We need more Physicality

DawgDaze71

I love the athleticism of our team on both Offense and Defense but one thing i'm missing is a display of physicality. I was watching the lowlights of the 2013 Myles Jack bowl and it was obvious that we weren't ready or willing to be physical. Jack's first TD was defensed well. Timu meets him square up and Jack pushes him 5 yards into the Endzone. There were a bunch of other plays were our LB were either in the Endzone or too far back to make a play. Granted our LB corp is on the small side. Feeney is playing the position with a Safety's body. Shaq Thompson is fairly light at 220lbs or so and Timu is 235lb. Smaller than many Fullbacks.

The same story is played out on the DL. Hudson at 275, Shelton a legit 317lbs, Kickaha at 260 and Littleton/Shirley at 230lbs. Standard physics at play here, we need more size overall. I think had we found success with Potoae, Finau and Tupou we'd be larger across the DL.

Watching the Rose Bowl was breathtaking to me. I was rooting for Stanford but man ole man did I love the physicality of Narduzzi's Defense. Shaw did what he always does when he wants to show force. He trots out a couple of extra OL and then rams the TB down your throat. Michigan State stacked them up twice and this was without one of their best players in Max Bullough.

I'm hoping Coach K brings discipline, tenacity and physicality to the UW defense. I was more than happy to hear that McGary wants to try defense. This unit needs more size if we are to survive the season and challenge for Championships. Spring Ball in two weeks it's time to start seeing who wants to hit the field and play to win.

BennyBeaver

Awfully cold for August.

Swaye

Real football talk. Who knew?

chuck

Where's the beef?

I agree the DEs need to get bigger and we need to recruit more than one serviceable DT every second or third year. For all the ball gargling Lupoi got for the 2013 class there was only one DT and he's undersized for the nose.

The previous staff gets credit at DM.c for almost recruiting Ellis McCarthy and Eddie Vanderdoes. They did a hell of a job almost getting those guys and you have to expect the new staff to struggle to measure up.

Global

I really hope that Petersen will redshirt most of the beef he just recruited. Sadly, I heard him say that he expects about half of the class to play in the fall. I can get that at WR and DB, but almost nowhere else.

I would rather set up a long term redshirting strategy, to break the short term cycle existing in the past number of years under several coaches. We'll be far healthier and stronger and more mature with more redshirts going through the program consistently, not least at the non-skill positions.

TierbsHsotBoobs

I tried to post more physicality in the Kate Upton Appreciation Thread but it got nuked.



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DawgDaze71

I'm avoid that Upton thread ...that's gonna cause some physicality in me that's inappropriate.

@Global. I wish we could RS almost everyone but there's no depth at DL that we can count on. If McGary or Johnson can contribute they'll probably get reps. I'm figuring Greg Gaines may need the RS more than the aforementioned because McGary is a talk freak of nature and Johnson's size is ideal enough to play. Gaines and Dissly could RS but knowing how things work out they'll be the ones shining in Fall camp.

I'm really hoping that new LB like O'Brien, Constatine, Victor and Bierra can come in thumping.

[Deleted User]

I'm hearing the newbies will be inexperienced but will bring speed to the program something we haven't seen in years.

The OL averages 332 lbs and are ready to rumble led by 9th year senior Ben Ossai.

haie

Agree on all accounts. Would love our identity as a team to be power run game and run-stopping defense as first priorities. As for our smaller lb's, etc, I'm surprised we've gone toe-to-toe with Standford the past couple years when Dude Breh's goal was having a team that is a carbon copy of Oregon.

RoadDawg55

Good post DawgDaze. Only thing I disagree on is that I hope McGary plays offense. The back up tackles are Eldenkamp and Coleman Shelton. Redshirt McGary and he could be a 4 year starter at tackle. There will be four opening positions on the OL after this year.

We actually have some good prospects going into their second year on the DL (Mathis, Farria, Qualls) and we signed a couple of guys that look pretty good this year (Gaines, Johnson). I think our OL needs are too pressing to play McGary on defense. I hope him starting out on defense was just lip service to get his signature on LOI day.

DawgDaze71

McGary on Defense doesn't sound too bad if we clean house in-state next year with Henry Roberts, Trey Adams (commit) and Calvin Throckmorton. I'd say it's potentially a better OL class than the famed Garnett/Banner debacle.

[Deleted User]

I used to snicker when Sark would insist we were a physical football team. Ummm no a Mora led UCLA is a physical football team, the Don James teams were physical football teams, what Pete Carroll has in Seattle is a physical football team.

Your bullshit is the opposite of physical. I can't remember a big game where the opposing team said UW was more physical than them. UW would win games due to talent but never because of being more physical.

I look forward to week in and week out being the more physical team just like the Seahawks are under Carroll the past three seasons.

RaccoonHarry

As I recall Idaho State said the Huskies were more physical than them. I think I remember that.

Global

Thanks, DawgDaze. I love it when we can redshirt all the best 3-5 immediate contributors.

