Facing the Best
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Defensive coordinator Kent Baer had his weekly meeting with the media this afternoon and he said USC will be the best offense the Huskies will have faced this season. He said the offensive line, quarterback John David Booty and the group of receivers are all the best the Huskies have played. The only thing seperating them from last season’s ridiculously talented group is experience. Baer didn’t let on about how the team might try to defense USC, and to be honest, I don’t have any real ideas. The biggest key will be trying to put pressure on Booty, though Baer said Booty is almost untouchable once he gets out of the pocket, so Washington’s defensive ends will likely have huge roles trying to keep the junior quarterback contained. The scariest prospect is how Washington’s defensive backs will deal with USC’s tall, athletic receivers. It sounds more and more like star Dwayne Jarrett will play, and there’s pretty much no cornerback in the country who can handle Jarrett.
Baer pointed to one pretty startling stat that I hadn’t really noticed before: Washington has forced 10 fumbles this season, but only recovered one. Baer said part of that is the ball just bouncing the wrong way but some of it has to do with effort. The Huskies can’t afford to let those chances pass, especially against USC.
Here’s three stories from the L.A.-area from today.
This Los Angeles Times notebook http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-uscrep4oct04,1,5575545.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports leads with an item about injury issues hitting the USC offensive line. It sounds like starting right guard Chilo Rachal may not play due to injury (he’ll find out today). If he can’t play, the starter would be junior Tiny Malu, who is 6-foot-4, 330 pounds.
The LA Daily News notebook http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_4438309 leads with an item about the USC defense looking for leadership. After all, there are only two seniors in the playing mix for the Trojans.
Finally, this notebook from the Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/college/abox/article_1296661.php leads with an item about the young USC receivers who have had to step up due to injury.
You’ll notice in two of the notebooks that it says Jarrett participated in practice Tuesday, running around and catching passes. But Jarrett didn’t practice the entire time and sat out a scrimmage, and one of the notes said he rarely raised his hands above his head.
Also, here’s a chat wrap from Isaiah Stanback: http://gohuskies.cstv.com/chat/100206aaa.html Nothing newsworthy in it, unless you consider the fact that his favorite burger at Red Robin is the Tariyaki Chicken Burger (though he likes the Bonzai Burger too) news, but it’s there anyway if you’re interested.
