09-10-2023, 02:23 PM
5. The biggest story to watch going forward from this game is the QB situation. I would not be surprised if the Daniels injury is serious. We'll have to see what this means for the QB competition, which given last night's on-field play and injury cannot be viewed as a settled issue. We shouldn't judge too much from Daniels' outing as it was so short, but what I said last week about going from a high school stadium to a title contender in the Coliseum at night bears remembering. Daniels didn't look ready for the moment. The interception was a bad lapse, all the worse to happen right away in the game before he'd faced much adversity (aside from the pressure on the play itself, which is not something that should have surprised us). When Lamson came in, I was somewhat impressed by his poise and for the most part his pocket presence, though both Daniels and Lamson losing fumbles is ominous. As was the case this stage last season, we have reason to be concerned about ball security. We're currently #118 in fumbles. Inclusive of ball security, Lamson had a rough night, 119 of 132 QBs in Total QBR this week. He did very nice work moving the chains with his feet and, like anybody with a modicum of talent we throw out there, was able to use Yurosek as a security blanket, but it was a game I'd hope he can improve upon. [This week's moving the chains (first down) leaderboard: Lamson (4), Smith (3), Yurosek (3), Humphreys (2, also drew a pass interference), Farrell, Daniels, Filkins, Ayomanor, Irvin]
6. That being said, the degree of difficulty for any Stanford QB1 in 2023 is high. PFF grades us #125 in pass blocking so far this season and yet I'm not sure what's worse, our pass blocking or our receiving (PFF says pass blocking, putting receiving at #72, which I think is probably right by sheer virtue of Yurosek). Yurosek is great (#45 in the nation in yards from scrimmage, only TE in the top 100) but can only cover up so many sins. We don't have a single WR in the top 50 in the Pac-12 in yards from scrimmage. Honestly, I would go as far to say that Humphreys - #39 in the Pac-12 in receiving - is the only WR who is even Pac-12 level right now. Some have mused whether the over-reliance on the Yurosek run plays indicate lack of creativity or trying to keep RBs healthy or something else but I think it's simple - we don't have much else on offense. Humphreys, Smith, and Filkins are solidly mediocre options. Everything else is unplayable....except we don't have anything better. I am shuddering to think about this offense without Yurosek. It's a big deal for the rebuild that Osborne can coach up the WRs but I'm looking at what Reuben, Ayomanor, and Bachmeier are giving us through two weeks and that Borden, Cisse, and Harris weren't even deemed ready to be on the travel roster and I wonder where help is going to come from. If numerous of Yurosek, Humphreys, Smith, and Filkins leave (and right now I'd guess all or maybe all but one will leave) there is a real possibility we are worse at the skill positions in 2024 than in 2023. Start thinking about the transfer portal now....
7. The other big thing to keep an eye on from a developmental/rebuilding perspective is of course the OL. They are going through growing pains, but I feel far more sanguine about them than the skill positions. PFF actually likes their run blocking work - #32 in the nation - and as we know this is a room where old men are king, so if we can get some retention and year-to-year development big improvements could be ahead. In terms of individuals, PFF continues to like McLaughlin's work the most and thinks Rogers has been solid (I cannot emphasize enough how much we need fifth years from them next year). Against USC we split time at both tackles (Anderson and Pogorelc at LT, McLaughlin and Leyrer at RT). I think I'd expect that next week too. It looked to me like Mayberry got replaced by Uke sometime after Mayberry's worst penalty imaginable of a false start from the 1 yard line (red zone discipline abysmal....Mayberry, McLaughlin, Bank all with red zone penalties). Nice to see The Ultimate Enigma Austin Uke play and play credibly. I wonder if Uke might start pushing Mayberry. In general, the OL is a couple of solid old guys and some promising younger talent and we'll just have to see if the Shaw thing of nobody staying five years will continue or we can hope for better days ahead.
8. On defense, I really think only a few guys showed up, admittedly against the toughest offense in the country (so maybe it's more only a few guys had the chops to hold up against the onslaught). Each week I track big plays (defined as tackles for loss, passes defended, turnovers, good run stops given down and distance, etc.) and this week only Wright and Bernadel registered with multiple plays that helped the defense. Wright, as was the case against Hawaii, pops off the screen as an obvious NFL talent relative to our other players and is consistently making plays in various ways, but he is also giving up chunk yardage in each game too. One can't call his play great yet, but I think it's clear he's one of the team's standouts. It was a relief to see Bernadel bounce back so well. It was more of a solid to good performance than anything, but after his first game struggles I'm glad to see a guy we're counting on show that he's better than he was against Hawaii. We can count on Gilman to be game even if limited. I don't hate Edwards or Manley. On the negative side, I talked last week about the story of our week being the star players and unfortunately the defensive star did not show up at all. I didn't track a single useful thing from Bailey and PFF thought he had the single worst game of anybody on offense or defense (very interestingly, the Alabama transfer Shane Lee graded even worse for USC). I think we're getting clarity each week that Slocum is a big liability (by the way, Terian Williams got his first significant action and did very credibly...I wonder if he can get more time going forward). The biggest liability, though, is probably the DL. I just don't think these guys have it to give us good push. Probably need more experience and more talent.
