Thoughts on the (short version of) the game

[chinngiskhaan]

I watched a 15 minute version of the game after not being able to watch live. This version was all of the important plays in this game. Here is what stuck out to me:

1. From the way our start was being described on the chat, I assumed Utah came out flat. What I saw in the first quarter was a team that was playing with urgency on both sides of the ball, but they were just a half step behind Williams and USC. There were a few blown assignments that I noticed on defense… But the defense did come to play from the get go, they just needed some time to get comfortable.

2. When Williams got hurt, I think the Utes defense knew he was hurt (duh)… but I noticed on most of the sacks it looked like the defenders went out of their way to not hit him hard. Diabate’s sack was obviously an exception, but in general, the defenders seemed reluctant to hit him hard, or land on top of him because of his obvious injury… I think this mentality is what lead to a couple of missed sacks later in the game (that let USC back into it momentarily). You can see the defenders let up right before they get to williams, then he side steps and throws it over them.

3. Phillips was absolutely interfered with, you all know what I’m talking about.

4. Hubert was the one defender I saw that was very clearly struggling to keep up in the first half (didn’t have the benefit of replays and other angles so didn’t notice anyone else). Dude was completely lost multiple times… and that leads to poor tackling. Sooo much of tackling is being able to anticipate where the play is going, and being ready to wrap up when the play goes where you know it will go.

5. Great job coaching all around. The team came in ready to compete. They were a half step or so behind early on, but got it figured out. Every one of Williams’s big plays were just a half second away from being disasters for USC… Then we adjusted and started getting home.

[chinngiskhaan]

Also, I forgot to mention some standout performers:

Vaki was huge in the second half.

Bernard and JJ were both OUTSTANDING. Bernards fumble was pretty flukey. nobody was holding onto that ball. They both ran hard all game long.

Money Parks stepped up BIG TIME! Great to see a WR step up and make some great plays. He’s going to be a big part of this team going forward. If we can keep him rolling, and get Cope involved as well, we’ll have a complete team on offense (assuming we can continue to get good TE production, and replace Rising with someone good).

Gabe Reid was huge obviously. Covey did us a huge solid by recruiting him to the U.

The pass rush was excellent tonight. They got home again and again and again… Williams did not have many throws where he didn’t have a defender right in his face.

Also Rising obviously. He made some questionable decisions on keepers, and on throws, but he came to play.

Hopefully our hobbled guys are feeling better by the time the RB comes. I think our running game is going to look a lot better now that JJ will have a few weeks to get comfortable back there.

[UtesRule]

Vaki did played great in the second half but possibly the biggest play in the first half was when on fourth and eight after Utah had just fumbled and we’re trailing 17 to 3 Vaki made a great play to deflect what would’ve been a first down pass completion. That single play changed the complexity of the game big time! If U$C goes down and scores a touchdown on that drive, it’s possibly game over.

[chinngiskhaan]

was that the first half? Like I said, I just watched the quick version, so it was harder to keep track.

[The Miami Ute]

Gabe Reid said in the post-game interview with the PAC network that they had no idea that Williams was hurt. I disagree that the Utes defenders not hitting Williams hard was part of some designed plan because he was hurt. They mentioned in the broadcast that the Utes’ defensive plan was to bottle up or corral Williams and not allow him to break containment. You can do that best if your defensive rush is controlled and precise rather going forward like a crazed bull.

[Extra Medium]

The defense wasn’t letting up when they got to Williams. They we trying to contain the most elusive QB in the nation. Scalley’s game plan was to keep him in the pocket and try to contain him. They slowed up to make sure they didn’t run past him and get embarrassed by the dude.

[The Miami Ute]

Yeap…just trying to contain Williams…no need to destroy him.

[chinngiskhaan]

I never thought it was part of the game plan to ease up on him after he got hurt, but I felt like they noticed he was hurt, and made an effort to not destroy him as a result.

It is also possible that they were just weary of coming too hard and either getting faked out, or getting a penalty.

Like I said, observations.

[Charlie]

Williams had a cut on the little finger I believe. Possibly, on the long run he could have tweaked his leg. On the play he could have easily run out of bounds even with more yardage but slowed to slide just as he was caught from behind. I thought he was out of character not going for the TD but looking for blockers to clear a path. Still, thru the remainder of the game he was moving much better when things looked good for USC and the limp got worse when their fortunes turned bad. He struggled in every way when the win became unlikely.

Hubert was not the issue the announcer assumed. Utah’s strategy was to wildly change coverage in an unlikely way when the ball was snapped. That execution is very hard to master without game experience and can create WTF situations with free runners. The FS’s job is to pick up the mistakes of others and, because of his depth, he has the best chance to chase all free runners. Anyone could have been the one to miss an assignment with all the switching that was going on. In one case, Phillips simply fell down in isolated man defense. However, even with the big plays the strategy payed big dividends as it gave so much to Williams to think about and slowed him down. When Whitt talked about the D settling down, I think he was talking about getting use to making the wild coverage changes done at game speed. I saw a masterpiece by the defensive coaches, safeties and CBs that matched what was going on with the rush.

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