SB Nation - Sammie Stroughter

Luke Links: The Taking Stock Edition

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:16:28 -0000

We bring back the Luke Links after weeks of covering camp and the first two pre-season games. Just a friendly reminder, we are less than three weeks away from actual, real, OMG the games count! football. So, so wonderful.

I also want to use this opportunity to announce that King Richard will be returning to help cover the Colts at Stampede Blue. KR went off on his own to try the "get paid for blogging" gig, and like many things in life, it didn't work out. So, we welcome him back and look forward to him covering some Fantasy Football news, Colts player transactions, and other goodies. I will still post the Luke Links (much to your annoyance, I'm sure).

And speaking of links...

The Indy Star's Mike Chappell reminds us that Reggie Wayne will be lined up all over the place in 2009. Gone are the days of Marvin on the right, Reggie on the left, and Dallas in the slot. Now, the offense is mixing it up.
Staying with the Star, PhilB makes the same observation I've made of late: Kyle DeVan is looking good as a back-up center. He can also play guard. Steve Justice's days as a Colt are numbered.
Edgerrin James is back in the league. This time, he is with the Seahawks. Nice to have Edge back.
18to88 reminds us that Tony Dungy did plenty of "tweaking" on defense when he coached.

I've updated my 53-man roster page, and I've made some pretty bold moves. Gone are both Mike Hart and Tim Jennings. With some spots, I've left them open, indicating that a player cut from another team will fill the roster spot. The Colts have done this routinely in the past. Daniel Muir, who I believe will make the 53-man roster, was cut at the end of pre-season last year. Indy snatched him up the next day. Now, he seems like an important part of the DT rotation.
The Dallas Cowboys, and their douchebag owner Jerry Jones, all have egg on their faces over this scoreboard fiasco. To keep this simple and neat, they were dumb to think that placing a scoreboard over the field, hanging down, would not disrupt the punters. Unlike the Cowboys, the Colts did their due diligence last season when they evaluated placing a similar scoreboard over The Luke. They had then-Colts punter Hunter Smith boom some punts, and determined the scoreboard would indeed disrupt the punters. This is another demonstration of what a team run by adults looks like (the Colts) vs. a team run by a clueless clown (the Cowboys).
Very interesting insight from IFR regarding Larry Coyer and his thoughts on the Colts prior to him joining the team this year:
"The thing that [Coyer] said he always noticed about the Colts when coaching other teams was that while many teams speak of playing through injuries, the Colts actually did it. He cited specifically the Colts’ 2003 postseason victory over Denver, the one that came two weeks after the Broncos beat the Colts in the RCA Dome. Coyer said each team came into the playoff game injured. The difference was the Broncos played like it and the Colts didn’t."
Bill Polian tells the Indy Star that rookie contracts are out of control. Well, if they are so out of control, perhaps NFL GMs should stop giving rookies such contracts.
And finally, Ron Meeks has his work cut out for him in Carolina while Russ Purnell continues to suck as a coach. Only this time, Purnell is in Jacksonville. Meeks lost his best interior linemen for the season early in training camp, and now his best player on defense (Jon Beason) is out for six weeks with the same MCL injury Jeff Saturday had last year. That's tough. I hope Meeks is able to get those guys playing better despite the injuries. Meanwhile, in Jaguars land, Russ continues to leave his wonderful mark on special teams play:
With the Jaguars set to play again Thursday night in Philadelphia, he doesn't have much time to fix the fundamental errors the Jaguars made both in coverage and the return game that helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers post a 24-23 victory over the Jaguars on Saturday night.
The Bucs cashed in on the special teams errors for two touchdowns and that was the difference in the game.

"That's an area we need to be better in," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said.

The Jaguars jumped to a 14-3 lead in the second quarter and appeared to be in control of the game when the special teams gave up a 75-yard return to Sammie Stroughter.

Greg Estandia whiffed on him and then Gerald Alexander appeared to have him and let him get away.

We experienced this type of coaching for seven years. How many games did the Colts lose because of special teams? Hell, the last game they played was lost due in large part to terrible special teams play.

I watched some of the Jets v. Ravens game last night. Joe Flacco is the real deal, folks.

A look over the offensive numbers

Jake Bertalotto — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:45:05 -0000

Have you come crashing down from your post-Beaver-victory high yet?

