A little help from a friend

My pal Casey Hancock sent me over a piece on Washington’s win over Utah last week. A lotta good stuff in it so I figured I’d throw it up for the world to see. As an ASU fan it’s always good to keep tabs on what the rest of the league is doing, so if anyone out there follows any other conference teams closely, and wants to write a piece please send it my way. I just ask that you keep the personality of the blog and include drug and alcohol references, sexual stories and casual swearing. Take a peek below at Casey’s work, it’s a well written piece!!!

The Huskies Welcome to the Pac, Utah

by C. Hancock

And welcome back to true relevance, Washington. Ok, I know that this was Utah’s second Pac-12 game, but it was their first home game and all their fans could talk about is ‘wait until you have to play in Rice-Eccles…’ Didn’t turn out so well for them. I know University of Utah fans are mostly non-Mormon, but I think the lack of alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and pre-marital sex throughout the state makes them a little ignorant when it comes to grown-up things. And as they learned Saturday, Pac-12 football is for grown-ups. Fans of the Utes and Dawgs must have very different thoughts going through their heads right now.

 Utah fan: “Damn, it really isn’t fun to have to worry about losing every week.”

Washington fan: “Wow, it’s been a while since I felt like we have a chance to win every week.”

The turn around that Sark has pulled at the U is pretty incredible and has Husky fans feeling like their darkest days are way behind them. This optimism coming from the fan base was last seen when Slick Rick Neuheisel was roaming the sidelines and the Huskies were fresh off a Rose Bowl victory in 2001. The reasons for optimism are plenty: good, young quarterback; good, young coach; excellent recruits pouring in; and new stadium and new TV deal mean more money coming in to the program.

And to cap it off, the Huskies put in a rock solid performance against a historically solid program in a tough road environment. Over Sark’s tenure, the Dawgs have put together other solid performances (see USC last two years, Cal two years ago, and Holiday Bowl last year), but what was noticeable in the win against Utah is that the Huskies could have easily laid an egg after fighting for their lives for the first four weeks of the season. Utah was a heavy favorite and all people could talk about was how tough it was to play in Salt Lake City. But Washington showed a lot of toughness and confidence and came out flying and finished strong.

First off, I loved how the Huskies started the game. On the first kickoff, two UW players completely blew up Utah blockers and the return man fumbled the ball when he got hit and Jamaal Kearse scooped it up for a touchdown. On Utah’s first offensive play, Jordan Wynn was sacked. Only 30 seconds after the opening whistle, UW had asserted itself as the physically dominant team and Utah fans must have been wishing for the good, old days in the Mountain West. These plays reminded me of the old Husky teams that were fast, physical, and relentless with opponents and it was good to see.

Here are my general thoughts on the game…

(Since this is my first post of the season, there are a lot of insights on all five games up to this point.)

Pros

1. Keith Price continues to assert himself as a big time quarterback – Five games in and Keith Price has just about proven that he is UW’s next great quarterback. Barring injury or something unforeseen, this kid is gonna be a star. Just look at his stats. 10^th in the country in QB rating (ahead of Kellen Moore, Matt Barkley, and Nick Foles), 2^nd in the country in TD passes with 17, and he’s completing almost 70% of his passes… Oh, and this is all on a completely fucked up right leg. It’s awesome to see an accurate QB inSark’s offense. AgainstUtah, all price did was go 22-30 for 226 yards and three more touchdowns. He started a little shaky and threw an interception when he sailed the ball on a short touch-pass. But he finished strong as all three touchdowns came in the second half.
2. Chris Polk is a bona fide beast! – This guy is an absolute stud and continues to be a workhorse for the UW offense. In the first half, Utah seemed to have him bottled up but he came out rolling in the second half and rushed for 145 yards in the second half alone including over 100 in the third quarter. It seems like he never gets tackled by the first guy and his combo of power, speed, and vision is fun to watch and should make him desired by many NFL teams.
3. Fab froshes – Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams were big-time recruits from the Huskies backyard. Both look to be the real deal. Seferian-Jenkins continued to impress with his size and skill. Even though he only had 3 catches for 35 yards, they all came on third down and resulted in first downs. Kasen Williams has been pretty electric when he touches the ball and despite his size, he is very quick and agile. While he hasn’t been a focus of the UW offense (mostly because UW is stacked at receiver), he has been impressive when he gets the ball in his hands.
4. Improving defense – The UW defense has to be a pro and con at this point in the season. In the first half againstUtah, they looked feeble and got lucky thatUtahturned the ball over three times, twice inside the red zone. However, the positive is that the front 7 continues to play solid and the defensive backs continue to come up with timely turnovers. Utah’s running back, John “I’m Not” White IV, was getting a lot of hype early in the year but UW’s defense held him to 35 yards. Outside of the Nebraska game, the defense is only giving up 52 yards a game and about 2 yards per carry. The corners continue to get abused game after game but Desmond Trufant and Co. are forcing turnovers when the field gets short. I don’t know if they’re lucky or clutch but it’s been working so far.

