SB Nation - Travon Patterson

GameDay New and Notes

Paragon SC — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:00:20 -0000

It is hard to say just how much USC will open up the playbook if Matt Barkley isn't able to chuck the ball down field. Clearly USC's problems on offense last weekend against UW made a lot of people take notice and scratch their heads.

Today's game against Washington St. is the perfect medicine to try and get things back on track. But lets be honest here...The spread is 45+ plus points, WSU is still rebuilding even though they had an inspiring win last weekend. USC will not cover the spread but they don't have to. SC just needs to have a solid game tonight. They need to protect Matt Barkley, they need to protect the ball and they need to get the bad taste of last weeks loss out of their mouth. We have been down this road before...there is no difference between last week, OSU in 2008 and 'furd in 2007.

SC just needs to get back on their horse and ride...

So, lets start with some news about the defense specifically Taylor Mays. It was announced earlier this week that Mays would start this weekend.

[a] day after announcing that Barkley would start Saturday night against Washington State despite a sore shoulder, Coach Pete Carroll on Thursday made a similar call regarding Mays, who is recovering from a knee sprain.

"He's ready to go," Carroll said.

Mays, though, said it was "50-50," and that it might be a game-time decision.

"I think I'm going to play unless something goes wrong," he said.

Just another day with the 12th-ranked Trojans, who are trying to rebound from last week's 16-13 upset loss at Washington and the free-fall in the polls that followed.

Neither Barkley nor Mays played in the defeat at Seattle because of injuries suffered in USC's Sept. 12 victory at Ohio State.

Mays, wearing a brace on his right knee, participated in most drills Thursday after sitting out early in the week.

"I don't feel rusty at all," he said. "I actually feel good, feel refreshed. Like I had a bye week."

Of course there were some questioning this move because they thought Mays should sit out another week to get ready for Cal because they expect an easy win against WSU.

Again, I am not going to question the moves of the coaching staff...they have far more information and insight that any of us do. Mays at 50-50 is better than no Mays at all. Not having him on the field last week, especially on that last UW drive was telling as some of the new faces in the secondary who have moved up the depth chart are still feeling their way through.

The linebackers will see Jordan Campbell get his first start replacing the injured Malcom Smith...

Campbell, a third-year sophomore, said this week that he worked diligently to harness his desire to freelance on the field, a flaw that prevented coaches from trusting him to carry out assignments.

"When I first came in to USC, I'd see the ball and just want to go fly and make the play," he said. "You have to realize, at the end of the day, that you have to fall back sometimes.

"I learned to slow down."

Shane Horton will back up Campbell at the weakside spot.

Luthur Brown did not practice because of back soreness, and his status for Saturday's game is questionable, Carroll said.

Uh...Brown needs to sit for a bit after celebrating last weekend in the face of defeat. Spicer too. I just wanted to throw that in there.

Nick Perry who has been an absolute monster out there will start tonight. Perry is tied for the lead in sacks in the Pac-10 and is 7th nationally. That is impressive for a redshirt freshman!

I really can't complain about the defense. They have some injury issues in the secondary but the front seven has really played lights out. They got us into position to win in Columbus and they were asked to keep us in the game time and again in Seattle. Sure they were not able to stop that lst drive but you expect them to make every play.

- - -

As for the offense...

If Barkley is able to get the ball down the field look for a couple of new targets for him to throw to.

One is freshman wide receiver De'Von Flournoy...

De’Von Flournoy flashed big-time playmaking ability during training camp. Play-caller Jeremy Bates liked what he saw of Flournoy this week.

"He’s had a real good week," Bates said. "He had great one-on-ones (Tuesday), and he’s out there with the ones running some routes. We’re looking forward to getting him in."

Coach Pete Carroll recognizes Flournoy’s talent but still isn’t sure he knows the offense well enough to be a major contributor at this point. It isn’t for lack of trying, on both ends.

"We are really forcing it down his throat almost with everything that we can throw at him to get him ready and try to find a role that he can fit," Carroll said. "He’s a playmaker. We can already sense that in the work that he has given us. He’s just a long way behind, and he’s unsure of himself. You can’t play fast if you are unsure of yourself.

