How much difference is this offense with:

HFNY said:

He's definitely -1 this year because he didn't at least cover against Cal. Cal was favored by 4.5 and he lost by 6.

He covered vs. BSU though. IIRC, the spread was 10 and he lost by 3 (Browning's first start).

I'm sure we both agree that to reclaim so good will he's lost, Petersen will need to beat a team the sharps think he should lose to...like the oh so close loss to Arizona after Cooper fumbled.

So even though the schedule is tough the next 3 games, it's actually a great chance to get so momentum back. UW will probably be around a 17 point dog @ USC, maybe a 6 point dog vs. Oregon, and probably at least a 10 point dog @ Stanford (subject to lines moving after more feedback from the USC game).

Definitely 3 opportunities for the offense to change some minds.

RoadDawg55 said:

HFNY said:

I think Smith has been bad as an OC and the offense's performance has caused me to have the first stabbing feeling that Petersen isn't the coach I thought he was.

At the same time, I think the D is very good despite last year's losses and the special teams have been good in the aggregate as well.

Returning to the offense, I only realized now that UW started 7 underclassmen against Cal (4 freshmen, 3 sophomores) including true freshmen at the all important QB and LT positions.

Yeah yeah yeah, we're young for the Xth year in a row but man, I don't ever recall any offense that young with true frosh at key positions.

Also something for consideration, the only upperclassmen starters are the O are Mickens, Tufunga, Perkins, and Washington. Does that sound like a recipe for success, particularly earlier in the season?

So I guess the good thing is that no matter what happens with Smith, the offense WILL GET BETTER because it's not like it's an offense loaded with upperclassmen / returning starters. And yeah yeah yeah I get the argument that just because they're young doesn't mean they'll get better but what I've seen tells me that Browning, Adams, Shelton, Sosebee, McGary / James, Pettis, Lenius, and Gaskin will improve because they have the talent (vs. praying that guys like Miles, Atoe, Criste, and Brostek finally show up).

They will get better. There are still major issues and instead of losing close games to mediocre teams, we will lose close games to better teams. Petersen was at least a -2 coach last year. He's a least -1 already this year.

HFNY said:

I get that.

But not all wins and losses are equal, at least in terms of attempting to use them as a guide for future performance going forward.

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

HFNY said:

He's definitely -1 this year because he didn't at least cover against Cal. Cal was favored by 4.5 and he lost by 6.

He covered vs. BSU though. IIRC, the spread was 10 and he lost by 3 (Browning's first start).

I'm sure we both agree that to reclaim so good will he's lost, Petersen will need to beat a team the sharps think he should lose to...like the oh so close loss to Arizona after Cooper fumbled.

So even though the schedule is tough the next 3 games, it's actually a great chance to get so momentum back. UW will probably be around a 17 point dog @ USC, maybe a 6 point dog vs. Oregon, and probably at least a 10 point dog @ Stanford (subject to lines moving after more feedback from the USC game).

Definitely 3 opportunities for the offense to change some minds.

RoadDawg55 said:

HFNY said:

I think Smith has been bad as an OC and the offense's performance has caused me to have the first stabbing feeling that Petersen isn't the coach I thought he was.

At the same time, I think the D is very good despite last year's losses and the special teams have been good in the aggregate as well.

Returning to the offense, I only realized now that UW started 7 underclassmen against Cal (4 freshmen, 3 sophomores) including true freshmen at the all important QB and LT positions.

Yeah yeah yeah, we're young for the Xth year in a row but man, I don't ever recall any offense that young with true frosh at key positions.

Also something for consideration, the only upperclassmen starters are the O are Mickens, Tufunga, Perkins, and Washington. Does that sound like a recipe for success, particularly earlier in the season?

So I guess the good thing is that no matter what happens with Smith, the offense WILL GET BETTER because it's not like it's an offense loaded with upperclassmen / returning starters. And yeah yeah yeah I get the argument that just because they're young doesn't mean they'll get better but what I've seen tells me that Browning, Adams, Shelton, Sosebee, McGary / James, Pettis, Lenius, and Gaskin will improve because they have the talent (vs. praying that guys like Miles, Atoe, Criste, and Brostek finally show up).

They will get better. There are still major issues and instead of losing close games to mediocre teams, we will lose close games to better teams. Petersen was at least a -2 coach last year. He's a least -1 already this year.

You play to win the game, not cover the spread.