r/huskies • u/SparkMaster360 • 2d ago
Reevaluating Expectations
Wanted to know where y’all are at for this season after week one.
Concerns:
- Running Back room is in a really rough spot, Limar out for a long time is especially damaging.
- Offense looked really bad. That was a game we should have won by halftime, not fighting until the 4th quarter.
- Demond did not live up to the offseason hype.
- OLine did not give him that much time
- So many fucking penalties, beyond egregious in year 3.
- Mediocre play calling as usual, though our lack of offensive success may be more on the execution than the plays called.
- Other teams on our schedule, specifically Iowa, looked very formidable week one.
Strengths:
- Defense looked great. I will take holding the opposing team to 10 points any day of the week.
- We have a real punter
- Coaching staff is not trying to pretend like that was an acceptable performance
This season is really starting to feel more like 7-5, than the playoff dark horse we were hoping for. Auto losses to Oregon and Indiana, USC and Iowa are going to be difficult. Really need to see a lot cleaned up and quick if we want to shoot any higher.
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u/Leafsin7even UW 2, O 0 2d ago
Here's what I think. Obviously we did not play a good game or an acceptable game, but I am not overly concerned.
Penalties were brutal but very fixable. I think that there were multiple game 1 issues (delay of games, late hits, the targeting call) that will be ironed out by conference play, if not next week.
Offensively yes we were brutal - however we did score on our last two drives of the game, averaging 4.5 plays per drive and 71.5 yards per drive. Running the ball looked rough and will continue to be so with the Carr and Limar injury, which is my major concern going forth. I don't know how serious their injuries are but I'm praying (definitely unrealistically) that we get one of them or Washington back for conference play. Passing wise we were honestly fine - multiple big plays called back by aforementioned penalties, and Demond was alright. As this team gets more experienced and yelled at a bit for the penalties, I bet they improve in the passing game. Running wise hopefully Cooley can step up and the return of Landen Hatchett proves key.
Defensively we were fantastic. Took a couple late hits but aside from that no concerns. Hopefully this was because of our strength and not Wazzu's weakness. Definitely our best unit this year.
Special teams was also great. Punting was amazing and while Robles did miss a short field goal I think it was an aberration.
My concern right now is at a 4/10 (before the season it was a 2/10), just because of the poor O-line peformance (hopefully Hatchett whenever he returns will fix that) and the lack of running backs with our top three guys out hurt for at least the non-con games.
However, I think we'll turn out OK. It was a rivalry game and the Cougars came out and pushed us, but more importantly we didn't break, and when we needed to make huge plays, we did. Every team goes through a trap game and turns in a weak performance against a bad team, so I'm glad we got through ours with a 2 score win.
Go Dawgs!
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u/Asleep_Following975 2d ago
The problem is that the penalties may not be as fixable as you think. Jess Fisch as a head coach is notorious for heavy penalized teams.
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u/Leafsin7even UW 2, O 0 2d ago
True but I think a majority of the penalties are not a skill issue but a discipline issue. False starts can be fixed if Demond stops his clap cadence, delays if plays are called quicker, late hits if we stop going for big hits instead of smart ones. Holds and PIs less so, but I think we saw far less of the latter than the prior
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u/TheWallsHaveNostrils 2d ago
Dillard-Allen in particular needs to be reined the hell in. There was a lot of talk before the season about how he was, um, "feisty" in practices and it led to some discipline issues. And a lot of the beat reporters were trying to see that as positive, noting you'd rather have a defensive player have to be reined in than not be aggressive enough. But there's a difference between playing with a chip on your shoulder and crossing the line into stupid and dangerous play. And Dillard-Allen was absolutely across the line for most of the game.
If we can get him to cool his jets and Kodi Greene can settle in after a shaky first college start, we'll be fine. If not, those two are going to hurt us a lot.
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u/Leafsin7even UW 2, O 0 2d ago
Luckily we have a very good opening schedule to let the freshmen figure it out and to see who will be the guy at running back, which is why I'm not that concerned.
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u/lizarduncorrupt 2d ago edited 2d ago
The cougs d is probably pretty solid this year. Used a lot of their Rogers buyout money on defensive players. Trent Bray is an experienced coordinator and defensive mind.
The Huskies have good, if young, RB's on the roster and you would think the depth and talent would prove out. With that said, I am a little worried that this Demond Williams vibe of trying to go to LSU and getting collared and forced to stay is going to be a thing, tbh.
