A Look At The Stretch Run

OK, so the Beavers passed the trap game test. And we now have a road win. So where does that put us for the rest of the season?

This may be one of the hardest seasons to predict in Pac-10 history. I watched Arizona beat up on Cal in the second half of their game last night. Will the real Arizona please stand up? For that matter will the real ASU, Cal, and Oregon please stand up. Inconsistency is the only thing that is consistent about the upper tier teams this weekend.

OK, so we've gotten through the easiest stretch of our season and head into a bye before the stretch run.


What's next?


Arizona St.

Coming off of a bye week and it being in Corvallis, I think this is a winnable game. They are only averaging 334 ypg and 84 ypg on the ground. Of course, even with our experienced secondary we can still give up yards passing. Hopefully the bye week will help us figure things out. The defense gives up 143 ypg on the ground which can only help us. If we can pressure Rudy and run the ball, thus shortening the game, then we win.

UCLA

Another road game and we seem to have a lot of trouble beating UCLA the last few years. They are the team we just can't seem to beat. This could be a tough game. They aren't great offensively, but seem to pull out crazy wins and keep things close. They will also have a bye before meeting us which is scary. However, if there's a year to beat UCLA on the road, this is it. If we're a good team, we should win this game.


California

This is a scary game. They also seem to beat us in Corvallis and are pretty good this year. They are beatable, but they have a lot of talent on that field. Can we do it? Yes. Will we do it? I don't know. They give up 109 ypg on the ground so Lyle and James will need to be on this game. This game will determine whether we have a shot at a good bowl berth or not.

Arizona

On the road. Great defense. Scary. Its a game we could win but unless Tuitama gets hurt, it may be anther Utah type game. Very tough and they will be up for us. Too tough to call, but the game scares me.


Oregon

Can they throw? If not, they will be in trouble. Its still too early to call, but its looking to be a classic as both teams will be good again. Man, I want 3 in a row.



Our chances are good, but this is a tough road ahead. This could be special!

Go Beavs

Husky Game - Review Of The 2007 Debacle

It took a while to shake the Husky bug for us Beavers. Even in our greatest season (2001) we lost to the Huskies. It wasn't until Alexis Serna came along that we really started to beat UW. Now we're on a 4 game win streak.

So can we bring back Serna? How about a look-alike from the soccer team? Probably don't need him this year.

The only reason this game remotely gives me pause is:

A) Its a road game

B) The Huskies have been wanting to get us back for last year

C) They may just get pumped up enough to start out fast


Can we make sure we don't get those refs from last year?


Here's a few videos from last year to get you pumped up for the game:

Lyle's block:



The WORST CALL EVER



Why they're pissed



Looking again at that hit, it really wasn't bad. He was just trying to wrap Locker up and Jake put his helmet down into a dangerous position. Jake was the one leading with the helmet.


Hopefully nobody gets hurt and was take control quickly so that the game doesn't get out of control.



Go Beavs!

Game Day! Wazzu meets Beavers as 30 point dogs

It feels like its been forever since the Beavers have had a game. All I want to see today is the same determination that we've had the last three weeks along with better execution. Just keep getting better and make a statement like we did against Hawaii. Don't give them a chance.

That's it. Execute, play hard, and a couple of big plays.


Go Beavs!

Utah Shocks OSU, Special Teams Still a Problem

Skocked. I can't believe we lost that game. It felt exactly like a midseason game of the last two years where we take a few shots and come out victorious in the end. Well, maybe Alexsis Serna was the reason for that.

The kicking game hurt us bad in that game. Missing an extra point is almost unforgivable. And that sent us on a spiral of 2-point tries that were unsuccessful (which by the way I hope we never do again.). There could have been redemption by hitting a 42 yard field goal in the second half (almost automatic for Serna), but nope.

I think the coaches have to take a little blame on this one. Going for two twice was not necessary. In fact, make one of those extra points and we're up by one and they might have onsides kicked or at least we would have had the opportunity to run the clock out with one first down. Also, the final drive clock management was poor. Just get to OT. Why give them enough time to drive down and get a FG? Especially when you know our punter isn't going to rip off a 60 yard punt. I mean, we were on the 20! Are we going to drive 80 yards (or 60 for a FG) on that defense in 90 seconds?

