Answer Monday!
Is the NFL Draft still going? No? Then let's get back to answering some questions.
Q: kptrojan said:
Your take, who do you believe is the biggest acqusition to the 2009 "O", Aaron Corp, Curtis McNeal or Coach Bates? Fight On!
A: The addition of Jeremy Bates is the most important development. Aaron Corp is second but if you look at USC's quarterbacks the past six years or so, the numbers are pretty similar. So Bates gets the nod because I believe he will make the shotgun a more prominent feature of the offense and also tailor plenty of plays around Corp's foot speed. I'm not sure Steve Sarkisian would have done that. He was not big on the shotgun although maybe he'll find religion with Jake Locker at Washington. I think Bates has more autonomy with the offense than Sarkisian did so maybe we'll see even more changes by the fall.
Q: BobbyT said:
Mr. Wolf...
Why is it almost every time you talk about the QB competition, that you insinuate some ulterior motive on the part Coach Carroll and now Coach Bates about Mustain?
Your bleetings about him "not getting fair treatment" are overworked. Do you really think that the coaching staff wouldn't have Mustain in there if he really was the best QB in the mix?
The same goes for your comments about McKnight.
A: I think you are placing your own pre-conceptions on my articles. I've never said Mitch Mustain is the best quarterback. But should I ignore that he's gotten less snaps overall and less snaps with the first-team than the other quarterbacks? It's a fact. And worth noting. He was the only quarterback to play entirely with the second team in the first scrimmage. He had another practice where he received one snap during the ``team'' period of scrimmaging. And just when he got written off, he did pretty well during the final scrimmage when he got more snaps than expected because the coaches rested Aaron Corp.
So why does it bother you to point out these facts? To ignore them would make me a pawn for the program. And there's lot of other sites where you can find that.
Q: ftfo2009 said:
It's been mentioned before that with Brutus' playcalling last year for Sanchez, there were many conservative play calls because of a lack of confidence in whatever ability of sanchez. Do you think there may be a similar problem with bates/morton and corp? I just want to know if i should get ready for 3 runs in a row from our own 20.
A: The conservative playcalling was ironically a byproduct of having a great defense. Because Pete Carroll believed his defense would hold teams to 10 points or less, he merely wanted an offense that would not screw up and turn the ball over. That might have short-changed Mark Sanchez, especially when you see he was drafted fifth overall on Saturday. But it was Carroll's method and he can say he went 12-1 with it.
Next season, the defense should not be as dominating, so it will force the offense to be more daring, which is a good thing.
C'mon, what do you expect to get from Scott?
It's true he never did say that Mustain was the best guy, but, he has also championed, one could practically say, campaigned for Mustain since the day he arrived to be the guy.
What escapes Wolfie though, is the fact that if Mustain was thought to be as good, he would have been getting more reps. In their opinion, the coaches saw early on that Mustain was not moving the team, literally, or, figuratively (leader), and was having trouble both being ball-security conscious (history of forcing throws since he has arrived at USC) and competing (tendency to get down has cost him being in a position where he is at least "the next guy" ready and waiting to move forward).
Wolfie doesn't seem to factor any of this in.
As for Wolfie's comments about Mustain's performance in the huddle, his opinion that Mustain looked good was not shared by the coaching staff, which felt Mustain was okay-nothing more than satisfactory.
Geez, I've thought Scott was a borderline homer for Corp this year until Barkley stepped up!
mo, do you have a blog we can subscribe to for insider information directly from the coaching staff?
both Dohn and Wolf have establshed themselves as anti-homers which is what makes their sites the best. as Wolf says, if you want homer drivel, there are many sites to choose from. They are safe, friendly places where Carroll and Howland are never questioned.
by the way, i hate to reveal one of Wolf's open secrets, but the reason he posts those dumb SG Phorums, is that he is goofing on all the suckers who believe he is obsessed with cheerleaders. very similar to how TJ Simers ask obnoxious questions to pro athletes who take themselves too seriously. they are exposed an dumbells and TJ is snickering the whole time. i mean, c'mon, why else would Wolf post photos of him looking pertified of a 20 yr old girl? in reality, Wolf is like that "most interesting man in the world" guy in the beer commercial. keep on truckin' Wolf!