"The coaches are feeling better about him, and he has been studying like crazy. He stays out here late and all that stuff.

USC needs a deep speed threat with RoJo out. Ausberry is not the answer and it looks like that Travon Patterson is never going to see the field at this point in any significant capacity.

Another weapon we might see tonight is Cameron Jordan...

junior wide receiver Jordan Cameron (Newbury Park High) met with USC coach Pete Carroll this week to discuss his shrinking role with the Trojans. Cameron contended for the No. 3 wide receiver spot in training camp but did not even make the travel squad for last week's game at Washington.

"He's been quiet," Carroll said. "He's working hard and all. I said something in our staff meeting about him. We haven't dug very deep in our ranks."

Cameron said he was pleased with the meeting.

"(Carroll) said I'm close to getting on the field but I need to show more, make the right reads and block the right people," Cameron said.
"That's what he said and I have to believe him. He said every receiver should be talking to him because our passing game is not balanced with our running game."

We'll see...if Barkley can't throw it down field with any significant results it won't matter. Heck, I could suit up and be just a effective.

- - -

Gary Klein points out seven issues surrounding USC right now...

The Trojans, as they always do after stumbling against previously unranked conference opponents, are expected to rebound tonight with a victory over Washington State, a 45 1/2 -point underdog at the Coliseum.

Beyond that, the only thing that can be said with certainty about the Trojans is this: They have issues.

At least seven of them.

They might not show up against the undermanned Cougars, but they must be resolved before the Trojans head off to play October road games at California, Notre Dame and Oregon -- before this turns into possibly the worst season under Pete Carroll since the Trojans' 6-6 finish in 2001.

Not that USC's players, accustomed to 11- and 12-win seasons, can fathom that scenario.

Winning will cure some of these as it will build confidence..I am not really going to belabor the points that Klein points out.

The more important thing I need to see is how SC comes out after last weekends loss. Unfortunately they have been down this road before...

Any way we will see how it goes!

Here are some links...

Brad Budde: USC Offense Needs Identity –
Interesting take...

USC freshman transitions with playing career cut short - Rivals.com
Great article on Frankie!!

The Skinny: Efficiency and Improved Passing Game Key vs. Cougars - TrojanWire

USC Trojans can't afford loses as long as Pac-10 prejudice exists - George Schroeder - SI.com
I may look at this a little more later

I will have more later and a game thread up this evening...

Final thoughts on the win over Oregon

Paragon SC — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:00:06 -0000

The frustration that the defense felt after the Oregon St. game had to be tremendous. Yes the D line got pushed around and there was some lack luster play due to just mailing it in but SC still had issues trying to stop Rogers. When you cant see them coming its going to be tough to stop them but last night they saw what Oregon was going to do and after the Ducks scored their only TD the defense adjusted and they locked them down. Of course everything has to be in sync, so while it wasn’t a pretty performance in the early going SC figured it out and made it work. The adjustment was one that SC used against OSU but this time with D line standing its ground and getting penetration it worked and Oregon’s two running backs who thought that they were going to get 100 yards each didn’t do much at all.

The USC defense held Oregon, the top rushing team in the Pacific-10 Conference, to a meek 60 yards on the ground.

Or about 250 yards below the Ducks' average coming into the game.

The reason for those numbers was because of safety Kevin Ellison. His coming up and being the eighth man in the box went a long way to stiffing Oregon's running attack.

Ellison's presence as the "eighth man in the box" – the football term for the safety who joins the defensive linemen and linebackers for run-stopping duty – had a lot to do with USC shutting down Oregon's prolific ground attack Saturday night in a much-needed, 44-10, bounce-back victory.

Ellison was involved in a team-high 12 tackles – all in the first half, when the tenor was established and the game was decided. And no, it wasn't a case of Ellison cleaning up the mess left by others. He repeatedly crept up near the line of scrimmage to help absorb the blows from Oregon's 1-2 punch of Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount.

The two entered Saturday night's game averaging a combined 184.2 rushing yards per game.

They had just 35 in the first half, which ended with USC leading, 27-10.

When the advantage grew to 37-10 late in the third quarter, the Ducks had to abandon the run and play a game they didn't want to play.

