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Tequilla's Thoughts - Utah State
Tequilla
Member Posts: 19,985
Some random thoughts/observations from today:
Browning's Performance Boner Inducing
The average Joe Doog will pay attention to the fact that Browning's able to easily convert a simple quick slant to a WR in stride. What the average Hardcore Husky will notice is the nuances that he plays the position with. He carries out play fakes and executes simple rollouts and bootlegs with ease for simple completions. His ability to manipulate the pocket with his feet while still looking for opportunities down the field is exceptional and led directly to 2 TD passes today. And echoing something that @CokeGreaterThanPepsi told me during Fall camp, there was a play today where his awareness of a bad lineup on offense got fixed and avoided a penalty. In particular the latter point, these are the kinds of things where you can tell that the moment isn't too big for the kid and that he has a complete grasp of what is going on around him.
Route Combinations
One of the things that I enjoy the most on this board is the weekly GIFs by @GrundleStiltzkin. After the Boise game, when you looked at a lot of our passing plays, you saw a lot of very basic route combinations to the point where I was very critical of Babushka's play calling because he wasn't using situations where he was creating easy throws by clearing out areas. In last week's GIFs, you saw a couple of examples of players where you actually saw some route combinations to create some easy opportunities for Browning to push the ball down the field. Today, you had a couple of options where this occurred ... notably Washington's TD on a HB go route where Perkins cleared out the safety by running a corner route to the pylon. Hopefully there's a quality enough picture of the play to show the work that Perkins did to clear out the safety. Browning's showing himself to be smart enough to be able to make the decision where to the throw the ball and Babushka's responding with giving him opportunities in the passing game.
Playcalling
Lots of ups and downs here still which is somewhat to be expected as this offense tries to find its identity a bit. The route combinations are really helping out the passing game and that's great. A couple of times today we called some middle screens and they were great calls when made. This has the chance to not only be a great play call for us going forward as it gets Washington the ball in space where he can take advantage of his straight line speed, but also puts the DL a bit on its heels and helps out our below average OL. I'd like to see us potentially work in a middle screen type situation as well with a TE. The running game is really struggling to get a push ... it's clear that Gaskin is the best natural RB but predictably he had a little problem today adjusting to a better defense and his desire to push the ball outside. You can tell that the staff has been trying to carve out a roll for the Swede but that experiment should end after today. Not only does he not run effectively (too cautious and upright), but the ball security wasn't good enough. As has been stated elsewhere, the lack of running game will probably catch up to us in a couple of games this year and that has the potential to limit the offensive play calling. But as long as teams are forcing Browning to beat them with his arm and take away the run game, games like today are what we'll probably see. Also really enjoyed seeing the use of the TEs (particularly Daniels) today ... probably the best source of a mismatch for us in the passing game.
Braden Lenius
Short and sweet here ... he's a matchup problem for any CB, S, or even LB particularly on any slant over the middle. That being said, fucking turn yourself up the fucking field and secure the fucking football.
Defensive Line
Lots of pressure today that resulted in a number of throw aways from Keaton. Really like what I'm seeing from Gaines ... he's very noticeable out there and the reports from last year that had we needed additional depth in the DL he would have played is very believable. Mathis creates problems and right now looks like he's causing 1-2 procedure penalties a game due to OL being threatened by him. The depth is very noticeable and the drop off is very slight. Very strong unit for us.
Linebackers
I tell you, these guys are going to cause me to up my supply of sweatpants. Victor is vicious ... a great quality for a MLB. How many tackles did the defense have today where they basically ripped the helmet (legally) off of the ball carrier? They play fast, energetically, and with ill intentions. I like that.
Defensive Backs
I didn't even really notice that Budda was hurt today until sometime in the 2nd half when somebody pointed out to me that he wasn't on the field. The fact that I didn't notice he was there probably says something about the job done by the rest of the DBs. Great coaching moment though on film for Beaver's interception though ... don't celebrate the TD until the job is done.
Final Thoughts
There's a lot of average to slightly above average teams in the PAC this year. Defensively, we've given up 2 TDs in 3 games against probably the 2 best teams in the Mountain West. Obviously we'll get another strong test next week from Cal. But at this point, I think it's very reasonable to think that this is a Top 3 defensive team. And if that's the case, we should be in a position to be in games each and every week. Offensively, we're starting to find an identity in the passing game. The running game is a huge concern. Other than the kickoff return against today, another strong day on special teams with the fake FG TD, Chico almost breaking one to the house, and Durkee having a solid day when called on. Definitely reason after today to be bullish (or doogish) on this team ... Utah St is a quality opponent and this was definitely a good win.
Browning's Performance Boner Inducing
The average Joe Doog will pay attention to the fact that Browning's able to easily convert a simple quick slant to a WR in stride. What the average Hardcore Husky will notice is the nuances that he plays the position with. He carries out play fakes and executes simple rollouts and bootlegs with ease for simple completions. His ability to manipulate the pocket with his feet while still looking for opportunities down the field is exceptional and led directly to 2 TD passes today. And echoing something that @CokeGreaterThanPepsi told me during Fall camp, there was a play today where his awareness of a bad lineup on offense got fixed and avoided a penalty. In particular the latter point, these are the kinds of things where you can tell that the moment isn't too big for the kid and that he has a complete grasp of what is going on around him.
Route Combinations
One of the things that I enjoy the most on this board is the weekly GIFs by @GrundleStiltzkin. After the Boise game, when you looked at a lot of our passing plays, you saw a lot of very basic route combinations to the point where I was very critical of Babushka's play calling because he wasn't using situations where he was creating easy throws by clearing out areas. In last week's GIFs, you saw a couple of examples of players where you actually saw some route combinations to create some easy opportunities for Browning to push the ball down the field. Today, you had a couple of options where this occurred ... notably Washington's TD on a HB go route where Perkins cleared out the safety by running a corner route to the pylon. Hopefully there's a quality enough picture of the play to show the work that Perkins did to clear out the safety. Browning's showing himself to be smart enough to be able to make the decision where to the throw the ball and Babushka's responding with giving him opportunities in the passing game.
