Well, after this weekend’s thumping of the Spuds, and after Stanford showed itself to be the weakling of the conference, this weekend’s Baylor game stands up as the barrier to WSU’s bowl aspirations for this season.
As Sedihawk so boldly noted in the link below, Baylor ain’t bad. In fact, Baylor will represent the exact type of lower division Pac-10 team that will beat us if we are, in fact, a lower division Pac-10 team. So, this weekend will prove to be a crucial measuring stick: win and you look to start the season 3-1 and you’re on your way to a 7-5 type season (win BIG and you may be on to something bigger). Lose, and you are a lower division PAC-10 team that will STRUGGLE to achieve 6-6, and most probably, will be 5-7 or 4-8.
It is not an overstatement to say that this weekend will define the rest of the season.
Other Brinkhater thoughts:
The Good:
1) Let be written and known that Timm Rosenbach and George Yarno are the two best things that have happened to Cougar football in the last ten years. When you look at Rosey’s commitment to run the football (his playcalling is what makes him invaluable), and the scheme and discipline that Yarno has brought to the program, you realize that this program really is poised to return to big time football if it can bring in the horses. I for one am simply THRILLED to have seen the vertible end to the days of 10+ penalties for 100+ yards. Thank you, both coaches.
2) Ivory, Ivory, Ivory. What a gift to recruiting to have a true freshman recruit from Texas take the ball to the house from 80 yards out so early in the year. Think that isn’t going to be played 1,000 in Texas living rooms this fall? What a great message: come up North and play right away. Brilliant move by the coaches to insert him, and what a deal that he took it all the way!
3) Speed of LBs and DTs. Without question the speed of the tackles and LBs is a strength of this team defensively. If this team can learn to tackle better, then this D should keep us in the thick of it. I think there is an actual chance of this team having a PPG under thirty. If they tackle better, they’ll do it.
4) WR blocking. Not sure how each guy will grade out, but the blocking from the WR corps was pretty outstanding. Dillon, in particular, was pushing back his DB about 45 yards downfield on every carry. It was like he channeled Hines Ward’s body for the second half…..that’s what an experienced corps will do for you–you can work on run blocking instead of having to teach them how to run their routes.
THE BAD:
1) KICKING. Don’t know what Doba is thinking at this point, but I for one, am ready to see 15 letter come in for FGs. As is, Langley’s kick-offs and PATs have looked good. So, I say, keep him in that role. But, the field goal situation is out of hand. 15 Letter needs a chance. In fact, if there was one major minus to Doba’s efforts to run out the clock in the 4th quarter was our need to get 15letter a few chances at home. If the kicking game doesn’t improve, we will lose one or two games as a result. 15Letter needs time this weekend!
2) POSSESSION PASSING. After his 18th start, Brink has proven two things in my mind: a) He throws the prettiest fade that I can remember seeing at WSU. b) He may be the WORST possession passer that I have seen for someone who started more than 1 season.
While Brink’s numbers were fantastic, many of his “possession” throws weren’t great. Still too many balls that were behind receivers, short, or high. Against a team like Idaho whose DBs struggle to stay on the TV screen with our receiveers, that’s no big deal. Against a fast defense, about 7 or 8 of his completions would have been incomplete or for VERY short yardage.
On the other hand, you look at Roger’s throws and ALL of them would have been completions against ANYONE.
In short, I think that we will find as the season moves forward that Brink will eat up the scrubs due to his knowlege of the offense, his ability to read defenses, and because of the strength of the longball. However, if we’re gonna beat the big boys–like USC and CAL–we’re gonna need Rogers and his ability to move the football, play possession football, eat clock, and KEEP THE D OFF THE FIELD.
It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff bends a bit in shaking things up using both those guys, and their strengths, to help this team win games.
3) Boyd’s injury. Haven’t seen an update since Doba went to his secret squirrel, wait til Tuesday, press conference thing. But, the health of Boyd’s hand looms big for the next couple of weeks, as Brink continues to learn, or re-learn, how to throw the ball over the middle.
Stay tuned.
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