Team Offense: 17 first downs, 166 rushing yards, 224 passing yards, 390 total yards, 0 turnovers, 6.0 yards per play.

Sean Canfield: 20/32, 224 yards, 1 TD

I thought Sean played a great good enough game, especially in the second half when it mattered. He got off to a slow start, and still was off target on a few balls, but for the most part, he did what he needed to do. There was the one brutal pass in which he sidestepped an Arizona defensive lineman like a matador, then heaved a wobbly spiral into the heart of the Arizona secondary. It all worked out in the end, but he got extremely lucky.

I liked Canfield's ability to go downfield in the game. The pass to James that was dropped was right on the money. The deep bomb to Sammie down the sideline was underthrown, but that might have been beneficial to the Beavs. If Sean hits Sammie in stride, he walks into the end zone and the Beavers score with 0:40 on the clock. And then we must play defense to prevent a touchdown, a la Utah, a la ASU.

James Rodgers: 10 rushes, 102 yards, 1 TD. 2 catches, 9 yards.

A 41 yard touchdown reception would have made James' line look that much better, but we definitely need to stop talking about that. The fly sweep was resurrected tonight in Tucson, just in time for us to torture the UO secondary with it next week. This was good to see, because teams have done a pretty good job of shutting down the fly sweep this season. Perhaps they're finding ways to stop it, but stopping both Rodgers seems to be what teams are struggling with. For most of the game, Arizona only had one Rodgers to stop, and they couldn't even do that.

Sammie "TNT" Stroughter: 5 catches, 116 yards.

Okay, so maybe the nickname won't stick. But I loved how pumped up Sammie got after making the 47 yard catch that set the Beavers up to win the game. That catch was huge, but equally as important was the 4 yard slant pattern that he turned into a 34 yard gain (on third down) after gravity robbed James Rodgers of a touchdown on the play prior. That set the Beavers up for a touchdown, which Sammie caught amidst a swarm of Wildcats in the end zone. The Versus angle didn't really show what Sammie did to get open, but have you ever seen The Matrix? I'm just sayin'. The line of scrimmage was the seven yard line, and judging by how much time elapsed while Sean rolled out to his left, one would think it would be difficult to hide from defenders contained in such a small space.

Ryan McCantsStopTheBeavers: 15 rushes, 54 yards.

I was generally impressed with Ryan. It seems like he had phases of effectiveness when he was getting 2-4 extra yards per carry, sort of like Quizz does on a regular basis. And then there were times where he rumbled for a ton of extra yards with guys all over him. But there were also times when I felt like he couldn't get out of the backfield, and if he did, he was underachieving by not scrapping for extra yards. It's nice to know that we have a nice back to complement Quizz (a change of pace, per se), but it's also nice to know that he can makes some things happen on his own.

Jeremy Francis: 1 rush, 2 yards. 7 catches, 61 yards, 1 awesome lateral.

It never really struck me until tonight how much Francis looks like Yvenson Bernard. There was a point in the game (it was the play where he got lit up by a UA defender) where I seriously did a double take becasue I thought it was Bernard making a catch. I think it's the hair...

Great job by Francis, especially in the closing minutes of the game when he picked up the first 25 yards of Oregon State's game-winning drive. I present the unsung play of the game award to Francis for the heads up move to lateral the ball to James Rodgers on the ball he caught over the middle- I don't want to think about what would have happened had we not stopped the clock there.

Jacquizz Rodgers: 4 rushes, 20 yards

Watching the first quarter replay off my DVR reminded me of just how good this guy is. He only rushed the ball four times before he exited due to injury on a pass, (Remember his quote, coach Riley? He said "I don't get happy, I just run the ball". If it's not runnin' the ball, Quizz doesn't do it. So don't throw the ball to him anymore!) but they were good runs. Especially the nine yarder. Not the best, I realize, but watching those replays made me want more Quizz! Heal it up this week, buddy!

And how about the beard Langsdorf has accumulated, too sexy?

Brett Favre discusses his newest Wranglers commercial and the benefits of wearing jeans while playing touch football

Poll

No Shave November:

Good idea, past the itchy stage

68 votes

Bad idea...mine isn't coming in quite as well as I'd hoped

9 votes

It's BURNING--that's how you know it's working!!!

