What do former USC players talk about with each other?
Recently, I was with several ex-defensive players, including one who is an All-American. One thing that came up was a play from the USC-Cal game, specifically the 29-yard TD pass from Chase Garbers to Vic Wharton in the third quarter.
“What were they thinking giving no help to the slot with no deep defenders?” one of the players said. “Clancy Pendergast loves to leave his cornerbacks exposed.”
The point of recounting this episode is because some fans still defend Pendergast. He likes to play man-to-man defense and doesn’t like to give his cornerbacks help in the secondary. This puts a lot of pressure on the cornerbacks. His refusal to adjust becomes a problem at times.
His defense is supposedly going to be more simple next season, but it already was pretty simple. But how will the pass defense improve if he doesn’t ever run more than one coverage?
I know I’ve said this ad infinitum but nothing substantive will change until Helton is gone – nothing.
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Does he have to be completely gone? Or just gone from the locker room, the practice field and the sidelines?
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I know it sounds silly but I miss the days when every player had a job and all of them did their job. The game isn’t 11 on 14 or some stupid mismatch there are equal numbers on each side of the ball, the defense has no excuse for letting a man get by them so easily. I know coverages get blown but that’s why the safety is called the safety (and not the other cover guy) What is amazing to me is the fact that Pendergast works for a world class receiver, certainly Lynn Swann has seen coverages that were hard to shake in his career, why don’t they communicate.- Maybe they can discuss coverages during a round of golf.
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Clancy is the smartest guy around per Gomer, one wonders why Clancy isn’t back in the NFL.
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That’s an easy one, karma. Clancy is getting multi million dollar offers from every super bowl contender —but he’d rather stay & grow under Helton….
#….SomeThingsAreMoreValuableThanMoney
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Probable scenario. USC sees significant offensive improvement, but defense loses games. USC goes 8-4 or 7-5 and Swann tells Hleton to ditch Clancy.
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Better scenario is Gomer & Swann are both canned
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Yeah —why mess around?
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If SC goes 9-3 Helton saves his job.
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I read that Bush and Leinhart were talking that if Helton does not win and is let go, then they want Urban Myers. That is what other players are talking about.
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Never happening, Meyer has too much baggage for the BOT
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Close, karma. The BOT has too much baggage for Meyer.
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Ha! Yes, the one organization that has more baggage than the candidate!
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67 –As they say in The Hangover —“It’s funny because it’s true.”
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Urban Meyer might just be exactly what USC needs right now, hiring him would shift the media focus from the damn mess and scandals that Max Nikias and Pat Haden created.
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With a schedule that included UNLV, the ruins, Cal, Ore State, Colorado, there is no way the D should have given up close to 400 yards and 27 points per game.
Putting aside Myer’s baggage, I suspect he would have produced a 10-2 record last year, compared to 5-7.
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Yes, 67! Meyer would have beaten Texas because the refs wouldn’t have dared to steal a momentum shifting safety from us —-or call 400 motion and holding penalties on USC—-they only would do something like that to Helton (cuz they know they could screw him over and nobody would let out a peep)…… Meyer would have beaten Cal because an errant snapper like Toa would have been history by that time —- Meyer would have beaten Stanford and UCLA because, well, they stunk last year. And Meyer would have beaten Arizona State because it would have been a case of 5 star players playing hard against 2 star players playing hard.
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I’d take Meyer in a heartbeat, he can actually coach and his pressers would be hilarious, he’d eviscerate Wolf but the BOT will never hire him
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MG, that pretty much sums it up…
#HowDidWeGo5-7WithThatCupcakeSchedule?
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67 –My theory is that Helton lost the team after the Utah game. Up till that game I think there were still some players who bought into Helton’s idea of “oh, you have a tummy ache today? —well I love you so much, you don’t have to practice until you’re feeling 100%.” Kyle Whittingham actually mocked Helton before the game, saying he was tired of all the excuses about injuries and team exhaustion coming out of Helton’s mouth —he said “physicality is part of football —-whatever the circumstances, the team that plays harder, wins.” After the beatdown Whittingham gave USC, I think the Trojan players started realizing the soft Helton ways were not winning ways. Luckily for us, I heard Graham Harrell tell the team during spring, “the team that wants it most, plays the hardest and is most excited about winning, wins.” I think we’re finally leaving the loosey/goosey, jacksy offsky Helton philosophy behind.
