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Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - washingtonismoney - 10-09-2010

I\'d estimate Harbaugh has cost us 5 points or so today. His playcalling on 3rd downs in three of the five drives has been terrible. The first drive, with the TE motioning to the side of the run, was the first example; this most recent example, with consecutive runs on 2nd and 16 and 3rd and 16, was the second. I\'m not often super-critical of Harbaugh\'s playcalling, or anyone\'s playcalling, because it\'s so nitpicky, but it\'s been awful today.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - yvonne - 10-09-2010

I swear the defense must buy vegetables from a CSA because they can\'t stop anybody.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - fullmetal - 10-09-2010

I thought we should have let the defense loosen up a bit and let USC score to have more time for a last-minute drive.  Thankfully, an SC personal foul and a couple of first downs have bailed us out.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - washingtonismoney - 10-09-2010

Though it ended up being moot, I felt we could\'ve fit one more shot at the endzone in there. With eight ticks and a timeout, I want a shot at the endzone, just because you want to give yourself two chances to win instead of one.

Awwww, lighten up, Washington - Redrum - 10-09-2010

Just imagine yourself jumping around at the center of the field with all those happy Stanford fans and the team.   We almost lost because we had no pass rush and couldn\'t stop their wideouts.   And we almost lost because they stripped Taylor and Whittaker\'s miss.  

Don\'t worry.  Be happy.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - readarmy1976 - 10-09-2010

Agreed, a couple of those run calls were head scratchers, but you can\'t fault the play calling too much since we scored a touchdown almost every time we got the ball and nobody fumbled. Those fumbles were the real stain on the performance.

On the bright side, I think Stepfan Taylor is really running the ball well. He gets yards after contact on almost every run. He\'s getting 10-yard runs. Very impressed by how he has met the challenge.

Delano Howell is a top performer in the conference. His tackling is fairly explosive and extremely reliable. He has a big game almost every Saturday, it seems.

Congratulations to those guys.


Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - washingtonismoney - 10-09-2010

Stepfan\'s good. He\'s tough, he\'s determined, but he doesn\'t have that last little something that makes a good runner into a great one. Wilkerson might, which is why I hope he figures out the not-running parts of his game. Against good defenses--as we found out against Oregon--we\'re going to find that we don\'t have enough playmakers to score enough points. For those purposes, Taylor isn\'t good enough.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - fullmetal - 10-09-2010

Wilkerson\'s ability to pull out of a between-the-tackles run and bounce to the outside is absolutely awesome.  He\'s also got the speed to turn the corner on most defenders for gains.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - readarmy1976 - 10-09-2010

Agreed, Wilkerson is clearly faster than Taylor. Wilkerson is not too far behind Dillon Baxter in raw talent. But I think you guys may be underrating Taylor a bit. I thought Taylor took a step up in this game. He had a couple of those 10 yard runs and then that big 30 yard run.

Also, he\'s extremely good at getting yards after contact. I mean, it\'s remarkable. Unless he gets completely stuffed at the LOS, he\'s going to get 1-3 YAC. He\'s not that big, so it\'s that much more impressive. And it\'s also how consistently he does it. He doesn\'t have the game-breaking speed/moves, but I think the YAC is a talent unto itself. I have no idea how he does it.

I thought that in this game he showed that he\'s accepted that he can\'t dance at this level. He just puts his head down and falls forward when he gets hit. Before this game I was thinking he\'s pretty sad compared to LaMichael, Jaquiz, Vareen, etc. But I\'ve grown to appreciate his game.




Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - yvonne - 10-09-2010

Quote:Stepfan\'s good. He\'s tough, he\'s determined, but he doesn\'t have that last little something that makes a good runner into a great one. Wilkerson might, which is why I hope he figures out the not-running parts of his game. Against good defenses--as we found out against Oregon--we\'re going to find that we don\'t have enough playmakers to score enough points. For those purposes, Taylor isn\'t good enough.

Remember that Stepfan\'s only a sophomore. He may yet have that special something.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - readarmy1976 - 10-10-2010

Yeah, he\'s still developing, but I think it\'s clear that he doesn\'t really have that elite Pac-10 RB level of speed or quicks. I think that he can still be a very effective RB, though. He consistently gets YAC and rarely fumbles. You don\'t get any long TD runs, but you do get plenty of 2nd and 5.

I think we\'ll be seeing more and more Wilkerson as the year goes on. I\'m curious to see what he looks like getting more than a few carries.

Amanam is not fast enough for his running style to work at this level. I think that\'s becoming apparent. It\'s just not happening. He\'s not explosive enough to be a good scat back. He\'s making a hell of an effort and rising to the challenge, but the physical ability is not quite there, IMO. He\'s over-achieving right now.



Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - stanfan - 10-10-2010

I\'m a Gaffney fan, but give me a break, Stepfan is a complete stud.  Great kid who makes plays.  He\'s run for over 100 yds for, I think, 3 games in a row....and he\'s only a sophomore.  And, yes, Wilkerson is the real deal.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - dabigv13 - 10-10-2010

Wilkerson looks like he has the most raw potential, but Stepfan has played really well. Doesn\'t quite have the breakaway, but has a mean streak in him that usually gets an extra yard or two, and balance that allows him to sometimes break some big plays after taking contact.

