYU really only has 2 tough games left on their schedule and both are games I'd expect them to lose. At Boise State and at Utah. The rest are against nobody really outside of maybe Hawaii which they get at home. They very much could lose that one as well, but I'd suspect they will win one of those 3 at least and likely finish around 8-4.

Stanford hasn't been sharp, the ducks are dangerous but rebuilding and likely haven't seen their last derp ending this season, and whoever finally wins the south might be buried back in the 20's at best in ranking.

 

[RegentDenali]

Nice.
Former Husky LB Azeem Victor has been signed to the Seahawks practice squad.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

I expect BYU to come out swinging early but in the end the Huskies should win covering the spread. So I'm on a 2 with this scale.

 

[kcden]

Nice.
Former Husky LB Azeem Victor has been signed to the Seahawks practice squad.

Has he had a PF flag thrown on him yet?

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Chris Petersen puts three players on scholarship

 

[seahawksfan234]

Sad news for the Huskies today. DB Austin Joyner and DL Jared Pulu will both be medically retiring. Wish the best for both of them.

Joyner, Pulu medically retire

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Sad news for the Huskies today. DB Austin Joyner and DL Jared Pulu will both be medically retiring. Wish the best for both of them.

Joyner, Pulu medically retire

ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

[RegentDenali]

Both were projected to be big contributors in 2019. Especially Joyner after all the projected losses to the DB roster after this season.

Bummer.

 

[RegentDenali]

Appears the two scenarios were now facing.

We can still win the north to play for a Rose bowl spot if the Ducks drop one more and we win out. Possible. Odds are decent with that.

We can can still end missing out on the PCG, and end up in Alamo or a Holiday bowl.

I’m still trying to crunch the numbers, but appears we have a lot of work to do to still get to the pac champ game.

But with how flat this team is playing this year on offense and defense when it matters, not sure now if that’s even a want. The ASU and UCLA games were major warning signs that this team not performing up to expectations and our ranking. A team like Penn St, Michigan, or Wisky would wreck us if that’s the best our offense can do. Their defenses would kill us in the red zone just like Auburn did. Hate to talk like that, but today’s performance was a train wreck and not worthy of the Rose bowl bid.

 

[TheDayMan]

Appears the two scenarios were now facing.

We can still win the north to play for a Rose bowl spot if the Ducks drop one more and we win out. Possible. Odds are decent with that.

We can can still end missing out on the PCG, and end up in Alamo or a Holiday bowl.

I’m still trying to crunch the numbers, but appears we have a lot of work to do to still get to the pac champ game.

But with how flat this team is playing this year on offense and defense when it matters, not sure now if that’s even a want. The ASU and UCLA games were major warning signs that this team not performing up to expectations and our ranking. A team like Penn St, Michigan, or Wisky would wreck us if that’s the best our offense can do. Their defenses would kill us in the red zone just like Auburn did. Hate to talk like that, but today’s performance was a train wreck and not worthy of the Rose bowl bid.

Win out, and Oregon needs to lose one for the pac championship game. This team isn’t playoff worthy, but I think they’d match up well with a Michigan or Wisconsin, maybe Penn State. I’m still hoping for a rose bowl.

 

[RegentDenali]

Appears Penn St. rose bowl bid took a big hit tonight. Mich or Wisky more likely big10 opponent for Rose

 

[RegentDenali]

Win out, and Oregon needs to lose one for the pac championship game. This team isn’t playoff worthy, but I think they’d match up well with a Michigan or Wisconsin, maybe Penn State. I’m still hoping for a rose bowl.

It would be nice to be in a Rose bowl game, but this team has been a massive letdown on many levels this year. I don't think we deserve it. We supposedly have a backfield loaded with NFL talent, but they're getting burned more and more as the season goes on. Wisky or Mich would absolute r*pe us at the Rose Bowl.