Playcalling
Lots of ups and downs here still which is somewhat to be expected as this offense tries to find its identity a bit. The route combinations are really helping out the passing game and that's great. A couple of times today we called some middle screens and they were great calls when made. This has the chance to not only be a great play call for us going forward as it gets Washington the ball in space where he can take advantage of his straight line speed, but also puts the DL a bit on its heels and helps out our below average OL. I'd like to see us potentially work in a middle screen type situation as well with a TE. The running game is really struggling to get a push ... it's clear that Gaskin is the best natural RB but predictably he had a little problem today adjusting to a better defense and his desire to push the ball outside. You can tell that the staff has been trying to carve out a roll for the Swede but that experiment should end after today. Not only does he not run effectively (too cautious and upright), but the ball security wasn't good enough. As has been stated elsewhere, the lack of running game will probably catch up to us in a couple of games this year and that has the potential to limit the offensive play calling. But as long as teams are forcing Browning to beat them with his arm and take away the run game, games like today are what we'll probably see. Also really enjoyed seeing the use of the TEs (particularly Daniels) today ... probably the best source of a mismatch for us in the passing game.
Braden Lenius
Short and sweet here ... he's a matchup problem for any CB, S, or even LB particularly on any slant over the middle. That being said, fucking turn yourself up the fucking field and secure the fucking football.
Defensive Line
Lots of pressure today that resulted in a number of throw aways from Keaton. Really like what I'm seeing from Gaines ... he's very noticeable out there and the reports from last year that had we needed additional depth in the DL he would have played is very believable. Mathis creates problems and right now looks like he's causing 1-2 procedure penalties a game due to OL being threatened by him. The depth is very noticeable and the drop off is very slight. Very strong unit for us.
Linebackers
I tell you, these guys are going to cause me to up my supply of sweatpants. Victor is vicious ... a great quality for a MLB. How many tackles did the defense have today where they basically ripped the helmet (legally) off of the ball carrier? They play fast, energetically, and with ill intentions. I like that.
Defensive Backs
I didn't even really notice that Budda was hurt today until sometime in the 2nd half when somebody pointed out to me that he wasn't on the field. The fact that I didn't notice he was there probably says something about the job done by the rest of the DBs. Great coaching moment though on film for Beaver's interception though ... don't celebrate the TD until the job is done.
Final Thoughts
There's a lot of average to slightly above average teams in the PAC this year. Defensively, we've given up 2 TDs in 3 games against probably the 2 best teams in the Mountain West. Obviously we'll get another strong test next week from Cal. But at this point, I think it's very reasonable to think that this is a Top 3 defensive team. And if that's the case, we should be in a position to be in games each and every week. Offensively, we're starting to find an identity in the passing game. The running game is a huge concern. Other than the kickoff return against today, another strong day on special teams with the fake FG TD, Chico almost breaking one to the house, and Durkee having a solid day when called on. Definitely reason after today to be bullish (or doogish) on this team ... Utah St is a quality opponent and this was definitely a good win.
Comments
Fetters and Eklund join us in spirit through this poast.
WSU, OSU, CAL, COLORADO, ARIZONA, ASU will definitely have worst defenses. Probably Oregon and USC too. We are a better D than Utah right now. I guess Tequila is probably right.
This defense looks really good to me, but #myjojo looks like crap and there's no real pass rush from the edge. If we could figure out a way to get a li'l good ol' heat from the edge, I would think the D could be top 25 nationally.
Without that, we're going to get ass raped a few times.
#myjojo and #whitepeopleeberywheresdissly both haven't done much.
They are both Evan Hudson-ing this year.
How could that be? You doogs were making him out to be a Heisman front runner after he collected 1 tackle last year in garbage time vs Cal
Breaking down the numbers in terms of Yards Per Play (5.6 vs 4.0), and Yards Per Stop (74.6 vs 28.2) UW played USU significantly better than Utah even though UW allowed 7 more points on a similar amount of plays.
What I like about the defense is that you can see that there is talent there. But the bigger observation, as was made elsewhere, was that this defense is very assignment sound and they don't seem to miss a lot of plays. The first Utah State TD yesterday really was the result of a defensive mistake earlier in the drive with a dropped INT by Gardenhire.
Cal's going to be a really interesting test for our defense ... may be the best offense that we will see all year. Love that we're a home dawg.
Health will help determine where this defense ends up.
Ezekiel Turner. Beaver can be a stud as well
Browning continues to improve but he needs the OL's run-blocking because he won't be able to win games with his arm against most Pac-12 teams.
Special Teams have looked pretty good and the whole team plays much cleaner than last year so that helps. We may need big kick / punt returns if the O can't entirely keep up with Cal's.
From what I could tell, BB sprained his ankle. I hope it's not a high ankle sprain because we could really use his athleticism against Cal's passing attack.
Short and sweet here ... he's a matchup problem for any CB, S, or even LB particularly on any slant over the middle. That being said, fucking turn yourself up the fucking field and secure the fucking football.
I agree or he may standing next to Jaydon "side to side" Mickens by the end of year. This team (esp on defense and special teams) is starting to look like CP teams at Boise State.
I think there are a few cardinal rules that coach Pete will not bend on and get you a spot next to him: stupid penalties and not playing situational football. When you catch the damn ball you better know where the first down sticks are and 1st-10th most important things you do are put your head down and GET THE FIRST DOWN!!