Cons

1. Rough 1^st half – Even though UW took a 10-7 lead into the break, it was not a great first half and easily could have been 21-0 Utah. First, the offense had only 112 yards of total offense. After silencing the crowd early with the fumble return for touchdown and a quick three and out by the D, the offense was putting together a good drive as they looked to jump out to a 14-0 lead but then they stalled just inside Utah territory and Polk couldn’t convert on a 4^th and 1. On UW’s field goal before the end of the half, two personal fouls on Utah were the main reason we got into field goal position. The defense wasn’t much better in the first half. Despite a quick three and out to start the game, Utah moved the ball with ease on their other three drives. Two turnovers in the red zone saved UW from going into half time trailing.
2. Secondary – This unit was supposed to be solid after playing well to end the year last year and having a lot of experience under their belt. However, they look awful game in and game out. They play press coverage but allow receivers to get open in the short, medium, and deep passing game. Regardless of man or zone coverage, receivers are open. If the D-line doesn’t get pressure, this unit gets picked apart with ease. What’s worse is that UW is going to face much better passing attacks than it has thus far. I wonder what Matt Barkley and Robert Woods are going to do when UW travels to the coliseum later this year. The strange thing is that the secondary has also come up with UW’s biggest plays and biggest stops this year. Against Eastern, Hawaii, and Cal, the secondary made big stops and caused big turnovers at crucial points in the game. That trend continued against Utah with DB’s accounting for 2 picks and a forced fumble.
3. Alameda T’amu – This guy was supposed to be a beast inside this year and has done basically nothing. He continues to clog holes and help the run game but he’s not making many plays. He was completely ineffective in the first half against Utah but did a good job of getting pressure up the middle as the game wore on. Hopefully his play will improve because the UW secondary needs as much pressure on the quarterback as possible.

Overall, UW fans gotta be happy and excited. Their schedule hasn’t been easy and they are 4-1 and undefeated in Pac-12 play. The offense has looked sharp in each game and Keith Price and Chris Polk should continue to roll as the season goes along. What’s also important is that the defense has improved throughout the season and has gotten stronger as the game wears on in each game. As long as they can keep forcing turnovers and making stops when they need to, that should be enough for the offense to outscore most teams. There are still a few tough games on the schedule, notably at Stanford and USC and at home against Oregon, but I see this team winning 8, 9, maybe even 10 games this year. Hopefully the Dawgs can keep it rolling and turn Husky Stadium back into the electric atmosphere that it can be.

The off week should help to heal up some injuries and hopefully Price’s leg will get better. Then the Huskies host Colorado who they should handle easily. The four games after that will be rough though. They travel to the farm to take on Stanford, then host Arizona (Foles could light up the secondary) and Oregon(chance the Huskies could pull an upset here) and then go to the Coliseum to take on USC. After that stretch, if they are 7-3 fans should be very happy.

Ewwww That’s Sloppy

No need to glamorize this win………it was ugly. ASU played maybe the worst team in the Pac-12 and instead of flexing their muscles and running away with an easy win, they played down to the competition and kept the game way too close.

There’s two ways to look at this game, as an optimist, or as a pessimist. To be fair it’s probably best to take a little from both sides.

The Pessimists – This looked like the same old ASU team, who can’t come up with a consistent effort week in and week out. A week ago against USC this unit looked fired up and inspired, playing their most complete game in years. On Saturday they looked half asleep and made the same old, suicidal mistakes.

The biggest cause for concern was Brock Osweiller. His first quarter, and really overall performance was pitiful. He turned the ball over in the offense’s first three possessions with two picks and a fumble; he held onto the ball for way too long taking four sacks; and threw another dumb interception early in the second half that let Oregon State back into the game. What’s more concerning with Osweiller is this was his second lousy performance in ASU’s four Division I games. If you were to give him grades on those four games he’d probably get two A’s, a C, and a D.  He needs to control the turnovers for ASU to win against quality opponents. In the Illinois and Oregon St games he had a combined seven turnovers; that needs to stop now.

 The Optimists – Take your pick on which cliché you agree with. A win is a win, it’s better to win ugly than to lose pretty, ASU would have lost that game a year ago, sometimes in football these things just happen.

Here’s my favorite coming from Ted Miller: “Some might see the sloppy win over Oregon State as a negative. I see it as confirmation. The Sun Devils played poorly and won by 15 points. Questioning that is the way we analyze good teams.”

You have to be happy with the defense. They were put in short field positions three times early on and held the Beavers to a field goal twice. More than that they forced five turnovers on the game, to ultimately win the TO battle as well as the contest.

As far as Osweiller goes, there is no denying he struggled, but he did lead his team back and earn a W. When his team was down 13-0, he registered back to back scoring drives to take the lead. What you have to like most is when faced with some serious adversity he found a way to lead and get his team over the hump.

My bottom line – It was definitely an ugly win, and it exposed some holes in this squad, but ASU is now 4-1 and has a chance to really take control in the Pac-12 South. This was not a shocking effort, and Dennis Erickson even said he thought it was coming. He apparently ripped the team, especially the offense, after a flat practice early last week. But the bottom line is they won. Even great teams show up flat, look at the dominant USC and Oregon teams over the past ten years, how many close games have they had when they were clearly the superior team?

ASU can learn from this effort in two ways – first don’t show up this flat ever again because it probably won’t end up with the same result; and second – even when you don’t have your best stuff you are still a good/talented enough team to grit out victories.

Moving forward

What scares me?

Osweiller. It’s a mixed bag on him. In one way I love him and have all the confidence in the world, but he’s also turned in two awful performances. The glaring issue I see is he’s staring down receivers, especially Aaron Pflugrad. He’s gone to Pflu in every key situation all year long and defenses are starting to notice. It becomes an issue on third downs because he stares down Pflugrad when he runs intermediate routes. The corner knows it won’t be a deep route, so he sits underneath, reads Osweiller’s eyes and breaks on the ball. This is exactly how each of Brock’s early interceptions took place.

Brock needs to show some trust in other receivers in key spots. He needs to develop some rapport with Mike Willie, Gerell Robinson or George Bell, and they need to show they can make the clutch catches. Have some success just a few times and teams will stop turning all their attention to Pflugrad. Then, go back to the Great White Hope!

Deveron Carr – He was pretty much abused by Markus Wheaton all game long. Carr turned in a solid effort against USC, but took a big step back against the Beavers. He was beat deep, committed stupid penalties and missed some tackles. He needs to find some consistency, or ASU may need to replace him with Alden Darby who has a knack for the big play. Either way, ASU needs to prove they can stop a decent passing attack moving forward.