6. That being said, the degree of difficulty for any Stanford QB1 in 2023 is high. PFF grades us #125 in pass blocking so far this season and yet I'm not sure what's worse, our pass blocking or our receiving (PFF says pass blocking, putting receiving at #72, which I think is probably right by sheer virtue of Yurosek). Yurosek is great (#45 in the nation in yards from scrimmage, only TE in the top 100) but can only cover up so many sins. We don't have a single WR in the top 50 in the Pac-12 in yards from scrimmage. Honestly, I would go as far to say that Humphreys - #39 in the Pac-12 in receiving - is the only WR who is even Pac-12 level right now. Some have mused whether the over-reliance on the Yurosek run plays indicate lack of creativity or trying to keep RBs healthy or something else but I think it's simple - we don't have much else on offense. Humphreys, Smith, and Filkins are solidly mediocre options. Everything else is unplayable....except we don't have anything better. I am shuddering to think about this offense without Yurosek. It's a big deal for the rebuild that Osborne can coach up the WRs but I'm looking at what Reuben, Ayomanor, and Bachmeier are giving us through two weeks and that Borden, Cisse, and Harris weren't even deemed ready to be on the travel roster and I wonder where help is going to come from. If numerous of Yurosek, Humphreys, Smith, and Filkins leave (and right now I'd guess all or maybe all but one will leave) there is a real possibility we are worse at the skill positions in 2024 than in 2023. Start thinking about the transfer portal now....
7. The other big thing to keep an eye on from a developmental/rebuilding perspective is of course the OL. They are going through growing pains, but I feel far more sanguine about them than the skill positions. PFF actually likes their run blocking work - #32 in the nation - and as we know this is a room where old men are king, so if we can get some retention and year-to-year development big improvements could be ahead. In terms of individuals, PFF continues to like McLaughlin's work the most and thinks Rogers has been solid (I cannot emphasize enough how much we need fifth years from them next year). Against USC we split time at both tackles (Anderson and Pogorelc at LT, McLaughlin and Leyrer at RT). I think I'd expect that next week too. It looked to me like Mayberry got replaced by Uke sometime after Mayberry's worst penalty imaginable of a false start from the 1 yard line (red zone discipline abysmal....Mayberry, McLaughlin, Bank all with red zone penalties). Nice to see The Ultimate Enigma Austin Uke play and play credibly. I wonder if Uke might start pushing Mayberry. In general, the OL is a couple of solid old guys and some promising younger talent and we'll just have to see if the Shaw thing of nobody staying five years will continue or we can hope for better days ahead.
8. On defense, I really think only a few guys showed up, admittedly against the toughest offense in the country (so maybe it's more only a few guys had the chops to hold up against the onslaught). Each week I track big plays (defined as tackles for loss, passes defended, turnovers, good run stops given down and distance, etc.) and this week only Wright and Bernadel registered with multiple plays that helped the defense. Wright, as was the case against Hawaii, pops off the screen as an obvious NFL talent relative to our other players and is consistently making plays in various ways, but he is also giving up chunk yardage in each game too. One can't call his play great yet, but I think it's clear he's one of the team's standouts. It was a relief to see Bernadel bounce back so well. It was more of a solid to good performance than anything, but after his first game struggles I'm glad to see a guy we're counting on show that he's better than he was against Hawaii. We can count on Gilman to be game even if limited. I don't hate Edwards or Manley. On the negative side, I talked last week about the story of our week being the star players and unfortunately the defensive star did not show up at all. I didn't track a single useful thing from Bailey and PFF thought he had the single worst game of anybody on offense or defense (very interestingly, the Alabama transfer Shane Lee graded even worse for USC). I think we're getting clarity each week that Slocum is a big liability (by the way, Terian Williams got his first significant action and did very credibly...I wonder if he can get more time going forward). The biggest liability, though, is probably the DL. I just don't think these guys have it to give us good push. Probably need more experience and more talent.