And to the Ute fans who rushed the field, get over yourselves. You narrowly missed being upset on national TV. You're #15, you should win games at home against unranked opponents. Just because you beat the team that beat USC doesn't mean you beat USC. That might be the worst reason to rush the field in college fooball history. Way to go Ute fans, you proved you're not one of the "big boys". In big boy football we only rush the field when we beat someone in the top 10 in the nation (and we're not in the top 10).


I can't believe we lost that game.

Jake Locker Wants To Play Defense and OSU v. Utah

This from the train wreck that Husky football is becoming:

’It is possible’ Locker could find himself in a new role for Huskies - The Tacoma News-Tribune

However, Locker might be able to return more quickly as a safety, linebacker or tailback, and UW football coach Tyrone Willingham did not rule that out Monday. “It is possible,” Willingham said. “I couldn’t tell you where right now, but I think I said, and others have said, that he is a tremendous athlete with the ability to play five, six, seven positions.”

If Coach Willingham plays his best player on defense, he is crazy. In fact, even if he's not fired immediately (and its pretty clear that he's probably gone after this season) will he have any chance of being hired elsewhere?

I say no.

This isn't 1960 when people played both ways full time. This is 2008 where Jake Locker is not only an NFL prospect, but an MLB prospect. He stands to lose his future livelyhood if he gets unlucky and say injures a shoulder, elbow or rotator cuff by doing something as simple as making a tackle.

Don't do it Ty. Its a career killer.

---

Oregon State at Utah. Most prognosticators are calling a Utah win. The line is Utah to win by 10-12. All of that is good for the Beavers. We will not overlook Utah. Rather than over-confidence from a big win all we will get is confidence.

Does that mean we win? I don't know but I think our chances are good. Its going to be a battle. If we can continue the strong defense and not succumb to the inevitable trick play, then we should be able to keep it close. Brian Johnson is a little proned to interceptions. That would be big if we could get an INT or two.

I can't wait for this game!

Go Beavs!

OSU 27, USC 21: Our #1 is Better Than Your #1

(AP Photo/Steve Slocum)

#1 Jaquizz Rodgers (and the entire O-Line and blocking scheme) > #1 USC.

What a night, what a game. This was nearly total domination in the first half. This was taking their best shot and coming back and winning anyways. This is a HOME WINING STREAK against USC!

This one feels different than 06. I can't tell if I'm more in shock or find it less hard to believe. The hype was so huge about USC that I figured lightning couldn't strike twice. Plus, we started so slow in the season. But I'll be damned, we're hitting our stride early this year. The Utah game is big next week.

Can I get a "I heart Quizz Rodgers" shirt up in here?! Dude never went down on the first hit. He made nothing plays into 5 yard gains, OK plays into 10 yard gains, and frustrated the USC 'D' all game. This wasn't trickery, this was up the gut, in your face, I'm better than you game plan. I LOVED IT. Our best play was up the gut. Everyone was blocking lights out. James Rodgers was sealing awesome for the cut-back, I saw Sammie level Ellison on one play, and even Quizz was pass blocking great.

If we win next week, win all our games in October, then we could be setup for a magical stretch run in November with the best teams at home and when we are at our best. Maybe a 2000 type run?! Damn, I sound like a Duck fan.

Woooo Hooooo! Where's the Tylenol!

Go Beavs!

Quote of the game:

"I am just beside myself," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. "They didn't hide what they were doing, they just did it and we couldn't stop it."

Here's some great post-game stuff:

USC postgame - Cliff Kirkpatrick Blog

Quizz Show: Jaquizz Rodgers and Oregon State's Domination of USC Analyzed - FanDome

Oregon State highlights vs. USC (9.25.08) - YouTube

Beavers' new Quizz show stumps and thumps USC - John Canzano

Thursday Night Lights - Bob Welch

USC Game - Not A Sell-Out?!

This is hard for me to fathom:

Beavers fans ready for big-game atmosphere - Gazette-Times

There are still about 4,000 general admission tickets left to purchase for the game. They are the $75 variety. All the club seats are sold out.