 What I dig

 A couple guys are proving to be absolute game breakers on the ASU offense

Jamal Miles is special. I’ve been saying it for weeks, but every time he touches the ball it’s a potential touchdown in the making. His punt return in the second quarter was electric. He made three guys miss in pretty much no space, and then showed off how fast he really is. I also like how involved he’s been in the offense the past two weeks. Remember the Illinoisloss? He had only three touches. On Saturday he had six carries for 45 yards and eight catches for 62. Continue to get this guy the ball!!!!!!

Cameron Marshall has asserted himself over the past two weeks and has done it on a bad ankle. Want me to crunch some numbers? OK I will. In the last two games he has 39 carries for 221 yards and 5 td’s (5.6 yards/carry).  He was highly effective against Illinois as well before tweaking his ankle. This guy is better than many realize, (watch his first touchdown again) but because of ASU’s pass first, spread offense, he often is under utilized. Imagine what he would do in a power running scheme like Chris Polk at Washington? Noel Mazonne needs to continue to get him involved. He can run between the tackles, get the tough yards, and make the big play.

I’d like ASU to lean more on Marshall and Miles to take a little pressure off Osweiller. Osweiller can be great, but why make things more difficult than they need to be? Marshall and Miles are two great options on offense that involve very little risk. Continue to get them the ball!

Another thing to like is the defense making some plays. Last year they were dead last in the Pac-10 in forcing turnovers. Through two games this year they only forced one, but in the last three games they’ve forced 12. This defense has suffered a lot of injuries, and because of it has given up more yards and points than I thought they would. However, they still have a ton of speed and athletes and SHOULD be able to continue forcing turnovers. They can really fly around  and break on the ball.

 Coming up

 It’s a monster matchup at Utah this Saturday. A win puts ASU in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 south and sets up a monster matchup the next week. Once again ASU will be the better team, if they play a mistake free game they will get the job done. Now go out and play a clean game please!!!!!

 Enjoy watching

 J

The streak is over!

11 years. That’s a long cold streak to have against a single team. I had a friend in college who once had a cold streak in the bedroom, (I think you know what I mean without getting into details) and it wasn’t by choice or a lack of effort. It was just a mental/un- explainable block that prevented women from hopping in the sack with him for close to two years. The thing that was hard to explain was this is a good looking guy, and he was rolling with a crowd of Sorority girls at Arizona State. Not the most conservative group of girls you’ll find. While our other friends were punching notches on their belts at a record setting pace, my poor friend was stuck in neutral, maybe even reverse.

 ASU’s relationship with USC over the last 11 years reminds me of the pain my friend went through. While the Trojans won National Championships, Rose Bowls and big-time games; the Sun Devils consistently under achieved and spent time in garbage bowl games or stuck at home for the holidays. To make things worse USC won every head to head match up during that span and won in every way possible. They won in blowout fashion, they won after huge comebacks and they won when they were out played and had no business in winning at all (see last year). Many of ASU’s losses to USC over the last 11 years broke their season, keeping them out of bowl eligibility or in 2008 knocking them out of BCS bowl contention. All that pain is what makes Saturday’s win so sweet. Can’t comment on what my friend’s slump buster was like, but I’d imagine that was pretty sweet as well.

The Sun Devils played their most complete game in years in their 43-22 victory. Their defense succeeded with a “bend don’t break” performance and their offense simply made all the big plays en route to victory. It’s ASU’s second win over a ranked team this year, and as Ted Miller pointed out in his power rankings, they now have two better wins than anyone else in the Pac-12 and two better wins than many in the top 25. This win can be a huge springboard for the Devils and with the momentum, they have the chance to put together a pretty special year.

 Let’s get into the breakdown……….

 Tons of positives to take away after the win

 

1. Responding to the loss – The loss to Illinois was a tough pill to swallow, mainly because it was another case of ASU beating themselves. It wasn’t that Illinoiswas the better team, it was that penalties and turnovers gave them the win. But in football these things happen, you make mistakes, you don’t get the breaks and sometimes you lose games. What was so impressive on Saturday was that the Devils clearly addressed, worked on and fixed some flaws that previously cost them. The O-line that was abused in Champaign was fantastic against a better USC front, the running game that had been stagnant finally came to life, the big play that was invisible last week happened right away thanks to Cameron Marshall, and the sloppiness of turnovers and penalties was cleaned up. (No turnovers, 6 penalties for 78 yards)

For a team that has continued to make the same mistakes over the past couple years, it was refreshing to see them buckle down and improve on the areas that have failed them.

2. The Defense made big plays – ASU’s defense had only forced four turnovers through the first three games, on Saturday they forced four alone. The Trojans have a damn good offense, and at times it showed. Barkley was able to victimize the secondary in the third quarter and Running back Marc Tylor diced us at the same time, but besides that the Devils got the best of the match up. I thought Bo Moos, (4 tackles, 2 for loss) Greg Smith (key sack + forced fumble) and Deveron Carr (Fumble recovery, key pass breakup in the endzone) all had exceptional efforts. Linebackers Shelly Lyons and Colin Parker also had impressive games but that is becoming routine. A guy named Vontaze Burfict was alright as well, I’ll have more on him later.

 The thing that was impressive about the defense was they stepped up at key times. Three times when USC entered the red zone in the first half they held the Trojans to field goals. In the 4^th quarter when the game got tight, they forced three turnovers and didn’t yield a single point. It wasn’t a perfect effort, and there are still some flaws, but when the game was on the line they made the key plays.

3. Brock Osweiller – he took a step back with three turnovers against Illinois, but took a leap forward with his efforts on Saturday. 25-32, 223 yards, two touchdowns NO INTERCEPTIONS, pretty good numbers, but it was more about his play at key times that stood out. After giving up back to back touchdowns as well as the lead, Osweiller led a scoring drive, capped off by a Cameron Marshall rushing touchdown to put the Devils on top for good. He also did a better job using his feet to avoid sacks. After being sacked 6 times againstIllinois he showed more willingness to tuck it and get some yards up the gut rather than holding onto the ball.

