| 07 September 2009
Greetings Coug Nation. Back home from a busy, fun weekend in Pullman. Nice to meet some of you at the tailgate (Lucas, SelahCoug, MamaSledge among others), but I know that we missed some of you as well. Hopefully next time we can cross paths and share a drink or two. But I also must add a huge hat-tip to a very special guest. He refused to allow his picture to be taken after the fall camp "fiasco" of Longball capturing the elusive scribe sitting in the shade during practice in the 98-degree heat, so, sorry, no pics of Sir Vincent Grippi. But I did want to say that it was a very pleasant, entertaining, informative 15-minutes with Vince, and for that, we are thankful to him for making the effort to show up several hours before kickoff. Among some interesting things from Vince - USC has the absolute WORST press-box food, period. And on the flip-side, WSU provides the absolute best spread possible for the various credentialed media types. Of course, some of the reasoning is that the media and the high-roll donors share the same box at WSU. If you've never been up there, I can assure you that the "other half" doesn't exactly like to eat room-temperature hot dogs that were prepared before sunrise. We kidded with Vince about the made-up election that he won last year, and his future political aspirations (he has his eyes set on the top spot in Olympia by the way, keep your eyes out for an announcement!....just kidding). Anyway, Vince, thanks again, and please know the invitation for a drop-by is always open. We'll keep the bottled water for you on ice, just in case.
Moving on, the sights and sounds of Cougar Football Saturday were in full effect. The RV lots were pretty full, people were enjoying the nice weather, the cheerleading/dance squads were making the rounds, it was your basic nice, early September home game that gets the juices flowing. In our own tailgate, we rolled out the hot dogs and beverages and just had a great time doing that tailgate thing. And overall, even though it was a sparse turnout for a home opener, still, there was a renewed sense of spirit among the people we mingled with. I would add that spirit was combined with cautious optimism that what we were about to see would be considerably better than last year. Was it? Well, many of you saw it for yourself, whether you were one of the 22,000+ who attended the game or caught it on TV. But I think the general consensus from talking to people after the game is that there 1) were some real positives, but 2) we have a long way to go?
I also wanted to thank Todd in the WSU athletic department who managed to weasel my wife/kids/myself onto the field before the game. It made my 8-year old son's year to see these guys up close and personal, so, thank you for that! And getting that opportunity to see these guys right there next to you? I know some of the summer media hype was on the extra lbs these guys have put on, but seeing it in the flesh, there is no question this is a bigger, stronger football team.
Among the real "eye test" guys was Andy Mattingly. He's about as legit as it gets at 6-4, 250, and let me tell you, he looks every bit of it. Mattingly looked pretty comfortable back at linebacker as well, and Sutra's thoughts from yesterday were right on - his jarring sack of Andrew Luck on 4th-and-3 from the five yard-line was a big-time play from a team that needs playmakers in a huge way. It was already 22-3 at that point, and Stanford had that look of a team ready to run away and hide, something we saw far too frequently last year. But Mattingly blitzed off the far side of the field, and never gave up, pursuing Luck all the way to the sideline before drilling him from behind. Great job Andy, and I think we might be looking at a nice final season in Pullman from you before it's all said and done!
I think Mattingly has a future in the NFL, even with 2008's lost season. Why? Well for one, he's plenty big enough to play at the next level, and if he shows some breakout ability this year, the sky is the limit for him. But for another reason, I watched two NFL scouts standing right next to me on the field before the game studying every move he made, all the while taking notes between every drill. They did the same thing with Kevin Kooyman, literally watching every single move he made in warmups with the defensive linemen, and taking notes after EVERY SINGLE DRILL. 
It was kind of cool to see NFL scouting in action. There's a lot of money invested in these guys, and so you better believe that if they are going to think about making you a member of their organization, they are going to study every little detail about you, logging almost every tiny thing that you do.
Another guy who is definitely packing more pounds is Louis Bland. Here you see him next to Darren Markle, getting ready for another drill during warmups. 
