SB Nation - Keenyn Crier

Is Mike Stoops Really A Good Head Coach? Q&A With Arizona Desert Swarm

Avinash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:22:03 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Remeber how we used to make fun of this guy? He's four wins away from a Rose Bowl.

Remember how we used to poke fun at Mike Stoops? The guy who scored a big upset in November (beating UCLA, Cal and Oregon three years straight), but otherwise did nothing of consequence? The guy whose teams screwed the Pac-10 out of God knows how many BCS at-large bids? The guy who lost to New Mexico two years in a row?

Well, now he's four wins away from Pasadena. Where's the Mike Stoops we've come to know and love?

How do Arizona fans feel about their coach, their team, and their conference title chances? We sat down with AZ Desert Swarm, Arizona's SBN blog, and asked him how confident he feels in his team going into the showdown in Berkeley tomorrow. (Check out our interview with them over at their site!)

1) Do you think Arizona will make the Rose Bowl this year??

I think that Arizona has a good shot. We're favored against Cal, and will get to face Oregon at home where we have won 11 in a row dating back to 2007. After watching USC play the last couple of weeks, I believe that it is more than likely that we will be favored in that game and will come out with a win. Long Answer.

Short Answer. Yes. I think we will make the Rose Bowl.

2) Should Nick Foles scare the crap out of me the way his passing stats are doing? He seems like the perfect quarterback for the Airraid.

I have been hoping since July that Foles would be the starter for the Cats. The receiving corps that he has was made for him. Matt Scott's style of offense did not gel with the rest of the team. Foles on the other hand is a sure handed smart QB who rarely makes a mistake. He is tall enough to stand in the pocket and pick you apart if you don't get to him. He is also elusive (enough) to side step pressure and allow his receivers to get open on come back or hot routes during blitzes. I bet your defensive coordinator doesn't get much sleep this week watching our film. Our running game compliments Foles and we are hopeful to get our star Nic Grigsby back for the Cal game.

3) Mike Stoops has been known for dropping total headscratchers. Are you living in mortal fear that the other shoe's about to drop?

Not really. I love the way Stoops coaches. Living in Austin, Texas, there was always talk about the style of "Big Game Bob" Stoops and his aggressive coaching style. Now that Arizona has Stoops, I love that style of coaching. Case in point: 4-2 on the Iowa 23 yard line in the 2nd quarter with the Cats trailing 14-10. Stoops does a fake FG. Unfortunately, Keenyn Crier isn't a running back and forgot to follow his blockers. Should have been a first down and may have changed the game in Arizona's favor. I loved it.

4)Who is the #1 player on D that Cal fans should worry about?

Ricky Elmore. This guy is a beast. He has 28 tackles on the year but has 7.5 sacks and applies pressure like crazy. He also has a crazy mullet. Your tackles better be ready for him or it's going to be a long day.

5)Who would you like to punch in the face and why?

Each and every person that writes a check at the grocery store. No exceptions.

6. Early on, it seemed like Mike Stoops was about two steps from getting canned at Arizona. For now, at least, it looks like he's got the Wildcats going in the right direction. Is Stoops the Younger in Tucson for the long haul?

I think after this latest run and the recruiting class he put together in 2009, Stoops is here to stay. Unfortunately, as college football goes, he will always be looking for a bigger stage until he finds the right fit. I am not 100% convinced that Stoops will stay in Arizona. I just believe that he will not get fired. He is slowly building a reputable program that is a lot of fun to watch and is starting to compete at the top of the Pac-10 again. We all hope that this is his home for a long time.

Season Riding On How The Wind Blows?

AndyPanda — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:39:10 -0000

Amidst all the issues swirling around Beaver Nation lately, the swirling that matters as much as any is the actual swirling the wind is doing.

The wind was a major factor in Las Vegas, so much so it was a game changer, and nearly an outcome changer. Mike Parker repeatedly brought the issue up in his game and post-game coverage.

Back home at Reser to play the Cincinnati Bearcats, the wind was blowing in, funneled between the Valley Football Center and Gill Coliseum, and as a result, blowing right into the southeast end zone. So hard, I noted when I first walked into the stadium, and was hit full force by it, that the wind would again be a big factor.

Sure enough, Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike did all his damage working with the wind. And against the Arizona Wildcats, it was even more pronounced.

Much has correctly been made of the impact that Arizona punter Keenyn Crier had, dropping three punts inside the Beaver 5 yard line, plus a couple of touchbacks. And a lightly covered topic was why the more explosive James Rodgers wasn't back to return the last couple of punts, deferring to Taylor Kavanaugh, considered the more sure ball handler.