 Something to think about – Osweiller and Barkley were members of the same recruiting class with Barkley being the top recruit in the nation and Osweiller an unknown from Montana. Barkley has received all the national attention and pub since then, but after watching the two dual on Saturday, who would you rather have? I’d take Oz, he’s getting better every day on the field, and he’s an absolute leader off. The best part about his performance was him bringing his five offensive lineman with him to the postgame press conference.

4. The running game – Finally ASU was able to have some success on the ground.Marshallcarried the ball 25 times, for 141 yards and three touchdowns. The big run down the sideline was great, but I was impressed with his ability to continue to get the tough yards inside and out.Marshallis an NFL type talent who weighs close to 220 lbs. The Devils need to continue to establish him and add some balance to this offense. 25 carries is a good number for him, he has the ability to wear down a defense.

5. Vontaze Burfict – Pretty much everyone on the planet has hammered home the battle between him and Barkley, so I’m just going to touch on what he did. His interception in the 2^nd quarter was simply awesome, one of my favorite plays I’ve seen in my 6-plus years of being a Sun Devil fan. Here’s the clip, enjoy watching it one more time.

I thought one other crucial play by Burfict came on his stuff during USC’s two-point-conversion effort.Taylorfound a hole up the middle only to be met and drilled by Burfict at the goaline. ASU had just given up 13 unanswered points, and while the conversion may not have made a huge difference on the scoreboard, I thought the positive play gave some life to the entire team. From that point on, ASU looked like a different team.

6. Jamal Miles – Miles had nine catches for 55 yards and a touchdown in what was another great effort for the junior slot receiver. I just love the way this guy plays the game, he makes something happen every time he touches the ball. The repetition of the bubble screen may get redundant to some fans, but I love it. What I love most about Miles is how hard he runs after the catch. He’s not a big guy, but he brings it every play.

 A play in the first quarter describes Jamal Miles in a nut shell. He took a bubble screen up field for a long gain only to be lit up by All American safety TJ McDonald. The hit was huge, but what stood out is Miles popping right back up like nothing happened. The kid is tough, and he may be ASU’s best offensive player. The more Miles touches the ball, the happier I am.

7. Chemistry – Watching ASU win and the way they celebrated on the sideline during and after was special. I get the impression that these guys really care about one another. Burfict and Omar Bolden dumping the Gatorade on Dennis Erickson, Osweiller bringing his lineman into the news conference, the dancing/hugs/chaos on the sideline, all great stuff. This is a fun team to watch and cheer for and they are becoming a likable bunch of guys.

If you haven’t watched Omar Bolden’s behind the scenes look at the game, DO IT NOW!

http://www.azcentral.com/video/1181849913001

Still some things to work on, let’s talk about the negatives

 

1. The secondary still has issues – Watching Barkley pick us apart in the third quarter was scary. Guys were getting burnt, safeties seemed out of position and USC was moving it with ease. I think the secondary has some talent, but they just need more experience. The good news, Barkley, Robert Woods and the other cast of athletes is the best passing team we will see all year (unless we face Standford in a conference championship game). Also, might Omar Bolden return after the bye week………????

2. The pass rush isn’t consistent – They came up with some sacks at key times, but for the most part Barkley had too much time. I’d like to see the linebackers blitz a little more, but Barkley had great numbers against the blitz coming into the game. Hopefully moving forward Burfict, Parker and Lyons will get after the quarterback more often.

3. The D Tackles Broke down – Moos and Will Sutton did some good things throughout the game, but the big USC line also wore them down in that third quarter. Sutton and Moos are both on the smallish side for D-tackles and big lines like USC can give them trouble. Remember, the Devils have a heralded freshman in Mo Latu who should see more PT as the year goes on. At 6’3 330 lbs, he could provide some bulk in the middle.

4. The kickoff and punt teams – They simply allow too many big returns, and kicker Alex Garoutte can’t get the ball to the end zone.

Moving forward

This was a great win for the Devils and could really lead to some big things down the road, but the Mizzou win was big as well and look what happened the next week. ASU has a very good and talented football team, but they aren’t at the level to take weeks off and take teams lightly. ASU should beat Oregon State and set up a showdown in Utah the next week, but they need to take it one week at a time. I hope they show up inspired this week because they need to build on this momentum.

 Big Picture

Simply a great win over a good USC team. Even with a laundry list of injuries this team is good enough to play with the best in the Pac-12. Coming into this game Ted Miller mentioned he thought USC was a top 15 team in the country. They very well may be and ASU just took them down. I believe there isn’t a team on the schedule that ASU can’t hang with.

One more bit before I run, give the ASU coaching staff some credit, they coached a hell of a game, and they put their players in the right positions. Maybe Erickson’s plan is finally coming into focus.

Looking back at the Illinois Loss

 Talk about taking the wind out of the sails, Saturday’s loss at Illinois stopped ASU’s momentum dead in its tracks. A week ago the Sun Devils got all the breaks, and made enough big plays down the stretch to top Mizzou in OT. On Saturday the ball wouldn’t bounce their way and they fell to the Illini 17-14.

For what seems like the 1,000th time in the last two years, ASU dropped a game in which they should have won. They out-gained Illinois 362-240 and won the first down battle 21-16, but continued to shoot themselves in the foot en route to a loss.

The two glaring pitfalls were a missed field goal at the end of the first half, and three Brock Osweiller turnovers, one which came in the redzone and the other that directly led to the game-winning td for Illinois. Once again for those watching the game, it was obvious that ASU was the most talented team on the field, but the most talented team came out losers.

Unlike bad losses in the past, I felt that ASU played a relatively disciplined game. They were penalized 8 times for 91 yards, but only one was a boneheaded, personal foul (Vontaze Burfict apparently ripping off an opponent’s helmet). On top of that the defense which was undisciplined, blowing assignments and tackles last week, did their job and shut down the Illinois offense. They were fundamentally sound and came up with a number of big third and fourth down stops.