Last year, Bland looked like a young converted safety playing linebacker. This year? He LOOKS like a linebacker. Not exactly like Greg Trent in the middle in terms of pure muscle mass, but Bland is definitely thicker. And you saw some of the plays he made in the middle, including a real shot on Toby Gerhart that gave off a few "oohs" from the crowd. Here's hoping that Louis can stay healthy, because whether he's playing in the middle or one of the outside linebacker spots, he's the kind of player you never want to come off the field for the defense!
Read more...for more...
The QB's looked pretty good before the game as well. While Marshall Lobbestael and Kevin Lopina's throws seemed a little more accurate, you can understand why there is buzz on Jeff Tuel.
The ball comes out nice and clean on his throws, and he, I don't know, he just looks the part. But I also see why people say he needs to gain weight. He is definitely of the long, lean body types, but one that should add some weight if he wants to be a regular QB as soon as next year. He needs some cushion for the bruising that lies ahead but man, the way the kid just moves, you can see the athleticism and confidence. The future is awfully bright. And I better add that the future is bright for Andrew Luck at Stanford. While I didn't take a picture, I watched some of his throws in warmpus, and whoa, is this guy going to be something! I know many of you saw it in the game, but watching him throw laserbeams across the field in warmups, was as effortless as someone throwing darts in a tavern. Very, very impressive. I think we're going to be hearing that name for a long, long time.
The pre-game vibe was pretty good too. The players were excited to be there, that much was obvious. This wasn't a flat, who-gives-a-s*it team out there in any way. Even if they were 17-point underdogs, and the crowd turnout was underwhelming at best, these guys didn't care about that crap. They were ready to play!
We have a lot more pictures that we will add to the photo gallery in the coming days, but these were just a few.
Now, for some quick thoughts on the game. First, the good:
1) The running game is the real thing. I think it was clear what they wanted to try and do, which is establish an effective running game. No doubt, it worked early on and helped out the passing game. Heck, Kevin Lopina actually THREW A TD PASS! It was that good. Seriously though, that first half saw some excellent runs by Dwight Tardy and a few nice flashes out of James Montgomery to give us all hope for what we thought was going to be the strength of this team, and that was an effective running game. But it was just as much about the guys up front who were doing the job and giving the backs some daylight, for that might have been the best the offensive line has played in the running game since at least Portland State last year? There were a couple of first-quarter runs that were just excellent, and the offensive line came to play on Saturday. That's a good defensive front in Stanford too, so the O-line should feel good going into next week.
2) Kevin Lopina does, in fact, look like the best option at QB. It's not that Marshall played terribly, in fact his numbers were respectable when you compare them to some of his outings last year. And his arm looked a little stronger than Lopina's, if not a little off-target, which we already kind of knew going in that was the case. I know it's still not 100% known what the plan will be again this week, but Lopina looked like the guy we thought we were getting last year. Not only did he look to have a little more zip on the ball this season, but he just looked supremely confident in what he was doing out there. He averaged 7.63 yards per pass attempt, and that's a pretty good thing when you consider he only averaged 5.5 per attempt last year. And he did a great job of getting out of trouble on a couple of occasions, one in which he was surely going down for a sack, only to break the tackle and scramble for a first down on the initial offensive drive of the game for the Cougs. And not only did the team get all it's points when Lopina was in the game, but remember he also drove them down the field in that first drive, only to have it end on a missed field goal after they had first-and-goal inside the five. So it could have been even more productive with Lopina in the game.
3) NO TURNOVERS! I had to rub my eyes repeatedly at the end of the game to be sure, but yep, no turnovers out of the team that led the universe with 38 giveaways last year!? Unreal. I think it shows a few things. First, the team is stronger, and that includes the running backs, WR's, and even the QB's in that everyone has a firmer grasp on the ball this year. It also shows that having a physical camp paid off for things like not coughing up the ball, where players are used to some real contact prior to the season. And finally, it shows that for the first time in the Wulff era, the QB's and the WR's are ALMOST in synch. To have a decent passing game, you not only need to have a QB who has a clue of what he's seeing and when and where to deliver the ball, but you also need the WR's to recognize the situation, read the coverages and adjust their routes accordingly. What we saw were some good decisions from the QB's as far as when to get rid of the ball in the face of the blitz, like on some throws out of the backfield to Tardy or Montgomery, or recognizing the match-up with Karstetter's 6-4 frame on the TD throw in one-on-one coverage against 6-2 Richard Sherman. But zero turnovers was just a wonderful, wonderful place to start for 2009.
