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Wow! I just watched Stanford destroy USC, scoring more points than a USC team has ever given up in the history of its football program, even going back to its days as the USC Methodists. What a great win for John Harbaugh and the Stanford program! I think that Pete Carroll has just become yesterday's news. He's on the verge of finding out just how fast and how far you can fall in L.A.
I have some comments on a few players.
Watch out for Stanford's freshman quarterback Andrew Luck as he furthers his career. His numbers today weren't eye-popping, but he looks like a superstar in the making. After a slow start, he showed great poise under pressure, answering USC's scores with scoring drives of his own while the game was still close, and some of his throws today were amazing!
Toby Gerhart had another tremendous day. He runs a little upright, but he also knows when to lower his shoulder and pound for that extra yardage. There were several times when it looked like he was stopped, but he was able to pop forward for another four or five yards. He's got more moves than people usually give him credit for having, and although he's not a burner, he has a second gear when he gets past the line of scrimmage. USC knew he was coming, but they couldn't do anything about it. My guess is that most teams are going to evaluate Gerhart as a second-round pick, and then someone like New England will draft him at the end of the first round, and he'll become a superstar.
I've lost all my remaining respect for Taylor Mays. He's pretty good at hitting receivers late after they've caught touchdown passes, but he'd be a lot better prospect if he could manage to get there BEFORE the ball arrived. What disappointed me most, though, was the realization that Mays is a bully who doesn't like to take on the big boys. I mean, if you are a defensive player with a reputation as a big hitter, don't you want to prove it by taking on a big back in the open field? Not if you are Taylor Mays. I started watching this game with memories of the way Ronnie Lott effectively ended Icky Woods's career with his big hit in the third quarter of the Super Bowl a couple of decades ago. I wanted to see if Mays could do something similar to Gerhart today, but, alas, Mays had no hits on Gerhart at all, big or small. He pushed Gerhart out of bounds once, and that was it. In fact, it was pretty clear that Mays had no interest in taking the big back on if he could help it. In the series that culminated with Gerhart's third touchdown run of the day, Mays appeared to by shying away from the running back rather than trying to tackle him. On the touchdown run itself, Mays stuck out an arm and Gerhart ran through it. It was pretty obvious that if it isn't a helpless receiver laying out to catch a pass, Mays isn't interested.
I closely watched USC offensive tackle Charles Brown, and I think he's got the potential to develop into an NFL left tackle. But he's a project. He was pretty good most of the day, but he can be bull- rushed. I think he's strong enough, but it's clear that he is still learning the position and possibly thinking a little too much about his technique. There's something there, but he's not NFL ready at this point. I don't think I'd use a first-round pick on him.
I have some comments on a few players.
Watch out for Stanford's freshman quarterback Andrew Luck as he furthers his career. His numbers today weren't eye-popping, but he looks like a superstar in the making. After a slow start, he showed great poise under pressure, answering USC's scores with scoring drives of his own while the game was still close, and some of his throws today were amazing!
Toby Gerhart had another tremendous day. He runs a little upright, but he also knows when to lower his shoulder and pound for that extra yardage. There were several times when it looked like he was stopped, but he was able to pop forward for another four or five yards. He's got more moves than people usually give him credit for having, and although he's not a burner, he has a second gear when he gets past the line of scrimmage. USC knew he was coming, but they couldn't do anything about it. My guess is that most teams are going to evaluate Gerhart as a second-round pick, and then someone like New England will draft him at the end of the first round, and he'll become a superstar.
I've lost all my remaining respect for Taylor Mays. He's pretty good at hitting receivers late after they've caught touchdown passes, but he'd be a lot better prospect if he could manage to get there BEFORE the ball arrived. What disappointed me most, though, was the realization that Mays is a bully who doesn't like to take on the big boys. I mean, if you are a defensive player with a reputation as a big hitter, don't you want to prove it by taking on a big back in the open field? Not if you are Taylor Mays. I started watching this game with memories of the way Ronnie Lott effectively ended Icky Woods's career with his big hit in the third quarter of the Super Bowl a couple of decades ago. I wanted to see if Mays could do something similar to Gerhart today, but, alas, Mays had no hits on Gerhart at all, big or small. He pushed Gerhart out of bounds once, and that was it. In fact, it was pretty clear that Mays had no interest in taking the big back on if he could help it. In the series that culminated with Gerhart's third touchdown run of the day, Mays appeared to by shying away from the running back rather than trying to tackle him. On the touchdown run itself, Mays stuck out an arm and Gerhart ran through it. It was pretty obvious that if it isn't a helpless receiver laying out to catch a pass, Mays isn't interested.
I closely watched USC offensive tackle Charles Brown, and I think he's got the potential to develop into an NFL left tackle. But he's a project. He was pretty good most of the day, but he can be bull- rushed. I think he's strong enough, but it's clear that he is still learning the position and possibly thinking a little too much about his technique. There's something there, but he's not NFL ready at this point. I don't think I'd use a first-round pick on him.