So the students line up around the block to pick up tickets, but Beaver Nation has left 4000 gen admin tickets on the table? For USC? The #1 team in the nation?

I guess there are more pessimists in Beaver Nation than I thought. Who cares if we lose big. We're expected to as evidenced by the 25 point spread. But would you want to miss beating a #1 for the second time ever? Or how about having a home winning streak against SC?

Come on people. Get your butts in the stands and watch this game!


Go Beavs!

Sometimes Bye Weeks Are Great For Fans Too

The Beavers had a nice weekend to relax, heal, and prepare for USC this week. That can only be good when coming off of an easy win last weekend. Hopefully the coaches see something in the film they can exploit. And hopefully our defense has become experienced and confident enough to take a shot at the best team in the conference.

Sometimes bye weeks are good for the fans too. We get to do some errands, yard work, and watch the other teams around the league/nation. This week I watched the most Oregon football I've seen since Civil War last year. My only complaint about the UO vs BSU game is that the Broncos let the Ducks back into it. BSU was in total control at the end of the 3rd quarter. Although that new freshman did look pretty good in the pocket. Of course, the way Duck QBs go down it only a matter of time.

After watching OSU lose to Boise St. twice on the road over the last few years (then having to hear Duck fans talk about it) that game made the bye week a little better. Hell, a lot better. I'm still smiling. Just remember Duckies, we never lost to the Broncos at home.


Go Beavs!

Weekend Recap...Defense - check...Forced Turnovers - check...Blow Out - check

I went to the game last weekend and despite it being the hottest football game in recent memory, it was a pretty good game to get Beaver Nation's hopes up for USC.

When I walked into that stadium I wanted to see a few things from the Beavs. Better defense, force defensive turnovers, better special teams, and domination.

Three out of four isn't bad. Id say other than the first drive, our defense was great. The interceptions were huge because we're gonna need those in the next two games. And by dominating a lesser team (like we should have done vs. Stanford) we got back some confidence and maybe a touch of swagger that we sorely need against USC. The special teams were a mixed bag. Great return phase. Not so great on the kicking side of things.


On to a bye week, then USC. And boy do they look good. Our only hope is that they come in overconfident and we get 3-4 early breaks and we capitalize on them. If we can keep it close and build momentum for Utah, that is the key. We need to take down Utah like we did Cal last year. That could be the lynchpin if this season. Especially since many teams are looking vulnerable in the Pac-10 (and some downright bad). Man, I wish we could play Stanford again.

Penn St. Rolls Beavers

Well, I was afraid that this would happen. The Beavers go back east again and play the part. It doesn't matter if its an up and coming team like Boise St, Fresno St, or Cincinnati (maybe Utah?) or an established power like LSU or Penn St. The Beavers have only played competitively in maybe 2 games on the road against decent out of conference teams in the last decade.

I'm beginning to think this early season slow start thing is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If people (press, fans) are always asking about how you're going to start fast and why do you start slow, then you start to believe it. And it becomes a wall for the players and maybe worse, the coaches.

Conservative game planning may not be the way to break the cycle. Perhaps we need to shake things up a bit. Throw the ball down field. Have a drive where all you do is fly sweep and run sweep. Go for it on 4th down. Fake punt. Blitz like crazy.

Or maybe the anwser is to just schedule weaker. Only get teams you can go home at home. Kansas went to a BCS game with a weak schedule. We went in 2001 with a weak OOC schedule. When you play all 9 other Pac-10 teams, do we really need to schedule another BCS opponent? Why not get Minnesota or Vandy to play us?

No matter what the Beavers come home this weekend. Let's make sure they get this win because we need some momentum to pull off our game 5 upset that we always seem to do. Be loud and ready to cheer on a win. Its early. The good thing about our self-fulfilling prophesy is that every also tells us we finish strong. The players and coaches believe it and they can do it with the schedule that we have.

Time to start the strong finish. Go Beavs!

