[quote]sasquatch wrote:
I beg to differ. Besides just the general idiocy of the argument, they scored with 19 seconds left. That’s only one play if it’s not a first down or out of bounds. I would rather make a guy go a longer distance than a shorter one to win the game.[/quote]
Of course, if they had to drive 96 yards their play calling would have been totally different for better clock management. So it’s an argument that can never really be validated for either side.
[quote]cap’nsalty wrote:
You know how I define a great team? Winning games against other solid teams. If two teams are 11-0 for a season, and they face off, the team that wins is the better team that season. This is about as clean cut as you are going to get in college football.[/quote]
Great teams play great in big games. USC didn’t.
Probably the best football game I have ever seen.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I think the bigger Caroll blunder was the timeout called when Texas was going for two. Hell - give them the points and save a time out.
[/quote]
I completely agree, but you see coaches butcher the clock all the time at all levels of football. Being a former football coach (youth), it pisses me off. Clock management is so important and so many coaches fail to do so.
That timeout would have been huge for USC on the following drive. I just don’t see the importance of stopping them on the conversion, at least not to the point of using a timeout. You still need to get into field goal range on the next drive. A timeout would have drastically expanded the playbook and increaded their chances of winning.
I just can’t pull myself away from this thread. Did anyone else notice when they compared stats of the two teams side by side, they’d have USC (insert number) Vince Young (insert number)? Hilarious.
I’ll throw in a couple of comments.
It’s tough to say what the right call was on that 4th and 2. I would be inclined to say that the right play was to go for it. USC was moving the ball well and if memory serves me right, both backs were averaging over 6 yards per carry the whole night. I think you have to take the chance to end the game right there. Also, in college football special teams breakdowns are still very common. I would have gone for it, but you can definitly argue either way. With that, I agree that the time out for the 2-point conversion was idiotic. If they saved that timeout they definitly could have gotten within field goal range with 8 seconds left.
I hope everybody remembers what they are saying about Reggie Bush right now. I’ll throw out a couple of names for you guys: Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk. Reggie Bush is the most impressive athlete I’ve ever seen on a football field. I actually feel like USC has under-used him this year. He simply makes guys look absolutely stupid. The player he actually reminds me the most of is Tim Brown back when he played wingback for Notre Dame. He just has the ability to shift directions while still maintaining his blisterings speed. I can pretty much assure you that Reggie Bush will be the first overall pick.
I can’t decide how I feel about Vince Young as a pro prospect. I guess if I had to compare him to a player I’d choose Donovan McNabb. In college, and even in his first few years in the NFL, McNabb had the tools to throw but was very quick to get out of the pocket. Vince Young definitly has the tools to be an NFL passer but it might take him a little while to adjust. I think you see that a lot from quarterbacks in systems like that. Obviously Young will be drafted high based on his potential if and when he comes out. You can also look at J.P. Losman as a similar type of guy who was the focal point of his team and given a lot of freedom to get outside the pocket and run and make plays. Vince Young has even more physical gifts and it would shock me if he dropped out of the top 10. It would also shock me if he didn’t come out this year. I can’t imagine his stock climbing any higher and I can’t imagine the Saints or Titans passing on him. I would love to see him land with the Cardinals though. I’m not partial to any NFL team, but imagining him pitching balls to Fitzgerald and Boldin is exciting.
I also wonder what type of player Lendale White will be in the pros. Honestly, I don’t think he will be that successful. I would be surprised if he went very high in the draft. I just look at him and see a guy that is very limited. In this NFL, the game is becoming so wide open that backs must be able to do more than go between the tackles. Look at the top 10 rushers in the league this past year:
I would only define 2 of the 10 (Alexander and RJohnson) to be “power” runners. The others are either “balanced” (Johnson, James, Tomlinson, McGahee) or “scatbacks” (Barber, Portis, Dunn, Jones). To me, I feel like Lendale White is a similar player to T.J. Duckett, only I feel that Duckett was a better pro propect coming out of college. He definitly runs with great power and does hit the hole very quickly, in this respect his style is pretty comperable to Rudi Johnson. I just don’t think you can even but him in the same league as Bush.
Alright, that was long. Any thoughts?
[quote]malonetd wrote:
I completely agree, but you see coaches butcher the clock all the time at all levels of football. Being a former football coach (youth), it pisses me off. Clock management is so important and so many coaches fail to do so.
[/quote]
And Leinart showed a lot of immaturity in his management o f the last 19 seconds as well. For being a former Heisman winner that was the darling of the press, he pretty much pissed down his leg. I mean really - only two plays in 19 seconds? What was he even trying to do on the last play?
[quote]concrete wrote:
sasquatch wrote:
STILL–can someone explain to me why Pete the magnificant went for it on 4th down at mid F’n field?
I thought it was a good decision to go for it on 4th down. USC had a much better chance of gaining one and a half yards than they did of stopping Young. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had to take them 96 yards instead of 56.
[/quote]
That was a good call. They had an excellent chance to pick up the first down. Game over if they got it.
A punt from that spot usually ends up in the endzone. They would have moved the ball 20 yards. Big deal.
Barber and Dunn are excellent backs between the tackles. They both were outside rushers in college and worked very hard to change their game and overcome the perception that thay are too small.
Barber and Dunn are incredibly humble and hardworking guys. Is Bush cut from the same cloth or will he try to get by on his athleticism?