Over time, the value of a redshirt senior is typically vastly greater than the value of a true freshman. The difference between a player at 18 and at 22-23 is huge. When we play true freshmen, we lose that huge advantage, I have seen so many seniors leave in recent years that would have been fabulous as RS seniors but we'd burned their redshirts. Never mind a lot of your OL and DL players whose careers were damaged or destroyed because of injury, demoralization or otherwise by being thrown against the PAC-12 s typical RS junior or senior lineman and getting schooled and beaten as Husky true freshmen linemen. I am dying for us to reverse that tendency.

I agree with Roaddawg that I would prefer to rely for another year on the young guys like Qualls, Farria and Mathis to contribute, and RS this crop of newbies. They might have height and weight out of HS, but almost never strength necessary. Give a year in the weight room, then set them loose. I think we might be able to do the same with the new young LBs.

But I know a few DBs and WRs will need to lose redshirts. For the rest, I want to see them as RS seniors playing in the 2018 season than as true freshmen playing in 2014.

RoadDawg55

DawgDaze71 said:

McGary on Defense doesn't sound too bad if we clean house in-state next year with Henry Roberts, Trey Adams (commit) and Calvin Throckmorton. I'd say it's potentially a better OL class than the famed Garnett/Banner debacle.

It almost surely is better, especially considering those 3 guys all have the ability to play tackle. The only problem is I don't think it would be wise to count on one of those guys starting as a true freshman. I would hope McGary as a redshirt freshman would be better than those guys. Obviously, it is a long way away, but here is a possible OL line up for 2015.

LT- Eldenkamp
LG- Charles
C- Crane/ Fuivai (heard he sucks though)
RG- Brostek/Coleman Shelton (I think Shelton will be pretty good)
RT- McGary/ Coleman Shelton

Petersen raved about James the tackle from Idaho too. I bet we add at least one JC guy to the mix too.

haie

For the record, the announcers during the Stanford game said they were surprised how well/physical the Husky defense was playing.

HeretoBeatmyChest

Global said:

Thanks, DawgDaze. I love it when we can redshirt all the best 3-5 immediate contributors.

Over time, the value of a redshirt senior is typically vastly greater than the value of a true freshman. The difference between a player at 18 and at 22-23 is huge. When we play true freshmen, we lose that huge advantage, I have seen so many seniors leave in recent years that would have been fabulous as RS seniors but we'd burned their redshirts. Never mind a lot of your OL and DL players whose careers were damaged or destroyed because of injury, demoralization or otherwise by being thrown against the PAC-12 s typical RS junior or senior lineman and getting schooled and beaten as Husky true freshmen linemen. I am dying for us to reverse that tendency.

I agree with Roaddawg that I would prefer to rely for another year on the young guys like Qualls, Farria and Mathis to contribute, and RS this crop of newbies. They might have height and weight out of HS, but almost never strength necessary. Give a year in the weight room, then set them loose. I think we might be able to do the same with the new young LBs.

But I know a few DBs and WRs will need to lose redshirts. For the rest, I want to see them as RS seniors playing in the 2018 season than as true freshmen playing in 2014.

How good would the defense be if Sean Parker, Greg Ducre & Fuiamaono were redshirted in 2010?

Probably the best in the conference and our best since 1992.

Guys like Jermaine Kelly, Budda Baker, Elijah Qualls, Marcus Farria, Jojo Mathis, Andrew Hudson, Conor O Brien, Sean Constantine and Patrick Enwally would be backups.

[Deleted User]

Would have loved to have had Kevin Smith for another year at WR as well. So many to name that Sark burned. Perhaps Porter and maybe even Kohler could still be playing if Sark had redshirted them.

[Deleted User]

haie said:

For the record, the announcers during the Stanford game said they were surprised how well/physical the Husky defense was playing.

That was probably the best game in the Sark era on the road and it was a loss.

However that game UW actually looked like a real program and matched Stanford's physicality which I was shocked at.

I don't know what happened that day and why we never saw that team before or after but that game sure was nice.

If only Sark didn't completely neglect special teams for five straight years UW could have won.

Oh wait I forgot about the Van Winkle injury nevermind.

dnc

He_Needs_More_Time said:

haie said:

For the record, the announcers during the Stanford game said they were surprised how well/physical the Husky defense was playing.

That was probably the best game in the Sark era on the road and it was a loss.

However that game UW actually looked like a real program and matched Stanford's physicality which I was shocked at.

I don't know what happened that day and why we never saw that team before or after but that game sure was nice.

If only Sark didn't completely neglect special teams for five straight years UW could have won.

Oh wait I forgot about the Van Winkle injury nevermind.

That game made a lot more sense once I found out Van Winkle was hurt.

DawgDaze71

I have no words for Stanford the last two years. Couldn't believe we won a couple of seasons ago and figured we would be lucky to keep things close last season. Stanford was such an enigma...losing to Utah but crushing ASU twice (they seriously had their number) and beating the Ducks up again.

@He_Needs_More_Time I snickered as well. Knowing that Sark was at USC during the Glory Years I figured he was pissing on our legs and telling us to grab our umbrellas. The Defense was speedy last season but like many speedy defenses they get uncomfortable when teams aren't running away from them but rather right at them.