USC Morning Buzz: Do Spring Football Stats Really Matter?

Does it matter that Sam Darnold hsa thrown five interceptions in four spring football practices? He has a young group of receivers. The offensive line has some new starters. And Darnold is entrenched as the No. 1 guy, so maybe he can take more chances.

It’s notable, however, because Darnold threw one interception in his first fall training camp and spring practice. He didn’t throw his second interception until a week into last year’s fall camp. His career total of interceptions was two when Clay Helton named Max Browne the starter. So five interceptions is unusual, if nothing else.

17 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Do Spring Football Stats Really Matter?

  1. Please tell us are.the coaches worried? After all he is the same quarterback the defense practiced against a few months ago. So the answer to your question is no spring ball numbers don’t count. Most notably the lack of attack from the defense might make Sam a little soft. Better to get them out of his system now.

  2. They only count if they reinforce the blogger’s perspective (Sam Darnold is the greatest, everybody else is garbage). If they contradict the blogger’s perspective then they don’t count at all.

    • They mattered to him last year when it was Browne throwing them. Darnold is a Favre type player who is not afraid to throw the ball when most would throw it away. He will make more mistakes, but his ability to make more of those throws and win games will over shadow interceptions.

  3. Scottie actually had a point. Juju and Darius were seasoned vets, they ran correct routes and made correct breaks 99.5% of the time. By the end of the year, Burnett was just as savvy and reliable as a route runner.

    The final drive that tied the Rose Bowl is a perfect example. Every catch and play showed the connection between Sam and the receivers. The second PI call were both Sam & Darius baiting the corner into a PI. Only a veteran, savvy receiver is going to pick up on that, especially since USC didn’t huddle the entire drive. And the TD was even better, with JuJu making the nickel stay upfield in coverage, and Sam and Burnett seeing the same thing.

    Younger receivers is going to mean that mistakes will happened. They will run incorrect routes, fail to anticipate and read the defense incorrectly. Sam’s INT total will rise next year.

    Also, it is possible that with another year under Clancy, the backfield is better. Neither Hawk nor Tell are natural ball-hawking safeties, and Leon was asked to play more of a center field. It looks like Cook is an athletic nickel, good enough to be trusted to make athletic breaks on the ball.

        • I agree. But Juju was crying on the sidelines and had to be babied by Viane Talamaivao during the Pac12 championship game last season completely checked out. And during this year’s game at Palo Alton he was complaining on the sidelines, got benched by Helton for a few plays, went back in and dropped a crucial potential TD pass become he tried to look cool by making an uncalled for one handed catch. I bought a Juju Smith jersey but he took a step back in leadership this past season. I guess that’s my whole grudges with him. He should be playing all out at all times like a Viane Talamaivao.

        • By the way. Juju made a he** of a catch down the sidelines in the 4th against Penn State.

        • He did try to one hand a sure touchdown pass from Browne and dropped it. That cost them 7 points. He also walked a route where it looked like he quit.

    • What you say is completely valid. Wonder what the line play was like on those int’s? Have to wonder if that is affecting his play too. That’s probably why they practice, isn’t it? New receivers learning routes, new linemen learning protections, it’s a process…

  4. Anyone read the article by dweber saying how both Wheeler (wrist) and Mama (pec) were hurt and this was the reason for their less than average bench press reps?
    Just mentioning this so maybe someone will lay off these young guys for not being the strongest guys out there… just sayin.

  5. The increase may be due to the opening up of the playbook for Sam. Practice makes perfect.

  6. I’d say having all those NFL executives, coaches et. al. may have had a significant impact on anyone with dreams of playing there knowing they were there a mere 1 day before.

  7. Darnold will throw interceptions. He threw a lot at the beginning of his plays. He has another 25 practices at least before the first game. They will work during the summer. The new receivers are just cutting their teeth right now. By the end of summer and going into fall camp, let us see where he is with the interceptions. Remember Scooter, if a receiver catches the ball and goes in the air and the defender picks it off, that is an interception, even though the receiver had the ball in his hands. You did not tell us how five interceptions came about. It might have been off the receivers hands. Go out there and get details to this story. Just don’t throw crud around without an objective explanation.

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