I don’t know enough about Bush to make the call but most guys are not in the same class as Barber and Dunn. They stand out from their peers in the NFL.
Regarding White, I don’t know if he will make it in the NFL or not, but I think he has been crucially important to USC’s success. He has been a cornerstone of their offense.
Bush has been flashy and exciting but White is workhorse and I love workhorses. They are the ones that get it done.
Twenty-five years ago, or so, everyone had the same hard-on for Charles White, another SC running back. But he never did anything of substance in the pros. I think Bush is in the same class as Charles White was, and won’t really have much of an NFL impact.
But Lyndale White has already provedn his ability to run between the tackles. I would draft him over Bush if I were a GM.
Dynasty
[quote]sasquatch wrote:
To hell with the poor officiating–though I think Texas definately gained an edge in the totality of the officiating…What about that ‘convenient’ review of an obvious no call that stopped the clock with a minute to play???
STILL–can someone explain to me why Pete the magnificant went for it on 4th down at mid F’n field?
A lot of strange plays in that game. Poor officiating. Mack Brown outcoached super Pete. And one major stud. I don’t know how good of a qb he will be, but that is a thoroughbread there.[/quote]
The Sports Guy explains:
It’s because he’s Coach Fredo
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Twenty-five years ago, or so, everyone had the same hard-on for Charles White, another SC running back. But he never did anything of substance in the pros. I think Bush is in the same class as Charles White was, and won’t really have much of an NFL impact.
[/quote]
I disagree. I think Bush can have a hell of a career if he’s used properly – I watched quite a few USC games this year, and some of the runs he had were just jaw-dropping. I’ve read articles comparing him to Gale Sayers, and while that is premature, it’s not hard to believe…
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
concrete wrote:
sasquatch wrote:
STILL–can someone explain to me why Pete the magnificant went for it on 4th down at mid F’n field?
I thought it was a good decision to go for it on 4th down. USC had a much better chance of gaining one and a half yards than they did of stopping Young. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had to take them 96 yards instead of 56.
That was a good call. They had an excellent chance to pick up the first down. Game over if they got it.
A punt from that spot usually ends up in the endzone. They would have moved the ball 20 yards. Big deal.[/quote]
i can’t believe we are still talking about this, so i will still talk about it too.
that call, 4th and 2. anything but white … and with bush on the sideline? i kick it, but if i go for it, i play action pass. leinert is on in the 2nd half. i put bush and white in the back field together, which rarely happens and thus confuses the shit out of texas, and then i dump it to my tight end. or i squib kick it out of the shotgun.
25 yards (or more) could have made a difference. we will not know until someone invents a time machine so these guys can go back and replay the best BCS championship game i have ever seen!
Dan
…
Hook 'em Horns!
Is it just me…or did Vince look like he was just running through some pre-game warm-ups with some of the runs he had againt USC?
It looked almost like he was barely above a trot on many of his runs!
What a great athlete!
Mufasa
[quote]cap’nsalty wrote:
I just can’t pull myself away from this thread. Did anyone else notice when they compared stats of the two teams side by side, they’d have USC (insert number) Vince Young (insert number)? Hilarious.[/quote]
you just made my point without me having to say much… as far as the knee being down…of course everybody and their mama know we are all human but a bad call is still a bad call. back to another point i was making it would be interesting to see how Texas performs next season if vince goes to the nfl…I’m not denying the have skills…I just think he makes texas what they are take him away and texas is a descent team … take leinart away and usc is still an above average team… oh and i read somewhere on this tread that usc is a sham…34 game winning streak is hardly that… GO BLUE
Racefan,
I am glad that someone else is on the same page as me. Read the comment on the bottom right corner of doogie’s post how true is that shit. Texas was tired of reporters basicaly saying that the game was over before it was even played and proved it. Saying that Texas would not be as great without Young is a pussy statement. Every team has all-stars and the fact that USC is supposed to have an all-star TEAM goes to show that your statement is shit. If a team of all stars cannot beat a team of scrubs that says a lot about USC. I lived in Cali. in 04 when there was a split national championchip. Every time I would wear my LSU gear I would get all the bullshit trash talk form USC fans. Arrogant attitudes is what happened to USC and it is tough to swallow.
[quote]Habitual wrote:
Racefan,
I am glad that someone else is on the same page as me. Read the comment on the bottom right corner of doogie’s post how true is that shit. Texas was tired of reporters basicaly saying that the game was over before it was even played and proved it. Saying that Texas would not be as great without Young is a pussy statement. Every team has all-stars and the fact that USC is supposed to have an all-star TEAM goes to show that your statement is shit. If a team of all stars cannot beat a team of scrubs that says a lot about USC. I lived in Cali. in 04 when there was a split national championchip. Every time I would wear my LSU gear I would get all the bullshit trash talk form USC fans. Arrogant attitudes is what happened to USC and it is tough to swallow.[/quote]
well young is going to the nfl so we’ll see what happens…I followed the season in its entirety I don’t recall people calling reporters calling texas a scrub (so you must be dramatizing)yeah the said usc would win hey the majority of cfb fans thought the samething. I said before and I will say it again vince young is a great player who made descent/good team better…and we will see who’s right next national championship if texas is there to defend their title…as far as cali fan being cocky? I’ve been in cali for 6 years plus and i haven’t seen it…texas fans on the other hand (i used to be in the marines and there’s a lot of people in the marines from texas where i am stationed at) are very arrogant.