So for a team that finally did some things right, what was it that did them wrong? 

1.  The Offensive line- This was supposed to be a strength this year, and through two games it was, but on Saturday night this unit was abused. They allowed six sacks on the game, and also deserve partial blame in Osweiller’s two interceptions and one fumble. While I haven’t had the luxury of watching the tape, these sacks came in a wide variety, blown assignments, confusion on blitzes and just flat out getting beat on a simple rush.

Here’s something to think about. The ASU O-Line seemed confused by many of the stunts and blitz packages the Illini drew up. Some of this can be attributed to lack of preparation. But remember this – Illinois entered this game off of two blowout wins over cupcakes, meaning they were able to keep their defense very vanilla and still pull out wins. I’d guess some of the defensive packages that caused issues weren’t found anywhere on the film, because Illinois was keeping them up their sleeve. Meanwhile ASU faced a formidable foe in Mizzou and had to show their true colors to pull out a victory. This gave Illinois some great film into what ASU does, and likely helped in preparing for the Sun Devil offense. 

2. Penalties – Might as well tie this in with the offensive line, because the majority of the eight ASU penalties were credited to the unit. Mostly it was holding, false starts and hands to the face, all desperation tactics when you are getting worked. Some will point to the penalties in the game as a lack of discipline, but in my opinion it was the line getting beat so bad and simply trying to protect their quarterback. The thing that was the real killer is many of these penalties came when ASU had promising drives. Want a reason why the Sun Devils only mustered 14 points? Look no further than drive killing penalties.

3. The Running Game – 34 rushes for 106 yards. That’s all ASU could tally on the ground. The thing that hurts with this stat is the run was there for the taking. Illinois focused all their attention on the ASU pass game, trying to blitz and put heat on Osweiller and deepened the secondary to take away the big play. Early on Cameron Marshall had a lot of success but then he left the game with an ankle injury. His replacement Kyle Middlebrooks couldn’t find the same success and by the time Marshall returned, you could tell he wasn’t 100%.

 Marshall is a guy this offense needs, for the unit to reach their potential they need more balance. What’s disappointing is a 100% Marshall could have diced this defense, he showed that much early on, and even when he was laboring late he ripped off some good runs. Middlebrooks has big play potential and is a great change of pace back, but he can’t run between the tackle like Marshall.

 4. Where’s the big play? In ASU’s two wins they relied on the homerun. In the UC Davis blowout Jamal Miles returned a kick 98 yards and Aaron Pflugrad was able to bust lose in the seam for a 31-yard TD. Against Mizzou, Pflugrad got over the top twice, a 60-yard bomb from Osweiller, and a 35-yard pass from Miles on a trick play.

On Saturday ASU was able to move the ball, but the big play never happened. Illinois’ defense focused on Miles and Pflugrad and conceded the underneath routes to the rest. Here’s a list of the “big plays” in the loss- a 22-yard pass to Pflugrad in the first quarter, a 22-yard touchdown pass to Gerell Robinson in the 1st quarter and a 34 yard pass to Mike Willie in the 2nd quarter. In the second half there wasn’t a single play over 20 yards. Not much explosive from an offense that relies on the big play. I’ll have more on this later.

5. Brock Osweiller – Turnovers. That was my concern with him coming into the game and that’s exactly what happened. Sure the O-line deserves some blame for the pocket collapsing, but he also held onto the ball too long. In ASU’s offense it’s all about decisiveness and speed. Brock looked indecisive at times and in the end it cost the Devils the game.

 Moving Forward

A few things concern me about this team moving forward and many I have already touched on.

• The Offensive Line – This was supposed to be a strong point this year. Was Illinois just a case of some confusion and a tough situation of the first road test of the year, or is there a bigger problem?
• Receivers not named Aaron Pflugrad – Gerell Robinson deserves some credit because he made some big plays in the loss, but he also had some key drops. Mike Willie’s name was finally called a time or two but overall he was pretty quiet. George Bell was nowhere to be found. Defenses will continue to key on Pflugrad until one of these guys can step up and be a consistent option.
• The secondary – I thought they did a better job in this game, especially in the second half, but Illinois isn’t known for their ability to air it out. They better get ready because Matt Barkley comes to town this Saturday, and after that it’s the rest of the pass happy Pac-12.
• The Running Game – I’ve touched on this already, but it’s becoming a serious issue. Everyone assumed with Cameron Marshall returning, and capable backups behind him, that this could be a strength on offense. So far it hasn’t. The numbers on the year: 105 rushes, 427 yards, five touchdowns. Those numbers are inflated thanks to UC Davis in week one. 

Here’s the biggest problem I see. ASU is not getting enough big plays on simple runs. Last year Deantre Lewis had the ability to take a simple dive/draw/stretch and make something happen. It’s a great play because it’s low risk-high reward. This year all the big plays come off throws downfield or bubble screens to Jamal Miles outside. Both are great plays, but they involve a fair amount of risk.

On the year, ASU has only one rush that’s gone for over 20-yards, A 36-yard run by Jamal Miles in the UC Davis game. Against Mizzou the longest run was a 12-yard run up the gut by Cameron Marshall. In the Illinois game Marshall rushed for a 16-yard and then a 17-yard gain for the game highs.

Marshall is still having success on the tough yards up the middle, but Middlebrooks or Miles need to show the ability to break some big runs. We need to look up and see one of these guys find a crease, make a cut and take it to the house. Or maybe Deantre Lewis just needs to get back on the field.

