FOOTBALL

USC Holds Eye-Opening Scrimmage

Did you go to the scrimmage? If you did, you learned a lot.

Here’s what I heard from fans and also thought myself:

  • The secondary was atrocious. I can’t recall too many plays where the cornerbacks were in a position to break up a pass or do anything positive. The wide receivers were always open. USC is young at cornerback but this was one of the worst group efforts I can recall in a fall scrimmage situation. This is going to be a season-long problem.
  • Not only were receivers open, there were a lot of pass-interference penalties.
  • The running game was almost non-existent. USC’s QBs could pass at will but the run-blocking was subpar and it didn’t seem like USC was committed to running, a complaint I told you I heard about Graham Harrell at North Texas. The pass blocking was better.
  • A highlight was punter Ben Griffiths‘ 58-yard kick. I guess he will be a team star this season.
  • Frankly, I didn’t see any super-dynamic aspect to this offense but it was just a scrimmage.
  • What about the quarterbacks? All of them had their moments. Freshman Kedon Slovis completed the most deep passes but a lot of them were underthrown and completed because the coverage was so bad.
  • The funniest play was when the ref signaled JT Daniels was sacked before he released a deep pass. Of course, the pass was caught for a TD over two defenders, so Clay Helton signalled to the ref to count it as a touchdown anyways. Wonder if he would have done that for Matt Fink?
  • I’ll have more thoughts on the Coliseum later.

32 thoughts on “USC Holds Eye-Opening Scrimmage”

  1. Part of the running game problem is Carr. After 3 years isn’t it pretty clear he’s not the guy? He never breaks a tackle. Reign of Troy has him getting stuffed on almost every play (his one good run was called back cuz of holding).
    A fair assessment of the QB’s: Sears, Fink and J.T. are equals. No one has separated so let J. T. start against Fresno State and see what happens. I’m sure, after today, Tedford will know exactly how to defend this offense….. so whoever does the quarterbacking has their work cut out for them. No one we play against will need more than 3 guys rushing —everybody else is gonna be draped all over our poor receivers….

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    2. Don’t blame Carr, MG. There is nothing a back can do if his OL has been subpar as it has been for the last few seasons.

      #ARBCan’tDoItAllHimself;RBAndOLTalentHaveToGoHandInHand

      #TheReasonUSCWasOnceCalledTailbackUWasBecauseTheyPutGreatLinemenInFrontOfGreatTailbacks

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      1. Your hashtags are an embarrassment to humanity.

        Your college football team is almost as bad as your lame hashtags.

        Prepare for a game 1 L. I really hope clay can somehow save his job this year, but it ain’t looking good.

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  2. “The secondary is going to be a season-long problem.”

    There is no reason why a secondary with this much talent should be deficient over the whole season. Several of these guys were ranked in the top 5 at their position when recruited, and the D-line should be excellent.

    Last year, Trojans couldn’t stop the run (or much of anything else, giving up 42 TD).

    Maybe it is Pendergast’s schemes that need adjustment.

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      1. No.

        Just wait until they’re tasked with bringing down Devin Asasi.

        Jeff Fisher will be named HC by the time that game rolls around.

        My prediction (UCLA v usc) = pain for los soy boys of Troy

        Liked by 1 person

  3. The old lady looks good up close – they did a pretty nice job.

    The D seemed to have some moments but that secondary is going to be very susceptible to motion and screens if today was any indication.

    Offensively this is going to be a 80/20 team. I suppose that’s smart management as the strength of the team is the wideouts.

    I do believe the running game will be better as the season goes along. But right now they really can’t run block.

    It probably wouldn’t hurt to have more physical practices so the offensive line could at least bang some bodies.

    Overall this looks like a 6-6 team.

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      1. Yes! We’ll qualify for one of the three new 4th tier bowls being created out of thin air in December 2019……
        #SwannWillExplainHowThisIsBetterThanThoseSillyPlayOffs…
        #…AndFoltWillBuyIt…..

        Liked by 1 person

  4. According to bleacher report, which posted video and play by play, it was a boring affair. A scan of the stands showed very few people in attendance.
    If the play by play was accurate, JT Daniels was 50% leading drives Fink was 66% leading drives, Slovis was 33% leading drives and Sears was 66% Leading drives. If I were picking based on these results Daniels would be 3rd string and Sears would start. This based on a comment that stated that even though Sears was not as accurate, he made things happen including running a 2 minute drill and having more than a minute left.
    Out of 13 drives listed, Daniels had 4 and the others each had 3.
    If things don’t change look for a coaching change by week 4.
    We can in the best shape and throw the ball often, but if we don’t improve point wise, we are going to be disappointed.

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    1. By almost all accounts, Sears is more physically talented and less disciplined than his competition —-as the starter, he’d make more big plays and more mistakes. Since Helton is a control freak from the word go, it’s J. T.
      #HeltonHasDecidedToLiveOrDieW/Daniels…..