That said, his two fumbles today nearly cost us the game. I\'m hopeful Wilkerson puts it together because he seems to have all the tools, but as long as Stepfan keeps control of the football, he won\'t ever be the reason we lose a game.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - CowboyIndian - 10-10-2010

Did Patch Stewart play on special teams....or at all?

Wilkerson\'s skill deficit  &  Amanam - Redrum - 10-10-2010

His playing time has been limited,  but from the sample that I (and others) have seen,  he has one deficit that puts an early lid on his playing time :   he can\'t pass block (or any block) to save his life or that of the QB.    Others have commented, and I agree,  that RBs who can\'t pick up the blitz won\'t get much playing time under Harbaugh.  Taylor has done a pretty good job in this dept.

Luckily for Wilkerson,  it is a skill,  not some natural gift that one either has or is SOL.  He can (and must) develop it.   He was the star -- in fact the entire offense-- for his HS team.   His job: take the handoff or pitch and run run run.   Not surprisingly he\'s probably never had to lay a block in his entire HS career.  But I betcha next Spring is going to be a bit different from his Fall camp orientation practices.

Amanam has a different problem.   I think the staff is squinting at him and trying to see Jaquizz Rodgers.   Quizz can and does run inside.  Amanam ain\'t Quizz, though.  We keep running him inside and his quicks aren\'t enough to break him free most of the time.  Taylor is much better in our inside running game.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - washingtonismoney - 10-10-2010

I absolutely agree with your diagnosis. Amanam, in particular, needs to be given some chances to create in space or pass catch--that wheel route he ran for a touchdown against Wake was a thing of beauty.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - washingtonismoney - 10-10-2010

Garvin, I\'m not sure you\'ve got our arguments quite right: Wilkerson isn\'t better right now than Amanam, Taylor, et. al., but he certainly has a higher upside, that\'s all. And he shouldn\'t get more snaps until he learns how to pass block at an adequate level. Amanam, by the by, has some decent stats but has looked lost against good teams trying to run the power play up the middle--I think he needs to be catching passes out of the backfield and gotten out into space, as he did against Wake Forest.

As I guess I\'m the center of Taylor criticism, I should note I\'m not against Stepfan Taylor, nor do I think he\'s a bad player. What I do think is that against good defenses, his lack of second-gear acceleration limits him to small gains which often won\'t appear consistently against good defenses. Note against Notre Dame he was held to 3.9 ypc, and during the second half against Oregon was also held well under 4 ypc. Taylor should be more than good enough against the vast majority of the remaining schedule, with the possible exception of Arizona and Oregon State, but I\'m not convinced he\'s what we want long-term, which is why I hope Wilkerson realizes his considerable upside.

Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - readarmy1976 - 10-10-2010

Amanam is elusive and squirmy, but he\'s not explosive, quick, or fast in the Pac-10. It\'s cool that he\'s getting a few carries and doing a decent job, but I don\'t think he has the requisite football athleticism. Squirmy is his best quality.

On the other hand, Wilkerson is obviously explosive and fast, which is why he was rated as one of the top RB recruits in the USA. I didn\'t know he was having problems with his pass blocking. He doesn\'t seem like a super hard-nosed player, but we haven\'t seen enough of him to tell. Harbaugh probably doesn\'t play him more because he\'s affraid Luck will get hurt.

I think the RBs are the most interesting thing with this team. It\'s kind of a mystery. Stewart is perpetually injured. Gaffney is starting to seem that way too. I\'m guessing it\'s Taylor and Wilkerson mostly from here.


Not so mysterious - Redrum - 10-10-2010

Stewart is perpetually injured. Gaffney is starting to seem that way too

Gaffney was injured (high ankle sprain?) against ND.  Missed Oregon and USC.   Two weeks.  Too early to call it a trend.  Stewart, as a senior is in a different, kinda sad, position.

The real puzzle is where we find playing time for RBs  Kelsey Young, Remound Wright and Amir Carlisle.   Wright and Young are most like Stepfan Taylor.   Carlisle more like..., ummm, well, like Darren Nelson but lots of people think he\'s the next Troy Walters.   Honestly don\'t know where we play Jordan Perkins, who in 2006, 2007 would have been considered a real get.


Re: Awful Harbaugh Playcalling - Mick - 10-10-2010

Quote:Amanam is elusive and squirmy, but he\'s not explosive, quick, or fast in the Pac-10. It\'s cool that he\'s getting a few carries and doing a decent job, but I don\'t think he has the requisite football athleticism. Squirmy is his best quality.

I blame it on his high school competition.  At the beginning of a play, Usua usually was able to pick and choose his route, and then his acceleration was so far superior to that of all other players on the field, I think he got accustomed to starting out slow, waiting for the defenders to commit, then exploding past them.  So he never really exploded out of the gate, he didn\'t really develop that skill.