We've been living off the preseason ranking, but was going to eventually be exposed after what we saw brewing with the ASU and especially UCLA game. The Ducks were drooling during their bye watching that tape.

The offense has been the biggest letdown of them all. Browning looks more and more inept out there every game, and a lot of it is directly Hamdan cause he keeps throwing out crap these players weren't developed for. The run game is the only thing keeping the team in it at all. The pass game looks like a throw and pray situation with every game more and more. No crispness. No precision. So much slop. We've added all this size, but look like a bunch of lurches from Addam's family half the time out there.

This performance was probably the worst of the Petersen era, given the talent level of the roster and especially the importance of it at this point in the season and the ranking of the competition. Absolute embarrassment of underachievement. We looked like a midmajor out there most of the time.

Just embarrassing performance. Absolutely nothing positive to take from it. There was things we could take as a positive from the Auburn game. This one? Nothing. Total shitshow.

 

[WizardHawk]

Look, losing to the ducks is always bad and they are not a great team. That is true. They were still one short FG away from taking their victory lap.

The defense had their holes, but Oregon can move the ball. UW still beat them in pretty much every offensive statistic and they were the road team. Browning sputtered and then did what he rarely does and carried the team late and put them in position to win.

You simply cannot have this dismal special teams and be a top 10 caliber team. Not just the blown FG, but they are atrocious on kick coverage. Worst I've seen since maybe 2008 or 2009? With the athletes they have there is no reasonable explanation for it. At all.

They lost Gaskin for most of the game, Ahmed for a good chunk of it, lost a starting corner, lost a DL to that targeting call, and they were at least still there where they should have won.

It's easy to sit back and second guess the coaches. I mean that idiot wallace is rambling on about taking the penalty in OT, but obviously letting the clock run out when you had TO's left and not even trying to move closer was the wrong decision. I'm sure they will defend it and it wasn't the worst choice they have ever made, but it failed so it was wrong.

The ducks will likely lose at least two more games. I can see them losing next week in Pullman and even at Utah. They don't have the chops to take that meh defense on the road.

I doubt UW is finished losing though either. Between the abysmal kicking game and just plain horrible game planning/play calling they will drop another one at some point.

 

[TheDayMan]

Look, losing to the ducks is always bad and they are not a great team. That is true. They were still one short FG away from taking their victory lap.

The defense had their holes, but Oregon can move the ball. UW still beat them in pretty much every offensive statistic and they were the road team. Browning sputtered and then did what he rarely does and carried the team late and put them in position to win.

You simply cannot have this dismal special teams and be a top 10 caliber team. Not just the blown FG, but they are atrocious on kick coverage. Worst I've seen since maybe 2008 or 2009? With the athletes they have there is no reasonable explanation for it. At all.

They lost Gaskin for most of the game, Ahmed for a good chunk of it, lost a starting corner, lost a DL to that targeting call, and they were at least still there where they should have won.

It's easy to sit back and second guess the coaches. I mean that idiot wallace is rambling on about taking the penalty in OT, but obviously letting the clock run out when you had TO's left and not even trying to move closer was the wrong decision. I'm sure they will defend it and it wasn't the worst choice they have ever made, but it failed so it was wrong.

The ducks will likely lose at least two more games. I can see them losing next week in Pullman and even at Utah. They don't have the chops to take that meh defense on the road.

I doubt UW is finished losing though either. Between the abysmal kicking game and just plain horrible game planning/play calling they will drop another one at some point.

Agree with most of this. Special teams was bound to bite us again, and did big time. There’s no excuse for that kick coverage, especially considering their philosophy with playing starters on those units. Not much else to say about the kicking game, it fucked us again.

Defense once again did their part, mostly. Probably gave up more than any of us would like, but factor in the short fields from shitty special teams, and they actually did pretty good. We knew Oregon would get their yards and some points, and if you look at Herbert’s stats, I dare anyone to tell me they wouldn’t be all over that if it was offered before the game. Would have liked another turn over or two, and actually had at least one there, but it was once again broken up by our own guy. Not the first time that happened this year, and I guess is just gonna happen when you have an agressive D that swarms to the ball. Still frustrating though.