8 votes

85 votes | Poll has closed

Pac-10 Preview and Predictions, Week #2

Cory Williams — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:12:10 -0000

The Pac-10 got off to a strong start as a whole last week, collecting six victories (two of which came against Pac-10 foes). The biggest victory of the week was UCLA's triumph over #18 Tennessee, in a game that was nearly impossible to watch in the first half.

This week, BYU rolls into Washington, Oregon State crosses the country to play Penn State, and Stanford takes on the Sun Devils in a battle of unbeaten squads. USC and UCLA have much-deserved off weeks after their victories in week 1.

On to the prognoses...

#15 BYU Cougars @ Washington Huskies. Saturday, September 6, 12:10 PM Pacific.

I was wrong last week when it came to my prediction about UCLA having "no chance" against Tennessee. Dead wrong. Tennessee was not nearly as good as I gave them credit for; it was probably all the SEC bias that gets tossed around on ESPN.

This week, I am willing to make another bold statement. Washington has no chance against BYU. QB Max Hall has looked phenomenal and will throw all over the Husky secondary.

UW QB Jake Locker gives Washington a change to keep this close, but if he falters at all, down they go, like a dogsled team falling into a frozen lake during the Iditarod.

Prediction: BYU 45, Washington 28

Oregon State Beavers @ #19 Penn State Nittany Lions. Saturday, September 6, 12:30 PM Pacific, ABC.

The Beavers take on the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium... in Pennsylvania. What a coincidence, huh? Penn State is implementing a new quarterback for 2008, junior Daryll Clark. He looked good against Coastal Carolina, going 11/14 for 146 yards and a touchdown before getting pulled in the blowout victory.

On the other side of the coin is the OSU attack. Led by QB Lyle Moevao and WR Sammie Stroughter, the air game picked up 404 yards against Stanford in week 1's losing effort. The interceptions Moevao threw were backbreakers, and ended up being the difference between victory and defeat.

I can't help but wish for a huge upset, seeing as I think Penn State is perpetually overvalued, but in reality it just won't happen. Oregon State is known for being awful at the start of the year, and they won't go into one of the most hostile stadiums in the country and walk away with a win.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Oregon State 17

Utah State Aggies @ #18 Oregon Ducks. Saturday, September 6, 12:37 PM Pacific.

Allow me to quickly put this game into perspective. Last week, Utah State lost to UNLV 27-17. In 2007, UNLV was 2-10. Need I say much more?

Oregon won 44-10 last week against an overmatched Washington team. The most interesting part of this game will be how well concussed QB Justin Roper plays for the Ducks. He was out last week, and backup Jeremiah Masoli took care of business.

Prediction: Oregon 52, Utah State 7

California Golden Bears @ Washington State Cougars. Saturday, September 6, 3:30 PM Pacific.

California took care of business against Michigan State, and QB Kevin Riley is no longer in a platoon with Nate Longshore. Talk about a bust. Longshore was supposed to be the Golden Boy.

Washington State showed how bad they were in Seattle last week, getting dismantled by a 40-year old man to the tune of 39-13. This game will be in Pullman, so the final result might be closer, but I can't see Washington State winning this game. California is a team with a lot of potential. That doesn't mean it won't be close.

Prediction: California 28, Washington State 17

Toledo Rockets @ Arizona Wildcats. Saturday, September 6, 7:00 PM Pacific.

Arizona subscribed to the theory ASU has been working off of for years: play really crappy teams at the start of the season, and have a head start in the bowl chase. Toledo was 5-7 last year in the MAC, losing to teams like Kansas, Purdue, and Bowling Green.

Anyway, Toledo hasn't played a game this season, and Arizona already took it to Idaho 70-0 last week. I can only imagine more of the same in this match up, as Arizona improves to 2-0 and the polar ice caps begin to freeze over anew.

Prediction: Arizona 58, Toledo 13

Stanford Cardinal @ Arizona State Sun Devils. Saturday, September 6, 7:07 PM Pacific.

Check out "Breaking Down The Stanford Cardinal" for more information about the intruders from Palo Alto.

ASU can exploit the holes in the Stanford secondary with their quick speed at WR and their experience at QB with Rudy Carpenter. I think Kerry Taylor and Chris McGaha will have a field day, whether or not Mike Jones is 100%.

Prediction, Arizona State 42, Stanford 14. No mercy.

Side note: See the "Buzz!" icon next to the title of this page? Please click it! It will help generate more readers to the site. Thank you so much!

