Notes on the offense

Published 3:58 pm Tuesday, September 18, 2007

As is the case on most Tuesdays, we met with offensive coordinator Tim Lappano.

He reiterated what he had said Saturday about too many mistakes being made all over the field. On the case of dropped balls, which I wrote briefly about today, he put some of the blame on his quarterback and receivers.

“We’ve got to be able to throw it a little bit more accurately, and we’ve got to be able to catch the football,” Lappano said. “They don’t all have to be perfect passes. If one’s on your back pad or behind you a little bit, you’ve got to be able to make a play. Players make plays and we’ve got to make tough catches and we’ve got to make tough throws.”

One topic that has come up a few times this week is a lack of a rushing threat beyond Jake Locker and Louis Rankin. J.R. Hasty has had only one carry this season, and freshmen tailbacks Curtis Shaw and Brandon Johnson have seen limited touches as well. Lappano said he expects more running backs to be involved this weekend against UCLA. It sounds like the Huskies will likely travel with four running backs (assuming Johnson’s bruised ribs are healed enough that he can play).

As for the offensive line, he said the team will continue to use the six-man rotation it has been for the first three weeks. The only possible change Lappano anticipated would be adding Matt Sedillo into the mix once he recovers from an ankle injury.

Lappano also said he expects the tight ends to get a bit more involved in the passing game this week, saying, “We haven’t given up on them by any means. It’s more what we can take advantage of each week.”

And I wanted to pass along the quote of the day, since it likely won’t make it into tomorrow’s story. Here’s what center Juan Garcia said when asked if he saw the facemask on Locker that went uncalled in the Ohio State game:

“I heard about the guy pulling Jake’s facemask. I wish I would have seen that because I probably would have gotten kicked out of the game.”