A couple things stood out as positives in the loss and are things I love moving forward

• The Defense got their swagger back – This unit was all over the field. After a shaky start in the first series, it was hard to find much to complain about. Vontaze Burfict and Eddie Elder were simply everywhere. If they can fly around and tackle as soundly as they did last week, this could be a fierce unit.
• Aaron Pflugrad – He didn’t expose Illinois like he did Missouri, but the guy continues to make tough catches in traffic. It’s nice to have a reliable guy in those key situations.
• Cameron Marshall – Even though he was limited with an ankle injury, he was still very effective. This guy is a powerful runner and he showed he can get the tough yards and wear down a defense. I hope we lean on him more and more.

WTF is up with the BTN?

 The biggest gripe about watching this game was the lack of replays, especially on penalties. ASU was penalized nine times, and maybe two of the calls were confirmed to viewers because of replay. Where was a replay of the Burfict personal foul, where was the replay of all the holding penalties, where was the replay of the offensive pass interference. I have a feeling some of these calls were shaky at best, but we’ll never know because the Big Ten Network. FYI instant replay has been around since 1963, so there is no real excuse why they can’t produce a quality broadcast.

Allow me to talk you off the edge

 No doubt this loss hurt, and no doubt ASU should have won this game, but let me remind you it’s not the end of the world (or this season). Playing on the road is always a challenge, and it’s nice to open with an easier game for your first road test of the year. Illinois is a damn good football team that will likely finish towards top of the Big-10. I’m confident if this game were played later in the year after ASU had some road experience they’d win.

But the important thing is this game doesn’t matter all that much. Winning in conference is what counts and that’s what ASU needs to do. That starts on Saturday with USC at home. If ASU can take care of business moving forward, this Illinois loss is not going to hold them back. I hope ASU fans don’t jump off the bandwagon, because this team still has Rose Bowl potential. Show up and pack Sun Devil Stadium this Saturday, you saw how tough our first road game was, make USC’s first road game even tougher.

Game #3 ASU @ Illinois

If you’re a Sun Devil fan you should be nervous for this game. I’m a fan and I’m nervous as shit. ASU is clearly the better team, and on a neutral field I’m pretty sure they would win eight-times-out-of-10. But unfortunately this game is on the road, in a tough environment of Champaign, and against a pretty good team.

Here’s what scares me, ASU struggled against a dual threat quarterback last week in Mizzou’s James Franklin. He lit up the Devils to the tune of 319 yards passing and 84 yards rushing. Illinois boasts their own dual threat in Nathan Scheelhaase, who ran for 868 yards and threw for 1,825 last season. The Illini will use a similar game plan as Missouri, trying to spread out our defense, and then take advantage with cutbacks off of missed assignments. They also have a plethora of athletes at running back who have the potential to rip off big runs.

 You want more? Well here’s what else is troublesome. Remember how great Brock Osweiller looked last year in his win against UCLA? And then remember how awful he looked the following week at Arizona? Sure he gritted out a win, but he also could’ve been picked off five times, and appeared as though he was drowning in an ocean. The point is playing on the road is a big-time challenge and Saturday’s game in Illinois is going to be an enormous test for Oz. Things won’t come as easy for him on Saturday as they have in the first two games. Expect bad calls, a loud crowd and a lot of adversity. The worst thing that could happen in this game – Brock trying to do too much, forcing the ball, and turning it over. Let’s hope this doesn’t play out.

 Oh, but there are some things that I do like in this one. The first, and this one is the biggest, ASU is clearly the better team. They’re more athletic, faster, more experienced, and just all together a better collection of football players. Look at the team on the field last week, anyone who watched could see they were two-to-three touchdowns better than a good Missouri team. If it weren’t for their errors the outcome would have been lopsided. If they play a mistake free game (for once) they will cruise by Illinois.

Second, while they did get torched by an athletic qb last week, and face another one this week, they actually match up well against this type of attack. They have the speed at linebacker and athletes and defensive end to contain a running attack. Last week it wasn’t about the defense’s inability to get to the ball, it was about their inability to finish the play. According to the ASU team they missed 28 tackles on the day. This week they will once again find themselves in position to make plays, and they simply have to break down and fundamentally tackle. If they do that the defense will keep the Illini offense in check.

 Key Players

Defense: Vontaze Burfict. He was far from perfect last week, blowing a number of plays while trying to go for the kill shot. Burfict’s speed and instincts are out of this world, and because of this he will always be around the football. Last week he didn’t break down and gave up a number of big plays because of it, this week he needs to get to the ball first, wrap up the ball carrier, and let his teammates clean up with the big licks. The key phrase tomorrow needs to be “gang tackling” (and not because ASU’s roster is full of criminals) because the first guy to the ball needs to keep the carrier in check, and the rest of the speedsters need to come in to lay some wood.

 Offense:

 Brock Osweiller. The quarterback is always important, Brock needs to play well for ASU to win. Enough said.

 Cameron Marshall. He’s been quiet this year, mostly because ASU has been having success in the pass game, and the run has become the second option. Last week he carried the ball 22 times for 61 yards which is far from great, but was enough to keep Mizzou honest. It was also done against one of the better defensive fronts in the country. This week ASU’s O-line is going to have a big advantage up front, meaning there should be plenty of holes forMarshall. On top of that, Illinois will likely be looking to take away the pass, and Noel Mazonne should look to lean on the run game. I expect Marshall to get 20-25 carries, and I expect him to easily eclipse the 100-yard mark. There is no better way to silence a crowd on the road, than to demoralize them by running it down their throat.

 Gerell Robinson. Fellow receiver Aaron Pflugrad is coming off a monster week and is clearly Osweiller’s favorite target. I’m sure Illinois has noticed. Look for the Illini to try and take Pflugrad out of this one, and leave Robinson freed up on the other side. He’s going to have the opportunity to make a number of big plays, we’ll see if he can step up.

 Bottom Line – If ASU can win this game they will enter Pac-12 play with some serious momentum, if they lose they will enter with a dud. A win tomorrow could lead to some very big things during the remainder of the season. (I won’t get into details for fear of ejaculation in my pants) The potential of this team is obvious, but it still hasn’t transformed into consistency. Let’s hope tomorrow can get the ball rolling.

