09-14-2017, 02:22 PM
You're right and you're right CTCard.
First, yes, I made a typo. Stanford scored 24 USC, but I still say that's a good number of offensive points against a great defense. If a team can score 24 points against elite talent playing lights out, that is a very good offense. Especially comparing it to last year, where we scored 3 offensive points against Colorado, 6 against Washington, 8 against Notre Dame, etc., the rest coming usually from our defense, (2 safeties and a pick six in those games). But despite the typo, I think we agree.
And yes, Stanford was technically sacked only a few times vs. USC. But I am most concerned about plays where drives are killed due to a lack of pass protection. If it's 3rd and medium, and Chryst does not have time in the pocket, whether he is sacked, deflected, flushed out of the pocket for no gain, or has to throw it away our of bounds -- I would categorize those all as plays/drives killed due to a lack of pass protection. To my recollection -- and I haven't re-watched the game yet -- it seemed like almost every drive died due to a lack of protection, regardless of whether it was a sack. But, you're right, I should've said there were many instances of sacks/rushes/throwaways, instead of just sacks. But still, and I think we agree on this, a large improvement over last year. Not only is there more time and fewer mistakes up front this year, Chryst is moving around a little better, finding targets a little better, and throwing a little better, from last year.
And yes, at this point, the Washington and Notre Dame games look daunting (also Wasu). Although I do worry particularly about Utah due to its physicality and home crowd, my hope for both Utah and SDSU is that there's a brobdingnagian difference between a physical running game balanced with a credible passing game, and one that is not. Especially vs. SDSU this weekend, when Stanford can sell out on the run game without worrying about a passing game, in the past, we've been able to stop the run, even when short-handed on the D Line (which has happened a lot due to the ongoing thinness at that position). It takes a certain type of team to really exploit this.
That's part of why my prediction vs SDSU is quite optimistic (I'm predicting a 36 pt win). But then again, I've been off by 30+ points each game this season.
First, yes, I made a typo. Stanford scored 24 USC, but I still say that's a good number of offensive points against a great defense. If a team can score 24 points against elite talent playing lights out, that is a very good offense. Especially comparing it to last year, where we scored 3 offensive points against Colorado, 6 against Washington, 8 against Notre Dame, etc., the rest coming usually from our defense, (2 safeties and a pick six in those games). But despite the typo, I think we agree.
And yes, Stanford was technically sacked only a few times vs. USC. But I am most concerned about plays where drives are killed due to a lack of pass protection. If it's 3rd and medium, and Chryst does not have time in the pocket, whether he is sacked, deflected, flushed out of the pocket for no gain, or has to throw it away our of bounds -- I would categorize those all as plays/drives killed due to a lack of pass protection. To my recollection -- and I haven't re-watched the game yet -- it seemed like almost every drive died due to a lack of protection, regardless of whether it was a sack. But, you're right, I should've said there were many instances of sacks/rushes/throwaways, instead of just sacks. But still, and I think we agree on this, a large improvement over last year. Not only is there more time and fewer mistakes up front this year, Chryst is moving around a little better, finding targets a little better, and throwing a little better, from last year.
And yes, at this point, the Washington and Notre Dame games look daunting (also Wasu). Although I do worry particularly about Utah due to its physicality and home crowd, my hope for both Utah and SDSU is that there's a brobdingnagian difference between a physical running game balanced with a credible passing game, and one that is not. Especially vs. SDSU this weekend, when Stanford can sell out on the run game without worrying about a passing game, in the past, we've been able to stop the run, even when short-handed on the D Line (which has happened a lot due to the ongoing thinness at that position). It takes a certain type of team to really exploit this.
That's part of why my prediction vs SDSU is quite optimistic (I'm predicting a 36 pt win). But then again, I've been off by 30+ points each game this season.