| 09 September 2009
Welcome to the week two recap of the Paul Wulff radio show! There's plenty to go over, so let's get at it. Like last week, we'll stick with the "Top Ten" things to take from this week's show.
1) Bud again in the host chair, and he opened the show by asking coach Wulff's reaction to the game after watching the tape and what the differences are compared to just after playing the game and thinking about what he had witnessed. Any major differences? Wulff said for sure there are always things you see on tape that you miss during the game (what's the old saying, "the tape don't lie" or something?). Anyway, Wulff said that the tape revealed some very good things that they did, as well as some major breakdowns that cost us some points, so there were both sides that he saw on film. Wulff said the O-line was physical and consistent in the running game, and did some good things early vs. Stanford where they controlled the line of scrimmage at times against a very good, stout, physical defensive front. But he also said that "big plays were available, and we just didn't make them" due to some breakdowns up front in the passing game. But overall, he was encouraged even more so after watching the tape vs. his feelings after the game Saturday evening.
Wulff did add that it was very discouraging that they couldn't get anything done in the passing game late, and that they "were getting beat physically" late. Defensively, they missed a lot of tackles, but according to Wulff, those sorts of things are common early in the season, just coming off fall camp, and that should improve this week.
2) Bud asked about the big plays that hurt them, including the kickoff return for a TD, the long punt return, the long TD catch and the TD run by Toby Gerhart. Wulff said that specifically on the special teams plays, they had their coverage in the right place. But, some things "overflowed, and a couple of guys didn't stay in their lane". This was a breakdown in the coverage teams, and all it takes is for one or two players to be out of their lane or miss their assignment, and you give up a huge play. But on the bright side, Wulff said that these are all things that they believe they can control and correct, and that there is some discipline needed for assignments and things like that. Bud asked about developing special teams, and Wulff said no question it's tough when you don't have a lot of depth. Part of his staff is conflicted because they want their best special teams possible, but they can't ask their starters to also be on two or three special teams either. He has seen that in the past, and over a season the players just get worn down by doing that. But better depth over time will in fact equal better special teams. Wulff said the big special teams plays really bother him, and he equated those big plays to almost being like a turnover in a sense. Likewise, today in practice they did a lot of work on special teams, so they believe it is already getting better.
Personally I still remember the first game vs. Okie State last year. Not only was the score the same as it was in the opener vs. Stanford this year, but you also had really poor WSU special teams in week one of 2008. They improved dramatically in game two and really, the special teams wasn't much of an issue the rest of the season. Here's hoping that's the case again this year....
3) Bud asked what else Wulff liked from week one. Wulff immediately said turnovers and penalties! Just four penalties, and hey, ZERO turnovers! Very, very good at taking care of the ball, emphasizing ball security. But he didn't just say that the players are stronger or whatever, but said that the improvement by the offensive line, he believes, led to fewer rushed, inaccurate throws by his QB's, therefore the interceptions anyway were down. The O-line deserves some credit for the zero turnovers.
4) Right to the news of the day - Kevin Norrell has "been dismissed from the team for the season". I know there is some confusion on exactly what that means, but, Wulff's quote was that he was dismissed from the team for the season. He said that Norrell had made a very poor choice, and that the team's Unity Council has high demands of the players. They recommended the punishment to coach Wulff, that Norrell be dismissed for the season, and therefore that is the punishment. Wulff believes this is the right decision for the team to make, so, there you have it. Wulff then went on about the Unity Council, that they have high expectations for the members of the football program, and they have to hold themselves to a higher standard. If they get out of line, they are dealt with accordingly. Wulff said that this incident might hurt initially, but that as a program and a family they are stronger because of the actions they have taken. You make poor choices, you pay the consequences. Wulff also commented that there are some good young WR's in the program right now, and while this could hurt the depth chart, this is also an opportunity for a younger wide receiver to step forward and take advantage of the situation. As to who he is referring to? I guess it could be guys like Johnny Forzani or Jeffrey Solomon. Daniel Blackledge's playing time is certain to go up as well! But that's the deal.
5) A caller asked Wulff about the game in general, and thanked Wulff for the team's effort and that she "had fun again" watching the Cougars. Wulff said thanks for the support, and then went into an overview that things should keep getting better and better each week. He said the attitude of the team is just great right now, and that they are having fun. He said they are playing with heart and toughness, and that trust is developing out of what's going on right now. He said they are building and growing as a team, and that he believes they will give people many reasons to get excited as we move forward!
6) The injury news isn't too bad. Daniel Blackledge actually came down with the flu Saturday night after the game. He didn't practice today, however Wulff expects him to practice tomorrow, so that's good news if he hopes to play on Saturday. Louis Bland did aggravate his knee injury a little bit, but he did practice today and should be OK there. But that was really it. Wulff again stated that the strength and conditioning program has just had such a great impact on the team, and that the fact that so many players bought in to the program in the off-season should hopefully mean less of an injury report on a weekly basis. Quite a difference from a year ago, when the walking wounded started piling up after the first game!?!
