Mulling it over with Mal

Mulling it over with Mal
Malamute, 18 September 2007

UW lost to Ohio State because its linemen were beaten on both sides of the ball.

Coach Tyrone Willingham says the most important positional unit on the team is the offensive line. The most important player is the quarterback. The stats bear him out.

Jake Locker’s pass efficiency number, 107.3, wasn’t good enough to rank among the top 10 quarterbacks in the conference this week. After his third game last season, senior quarterback Isaiah Stanback’s pass efficiency number was 116, nothing to write home about either.

Despite being 2-1 on the season, Washington ranks last in the conference in total offense, posting an average of 377.3 yards per game.

As you would expect from the offensive number, UW ranks eighth in the conference in time of possession: 28:27.

Locker’s 252 yards per game is good for fifth in the conference in total offense, a statistic that includes both rushing and passing numbers.

There are a number of areas for the team to improve on.

The most important areas for improvement are:

-- The guys up front: Better offensive and defensive line play.

-- Passing accuracy: Though a brilliant future lies ahead of him, young Locker has much to learn. His passing efficiency on the OSU game was 79.25, a horrible number by any stretch of the imagination. Under pressure most of the time, the young quarterback appeared to lock onto his primary receivers too much and was inaccurate throwing out of the pocket -- some of his missed passes thrown too hard and high. He hurried on his short passes, being eratic at times. Locker had worked on his footwork over the summer as it had affected his passing accuracy in the spring. Some of his passes are sailing on him. I noticed that in one of the practices I attended.

-- Synergy in the spread option: Locker needs some help from RB Louis Rankin so that the sum of their contributions in the spread option is greater than their individual ones. The synergism of Rankin and Locker led to a convincing opening win over Syracuse. That synergy has dropped off the last two games. Blame the offensive line.

-- Help, help: Can’t anyone run the ball, other than Locker and Rankin? Rankin needs someone to spell him at tailback. I like Paul Homer at fullback. At tailback, the team needs a different look running the ball, someone to pound the ball up the middle and someone who is threat to skirt the flanks. Though Locker is a bull up the middle, the Dawgs need another bull, say Johnie Kirton? Where is J. R. Hasty?

-- Improved special teams play: I’m thinking of that chicken wing block that led to a blocked field goal attempt. The Huskies netted just 28.2 yards per punt against OSU. UW ranks ninth in the conference in kickoff coverage. Please someone in the NCAA move kickoffs back to the 35 to avoid needless injuries next season. Did you see the 'SC game and that bruised larnyx? These are just college kids, mind you.

-- And the list goes on.

-- UCLA/UW Six-stat-comparator: UW (2-1) has an average national ranking of 51.5 versus UCLA's 57.1, where lowest number wins. UCLA (2-1) ranks 14th in the country in rush defense and 9th in sacks, compared to Washington's numbers of 48 and 20, respectively. Those two stats and the home-field advantage give UCLA an edge.

The Los Angeles Daily News is reporting that Pat Cowan will start in place of Ben Olson at quarterback.

If true, that’s terrible news for the Huskies in my opinion, since Cowan is much more mobile and athletic than Olson.

Chris Dusfresne of the LA Times says that "(Karl) Dorrell, reeling from one of his worst Bruin-tenure losses, needs a victory more than Willingham. And that makes this, in a societal sense, an uncomfortable backdrop.” Two black coaches going against one another is what he’s referring to.

The rap on Dorrell is that his only consistency is his inconsistency.

So, it’ll be a win-one-for-the-Gipper atmosphere, this one for the ailing Dorrell.

Add that to the fact that the Rose Bowl is a tough venue for a visiting team.

UCLA left the LA Coliseum in 1982, but forgot to take the lions with them, leaving the prideful Trojans to do all the mauling.

Under Dorrell (29-21), however, the Bruins are 21-5 at home. Lions at heart, fighting against incoming gladiators in a nonsectarian environment, it is thumbs down on every play. They show no mercy and take no prisoners at the Rose Bowl. Think Taylor Barton.

UW hasn’t won at UCLA since 1995. Of all the current venues in the Pac-10, the Bruins’ faithful energize their players as much or more than any other team in the conference. Once the Bruins are on a roll, they are hard to stop, although Washington made it close two years ago, losing 21-17 at the Rose Bowl. The sluggish Bruins never got on a roll.

-- The Big Ten and the local media: With its win over Washington, is the Tiny Ten on its way back to respectability? Nope, this was a an Ohio State team that struggled in the first half against a team ranked ninth in the conference by the media in a pre-season poll. I expect none of the local media who voted in the major BCS polls remembered their conference vote when they voted for the Buckeyes this week. Ohio State is ranked 8th and 9th in the AP and USA Today polls, respectively.

The PAC: Right now, USC, Oregon, Cal and Arizona State are better teams than Ohio State. tOSU looks to improve as the season progresses.

The pass happy Pac-10?: Oregon State (2-1) ranks second in the country in rushing defense, yielding 27.7 yards per game.