Game Preview from a Zombie

Zombie Nation came back with his own thoughts on the game. Check them out in full here:

Preview, Game 2: No. 19 Penn State vs. Oregon State - Zombie Nation

Why PSU will win -- The rushing game: If Stanford can rip off 210 yards against Oregon State, then Penn State shouldn’t have too much trouble. But this week, PSU has to be ready for a team that’s no Coastal Carolina. OSU has won at least nine games two years in a row, and won its last two bowl games. But OSU did lose to Stanford. Penn State will need to keep the ball as long as possible this week, with the suspensions on defense. Special Teams: It’s supposed to rain, a lot. If so, this one can come right down to the special teams play. I’m guessing Kevin Kelly will hit one of two this week, but the return games and punting will be stellar. Even if AJ Wallace doesn’t play (I think he will), Penn State should enjoy great field position on a soggy field.

Why OSU will win -- Turnovers: Get Penn State out of its groove early, and this one could go Oregon State’s way in a hurry. And now with the PSU suspensions, OSU will be looking for every way to take advantage. With slippery conditions possible, look for the OSU defenders to constantly rip for the ball. I’m not sure OSU can go toe-to-toe with PSU if it turns into a shootout, but the Beavers would love for it to come to that. The Passing Game: Oregon State was reduced to chucking the ball around once behind at Stanford. This week, Mike Riley already said the key will be balance. But I really think the balance for OSU will come from the passing game. Get the PSU secondary nice and soft, then send a few runs right at the depleted PSU defensive line. It’s a tough task, even if the PSU defense will be watered down, but not entirely impossible.

What will happen: I just don’t see PSU losing this game. But OSU will scare the hell out of PSU fans. Once PSU pulls away from a tight game, ESPN will talk more about the recent off-the-field issues, instead of the game itself. Daryll Clark will look great again, but the running game will be even better. The defense will be surprisingly stout, but not by PSU standards. The PSU wideouts will shine.

Prediction: No. 19 Penn State, 38 - Oregon State, 24

Problems at PSU...Does this help the Beavers?

Penn St. has just announced that 4 players will not be playing the Beavers this weekend. Included in the list is starting defensive end and All-America candidate Maurice Evans. In addition, a starting defensive tackle, Abe Koroma, will miss the game. A backup TE and CB were also suspended.

Penn State suspends three players, dismisses another - Philadelphia Daily News

Although no charges have been filed and Lt. Bill Moerschbacher, a Penn State campus police spokesman, said the investigation is ongoing, coach Joe Paterno suspended starting defensive end and All-America candidate Maurice Evans, starting defensive tackle Abe Koroma and backup tight end Andrew Quarless for the 19th-ranked Nittany Lions' game tomorrow against Oregon State in Beaver Stadium.

The fourth player living in the apartment, cornerback A.J. Wallace, was absolved of blame by Paterno, at least for now.

The suspensions of three key players overshadowed the announcement that reserve cornerback Willie Harriott, a redshirt junior cornerback and special-teams player from New Haven, Conn., had been dismissed from the team for an undisclosed reason. Harriott had not been in Paterno's good graces since he was cited for underage drinking in August 2007.

So does all this help the Beavers? I think the answer is clearly yes. Anytime you lose an All-American candidate, it has an effect. My guess is that Penn State is pretty deep at many positions so they should have someone serviceable in there. To lose half your D-line which is considered a strength...it could be good for the Beavs. More time for the Lyle and perhaps more running room.



Go Beavs!

Oregon State at Penn St.: Why the Beavers Will Win (Or Lose)

With a relaxing Labor Day weekend to recover from the gut wrenching loss to Stanford, its time to forget the past and look to the future. The future makes me nervous. Penn St. was dominant over Coastal Carolina and its a long trip out to Happy Valley. Can we pull off an LSU type game, but with a win? Or will we continue our east coast blowout streak?

Zombie Nation asked a couple of questions, and here are my answers.

Three reasons OSU will win...

1. Oregon State's run defense. Last season the Beavers run defense allow 899 yards for the entire season. There were a lot of graduations, but the current starters all rotated in heavily last year and are pretty experienced. In addition, senior safety Al Afalava is back for the Penn St. game and he is a big hitter who helps out a ton in the run game.