It seems Rodgers was lifted for Kavanaugh in large part due to being less comfortable with the cross-flow of the coverage, especially a large lineman. But then a misjudgement by the more experienced Kavanaugh, who is no where near the breakaway threat Rodgers is, contributed to the ultimate outcome of one of those game-changing punts.

The view from the endzone

In defense of both Rodgers, Kavanaugh, that wind was wicked. Most fans in the stadium, the coaches until they look at tape shot from the end-zone postgame, and everyone watching on television, don't see anything that gives them any idea of just how much of an effect the wind was having. But when viewed from about the same perspective James and Taylor had, with the ball traveling left to right about as much as it went down field, and not on anything close to a straight line, the challenge of reading the ball really becomes evident.

Further, successful returns are based on getting up field, and fast, while drifting laterally not only eliminates forward momentum, it makes you a sitting duck.

That can't be used as an excuse, after all, these are Pac-10 grade kick returners. However, it does bring up the strategic issue of accounting for the wind, and making choices at the start of halves mindful of the impact of the wind in the fourth quarter. Perhaps taking the wind instead of the ball?

Because regardless of one's position on the "Sean vs. Lyle" question, or the issues with play calling or the offensive line, there is no question that a minimum of 100 yards of field position, no safety, and five more opportunities to have James Rodgers running loose in the open with the ball, would have had a significant impact on the Arizona game. Regardless of whether it's Sean, Lyle, or KEJO radio analyst Jon Warren, at quarterback.

Field position and play calling also have a profound affect on the defense, including its issues with QB pressure, the linebacker assignments, and the much-discussed secondary, too.

When a team is really good, or really bad, lots of things don't spill over to impact other areas of the team, program, etc. They all still do affect each other, just not enough to make game changing differences. Right now though, with games going down to the end, and seemingly every aspect of Beaver football operating on the edge, everything ripples thru.

In a year where the Pac-10 is wide open, no one should need reminded of the financial cross-campus and cross-conference impacts of each win on TV and bowl deals either.

In the next few weeks, significant developments are coming in all these hotly debated aspects of Beaver football. Some probably with better results (from the Beavers' perspective) than others. And when the people being paid 6 & 7 figure salaries, us media types paid considerably less, and Beaver (and other Pac-10) fans footing the bill all start to analyze the "Why did it work out the way it did?" question, it might be largely due to which way the wind was blowing.

Grading the Cats: Arizona vs. Oregon State

joenewby4040 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:02:30 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

2 months ago: Arizona's Greg Nwoka (28) goes in to score while Oregon State's Tim Clark defends during the first half of their NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Corvallis, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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Hi everyone. I'm Joe Newberry. I run a blog called azdesertswarm.com. I used to write for this football team that was boring and frustrating to watch. Last week, our coach decided to try out this new guy and let me tell you what. He's badass.

Seriously. Did y'all see Foles run this game? He was in control the entire time. He has an absolute cannon for an arm and enough mobility to create when there is pressure. Time after time Foles took snaps and had plenty of time to thread the needle to receivers running great routes. When the pressure was coming via a blitz or stunt, he was able to scramble enough to get the open look.

Arizona took on a new look on Saturday as well, running the "I" formation with Chris Gronkowski at a true fullback position and running plenty of play action to freeze over zealous linebackers. The Cats also threw at least 6 "smoke screens" which were not possible last week due to Matt Scott's weak arm. This play proved effective all night and only went for negative yards on one occasion.

Quarterbacks: First play of the game: wide receiver screen. Typical Texas Tech play. I love it. Not only was it effective, but it displayed the arm of Foles beautifully with a TV shot down the line of scrimmage. Foles is the man. He made good decisions all night and was methodical in his receiver selection hitting 9 different receivers while racking up 254 yards on 25-34 and 0 interceptions. His ability to stand in the pocket and find the open receiver is like night and day from Matt Scott. He also showed flashes of mobility enabling him to bypass a sack and find receivers coming back to for completions. Grade: A

Running Backs: Losing Grigsby was tough, but it only lasted for a second. Keoli Antolin came in and immediately filled the void, making Beaver defenders guess which way he was going all the way until he got hurt. Antolin needs more carries as these two are truly two different types of runners. Oregon State looked lost trying to wrep up Antolin. Greg Nwoko looked solid as well. His first carry of the game was for a 19 yard TD. Nwoko filled in nicely gaining 44 yards on 9 carries. Antolin had 12 carries for 46 yards before departing with an injury. Nwoko was also a dual threat on the night grabbing 4 catches for 76 yards including a 52 yard grab in the third quarter on a screen pass from Foles. Nick Booth filled in on one play and had some incredible cuts to get 12 yards on the play. Grade: A-

