Sky Is Falling Or Everything Is Great?

the chicken little attitude I believes comes from the regress in play as opposed to the improvement in play we had seen in the past.

also the sch gets much better after the next two games

What is the yard to touchdown ratio? Is that related to long touchdown scores? I'm not sure what use this metric serves other than to show Cal ahead of USC. I can't even find it on the NCAA website. There's these more traditional rankings which may be a little more telling:

2006 PAC-10 STAT RANKINGS:

Offense
        Rush Pass Total Score
USC     4     5      4     3
CAL     2     1      2     1

Defense
        Rush Pass Total Score
USC     2     4      2     1
CAL      7     9      8     3

Here's a ranking I did find on the NCAA website:

Time of Possession
8. USC
53. Cal

So, who's going to run more of a ball control offense this time around? This is shaping up to be a replay of 2004 with the roles reversed.

Been away for 2 weeks. Can someone tell me what happened to "The P" and 1490?

Some of the critcism is due to the fact that people are paying big bucks to come to Coliseum to see the type of product on the field that USC produced the past 4 yrs. They were use to seeing a high flying offense that rivaled (or shall i say overshadowed what you would see in the Raiders) what you would see in the NFL.

Now all of a sudden we have a one step forward 2 steps back offense and a defense that is on its heels at the end of games. This is a L.A. crowd where the competition for the sports dollar is stiff. So I am not surprised with the critcism and even the booes at the home games.

remember cal has not been challenged on any level since they got spanked by the tennessee vols. their toughest game was against oregon at home. they get washington this weekend at home without QB Stanback.

They aren't falling apart, but there is legit concern. Namely, is the "SC" offense, designed for Carson and Matt, suitable to JDB's skills.

The comparisons to JDB and Matt his first year should be over. After Matt's sixth game, the threw 25 TD's and only 2 ints. Does anyone believe JDB will replicate those numbers the rest of the way?

And the Carson comparisons are off as well. Name the NFL receivers, running backs and linemen went on the field with during the Hacket years, or even the first year of the Carroll era? And even in his Heisman year, Carson had one NFL lineman (Rogers), two NFL quality recievers (BMW before he washed out and Colbert), and Fargas. That's four NFL players and only one first round draft choice.

Booty is lineing up with two all-amercian linemen, two first day draft picks at receiver (not including Turner or the Frosh), a possible first round tight end, and a RB who will be a first day choice in the NFL draft (Chauncey). Booty's got a hell of a lot of talent to work with, much more than Carson ever had.

Booty would probably be a better QB in another system, say like your typical SEC team -- lots of play action and shotgun. Regardless of the merits of Kiffin vs. Chow, the SC passing offense is a vertical game, and I haven't yet seen any evidence that Booty sees the field all that well.

Maybe he will, the Coaches say so, but the Coaches need Booty to beleive that, even if privately they may have discovered the JDB does have his limitations.

There are severe recruiting implications if PC publicly throws JDB under the bus.

Why do you think the PC not only is able to attract all the five star athletes to a school with (and let’s face it) average, at best, facilities in the middle of a huge city, and get them to patiently wait there turn? PC doesn’t throw players under the bus, even when the press and the loyal opposition demand he do so (see Herschel and Rey Rey). He ain’t about to throw JDB under the bus anytime soon, especially when he is the QB of the second ranked team in the nation.

There is a legitimate question about whether this offense is right for JDB's skills. Should PC go to more play-action and even shotgun here and there? I doubt he’ll use any shotgun formations, and even going to more play-action has its problems. How does he tell DJ and SS that they’ll get the ball thrown to them less because they are adjusting the offense to JDB talents? Waht will Vidal and Turner and Jamere and Travon think?

Take it for the team? That fine for all of us lame message boards posters, but what if that decision costs DJ and SS draft positions and $$$$$ as a result. Would any of you honestly say, “Sure thing coach!� If so, that’s because you are not a five-star, NFL-bound athlete. The players came to USC not because they were born bleeding Cardinal and Gold, they came because USC was the best place to learn how to be a NFL player.

