Will Carl Bonnell start for the UW against Fresno State?
Although Casey Paus (redshirt Junior), Carl Bonnell (redshirt
freshman), and Isaiah Stanback (redshirt sophomore) are ostensibly
in a three-way battle for the starting-quarterback role at Washington, Casey
Paus is the heir apparent to the position vacated by Cody Pickett by virtue of
experience. The coaches are waging a three-man battle for the position because they
believe in the long run competition will make each of the candidates better.
However, experience always wins out in battles such as
this, and Casey Paus has the experience and proven capableness, the latter based
on his performance in a game against Oregon last season, to win the job.
Those in the media know that, and Keith Gilbertson knows
that.
Now that Rick Neuheisel, Barbara Hedges
and Dana Richardson have left the program, covering the Huskies must be as boring as
following a politician on the campaign stump. Ugh, all of that jabberwocky.
In one of his latest
columns, “Bonnell shows he’s in QB race,” Huskies' beat writer Ted Miller
writes,
"Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell erased any residual doubt that the Washington
quarterback competition is a three-man race after throwing for a pair of
touchdown passes in the Huskies' first spring scrimmage."
Miller, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covers Husky
practices on a daily basis. I guess I'm stubborn. Miller does not disabuse me from having a
"residual doubt" or two about there being a three-man race for the starting
job. Certainly, there's a race in the spirit of competition, but it's one in
name only.
Over at the Seattle Times, beat-writer Bob Condotta writes,
“Bonnell…has tried to downplay his chances at winning the job, pointing out the
two other competitors are more experienced. But he acknowledged yesterday that
his candidacy may be gaining momentum.”
After the scrimmage on Friday, at the urging of one persistent
reporter, Bonnell was quoted by both papers as saying, “I feel like I am in the
race to be the starter. There, I said it for you."
Not that the media are feeding us a diet of a politician's
jabberwocky. Yesterday, Keith
Gilbertson said that, "I don't feel like anybody (the QBs) has separated
themselves or made a move." Maybe, the wily Gilbertson is using the media as a
tool to inspire his young quarterbacks? Coaches have done that before, and it
makes for good copy.
Because Bonnell is more mobile than Paus, who is a
traditional drop-back passer, fans on internet message boards are lining up
behind Bonnell.
Comment: Unless the unforeseen happens, Casey Paus will
start at QB for the UW when it plays its opener against Fresno State. Experience
and dedication count, and it's the right message to send to players who have
patiently waited in line for their chance to be a starter.
Paus has done nothing to dissuade us from harboring that
notion. And Gilbertson is not going to let the media dictate who his quarterback
should be.
Against Oregon last season, with
the Huskies trailing 10-7, Paus came off the bench to lead the UW to a 42-10
victory, completing 5 of 8 passes for 117 yards and 3 touchdowns. In Friday’s
scrimmage, Paus completed 6 of 11 for 114 yards with a sizzling 44-yard
touchdown strike to Charles Smith as well as a 30-yard completion down the
sideline to Anthony Russo, who subsequently fumbled inside the 5-yard line.
During the scrimmage, admittedly, Bonnell looked good, throwing for two touchdowns and completing 5 of 8 pass attempts for 53
yards. Stanback was 2 out 7 for 19 yards and didn’t account for any scores; however, a
potential touchdown pass of his was dropped in the endzone.
Having experience and showing dedication can last only so long with
the coaching staff.
If the Huskies should get off to a rocky start during their
first few games of the 2004 season, it will be time to pause and stand back
for Bonnell, who is liable to take over the reins with a swoosh. If Bonnell replaces
Paus, look for the option to become an integral part of the Huskies’ offense. Stanback can
run the option as well and so can incoming freshman Matt Tuiasosopo. I’m not
convinced that Paus can run the option effectively, so in a worst-case
scenario for Paus, Stanback could end up being Bonnell's backup. Having a running quarterback
will add some oomph to a running game that has sputtered the last two seasons.
What’s wrong with Sergio Garcia?
I thought it strange that Friday’s edition of the Los
Angeles Times featured Sergio Garcia’s photo on the front page of its sports
section. He wasn’t even near the lead in the Masters, and there were plenty of
other players the Times could have featured. And then I saw an interview with a
dispassionate sounding Garcia on the Golf Channel after the tournament was over,
this coming after he shot a 66 in the final round. He’s obviously miffed with
the media, about how they’ve covered Tiger Woods during both of their careers.
Some of Sergio’s comments to the media on Sunday:
-- "I wasn't a good player before, I'm not
going to be a good player now because I shoot 66 in the final round of the
Masters."
-- "It's nice to see
how fair you guys are, and I just hope that you guys don't come out now saying,
'Oh, you know, he's back, and this is the Sergio we know,' and all that."
-- "I know you guys
only look at a handful of players."
And then in private, he told a Golf Channel reporter to be
sure and report Tiger Woods’ final score.
Comment: Sergio (24) needs to grow up, and
the LA Times should help the process along by not coddling him with undeserved
front-page photos.
Is
there a QB controversy at Washington? Are Carl Bonnell (photo left), Casey Paus
and Isaiah Stanback really in a three-way battle for the starting QB role at
Washington or is the more experienced Paus, by default, the heir apparent to the
job vacated by Cody Pickett? Can the UW stop the run in 2004? What’s wrong with
Sergio Garcia that a little more media coverage wouldn’t cure? We try to answer these questions and more.