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The reason why Meyer will never coach SC is because he has left a stink everywhere he has split town. SC cannot afford any of that right now. There are too many other fires to deal with. The main reason as I see it that Coach Helton will be around revolves around his apparent success at not embarrassing SC with a scandal.
SC will probably be the underdog in at least 5 games this year. Tough, very tough schedule. No love from the PAC schedule. One bye week & a couple of short weeks. Weak secondary depth , likewise Oline.
7-5 & you guys should count your blessings. That would at least be bowl bound & 2 additional weeks of organized practice before the bowl that might put one more win on the board in 2020.
MG, Coach Meyer will never be worth 5 wins. Sorry.
#C75HoldingTheNetNov16
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Cal75 –how bad will you feel if USC spanks Cal at home?
#JustWondering…..
#…SinceThat’sProbablyWhat’sGonnaHappen
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MG,
Anything is possible but when I look at the improved 2019 Cal D, I foresee a couple of shutouts this year. Of course, I also see a couple of shutouts for the Cal O.
You guys are in for a long year.
#HumblenessStrenghtensTheSoul
#I’llBeHoldingTheNetNov16
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Cal75 —I’m not saying things couldn’t break Cal’s way —–
#JustProbablyNot
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67′ we don’t play OR St. this year – it’s @ WA (28th Sept.) a week off and then @ ‘the princess’ – play OR (2nd Nov.).
This is awful to say but I desire losses if only to get Helton gone finally once and for all.
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USCFootball.com runs this article, but then won’t take further comments. Probably because all the comments were negative about Clay Helton and how he is a crap coach.
https://247sports.com/college/usc/Article/Urban-Meyer-USC-Trojans-Reggie-Bush-Matt-Leinart-recruiting-coach-131658831/?utm_source=247Sports%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=190430_121016_USC%20Trojans&utm_content=Link&liveconnect=A1-75-80-1E-7A-26-4D-71-7B-69-45-2C-48-1D-37-71190430_121016USCTrojans
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You have never been more wrong, tebow! Comments aren’t allowed because everybody was saying that Helton is better than Meyer —–and USCFootball didn’t want to hurt Meyer since he’s getting over health problems….
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Or maybe, like ALL pay sites, you have to be a member to read and post your opinions.
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Pudly —Ha! Grand!
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As usual, Pudly has his head up his ass and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The link to the Bush and Leinart wanting Meyer to coach the Trojans article has a comment section and you don’t need to pay to post on it.
And the comment section is now once again allowing comments to be posted.
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That USC website is awful in terms of ‘no harm no foul’ reminds one of ‘Halos Heaven’ per the LAA and all the ‘omerta’ the ‘monitors’ have over any negative comments esp towards Pujols.
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Meyer would be very very drawn to coaching USC – he would be the first college football coach to lead three programs (OH St., FL and USC) to NC and mind you in the FBS era. This has to be extremely compelling for him to truly move on this opportunity if it were proferred.
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What do former players talk about?
Easy, they talk about the good old days when USC was winning and dominating. The Carroll, Robinson, McKay teams they were on.
#UnlessTheyPlayedForTheTollner,Smith,RobinsonIIOrHackettTeams
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Incoming 5* WR Kyle Ford, who was coming off knee surgery has been cleared to play….
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Yea! J. T. is gonna have so many great targets. [Ya know, Pudly —Graham said that he’s trying to teach J. T. to stop thinking so much and just throw to “the receiver who’s in the green grass.” I really think that things would be great for J.T. if it were a law of nature that only one receiver per play was in the green grass (i. e., open). But I can foresee 2 or 3 of these talented & elusive receivers in the green grass on multiple plays. J.T.’s biggest problem is going to be —-not figuring out which one has the most green grass or is most likely to score —-but just pulling the trigger].
#PlayFast&GoodThingsWillHappen
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He, Kyle, is a very big deal. Went into last season as the top WR in the country. But there’s also a guy named Drake London who’ll play and would’ve been much higher rated if he didn’t play BB and did the 7v7 circuit and camps like the others. These two guys will fight for time and that is a good thing.
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SC has no receivers who can separate from the DB’s though, including the incomers. Opponents consistently shut down anything deep last year.
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