Call me a homer, but there is no reason to boo the team you are supposidely supporting.

I wonder is Pete will be selling 6-0 once the team is 8-3.

Cal has scored tons of points on defense. A couple examples are 21 of their points agaist ASU were literally on D. 14 against WSU should essentially be credited to the D. While this speaks very well for Cal's D, your implication about their O is a a little off.

Pete Carroll is eating this up. He loves the fact that the way his team is playing is bugging everyone.
I agree with kram77! Cal has not been challenged by anyone. Each team we played except Nebraska has put up their best shot and challenged the Trojans resolve. We are in a better position than Cal is. The Trojans know how to win close games. They have been battle tested and have come out on top each time. We also forget that ASU, Arizona, Washington and Washington St all have California kids on their rosters that were not picked up by USC. They always play tough when SC comes to town.

USC_89 has decided to return to this blog. Just remember, (s)he is an idiot bruin.

Has anyone seen Longshore play the last two games. He does not look better than Booty.

I don't think Shine's opinions are thought out very deeply. Shine makes some presumptions that are quite skewed. First of all, as for Smith and Jarrett, NFL coaches and scouts have been watching them for 3 years now. They know exactly what they can do. Plus, they will have their chance to impress at the combine and in private workouts or school workouts at SC. Shine sounds like he thinks these two are like T.O. They will do exactly what the staff tells them because they know in the long run what's good for SC is good for their success in the NFL. Pro coaches want talented skill receivers who are team players not a T.O. or a Randy Moss.

As for our offense, all you have to do is look at the tapes, and you'll realize PC and staff have already adjusted the schemes not just for JDB but for the new guys on the O-line and for the injury merry-go-round at full-back. And I'm sure the staff is tweaking the offense this very moment. There's no better staff in CFB at realizing the strengths and weakness of young players. PC and the guys are awesome. Furthermore, both the offense and defense is retooled every week depending on the opposition in order to get the most favorable matchups. E.G., Bradford on a slow LB and JDB laid it in there perfectly.

Why all this criticism and panic from people who have no idea what is going on is beyond me.

8-3...write it down.

Fanman,

"They will do exactly what the staff tells them because they know in the long run what's good for SC is good for their success in the NFL."

That's very naive, almost sweet. But it is so, so wrong.

You know so little about what NFL teams want, and the structure of NFL rookie contracts, it's stupid. I never said DJ and SS are like T.O. But the salary structure in the NFL is based on slots, the lower you are picked, the less you receive, for three years. And who know if you will even stay healthy that long.

You give NFL scouts far, far too much credit. Anquin Boldin was a monster his sophomore or junior year at FSU, then suffered his last year as the FSU offense went into the toilet. His stock dropped from 1st to 2nd round. But his skills stayed the same. Why didn't the scouts see that? Cost him millions of dollars, and know he probably is one of the top 10 receivers in the NFL.

Brady Quinn wasn't even a thought on the NFL radar until CW became coach, and know he is a no 1. pick? Carson would have never been the number one pick in the draft if Chow hadn't come along.

Teams are beginning to downplay the "combine freak" aspect. Kyle Boller was taken in the first round simply because he was great in the combines. Some scout thought he'd be better than Carson. How you perform, game after game, is becoming more important.
How we forget about what happen to Leinart. He played as well as any QB ever, but because RB won the hesiman and VY won the Rose Bowl, is stock fell to 10. You are trying to tell me that NFL scouts know what they are doing? That Aaron Brooks, Andrew Walter and John Kitna are so good at QB and the Raiders and the Lions could afford to pass up Matt? Todd Blacklidge was drafted ahead of Dan Marino.

I try no to get into arguments with the mental midgets that patrol this board, but sometimes, the idiocy just gets to me.