First of all, this one’s weird. Notice the drunk chick go in for the smell and an “ouch”? Mmmmm, NBA man sweat at it’s finest. Only in LA. Isn’t that where a clothing designer once walked on the court, drink in hand, and just started to have a conversation with Latrell Spreewell right in the middle of an inbounds play? Or was that in NYC? Anyone know who that was? Versace perhaps?
Moving on, per Grippi last night it sounds like there are a few more bumps and bruises that coach Wulff originally let on in his weekly radio address to Cougar Nation. Louis Bland’s “retweaked” knee might be a little more severe than originally thought, and is now considered questionable for Saturday. Not good, although there is more depth at the linebacker position with Jason Stripling, Alex Hoffman-Ellis and Mike Ledgerwood all at least looking capable of stepping in against a pass-happy offense that they will see on Saturday.
But in the same report, there’s some growing concern about the defensive backs. Safety Jay Matthews isn’t yet back but they are hoping he can make it on the field as a backup to Chima Nwachukwu. But probable starting corner Aire Justin? He didn’t practice yesterday due to a leg injury, and it’s not known how long he’ll be out. If Justin can’t go, redshirt frosh Daniel Simmons would be the starter at right corner. After all that, Eric Block is now ruled out for Saturday with his concussion.
Why bring it all up now? A few reasons. First, the secondary is considered young and thin anyway, and at least we believed it was going to be a concern. Add in some injuries, and it could get scary. They want to preserve the redshirts of Anthony Carpenter and Nolan Washington, a pair of true frosh secondary types who are pegged as some real talented up-and-comers. But now, think about the pass rush we saw on Saturday, or lack thereof. OK, they got three sacks, plus a few nice shots on Andrew Luck. But some of that was from blitzing out of Andy Mattingly in an attempt to attack the running game, as coach Wulff said himself that they really tried to make a conscious effort to stop Stanford on the ground. The front four doesn’t get after the passer like their hair is on fire. I’m sorry to say that, but I think we can all agree there…..
Finally, there’s this week’s opponent, Hawai’i. I won’t bore you with statistical analysis, but just know they are heavy in the passing game, light in the running game. Last year they averaged 251 yards passing, just 95 yards rushing. Truth be told, the run-n-shoot is much more about four wide receivers, one running back and getting the ball out quickly, but the “run” in the name run-n-shoot isn’t exactly an emphasis on the ground game. The run game is basically window dressing, nothing more. In fact, WSU held Hawai’i to just 65 rushing yards in last year’s game, on 34 carries to boot, but QB Greg Alexander lit up the Cougar secondary with 413 passing yards in their 24-10 win. And last week vs. Central Arkansas, Hawai’i ran for 111 yards, but believe it or not, Alexander led the team in rushing with 76 yards. The next leading rusher was Alex Green, a JC transfer running back who totaled 17 yards on five carries. That’s it.
Yes, Alexander’s back this year, and so is his top target, senior WR Greg Salas. Overall five of the top seven receivers are back from the Warriors this year. I guess there is no need to go any further than to realize what Hawaii is going to do this week, and that is THROW, THROW, THROW!?! Although…..there is news on Hawai’i’s side of the ledger, as they have changed things up already on offense. QB coach Nick Rolovich will call the plays from the sideline this week, instead of the normal play-calling from offensive coordinator Ron Lee. This is thought of in Hawai’i circles as a very good move, as Rolovich was a QB in the run-n-shoot in Hawai’i and knows the offense inside and out. They will also script the first several plays for the offense, hoping to get started on the right foot.
I don’t know what the Cougar coaches are going to do on Saturday to get more pressure on the passer. Will they blitz more from the linebackers? It’s a nice idea, but what does that do to you in coverage against the four WR sets they will see out of Hawai’i? Is it best to attack a passing offense like that, or is it better to go with more nickel-and-dime type defenses and try to get out and cover these guys? But when you factor in the less-than-stellar pass rush out of the front four, well, you better do something. I would think they will probably mix it up a bit, much like they did last year vs. Hawai’i. I bet we’ll see different looks with three down linemen at times and some zone blitzing where linebackers come and defensive linemen drop back into coverage.
But I don’t think we’ll have the luxury to just sit back in the 4-3 defense and hope it all works out. Give a run-n-shoot offense time to throw, with a senior QB in Greg Alexander and experienced offensive weapons, combined with a young, thin secondary? Prepare to be picked apart.
That’s it for now. Due to the weird holiday week, we’ll have Football Friday on Thursday…on Friday, which is tomorrow. I think. Anyway, enjoy your day, and GO COUGS!
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