 Prediction – ASU’s defense proves some doubters wrong, and Cameron Marshall emerges in the backfield. ASU 35 –Illinois 24.

Looking Back: ASU 37 – Missouri 30 (OT)

I’ve had almost a week to digest and recover from what was a dramatic overtime victory. At times it was sloppy (12 penalties for 110 yards) and at times it was ugly (Jamal Miles muffed punt), and blowing a 14 point lead in the 4^th quarter is enough to give any fan a heart attack, but the bottom line is a-win-is-a-win. Last year ASU would have lost that game, they would have blown the lead, not gotten the breaks, lay down and lost. On Friday ASU pissed it away, came together, and made the plays at the end to earn the victory.

 Everyone keeps talking about Missouri’s decision to “ice” their own kicker, and how ASU was “lucky” to survive thanks to a late, missed field goal, but the bottom line is the Devils deserve some credit. 48-yards is no chip shot, for most college kickers that’s a really tough kick. Missouri knew this, and that’s why they tried to bait the ASU defense into jumping offsides. Give Vontaze Burfict and the rest of the D some credit for holding their water and ultimately making the kicker prove he could hit under pressure. He couldn’t. Most kickers wouldn’t. That is no easy task.

With the missed kick ASU was given second life and they took advantage. The offense took care of business thanks to a great play by Jamal Miles, and the defense finally made some key plays forcing a quick 4-and-out.

 Did ASU get some breaks to win this game, obviously, but sometimes you need some breaks to become a great team. Did Wisconsin and Stanford complain a year ago when we gift wrapped games to them? No!  Did it make them any less of a team because they needed some breaks to win games? Hell No! ASU got the breaks they needed last week, and let’s take it and move on; anyway I think the football gods owe us a break or two after the last couple years.

 Sun Devil of the game-

 

1.  Brock Osweiller – This dude was f-ing awesome, he made every play you could ask a quarterback to make. He rifled balls into tight gaps, he floated balls over the top of the defense and he made the plays with his legs. When he scrambled for a 12-yard touchdown early in the 4^th quarter, I thought ‘we’ve found our guy.’ This is unquestionably Osweiller’s team, he’s earned it and maybe more importantly he wants it. When ASU was given second life in overtime it was Osweiller who led the team to the winning score. He puts the team on his back like Greg Jennings in Madden.  If there is one positive to take away from this game, it’s that ASU’s found their leader and he’s ready to shine.

 

2. Aaron Pflugrad – A friend and I had a debate before this game as to whether Pflugrad was overrated. The consensus – Yes. For two years in an ASU uniform all I’ve heard was rave reviews for Pflugrad, yet he hadn’t really done much on Saturdays to live up to the hype. Sure he hauled in three catches for 50 yards and two scores against UC Davis, but that’s a 1-AA team and he also dropped a couple balls. Well Pflugrad must’ve heard our chat, because he put on a show against Mizzou. Eight catches, 180 yards, and two touchdowns were impressive, but more than the numbers it was how and when he did it. After carving apart the Tigers early, they tightened up on Pflu, yet Osweiller and ASU kept coming his way. He made catch after catch in traffic, with guys draped all over him. When it was third-and-long in overtime, everyone in the stadium knew the ball was coming his way, yet Pflugrad came through and made the tough catch when it counted. Can’t be sure, but I’d guess his heart was pounding before, during and after that play and he absolutely came through.

 

Honorable Mention – Colin Parker. 11 tackles, eight of them solo. When most of the defense was out of control and over pursuing (28 missed tackles as a team) Parker continued to be in the right spot and make the fundamental play. If you’re not familiar with Parker’s story, check out this piece by Craig Morgan. Fox Sports Az 

Asshole of the game – Vontaze Burfict. It may be a little unfair to harshly criticize Burfict for his play, because I didn’t think it was all that awful. But the bottom line is he’s a preseason All-American and un-questionably the leader on defense. It’s impossible not to watch Burfict on the football field, he commands the attention. Before the snap he’s moving around yelling at his D-Lineman, talking trash to the opposing backfield, and basically just looking big and scary. When the ball is snapped it’s like he’s shot from a cannon, his instincts are incredible and he’s crazy explosive, making him always around the ball. Against Mizzou he was once again always in the right spot, yet he couldn’t finish the play. Instead of breaking down and wrapping up he continued to go for the kill shot, and continued to miss. The rest of the defense noticed his play, and followed in his footsteps. Instead of breaking down and playing fundamental football everyone over pursued, missed tackles, and allowed big plays. Everything on the defense revolves around Burfict, he’s always the first to the ball, and what he does his teammates follow. If Burfict had played a fundamentally sound game, the rest of the defense would have followed, and the outcome would not have been close.

 

Asshole # 2- The kicking game. Stop missing extra points, you almost cost us another game. Didn’t you learn anything from last year!

 

Asshole #3 – Gerell Robinson. When are you going to realize you are good? Stopping dropping key passes.

 

Final thought – ASU made it obvious that they have plenty to improve on; once again penalties and turnovers continue to haunt this team. While ASU should have won by 14-21 points against Mizzou, the dramatic, sloppy win may be more valuable. Instead of traveling to Illinois with a big head and high spirits, they will be focused and hungry to prove doubters wrong. I’m sure the coaching staff rode the team all week, and I expect them to come out sharp. We’ll see.

10 Key Players for ASU – 7

Kyle Middlebrooks

I attended ASU’s win overWashington last fall on a rainy October night. Before the game I was telling any Husky fan I could find about our great running back duo of Cameron Marshall and Deantre Lewis. But once the game started, #7 in the ASU whites was the one doing all the damage in the backfield, and I’m not talking about Vontaze Burfict.

