Some Tuesday morning quarterbacking
Richard Linde, 17 October 2006

Now that Washington has lost its dominating quarterback, Isaiah Stanback, for the rest of the season, it's time to step back and rethink the season, along with the Huskies' future. My thoughts on the quarterbacks, the game with Oregon State and a potential bowl game follow:

About Isaiah Stanback

Isaiah Stanback is one of the nicest guys on the team. Let’s hope the surgery today is a success and that he recovers as quickly as possible, at least as fast as DT Donny Mateaki did. Mateaki suffered a sprained foot in the spring of 2005 and recovered to play in the fall campaign.

Stanback has ended his career at Washington with a pass efficiency rating of 122.85, completing 269 of 523 passes for 3,868 yards, 22 touchdowns and 12 picks over 36 games. Considering the weak teams he played on, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is truly amazing. He also rushed for 794 yards and 11 touchdowns on 234 carries.

I'll never forget the Hail Mary he threw to Craig Chambers last season that went for a touchdown and turned the Arizona game around. Contrastingly, against Troy this season, the 6-yard TD bullet he rifled to TE Johnie Kirton, midst the hands of two defenders, was as unforgettable. 

Our website has steadfastly supported Stanback throughout his career at Washington and wishes him continued success in whatever future endeavor he chooses. He will always be a Husky legend on my website and in our hearts, for it's not so much about having won a ton of games after your college career is over, but what you have left behind with the team and fans.

To the team: leadership, poise and character.

To the fans: the remembrance of that heart-skipping excitement every time he touched the ball., so much like that of the King, Nip and Tui's. Add that friendly smile when asked to pose for pictures at Picture Day and at Olympia a couple of years ago.

He is my early pick to win the Guy Flaherty Most Inspirational Award at Washington this year.  

About Carl Bonnell

Over his career at Washington, Bonnell has played in 11 games and has a pass efficiency rating of 67.26, based on completing 27 of 68 passes for 279 yards, 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. He has run for 178 yards and scored two touchdowns. He sat out the 2005 season because of injury.

With his quick release and rhythm, Bonnell has the tools to lead a west coast offense (Bill Walsh’s variety) if Lappano should want to take some of the “spread” out of his “spread-coast” offense, especially with the tight ends healing up. That is, more short, quickly thrown passes and more times under center.

WR Marlon Wood can run after catch. Maybe it’s time to rethink RB Shelton Sampson as a slot back? In short, the Huskies need a playmaker or two more than ever right now with Stanback gone.  

Bonnell is a more rhythmic quarterback than Stanback and it is crucial for him that the offense gets into some sort of a rhythm. His career numbers – which look like those of Adam Sandler, who played Paul Crewe in the 2005 adaptation of the Longest Yard -- should improve once he gets more reps in practice and gets the feel of each game.

Jake Locker:

If Bonnell should falter or suffer injury, most likely the coaching staff will turn to freshman quarterback Jake Locker. But the staff needs to think to the future, not panic and not burn Locker’s redshirt year if at all possible. If they think going to a bowl game this year is achievable with Locker in there, they’ll burn his redshirt year and start him.

However, if the Huskies play like they did against Oregon State the rest of the way in, it doesn’t matter who quarterbacks the team.

A quarterback can do a lot of things, both good and bad, but one thing he cannot do, to live and see another play, is to give a game away.

(Can't you see a stoic, resolute Tyrone Willingham panicking?)

About the loss to Oregon State:

The good:

-- Stanback completed some long passes, the kicker and punter did their jobs, Kenny James performed admirably, but that was about all the Huskies could crow about. Oregon State physically punished the Dawgs, whipping them soundly on both sides of the line of scrimmage.  

The bad:

-- Considering Stanback's loss to the season, the Huskies will miss WR Craig Chambers all the more. Over his career at Washington, Chambers, who transferred to Montana before this season began, was one of the Huskies' few playmakers.

-- The Huskies' game with Oregon is at Eugene -- a mad house, like in "let me Autzen here" -- where they've lost to the Ducks the last two years. The tradeoff was getting OSU at home over the last three years. What blown opportunities.

-- The Huskies' blocking, tackling, pass rush and sacks (6) given up.  

-- Matt Moore's 80-yard TD pass to Sammy Stroughter. Against the UW pass defense, which is the worst in the Pac10, the wide-open Stroughter had a quarter of the field all to himself.

-- The loss shouldn't have surprised anyone. Statistically, the Beavers matched up quite well against the Dawgs going into the game.

-- Matt Moore's quarterback rating: 216.7 on the day. Stanback's was 106.7 and Bonnell's was 47.3. Moore out-rushed Stanback 18 to 11 yards, subtracting the yardage lost from sacks.

-- Winning in turnovers (3-0), penalties against and time of possession and still losing.

About a bowl game now?

Needless to say, losing the OSU game dampens Washington's bowl prospects and could sour recruiting the rest of the year. In hindsight will fans point to the game as the turning point in Tyrone Willingham's career at Washington?

You know:

A bowl-shaped valley with food and supplies lay on the other side. More than half-way up the mountain, the howling dogs crossed a sheet of ice. Their legs churned frantically until the sled lost momentum, zigzagging and spinning to the bottom of the mountain, scattering dogs and master alike in disarray for another try on another day. But soon the days will shorten, and the icy wind and hunger will lengthen their daunting climb. 

Ahem.

Still, I'm not giving up hope on the bowl game and, certainly, not on Tyrone's career at U-Dub.