Offensive Line: The offensive line played decent on pass protection, not allowing a sack all night. Their run blocking wasn't as good as usual (CMU or NAU). Hmmm. I think I'm seeing a pattern here. Although we gained 137 yards on the ground, we did it on 33 carries (4.15 ypg). They came through big at the end of the game giving Foles time even in the face of OSU coming at them with stunts and blitzes as they tried anything to get into Foles' face. It wasn't happening. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers: The Cats displayed five wide a couple of times on Saturday night which proved to be a successful venture. David Douglas had 5 catches for 52 yards in the game, three coming in the first drive. Dean is amazing on the fade and Arizona even utilized this play on 2nd and 8 from their own 6 yard line. The Cats used it in the third quarter as well to Juron Criner and it was pretty. This is not new for Foles, as he threw his only TD pass against Iowa on a fade. Now that's confidence in your QB to get the ball where it needs to be. Dean just makes DB's look silly. FYI, the fly sweep to Dean does not work. Stop trying it. The Cats wide receivers are some of the best blocking WR's i've seen in a long time. Each of them gets on their guy and engages so well it's unreal. Grade: B+

Defensive Line: Ricky Elmore and Earl Mitchell each had 2 sacks on the night while D'Aundre Reed and Lolomana Mikaele each had 1/2 a sack on the night. Lolomana Mikaele started on Saturday night over Horton Donald Horton. Smart move. Horton was unable to provide any push against Iowa and wasn't quick enough on the ball to get into RB's in the backfield. I thought Mikaele was a nice change that defensive coordinator Mark Stoops made. Kudos for pulling a starter when they're not doing their job. Grade: B

Linebackers: The linebackers had an off night, often times trying to find Jacquizz Rogers hiding behind offensive linemen. Although the backers filled well, they weren't able to make play and didn't record one tackle for loss all night. Vuna Tuihalamaka led the group with 6 tackles and 6 assists for 12 on the night, tying Devin Ross who chipped in 12 as well. Other than that, it was kind of a disappointing night for this crew. Grade: C+

Secondary: Can you believe that first TD for Oregon State? What a crock. That was one of the luckiest plays I have ever seen. That ball was tipped 3 times. Trevin Wade picked up his fourth interception of the year showing an incredible burst of speed to close on the come back route and take one away from OSU. The Cats secondary gave up 303 yards of passing on 31-47 while picking off 2 passes. Devin Ross had an incredible night with 12 tackles and 1 pass break up. Oh yeah, let's not forget that he was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week. Overall, OSU exploited the Cats secondary and more experienced teams will have a field day. Without Ross, this would be an entire letter lower. Grade: B

(Special Teams MVP)

Special Teams: Zendejas was perfect on the night hitting all 5 extra points. He had no field goal attempts on the night. I'll take it. His kickoffs traveled an average of 60.5 yards and he got 1 touchback. Our kickoff coverage is still weak and OSU's quickness killed us. Keenyn Crier had an awesome night hitting 5 punts for an average of 45 yards a piece. His real gem was in the fourth quarter when he punted 65 yards from his own 29 yard line and pinned OSU on their own 3. Just a few minutes later he kicked another 62 yarder, pinning the Beavers on their own 3 again. And if you didn't watch it, he pinned OSU on their 3 once more right before Arizona got a safety to close it out. Great game young man. Grade: A

Grading the Cats: Arizona vs. Iowa

joenewby4040 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:37:40 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

3 months ago: Iowa's Adrian Clayborn, left, knocks the ball out of the hand of Arizona quarterback Nick Foles (8) during the second half of this NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Arizona recovered the fumble as Iowa won 27-17. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Arizona fell to Iowa this past week in un-dramatic fashion falling 27-17 in Iowa City. The Cats defense kept them in this game for as long as they could but the offensive output was too weak to give them a chance. Let's dive into the grades.

Quarterbacks: Matt Scott looked lost. Period. Scott finished 4-14 for 50 yards and an INT. He was ineffective to say the least. Scott had 47 yards on the day on 7 carries; however, 27 of those yards came on his first attempt. He was stopped cold the rest of the game. Scott's inability to move the offense has cost him the starting job this week at Oregon State. He was unable to find the open man, held on to the ball too long, and looked terrible trying to throw on the run. His goal line passes were atrocious. Nick Foles couldn't muster much offense either throwing 6-11 for 55 yards and a TD. His opportunities were limited by the time it got to him. There was no chance for rushing anymore and he still managed to get a score. Foles TD throw to Criner was PERFECT. Can't wait until next week. Grade: F

Running Backs: Did y'all see Grigsby's run in the 2nd quarter? Great speed, lateral movement and cuts to the outside. Keoli also put in a nice run in the fourth quarter that led to our offensive touchdown. The RB's didn't have many holes to fit through the entire game and still churned out a respectable amount of yards. Grigsby seems to do everything right from catching the ball out of the backfield to picking up blitzers. Grade: B