7) A caller asked about the buyout with Hawai'i for 2011, which is now official as WSU is paying $300,000 to cancel the game at Hawai'i. Wulff said that part of the reason is that with the PAC-10 schedule where you play nine conference games, that they really want to be sure teams are getting a bye in their schedule. Right now 2011 for WSU didn't have a bye, so, that was the logical game to cancel. Bud interjected that he spoke with Jim Sterk earlier in the day about it, and Sterk said that the cost of actually taking the team and everyone involved to the game in Hawai'i is about $300,000 anyway, so, with the buyout, it's a price they would have had to pay regardless if they went or not. They felt it was worth it to spend the money to get the bye. Wulff said that this will give them some flexibility with the 2011 schedule as well, so we'll see what happens there.
The same caller asked about the recruiting right now, and mentioned the two new commits from the weekend (although NOT by name of course!). Wulff said that he was "VERY excited" about the commits, and that it is an exciting time right now. First of all he said that the recruiters on his staff are just great, extremely hard-working guys who are also very good people, and families are buying into them right now. Their recruiting pitch is very well-received, as these kids and their families learn where we are headed as a program. They are doing a great job of finding the right type of kids who can fit into the type of program they want to have, finding the kids that want to take advantage of the opportunity that is in front of them. He said some kids really want the discipline and structure they offer with the team, and those are the kinds of kids they want. But he said "some kids DON'T want the discipline, so we aren't the right place for them." But Wulff was very excited in talking about how well recruiting is going right now. Don't let the Stanford loss or the lack of an overwhelming home crowd make you think that this weekend wasn't successful, as clearly they believe it was.
Finally, Wulff compared the situation a little bit to when he was recruited by Jim Walden in his playing days back in the mid-80's. Wulff was recruited during the RPM days of Mark Rypien, Kerry Porter and Rueben Mayes, and the excitement around the team at that time led to some very strong recruiting classes by Walden. Those recruits at that time turned out to be the upperclassmen on the '88 Aloha Bowl team, one of the better WSU teams in the modern era. Time will tell of course, but kind of cool to listen to a guy who's been through this as a player and now going through it as a coach to compare the two situations.
8) Cotton Sears, former WSU player and brother of Jody Sears, called in to talk to coach Wulff. Cotton said that he was just so excited and proud at how hard the kids played on Saturday, and he was so excited he couldn't get to sleep Saturday night just thinking about it. He was very pleased by the improvement, and he said that he "knew we were on the right track when Eric Block made that huge hit on the Stanford receiver". A play like that signaled to Cotton that things were moving in the right direction!
I guess Block is over the stomach ailment, although he did suffer a slight concussion on that hit. Per Grippi, Block was at practice but didn't suit up, so we'll see if he's ready to go Saturday.
9) Wulff was asked his thoughts on Hawai'i. After a joke that he had trouble pronouncing some of their names (ha-ha?), he said that their defense was very young. In fact right now, it looks like they will start an entire defense that did not start last year. That means all 11 starters on defense are brand new compared to a year ago (but of course, many of them already started last week). But it's still not an overly experienced group in terms of starts. The team did lose 11 of their top 13 tacklers for last year, so it's hard to ignore that. Wulff said that their offense can be really explosive, and Greg Alexander is a good, experienced QB with deceptive quickness. They will make plays offensively and get their yardage, but "we have to make it difficult for them to score" and do the things they need to do on defense (I don't know what that tells you, but maybe a bend-but-don't-break approach to what we'll see defensively on Saturday??).
Bud also asked about the defensive line and the lack of pressure they put on Andrew Luck and Stanford in the passing game. Wulff actually said that some of that was by design, in that the #1 goal of the defense was to stop the run against Stanford. The D-line was mainly looking for run much more than pass. When a d-lineman is looking for a running play, they often aren't in a good pass-rushing mode, so, there you go. Wulff said "we will be better and we must improve our pass rush" for Hawai'i this week. In that same area, Wulff stressed that it's easy to forget, but Bernard Wolfgramm, Josh Luapo and Travis Long were 3/4ths of the starting defensive line, and none of them had ever played a down of division-I college football before Saturday! To have those guys go up against a very good, physical, strong running game in Stanford, and expect them to also get pressure in the passing game might have been expecting a little too much. Although Wulff did point out that both Travis Long and Kevin Kooyman had their moments and did put some pressure on from the outside at times. But again, Wulff stressed that "we will be better up front as they gain some experience" on defense.
10) Finally, Bud asked how important it is to WIN this week. Wulff immediately said "well, it's important that we play well". But that there were match-ups that they like offensively against the Hawai'i defense, and that if they do what they are supposed to do, the outcome should come out in their favor. And most of all, they need a win, but Wulff also said that hey, we're protecting the PAC-10. "We want to uphold the reputation of the conference, and represent the PAC-10 well." So that's cool.
That's really it for this week. I guess the Norrell news was a bit surprising, considering he was sick from the flu and instead of home resting he was out at 3 AM and getting behind the wheel. Per Grippi, that did NOT SIT WELL with the team! A season-long dismissal from the Unity Council kind of shows what they thought of that selfish act, doesn't it? The QB situation kind of made news today, but not once was it really brought up on the show which was a bit of a surprise. It sounds like it will be a little more of the same, only that perhaps Lopina will play a little more? That situation should resolve itself shortly I would imagine, and maybe even after this week. We'll see.
ENJOY YOUR WEDNESDAY, and as always, GO COUGS!
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