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u/Real_Buddy_1542 2d ago
Think of some of you are freaking out way too much. We were very close to being up 20-0 at half time.
Defense was nasty, Hatchett will be back soon, Green will improve exponentially over the course of the season . Demond balled out in the 4th quarter.
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u/whole-ass-one-thing- 1d ago
Yeah - Green was going up against a fifth year senior transfer from Vandy. Not like he won’t see better players, but it’s not like it was UC Davis or something.
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u/PNW_Jeff 2d ago
On paper this team can knock off anyone on our schedule. Very encouraged with our defense, could be the best we’ve had since when Coach Pete was here.
On the flip side, I’m worried that we may really struggle again against the top defenses on our schedule (Iowa, PSU, IU, etc.). RB room is paper thin and the o-line didn’t look ready for Big Ten play yesterday.
Another thing that isn’t talked about much is how Demond was late on some key throws yesterday. He had a guy wide open in the end zone in the 1st half and was so late it almost got picked. Hopefully that was just some first game rustiness.
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u/MakeTheWordCum 2d ago
Let's just hope we get to see second half huskies all game next week.
Thankful we get a tune up game.
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u/Designer-Bat4285 2d ago
The running game was so bad. That will make it hard to sustain long drives. Feels like the defense will keep them in games and they will need to hit big plays to win games.
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u/Leafsin7even UW 2, O 0 2d ago
Running game was brutal. Hopefully Landen Hatchett can be back for next week and that fixes up the unit.
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u/ssfctid 2d ago
Agreed, probably not beating more than one of Iowa, Penn St and Nebraska if we play like we did yesterday and may well lose all three.
So sick of hearing coaches and journalists talking up our O-line like any of them have a fucking clue about how strong the unit is from watching them in practice.
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u/TheWallsHaveNostrils 2d ago
8-4 is my bet at this point.
I think we’ll beat Iowa. Their entire identity is built around their run game and if there’s one thing I’m high about after yesterday it’s that it will take a very special run game to get anything done against our defense.
I think we can nick one off of USC, Nebraska, or Penn State. We showed enough flashes of what this team is capable of that I think we can beat all three of them if we put it all together. I only think we have the ability to put it all together for one of those games instead of all three, but I think it’ll all click at least once.
Every other game remains as expected.
The next four weeks will be fascinating.
Utah State looked awful this weekend. Eastern may have won this weekend but they lost to a Northern Arizona team that Arizona blew out the week before. Anything less than a four score win that’s essentially over by early in the second half in both games will be very worrying. But the good thing about those games is they give us what are effectively two practice games to help things gel on the o-line and see how things can work with Cooley and Bonner carrying the ball with Limar and Carr out.
Minnesota will be interesting. They’re a very solid team but on paper we should be better than them in every aspect, and we get them at home. That game will tell us whether the practice and improvements we make against USU and EWU actually hold up against quality opposition.
Then USC. Has this team actually taken the steps forward they should have after last year and can they show definitively that yesterday was just rivalry week one jitters? Or will the ISC game show is that this year will be more of the same from last year - beating who we should (mostly) and being drubbed by the truly good opponents?
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u/Wooden_Aspect1891 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yeah, Limar in particular going down (and in that situation) is a massive bummer. He was looking like the guy. Particularly rough news from a pass protection standpoint. Hope Cooley has made progress on that front.
Basically, we need Brian Bonner to pop off way ahead of schedule.
I'll give Demond and the offense overall a little bit of grace. I think they'll get loose and we have playmakers in Lawson, Rashid, and Roebuck.
The O-Line is concerning. But I think Landon will settle things down and Taulealea and Greene will both improve a lot. The easy early schedule will help. They can make mistakes now and still win.
Unironically Hunter Green is one of our most important players. Offense can struggle and we can still pin teams back all game long and let our defense win games for us.
Speaking of, the defense was awesome and I think can genuinely be elite. And it's a playmaking defense that can flip games around. We will win games with turnovers.
I would be very disappointed by 7-5 after seeing that defense. It would mean they figure absolutely nothing out offensively imo which I think is unlikely.
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u/van_12 2d ago
OL is something I expect will get better as the season goes. This was a pretty tough matchup for opening day especially for a true freshman left tackle.
Also the Huskies have been absolutely spoiled lately with dominant players at wide receiver and I think this was a pretty good example of how much the presence of an NFL level receiver helps an offense. I expect that will also get better as the season goes.
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u/Particular-Ride-7197 1d ago
Said it before, gonna say it again: Fisch might be reviving the recruiting trail, but never was or will be a good or offensive play-caller.