Wide Receivers: Great job blocking guys. Criner's grab on the TD was impressive and hopefully we will throw it to the big fella more. Everyone else did great on their routes and blocking, the passes just weren't there. What else is there to say? We only completed 10 passes. Grade: B

Offensive Line: As much as I loved watching Adam Grant play against CMU, he had such a terrible game against Iowa it makes me sick. He single handedly let Grigsby get blown up on the first play from scrimmage on the 2 in the second quarter. The pass protection was decent, Scott just couldn't make good choices. The run blocking across the board was sub-par. Grigsby was running for his life for most of the game when heading outside and hitting nothing but big bodies on the inside. The only reason Grigsby got any yards all night was because of his athletic ability (sans the long run in the first.) Grade: C+

Defensive Ends: I usually grade the Cats as a Defensive line unit, but there was nothing about the ends and the interior linemen that looked the same on Saturday. Ricky Elmore and Brooks Reed provided pressure all day against Iowa's QB, Ricky Stanzi. Elmore's speed and agility are nightmares for offensive tackles. He caused an intentional grounding in the first half. These guys have played incredible all year and are the reason that Arizona will be in more games than not. Grade: A-

(Our defensive tackles had a sub par game on Saturday)

Defensive Tackles: Welcome to the real schools that actually have offensive linemen. Earl Mitchell had an average game. He had two and a half tackles for loss and a half of a sack. He looked pretty quick off the ball as well Donald Horton, not so much. He was continually beat down throughout the entire game. No wonder they ran for 133. It felt like more. Maybe it's time to bring in Jonathan Hollins or some other guys to see if we can't get some push. Grade: C

Defensive Backs: Trevin Wade is the man. He got his third interception on the year and took it back for a score in the first quarter. The rest of the secondary looked pretty good to me. Cam Nelson had a good game and was flagged for a pass interference call that was pretty weak. Devin Ross and Robert Golden put in solid games as well. Grade: B+

Special Teams: Gotta love the fake field goal. Who is the guy who couldn't get two yards through that hole? Keenyn Crier. Are you kidding me? RUN THE BALL WHERE THE HOLE IS. That should have been 4 yards no problem. Oh well. On to the real special teams. Kickoffs were decent. Field goals 1-1. Punt average: 38.2, not great, but not bad. Overall, I'll take it. The kicking game wasn't as much of a factor as I thought it was going to be. David Douglas didn't have too many chances to return many balls but when he did, he ran right into black and yellow jerseys. Wow. Grade: B

Quick Hits September 3, 2009

Smooty — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:46:29 -0000

Football is finally here. Not for the Cats, but a huge road game for Pac-10 foe, Oregon. Enjoy the game tonight. Only two more days until Arizona kicks this thing off.

One Arizona senior left Central Michigan in a snap two years ago.

The Arizona athletic department lost someone who touched a lot of lives there.

More quick hits after the jump!

Ted Miller ranks the Pac-10 punters. Arizona punter Kennyn Crier is ranked second, even though he averaged more yards per kick last season than first-ranked Bryan Anger of California. Miller must think Anger had one hell of an offseason training program. My money is on Crier once again leading the Pac. Last year he kicked with back problems, and was never full-strength. Crier may end up being one of Arizona's most valuable weapons with his ability to pin opponents deep.

Miller also picks this week's games (not against the spread). WILDABOUTAZCATS.com also picks this week's games.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat unveiled its annual football guide.

Wednesday's Wildcat News Around the Web

Smooty — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:48:45 -0000

This is a new feature here at Desert Swarm featuring Wildcat news from around the interwebs. Check back every day for all the Wildcat news we can round up before our morning coffee kicks in.

First-year players reported to the McKale Center Tuesday to receive their football gear. And for the first time since Mackovic's Reign of Putridity ended, these players have hopes of using said gear well into December, or (gasp) January. Well, maybe not January yet. [Arizona Daily Star]

Wildcat Sports Report breaks down the special teams for the Cats this season. Keenyn Crier is back; Alex Zendejas' uncle once kicked for the Cats (pedigree matters apparently); and Bug Wright and Keola Antolin should make headhunters dizzy returning kickoffs and punts. [Wildcat Sports Report]

Potential Wildcat field general, Matt Scott, got some fresh ink this off-season. Scott's new tatto adorning his right arm, M-A-R-S, are his initials. Or he is just really into astronomy. Also, Stoops and Co. have already signed eight players to the class of 2010, including five offensive lineman. One of the offensive lineman is 6'8''. Here's betting 6'0'' quarterback recruit Richard Morrison has some trouble finding a passing lane over that guy. [Recruiting Roundup | Arizona Daily Star]