Previewing The First Weekend Of Pac-10 Football

Cory Williams — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:57:49 -0000

Previewing the first weekend seems to be a chic blog move these days, so naturally I wanted to do one as well. In this rousing rendition of a week one preview, I will discuss all Pac-10 teams and their matchups.

Interestingly enough, the Pac-10 starts conference play very early this season to make room for non-conferences games later on in the fall.

Oregon State @ Stanford. Thursday, August 28, 6:00 PM Pacific, ESPN2.

Oregon State finished strong last year after getting off to a middling 5-4 start that included a shocking 44-32 loss to Arizona State. OSU was up 19-0 after the first quarter, but could not hold back Rudy Carpenter and the Sun Devils' offense. The Beavers lost their star running back Yvenson Bernard (due to that whole graduation/eligibility thing), but junior quarterback Sean Canfield is still around and ready to connect with Sammie Stroughter.

On the other side of the gridiron, Stanford returns Tavita Pritchard, the QB who led the Cardinal to the astounding upset of USC in Los Angeles. This was the same team that managed to beat Arizona, but couldn't take care of a crippled Notre Dame. The Jekyll and Hyde performances last season couldn't hide their lack of talent, and they finished 4-8 on the year.

OSU will overwhelm the Cardinal, and win by 20.

USC @ Virginia. Saturday, August 30, 12:30 PM Pacific, ABC.

Mark Sanchez is back under center in Trojan-land. Pete Carroll is more than likely going to start him against Virginia this weekend, but USC would not need him to take care of the Cavaliers. Despite a 9-4 record last season, Virginia got off to an unbelievably slow start (which included a 23-3 embarrassment of a loss at Wyoming).

USC, on the other hand, is known for strong starts. Strong starts, strong finishes, strong seasons. You know what I am saying. USC does not go into Charlottesville and pick up anything other than a capital W.

Oklahoma State @ Washington State. Saturday, August 30, 12:30 PM Pacific.

Washington State is a notoriously difficult place to play. ASU barely escaped 23-20 last year. Unfortunately for WSU fans, the game is being played in Seattle. Also, just in case you hadn't already known, Oklahoma State's Head Coach, Mike Gundy, is a 40-year old man.

That's all I need to see. Oklahoma State wins by 50.

Michigan State @ California. Saturday, August 30, 5:00 PM Pacific, ABC.

California and Nate Longshore have waited all spring and summer to avenge their disgraceful collapse from #2 in the country all the way down to unranked in a span of 3 short weeks. The Bears somehow finished 7-6 despite a 5-0 start, which is something I can't see happening again.

Michigan State was also 7-6 on the season, losing every game against ranked opponents. California at least went and took out the erstwhile Tennessee Volunteers. The Bears will win this by double digits.

Northern Arizona @ Arizona State. Saturday, August 30, 7:22 PM Pacific, FSN Arizona.

Hopefully, ASU can treat the Lumberjacks like a legitimate foe, and put them to task early and often. I'd like to see Sam Szakaczy, James Morrison, and Gerell Robinson on the field in the second half quite a bit, giving them experience just in case they are needed more frequently in the future.

The offensive line can also use this game as an opportunity to gel as a unit. ASU will win by 30.

Washington @ Oregon. Saturday, August 30, 7:00 PM Pacific.

Oregon is a sleeper that everyone seems to be writing about, and in that way I don't see them as a sleeper at all. Washington, on the other hand, is returning Jake Locker, who I think would be a great quarterback at a school with talent on the offensive line. Since we're in the "House of Loud" (patent pending), Oregon will take this, but only because it is so Loud™ in Autzen.

Idaho @ Arizona. Saturday, August 30, 7:00 PM Pacific.

Tucson is as close as the Vandals can get to Dennis Erickson these days. As much as I'd like to say that Idaho will storm into town and ruin the Wildcats' season, I just can't do it. Willie Tuitama will have a field day, and probably win by 20 or 25.

Tennessee @ UCLA. Monday, September 1, 5:00 PM Pacific, ESPN.

Ohhhhh boy. This is going to be ugly. UCLA has no real direction yet (give it time), no set quarterback (give it time), and no chance. Tennessee lost to California last year and will not accept another Pac-10 defeat. Going into Pasadena and taking it to the Bruins is just the remedy.