Kyle Middlebrooks carried the ball seven times for 58 yards in the win over the Huskies, showcasing a variety of moves and his top-notch speed. After one run, a Husky fan turned to me and commented about how much faster Middlebrooks appeared than anyone on the field for the Huskies. It turns out he was that much faster.

Middlebrooks is the fastest guy on a fast ASU team. Is that confusing? During his senior year of high school he ran a 4.38 second 40-yard-dash, and starred in the 100-meter for his track team posting a 10.48 second time.

His most notable play last season came on a near miss against Wisconsin. At the end of the first half he busted a kickoff return 99 yards, only to be tripped up at the inch line. I’ve posted the video below, notice the angle that many of the Badgers have on him, and how he blows right by. This guy has some serious jets.

When the bad news came down last week that Deantre Lewis would miss at least part of the 2011 season due to injuries sustained from a gunshot wound, it was a serious blow to the ASU offense. But having Middlebrooks on the roster makes the blow much more manageable. He brings the big play potential to the table just like Lewis did.

ASU will use Middlebrooks as a change of pace to the bruising Cameron Marshall and should look to get the ball to him in space. I expect Middlebrooks to get 6-8 carries a game in the backfield, and also be the target of a number of screen and swing passes from the running back position. He is a playmaker and Noel Mazonne will do what he can to give him the opportunity to break the big play. It’s up to Middlebrooks to deliver the home run, something that ASU will rely on.

He will also be the premier kick return specialist, and will need to provide big plays on special teams to give the Devils another boost.

10 Key Players for ASU – 8

Will Sutton

If your long term memory is suspect, and you can’t remember more than a year back, then the name Will Sutton may mean nothing to you. That’s because Sutton sat out the entire 2010 season due being academically ineligible.

In his 2009, freshman campaign, Sutton showed signs of a potential disruptive force. He appeared in all 12 games, collecting 17 tackles (3 for loss), one sack and a forced fumble. After that season he slimmed down, gained explosiveness and dominated the 2010 fall camp. But just a week before the season started, Sutton was ruled academically ineligible and was forced to sit out the entire season. azcentral’s doug Haller broke it down in this piece – http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/2011/06/23/20110623arizona-state-defensive-tackle-will-sutton-excited-chance-clean-up-his-mess.html

The year away from the game apparently improved his focus and hunger, to the point where his play during spring practice drew national attention. http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/21353/spring-breakout-players-2

With Lawrence Guy now in the NFL, Sutton will immediately become the marquee guy for the Devils at defensive tackle. As I mentioned in the Junior Onyeali preview, rushing the passer was a serious issue for ASU last season. Sutton provides the athleticism and burst to make a big impact from the defensive interior.

Whether or not he can keep focus and stay on the field all season may be the bigger issue when it comes to Sutton. Only time will tell, but the defense will be noticeably better if and when he’s on the field.

10 Key Players for ASU – 9

Junior Onyeali

Junior (I refer to him by his first name because I can’t pronounce his last) busted onto the scene in the second half of last season. He tallied 6.5 sacks on the year and had 11.5 tackles for loss. His play earned him the honor of Pac-10 freshman defensive player of the year as well as many Freshman All-American Honors.

 Junior gets after the passer by using his explosive speed as well as his motor. At 5’11, 233, he’s very much undersized for a defensive end, but uses it to his advantage by beating linemen to the edge and creating leverage. You can see two plays against Wazzu towards the end of this clip.

His emergence in the 2010 season came at a perfect time, before his increased productivity the Devils had some serious trouble in rushing the passer. In fact even with him reeking havoc they had some issues getting after quarterbacks. On the year they recorded only 23 sacks, good for a tie for last in the conference.

For as good as the 2010 defense was, their inability to rush the passer may have been one glaring weakness. Rushing the passer does more than record sacks in the stat books; it also helps the defensive backs behind in covering the pass, and can lead to poor decisions and turnovers by the quarterback. While ASU’s rushing defense was first in the conference, their pass defense was eighth, and their takeaways were dead last. You can pin a lot of that on the inability to rush the passer.

This year with an inexperienced secondary there will be an even greater need to pressure qb’s. Losing Omar Bolden at cornerback means some new guys will be forced to play outside. If the defensive front can’t get to the quarterback, defensive coordinator Craig Bray will be forced to blitz more often, meaning those young cornerbacks will be on an island in man coverage more often. A potentially bad scenario.

ASU will lean on Junior all year, and his ability to get after quarterbacks may determine if this defense goes down as “great” or simply “mediocre.”

10 Key Players for ASU – 10

Jamal Miles

In Miles’ first two years he’s been a guy who brings a lot of excitement, but not a ton of production. He also hasn’t had a ton of chances. That should change this year.

 

The first thing you notice when watching Miles is he’s explosive. He can make guys miss and can break away in the open field.

Here he shows he can make a difference in the special teams. One thing ASU did really well last year was have success in the kick return game leading the Pac-10 with a 27.5 yard average. Miles, Omar Bolden and LeQuan Lewis all returned kicks for touchdowns, but both Bolden (injury) and Lewis won’t be there this year. That means Miles will likely be the primary return man and his speed can help flip field position and provide the momentum changing plays like seen above.

Miles is also the leading returning punt returner where he averaged 8.6 yards per return last year, but he never broke the big one like in returning kicks.  If he could improve that average and provide some big plays in the punt return department it could provide another big spark.

The bigger question about Miles is whether or not he can make a difference on offense. Last year he carried the ball 27 times for 63 yards and had two rushing touchdowns. He also caught 25 passes for 203 yards and found the end zone four times. Six total touchdowns for a guy who wasn’t an every down player is pretty impressive.

This year they should call his number more often. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazonne is on record saying that getting Miles the ball will be a point of emphasis and with RB Deantre Lewis out for at least part of the season Miles should become one of the big play threats for the offense. The great thing about guys like Miles is that they can hit the homerun on the routine plays, it’s something that the offense will rely on him to do, especially while Lewis is out.