Now, the bad:
1) The defense, while bigger and stronger, doesn't look faster. There is no question that these guys are bigger and stronger, and there were some huge hits dealt by Louis Bland and Eric Block. But I don't think we can add faster to the mix. Far too many times, it seemed like Stanford just had too much space between the ball carrier and the defense, and the closing speed isn't there for a lot of these guys. And Andrew Luck didn't have a whole lot of pressure to deal with outside of a couple of occasions. Stanford averaged 6.9 yards per rushing attempt, with 288 net yards on 42 carries. That 6.9 is a number that Jody Sears and Chris Ball are going to want to cut in half - AT LEAST - going forward. You can't allow a running team to average nearly 7 yards per rush. Now, some of this might be by design, as the Cougar D didn't exactly load the box like I think we thought they would. It was almost like the defensive strategy was to bring the linebackers here and there to try and get pressure on the QB or clog up the running game, but keep the safeties back and try to minimize the really big plays. It worked OK, but there was the long TD catch with the sickening juke by Chris Owusu that left Brandon Jones waving at air, and the Toby Gerhart TD run late that put the game to bed. But Vince Grippi alluded to this early last week, and that is that overall, there seems to be a lack of speed and difference-making talent on defense right now. After seeing game one, how could anyone disagree with that?
2) Special teams - Duh. The kickoff return for a TD after it was cut to 22-10 and the student section was alive, well, never mind. Owusu took one 85 yards to the house, and that was your ballgame. But the return yards in particular was just far too many in both the kicking and punting games. The punt team nearly gave up a spectacular return for a TD by Richard Sherman, who zigged and zagged his way almost all the way to the end-zone before getting tripped up. Then add in the missed field goal, and the too many men on the field penalty on Stanford's first extra point try that led to a 2-point conversion, and the special teams really hurt this team. Didn't we see enough special teams mistakes in the '08 opener? The good news is that after week one last year, the special teams did in fact improve. Not that anything else got better, but special teams, yeah, they got better in a hurry in '08. No reason they won't clean up this week as well.
3) The passing game, while improving, still leaves something to be desired. Jared Karstetter showed a lot in this game, a career-best 91 receiving yards and the game's only TD from the Cougar offense. This from a guy who had 90 TOTAL receiving yards all of last season. He has the look of a guy who could have a big year as that 6-4 possession-type target who is big enough and now strong enough to use that huge, athletic frame of his to move the chains and/or score TD's in one-on-one situations. But outside of Karstetter, the other WR's didn't do enough to help out the QB's. Daniel Blackledge did have 6 catches, and that was fine and all. But while it's hard to tell on TV, I can say that looking down the field on passing plays, I didn't see a whole lot of guys running wide open. And this was against a secondary that didn't exactly rate as an upper-echelon defensive backfield coming into the season. I like the looks of Gino Simone, Tony Thompson made some outstanding catches, and Jeshua Anderson is the fastest position player we have, but we still lack a major gamebreaker in the passing game to loosen up the defense. Hopefully the return of Kevin Norrell will help out a lot this coming week. Remember that Norrell is a guy who generated good vibes this camp, and showed something last year as a true frosh in limited time. He should boost the WR's as a group, and give Lopina or Lobbestael another legit weapon through the air.
So, that's about it. A fun, semi-hopeful weekend in Pullman. Thanks to Hooty for all the work he did in putting the fine details together for the tailgate, and oh yeah, the use of the RV! Hopefully we'll get to do it again in the near future, and we get a chance to meet more of you.
ENJOY YOUR Monday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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