Oregon State has seen a lot of spread in Oregon, a little in Washington, and Utah over the last couple of years. We know how to defend it and have defended it pretty well. Our defensive speed is good. So the Spread HD can be contained.

If Oregon State can hold Penn St. to around 100-150 yards, then they should be winning the game.

2. Coach Riley and the players thrive on these big games. The Beavers gave LSU all they could handle and should have won the game. Riley has yet to lose a bowl game. They beat #2 Cal away last year and USC the year before to snap their big winning streak. I think the players will be pumped and ready to show the nation their stuff. If they get out to an early lead, then they can win.

3. Forcing turnovers. Last year Oregon State had 24 interceptions and 4 for TDs. They have the secondary back and guys who are ball hawks. After forcing no turnovers against Stanford, turnovers will be a point of emphasis and guys will be stripping and looking for the INT. If OSU has a +2 turnover margin or better, they will beat the Nittany Lions.


Three reasons OSU will lose...

1. Turnovers. In all of the Beavers big losses the last few years, turnovers are the culprit. Interceptions, fumbles, and crazy touchbacks. Cincy killed us on takeaways. Louisville and Boise St. all picked us off at will. If we lose the turnover battle, we lose the game. If we give up 5+ turnovers, then it will get ugly.

2. Its game 2. The Beavers haven't had a great start to the season since 2002. It's kind of a Beaver thing to start slow and finish strong. The Stanford loss might mean its another slow start for the Beavs. We lost some great players last year and we are young. Those young guys have to learn on the job and it takes a few games to get going.

3. The running game. After not being able to establish the run against Stanford (granted we had to pass a ton because we were behind), and with the yards PSU put up last week. It could be a slow death. If Penn St. establishes running dominance early and the Beavers can't run, then it will take a career performance from Lyle Moevao to win. He had 400 yards last week, but he would need zero interceptions and some help from the defense to make that happen. If the Beavers can't run either inside or outside on the fly sweep, they will lose the game.


Score...

Its hard to predict a win on this game. I think our early season woes and young LBs and RBs make it tough to call. They say teams improve most from game 1 to game 2 and we will need it. We did have a much tougher game last week than PSU and the Beavers will be ready to go. Not to mention I still have the bad taste from last week in my mouth.

I'll call a 38-21 Penn St. win. I hope I'm wrong and the game is much closer than that.

Prove me wrong Beavs!



Go Beavers!

Beavers Lose To Stanford, And Take a Gut Punch

That game was a tough loss for the Beavers. And it was tough for Beavers fans like me who just want a season where we start off strong for once. Bob DeCarolis wonders where the fans are at the games, but it tough to build excitement when you're written off after the first 5 games. It still could turn out to be a good start. Maybe this loss will inspire the guys to beat PSU. Maybe lightning will strike twice and USC will go down again (they have had their share of bad early Pac-10 losses).

As far as the Stanford game, that was an emotionally tough game for us fans. The game went something like this:

* Yes! The season has started!
* OK, starting slow, but we're OK so far.
* Nice 2 minute drive to tie it up at halftime! We've got this game now!
* Got the lead! But it feels a little hollow because we settled for a FG.
* Crap! Can anyone stop that guy? He's running over us!
* How can Stanford be opening up those huge holes?
* Uh, oh. It's Cincy, Boise St., and Louisville all over again. Ug.
* Wait a sec, we have a shot to win this thing...
* Hey, we're gonna tie this game!
* What happened! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (Cries in beer)

It's games like these that make me think were not going to win another game. But after I slept on it, there are some positives.

The positives:

* Our 2 minute offense is really good.
* Lyle is not perfect, but he's actually a pretty good QB.
* Our running game could be pretty good at some point this season. I saw flashes
* Our O-line is OK. At least in pass protection. Lyle had a lot of time to throw.

The negatives:

* This isn't last year's defense yet.
* Turnovers and mistakes are the key to every game for the Beavers here on out
* RBs catching passes out of the backfield is sketchy


One question I had is, where was the Fly Sweep? Our bread and butter last year and we don't run it first play of the game? We need to make teams prove they can stop it.