I hated killing the clock for the field goal. I hated it before it didn’t work. You’re moving the ball with ease on the ground, have 3rd and short, and a pocket full of timeouts. Your kicking game absolutely sucks and you know it. Keep going and try to get in the end zone, or at least get closer. 36/7 yards is right in the range your kicker has shanked this year. Obviously if that doesn’t work and you fumble you’re gonna get second guessed too, but I would have been fine with it, would have been the same outcome, I just hated that field goal from the start.

But oh well, I get it. Petersen trusts his players and staff to do their job, he’s gonna play to win with the kicker, because he’s supposed to do his job and knock chip shots through, so it wasn’t technically the wrong call. Just that trusting everything to work isn’t working. That brings us to Hamdan. This is where I disagree with you, I thought the overall game plan was great. They were in 3rd and short situations way more often than not, and didn’t really struggle moving the ball. The problem is it all falls apart because he refuses to not fuck up what’s working with stupid bullshit like that fucking wildcat nonsense. If he can’t figure that shit out, if wildcat and quarterback sneaks are as imaginative as he gets in crucial short yardage situations, this offense is just destined to sputter.

 

[mcnabb7542]

All right question of the day,

In almost five seasons they have been to:

Semi finals - lost
Holiday bowl - lost
NY6 Bowl- lost
has only won the Pac 12 title once (north title once)

Do you believe this coaching staff can win at this level?

 

[TheDayMan]

All right question of the day,

In almost five seasons they have been to:

Semi finals - lost
Holiday bowl - lost
NY6 Bowl- lost
has only won the Pac 12 title once (north title once)

Do you believe this coaching staff can win at this level?

I mean, let’s not get carried away here. Compare that to what was happening before. We’re in no way out of the pac championship race this year. We’ve had the best defense in the Pac every year this staff has been here. They clearly can win at this level. And one day we’re bound to get a competent offensive staff, then watch out world!

 

[WizardHawk]

All right question of the day,

In almost five seasons they have been to:

Semi finals - lost
Holiday bowl - lost
NY6 Bowl- lost
has only won the Pac 12 title once (north title once)

Do you believe this coaching staff can win at this level?

Until they solve the OC debacle, no.

Mince no words here though, you can't ever even contemplate a change without having a reasonable expectation of finding something better. You are talking about finding one of the top 3-4 coaches in the game to get where your question implies they belong. They aren't in a place to attract that level. No one in the Pac right now is outside of maybe (big maybe) USC. Period.

I voiced big concerns when they brought Petersen in that he was one of the best at taking looked over and undervalued talent and putting a team together that was beyond just competitive, but he was not used to the gutter politics and trench warfare of going after those top level 5* national talents. We know it takes second tier teams longer to get in position to get those. You need more success than you had and more media attention that leads then to more success and even more attention. It takes cycles of that.

They won't reach that elite top 5ish status until they solve their offense. It's clear they were able to generate above expected offense when they had Ross and Pettis. They were able to overachieve based on the entire ineptness of their OC and the weaknesses of Browning. Next year they will have a new QB and a couple of potentially special WR's added to the ones getting experience this year, but they NEED a legit offensive mind to turn that into anything resembling an elite offense.

The defense for sure is missing not having that killer rush. We knew replacing Vea was a tall order and they haven't solved that yet. Gaines is a solid player, but he's nothing close to what Vita brought with that inside domination. The two of them together was a killer combo and now they do not have that.

Elite top 5ish caliber teams can also make field goals from the 20y to win games. Those that cannot are not elite. Let's remember that Don James had some struggles with kickers. Sure, he had Chuck Nelson early on, but he had a weird spell of bad kicking. I don't know what it will take to solve this, but they MUST focus on finding a top flight kicker. They will not improve without it.