The first half played out right in Ellison's comfort zone.

There were a lot of passes that should have been picked off last night once Oregon was forced into passing situations but none of it could have happened had the defense not put forth a superior effort when compared to the debacle in Corvallis.

The defense, once they settled in put up a pretty good performance and the "new look" that we saw due to injuries or previous poor performances didn't affect us for the worse. Good or bad, it was different not seeing Rey Rey in the game because of his injured knee. It was odd, but it also gave some of our depth a chance to step up and show what they can do. Cushing did a great job at MLB and Michael Morgan, before leaving the game with a concussion, played solid in his first start.

A team simply can't turn on a switch and say they going to get motivated they have to come into a game with a certain mind set. A team also can't get angry to the point of letting their anger get the best of them and negatively affect their play on the field, they have to sometimes just get back basics.

When they are at their best, the Trojans are all about balance on offense, but quarterback Mark Sanchez and his receivers will have to sync up better than they did in Corvallis to punish the Ducks.

If the Trojans do take out their frustrations on the Ducks, they may make a resonating statement to pollsters that it's premature to count the House of Troy out of the national title race just yet. Not that Carroll is interested in talking about rankings or big picture stuff like that.

Exactly, the outside noise is for us fans and the media, SC just needed to settle in and find its game. Some people seem to miss that, it isn't always pretty. As long as SC is working through their issues and getting positve results I can live with an average game in terms of performance especially after last week.

Look at Alabama, after smoking UGA they looked aboslutely pedestrian against Kentucky. Yes, UK was undefeated but with what I saw Alabama do to Clemson and UGA in the first half they are clearly ahead of schedule but they are not immune from average play. Heck, they looked pretty pedestrian in the second half of the UGA game.

I would love to see solid wins every game but the fact is it doesn't always happen and sometimes you have a lot of stinkers but still get the win. Some days style points work other days they don't.

One thing that stood out was USC's confidence on that 4th and 2 play where Williams scored his TD.

Saturday's fourth-and-two in USC's 44-10 win over Oregon could never, in terms of historic significance, match the other fourth-and-two.

The difference, though, was that this one worked for USC, and it was the key play in one of the more important bounce-back games Pete Carroll has faced in seven-plus seasons as the Trojans' coach.

USC was down, 10-3, in the second quarter, a week and two days removed from being down 21-0 in an ultimate Thursday night defeat at Oregon State.

The Trojans had to beat Oregon to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since a Washington-Stanford combo early in 2001 -- Carroll's first season.

But things weren't going well. A roughing the holder penalty on USC allowed Oregon to take a field goal off the scoreboard and trade it for a touchdown.

USC had first-and-goal from the six and had to settle for a field goal.

Then, down by a touchdown, USC faced fourth down at the Ducks' 34.

You knew Carroll was going for it -- he usually does.

Instead of a run, though, the coaching staff went for the kill.

Mark Sanchez found Damian Williams, wide open, streaking down the left crease and hit him on his No. 18 on the way to an easy touchdown.

"Beautiful call," Carroll said of Steve Sarkisian, his offensive coordinator. "But it wasn't one you make to make the first down."

I like the swagger of that play, it showed a lot of confidence that was missing last week.

You saw a little bit of it when Mustain came in as well. I wasn't happy with the INT he threw but I liked the play that was called as showed some aggressiveness on Sarkisian's part to try and get Mustain's confidence up. I actually thought it was a pretty good play by the defender more than it being a poor decision on Mustain's part. It wasn't his best performance there but he made up for it later on the TD to Ausberry. Speaking of Ausberry, he is absolutely huge! I would love to see him get some more touches. It was also nice to See Travon Patterson get into the game.

Let me briefly address the last TD that Mustain threw to Ausberry. I know Mike Bellotti was not happy about it and I can understand if it was the first team in there running up the score but this was the second and third stringers, at home, getting their chance to make some plays and show the staff what they've got. The game was well out of hand and the spread was covered so what's the difference. If it was on the road up at Autzen I could probably see his frustration.

so there are still some issues and kinks to work out but this had to be a big boost to SC's confidence. next week its ASU who is coming off a bad loss to Cal. I still think the Pac-10 is up for grabs...