Oh, and that #44 on Stanford should have been ejected. I have never seen a cheaper shot on the QB than that helmet to helmet job after a handoff. That guy goes to Stanford?! Harbaugh didn't even take him out of the game. Weak.

ESPN sure loved Stanford/Harbaugh. Does the S in ESPN stand for Stanford?


Penn St. next.

Stanford Is a Must Win Game

Yes, we already have our first must win game. And its the first game of the season. Yikes!

Most Beaver fans have a fairly optimistic view going into this season. Good seasons are built on beating teams you expect to beat, pulling out a few good wins, and probably losing to most everyone better than you. Great seasons have a win or two over a great team.

Here's how I see the Beavers opponents stacking up:

Must Wins
@Stanford
Hawaii
Washington St.
@Washington
@Arizona

Good Wins
@Utah
Arizona St.
@UCLA
Cal

Great Wins
Penn St.
USC
Oregon


Must wins are the teams that every Beaver fan says "W" automatically in the pocket schedule game.

Good wins are ones where you think, hmm, this could be a tough win or a loss. Win a couple of those, and you're in a bowl game.

Great wins are the USC win in 2006. It's last year at Cal and Oregon. These are the ones people remember and turn good seasons into great ones.


Back to Stanford. We must win this game. It allows the guys to go into Penn St. fired up, relaxed, and ready to prove who they are. It takes the pressure off if we don't come away with a win at Penn St. And most importantly, its a Pac-10 road win.

I want this season to be a great season. And the way to make that happen is to be 3-0 to start the season. It all starts today.

Go Beavs!

Craig Robinson on the national stage

Check out that sweet orange tie!

2008 Football - Pocket Schedule Game

Its time to start the old pocket schedule game. I ran a poll a few weeks back before fall camp had started and I found that people are very optimistic about this season. Of course, its easy to pick a number. Harder is predicting how the Beavers get there.

Here's a review what Beavers fans think the football team will do this year:

Wins - % of Votes
  11 - 10%
  10 - 15%
   9 - 32%
   8 - 27%
   7 - 7%
   6 - 2%
   5 - <1%
   4 - 2%
   3 - 5%

About 10% think we will have a losing season. However, 25% of fans think we're headed for a BCS game. I voted 9 wins. So yea, either we have a serious case of Orange Crush or we know a lot more than the pundits. Other than Sports Illustrated, it seems we are averaging about a 6th place finish in the Pac-10 among pre-season magazines/polls. Of course, we are always low in those just like we are always low in the recruiting rankings.

Lets look at the schedule:

2008 Schedule - OSUBeavers.com

at Stanford
at Penn st
Hawaii
USC
at Utah
WSU
at UW
ASU
at UCLA
Cal
at UA
UO

At first glance, its clearly very tough. I wish the Stanford game was at home, because that's a tough one to start with. We cannot look past them towards PSU. That said, I'm calling the game at Stanford a win. We have to have that one to get off on the right foot.

W - at Stanford

Penn State is tough. I think we have a shot, but we haven't actually won a huge game out of conference early in the season. Will this be the year we finally start off strong? This could be our Michigan. It would be HUGE! That said, even though I think we can win, I'm putting this down as an L.

L - at Penn st

Hawaii has a new coach and lost some good seniors. W.

W - Hawaii

USC should have Sanchez back. I'm not sure I believe in Sanchez, but the rest of their team is so good. If we are going to beat them, this might be the year. But I have to be realistic and call an L here. But how huge would this game be if we're 3-0 going into it? Reser would be ROCKIN! If god is a Beaver fan, he will make this happen.

L - USC

At Utah. Tough call here. Typically this is when we start hitting cruise control on the season. But playing at Utah will be tough. Revenge factor. Hmmm. I say we pull it out and our defense wins it for us. W.

W - at Utah

WSU: new coach. W.

W - WSU

Washington will be tougher this year. But I think our D just knows how to play against the run. We will be swarming and the Beavs will win in Seattle once again.

W - at UW

Big game with ASU. Erickson returns again. They have a target on their back. We tend to play poorly vs. ASU, but I call a win. This will be our first in a few years and will set up a great stretch run.

W - ASU

Yea. We ALWAYS seem to lose bad at UCLA. So this will be a loss, but it will inspire us down the stretch for our traditional final run.