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. I am absolutely shocked that Scooter’s scrimmage report was all negativity, shocked I tell you! No, USC doesnt have the best WR Unit outside of Alabama, nearly unguardable combinations of size and speed, its the secondary that is just terrible! LOL. I’m guessing those WR’s make a lot of secondary’s look silly this year.

    And no, the deepest and most athletic Dline USC has had in a decade, with two 5 Star Linebackers behind them, has nothing to do with the Offense not being able to run. Its just a terrible Offense. LOL.

    Frankly I am shocked that Scooter didnt tell us how poorly the football performed when it let Griffiths punt it 58 yards in the air. Clearly those must be the worst footballs in college football history to let him kick them so far.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. Scooter and the rest,

        SC’s strength is it’s wide receivers. They all looked good. Run game between the tackles is nonexistent. It looked like they were going 3/4 speed. Secondary sucks. Daniels was being promoted as the starter, but he wasn’t the best. Field goal kicker can’t kick far. It looked a showing instead of a scrimmage. No popping of pads.

        Well, the good news is Helton sucks and SC loses, there will be less fans to fight over a parking spot.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh please, Scooter’s report is no different than a Sunshine pumper saying the scrimmage showed the best run Defense they have ever seen combined with the most unstoppable WRs USC has ever had.

        Scrimmages are a zero sum game, one side will always look better than another. Spinning it only to the negative is grossly misleading and comical. We won’t know anything credible about this team until Stanford.

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  6. I pretty much agree with what the Wolfman said. I’ve said all along that if they could develope a running game and find the right combo in the secondary, they could have a real good team this year. So far, despite what the coaches seem to say, that hasn’t happened. Receivers are open all over the field and the running game is nonexistent. The biggest run they had in that scrimmage was for 7 yards. Maybe we’ll find out as the season progresses that this front 7 is really good against the run. So far I’m not impressed with the running game.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. wolfman, i wonder how many times Hell-TON has awoke at night in a cold sweat…sometimes screaming “WOLFMAN!!!”

    stay on the case wolfman, the last vestiges of southern cal football are teetering on the precipice! no way Hell-TON survives a 2-4 start! and when the time comes, you and the CADRE will be there to SCATTER the PIECES!!!!

    #SoLetItBeDone

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  8. I thought the wolf was in line with other sites I read.
    Who can tell how good the ‘D’ is vs this ‘O’ line…practicing in shorts all the time does not add any physical attributes or toughness aka helltongue ball.
    Also Matt stood as well as Jack as being able to move the ball…1st downs count in ball control and scoring…jt was again just ok.
    2ndary ? young and a long way to go.
    Running backs? hardly a crease to get through if that…
    So, practice in shorts…again and again= 3 or 4 wins unless the q/b is fast ,can deliver on the run too…and all receivers are exceptional.

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. What I saw at the scrimmage and what will be announced on Mon or Tues, the quarterbacks in order. JT Daniels, Jack Sears, Matt Fink, Kedon Slovis.

    This will be a high scoring team.

    The secondary will have to play man coverage with a little zone mixed in to start the season.

    The front 7 will help the secondary until they gel. The 7 will cause fits for opposing teams.

    The offense in practice will have to focus on the run for the next 2 weeks.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. What makes anyone believe that a pass-happy OC is going to try to develop a strong running game?

      #HeltonAndHarrellAreWhoTheyAre

      #PassingIsHowHarrellMadeHisBones,NotByDevelopingARunningAttack

      Liked by 1 person

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  10. It sounds like everything is falling right into place, and yes, that was a big complaint about Graham Harrell at North Texas. But guess what, if you can’t run the ball, you ain’t going to the playoffs, which is why the PAC 12 Is a joke

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  12. could it be that the secondary looked bad because the receivers and scheme are so difficult to defend? no doubt the offensive line and secondary are the weak spots, but maybe some of the offensive line problems are due to a really good defensive line? we will have to see how things stand when they go up against other teams.

    looking at the coaches, you have to wonder if Tim Drevno was the answer for the o-line and if Burns was the right coach for the secondary. everyone seems to love Burns, but you have to wonder why none of his secondaries at previous schools have ranked highly. i wonder if Helton was not really able to get any top-notch coaches to join under him? at some point, you have to wonder if Helton’s reputation is so tarnished that he can never get a quality staff under him.

    i think the jury is still out on whether Harrell can produce a great offense at this level of competition. since he is the QB coach, it is a bit disconcerting that none of the QBs seem to be consistent.

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  13. WELL…the last couple yrs , with these fake football practices, decent to good teams have been able to stuff the run,tackle backs in their backfield and sustain pressure to hurry q/b and get to heltons q/b who can’t move at all with only 3-4 man rush , etc…dropping back 6,7,8 to defend the pass…it’s gonna’ be somekinda’ ugly this yr…sorry, wish I was wrong…really good teams are going to crush this team with 2nd and 3rd stringers gettin’ lots of playin’ time by the 4th qrtr. Next yr its BAMA…

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  14. Remember, the QBs weren’t subject to any REAL pass rush so of course they’re going to complete more passes.

    Let’s see how the secondary looks when Drake Jackson gets in the Qb’s face.

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