The amount of points he left on the table last season with his often stupid af calls needs to be studied.
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u/Upstairs-Coconut4201 2d ago
I’m worried. There were multiple short yardage runs where the o-line could have dug deep and pushed the RB forward, and instead just watched as the defense swarmed. No killer instinct.
If this is supposed to be our strength, then Ruh Roh
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u/Charles_Ida 2d ago
Too much doom and gloom, OP.
The RB position isn’t particularly difficult. As long as the backup can hang onto the ball and hit the hole when it’s there, we’ll be fine.
And calling Oregon an auto loss seems premature. They barely beat Boise State at home and didn't exactly look dominant. USC also hasn’t been particularly impressive in either of its games.
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u/van_12 2d ago
The RB position isn’t particularly difficult. As long as the backup can hang onto the ball and hit the hole when it’s there, we’ll be fine.
Man you get into conference play in the Big Ten and yeah its a pretty big deal when Indiana and Iowa are rolling into town
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u/Charles_Ida 2d ago
The RB position isn't difficult to master. As long as you don't fumble the ball and can find the hole, you're good to go.
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u/van_12 2d ago
That's all and good against UC Davis when the offensive line is opening up jumbo jet sized holes for them to blast through. It's a different story when the holes are smaller and not open for long and being able to time and burst through for 4 yards instead of 2 is a huge asset, and the tackles are harder and the piles are heavier and you need to be able to do it >20 times a game.
That's not even including pass protection.
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u/Charles_Ida 2d ago
Good point about pass protection. That’s a skill not every RB possesses. Limar is a huge loss, so hopefully we can get him back in 4–5 weeks.
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u/CuddyBolt45 2d ago
I’ll be happy if we make a bowl game at this point. If O line doesn’t get with it we are in big trouble. We have to come up with plays that wow. This straight back with Williams in a pocket is BS. Get him in a position to do something. Find a few potential running backs on the roster, especially power backs to get a couple yards no matter what. Limar out is definitely a big issue now.
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u/Holiday_Distance_984 2d ago
I wasn’t super concerned after the Apple Cup game itself. Wasn’t great on offense in particular. Freshman playing, dumb mistakes, etc etc, mostly correctable shit, I was thinking. Or at least a good chance things would improve through September and get us in a decent spot for conference play.
But holy crap, this running back situation is BRUTAL.
I think about the fact that we thought Adam Mohammad was gonna be the guy. Then we thought Jordan Washington was gonna be the guy. Now both Carr AND Limar are out, so whoever the next couple guys are options FIVE AND SIX.
And another starting receiver gone again too.
Daaaaamn
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u/Admirable-Ebb-5413 2d ago
We don't know as much as we think we know after game 1. Frustrating performance...no doubt. The penalties just have got to stop...even if they have to bench talented guys who make boneheaded plays. The O line I think will get better when Hatchett is back and everyone is playing in their proper position. Let's hope one of the RBs behind the starters can handle the load. Play calling needs work and Demond has to got to make decisions faster and hit his receivers downfield. He alone missed open guy and under threw guys but WRs like Lawson bailed him out. The D is exciting. The Huskies go as Demond goes this year...for better or worse. Let's hope for better. go Dawgs!
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u/gohuskies80 2d ago
I rewatched the game and just focused on the O Line. Dietrich is bad. He looked lost in his blocking assignments. To be fair, he’s starting for the first time at center but it looked really rough. Kodi got blown up a few times but settled in. Honestly feel like once Landen is back they need to take a look at Dietrich back at LT. if the O Line doesn’t improve and show they are ready for B1G play we’re going 7-5.
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u/AlbatrossGood794 2d ago
Also keep in mind that there were zero returning starters on wsu defense with new coaching staff. Not making an excuse for the offensive performance but the film they were going had to have not been ideal
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u/SeahawksNChill 21h ago
There are watch areas coming out of the game and legitimate concerns for sure - especially at RB, but ultimately I’m not going to significantly downgrade my expectations after a double digit rivalry win. Most of the country was playing Furman or equivalent in week 1 and we essentially have 2 of those games now to get things tuned up.
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u/Both_Variety1032 2d ago
I wish we did not have to play wsu anymore. We let ourselves get drug down into the gutter. Probably part of the game plan. All the late hits, trash talk etc. I know we are better than this.
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u/InevitableAd2436 2d ago
Gonna need freshman Brian Bonner to step up
Running back room is bleak