L - at UCLA

And during that run we will beat Cal again, Arizona away, and the Ducks for a 3rd consecutive time and on to a bowl game!

W - Cal
W - at UA
W - UO


To recap, here's the predictions:

W - at Stan
L - at Penn st
W - Hawaii
L - USC
W - at Utah
W - WSU
W - at UW
W - ASU
L - at UCLA
W - Cal
W - at UA
W - UO

9-3, 7-2 Pac-10

Holiday Bowl anyone?


Go Beavs!

First Fall Practice...Punting, Shotgun, Quizz, Canfield and more!

I finally got out to see my first fall practice on Monday at Reser Stadium. It was a pretty laid back practice with a bonus of lots of special teams work.

Some notes:

Special Teams

There were three punters practicing and only two were really any good. #7 Hekker had some very good punts. And generally he was kicking them fairly consistently. Some didn't have a ton of hang time which could hurt, but enough did that I think we may be better off in the punting dept. this year. #18 Sehnem looked pretty good too, but his best punts just weren't as good as Hekker that day.

The punt blocking looked pretty good and Sammie was as quick as ever returning those punts. The punt rush seemed good as well, but they never got a block so it was hard to tell.

I think Kahut was kicking again, but it was pretty limited. Overall they did well, but they didn't practice anything very long (maybe 30-35 yards).

Offense

Moevao took most of the snaps on the live drills. They are clearly really concentrating on getting him ready for Stanford. He looked pretty good overall, but they may have been implementing some new plays because he was forcing the ball a lot on certain routes that seemed to be covered well (to me at least). But the few times someone was wide open, he seemed to hit them. So that's good. They worked on shotgun, which I don't remember seeing in the past. That should give our O Line some extra time on key passing downs.

Canfield did all of the drills that the other QBs did. He didn't get many reps and he threw nearly all short balls, but he never seemed in pain. Engstrom got a few reps too, but I don't remember anything spectacular. Katz had a good arm, but I saw almost nothing of him in the live drills.

The running backs all looked good. Quizz just looks so fast. Probably because he is fast. And strong. He will make an impact this year. I liked how McCants looked as well. Fast and strong. Francis looked OK, but I don't remember seeing him do much.

The WR and TEs looked good. Nothing spectacular, but everyone looked pretty sharp.

Defense

It was pretty non-contact so it was hard to evaluate the front 7. They definitely would have had a few sacks if they could have. The secondary looked really good. almost stifling at times. They and the LBs definitely swarmed to the ball very well on anything underneath. If our pass rush can be close to last year, teams will have a tough time against us. I didn't really get much of a sense for the rush defense because there were almost zero inside run plays, but the couple I saw looked like they had it stuffed.


Overall, I came away a little happier about the punting situation, the secondary, and maybe the running backs. Everything else was either hard to judge or I expected better.


Go Beavs!

Joe Beaver Show Back On The Air...and is Podcasting

I caught part of the first Joe Beaver Show of the 08-09 season today. And it sounds like they finally added something I've been asking about for the last 2-3 years. They have a podcast!

They mentioned it on the air and I found the link at kejoam.com. Copy and paste this (http://www.hypothetical.net/beaver/pod.xml) into iTunes in the Advanced menu, then "Subscribe to Podcast...".

Its like TiVo for radio. Pretty cool!

2008 Football is Underway

Beavers Fall Camp has started and things look promising. So far mostly good news has come to the camp with Simi Kuli probably here on Sept 1st.

Get out there and watch the 2008 Beavs if you get a chance!

2008 Fall Camp Schedule (subject to change)

Aug. 1-2 2 p.m. (shorts)
Aug. 3-4 2 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 5 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 6 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 7 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 8 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 9 2 p.m. (full gear/officials)
Aug. 10 No practice
Aug. 11 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 12 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 13 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 14 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 15 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 16 2 p.m (full gear/officials)
Aug. 17 No practice
Aug. 18 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 19 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 20 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 21 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 22 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 23 1:30 p.m. (full)
Aug. 24 No practice
Aug. 25 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 26 6:30 p.m. (shells)