FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: At USC, Lips Move But Make No Sense

JT Daniels spoke after Wednesday’s practice.

“I really appreciate Coach trusting me with the team and the offense, but I really can’t say enough how great of a competition it was,” Daniels said.

Does anyone think Daniels ever worried he might lose his job? Why would he?

It’s funny how people who have zero contacts/sources try to dispel the idea the competition was a formality. Clay Helton made it clear to coaches and the players he wanted Daniels last year; this offseason; in training camp. It was widely known within the program.

But the homers on the outside just paint it as “Daniels must have deserved it.”

  • Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell went overboard when discussing freshman Kedon Slovis.

“Talent-wise, he’s as good as I’ve ever seen,” Harrell said.

As good as he’s ever seen? Who has Harrell seen? Not many quarterbacks, apparently. I’ve seen Peyton Manning throw at USC. Slovis does not look as good as that to me.

Harrell played (very, very) briefly in the NFL (four games) at Green Bay in 2012. Aaron Rodgers was the QB. Does Slovis look as good as Rodgers?

Slovis might turn out to be a good QB at USC but if he’s as good as Harrell said, he should start now.

61 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: At USC, Lips Move But Make No Sense”

  1. This sounds more like a “Trojan Horse” than objective analysis. Sears played nearly flawlessly at the last scrimmage and had (what?) no (or few) interceptions during camp? Slovis faltered at the end of camp. But somehow Slovis is a Greek god and Sears is relegated to the bottom of the depth chart. That Sears has become the figurehead of those who are critical of Helton has nothing to do with the QB pecking order, does it?

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    1. The midget QB at MD might wanna start looking elsewhere because if this clown staff stays he’ll never play at USC

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  2. Stop. You’ve burned every bridge at the school. The only way any coach would speak to you is if they were made to do it. You’ve trashed all of them. You have no idea what is going on. You went to one practice because you bought the ticket. The rest of the time you pulled info from twitter. JT is better than Sears. Your guy lost, twice.

    As far as Slovis, it’s called context. GH said he can make throws the others guys cannot. That’s when he made the comment about talent. In other words, the kid has crazy natural abilities. The guy you mentioned, Aaron Rodgers, who has as much talent as anyone ever, had to play at a junior college before he went to Cal. You can have great talent and still be a true freshman not quite ready.

    Once again, your pettiness and lack of objectivity and talent is on display. Well done.

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    1. J.T. Daniels is 5 – 7 (4 – 5 PAC 12 Conference)

      1 – 5 W/L in his last 6 games.

      J.T. Daniels threw 8 INT’s in Fall practice alone.

      Yeah…he has starter written all over him.

      LMFAO!

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    4. You tell him to stop at the beginning and then state the very reason he can’t stop at the end. I don’t mean to pile on, but great post.

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  3. Graham Harrell is at USC as an afterthought, like most of Clay Helton’s coaching staff, including Bozo himself . So of course his comments make no sense, because he’s basically just a guy off the streets. And is a matter of fact, Harrell’s former boss at North Texas doesn’t even speak highly of him, he said his current offense coordinator Bodie Reeder from Eastern Washington, is a much better fit, and will take the team to new heights . 😂

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    2. Ole Puds 76 is still pissed because his wife’s mouth is stretched out of shape, he saw me drive off as he he pulled into his driveway 😁

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  5. Jack Sears is clearly the Trojans best QB, but J.T. Daniels is currently the love of Clay Helton’s life.

    Everyone knows Clay Helton is a second rate coach, he’s a joke. College football fans across the country can’t believe that USC would entrust its football program to that know nothing clown Helton.

    The USC Trojans Fall practice has become a drama queen filled relationship shit show.

    Don’t be surprised if you start seeing Clay Helton handing out roses to the players he feels are competing for a starting position on the team.

    J.T. Daniels received his rose yesterday from Clay Helton.

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    1. I should be struck by lightning for this as often as I have had at Owns on this topic, but…what you say is about the only way anyone on this team is going to have anything to do with roses until the Head Clown and his enablers are sent packing…

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      1. James –As you advised me: Don’t give up yet (we haven’t played our first game and so many questions will be answered on the 31st —it’s really put up or shut up time for this staff and team).
        Unrelated point. I just watched a YouTube video of the 1974 comeback. Pat Haden gave many fans my age the best time of their sports lives. He represented everything good about USC football. Isn’t it weird how things turned out for him? It’s like Sir Galahad found the Holy Grail and, then, left it behind and went to Vegas.

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      2. I mentioned that once – to watch the ’72-’74 teams and see Swann and Haden…guess it’s like Wellington as PM or Grant as president…sometimes best not to come home, but if you’re going to, would it be too much to ask?…

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      3. Forgot to add…and to think that was followed by the tough, absolutely clutch drive ending in the 2 point conversion in the Rose Bowl…one against the defending national champion, the other against the team that was even better than the defending national champion…yes, Monty Python intrudes on Arthurian legend!

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    2. For all the Gomer sunshine pumpers remember this, he chose Browne over Darnold, he kept playing a center that couldn’t snap the ball, he caved to a dad who bitched about his kid not playing, he can’t find qualified assistants and he’s a complete moron with game management, time out management and halftime adjustments, he’s a loser.

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      1. All true.

        The one positive is that he ultimately started Darnold.

        Another negative is that he has kept Pendergast.

        The SC defense has strugged for years now. Look back at the 2016 season. Utah and Stanford crushed Pendergast’s D. Not to mention Penn State.

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      2. I’ve mentioned that here before (was what angered me most about Swann retaining Helton but posturing about “change”) – I think it’s the most indictable offense committed…and it is the…not snake in the grass, because it’s so plain to see…it’s the biggest “until proven to the contrary”…even if, and I don’t think so, the Air Raid ended up being successful, it won’t matter in the games where the better teams (Washington, Notre Dame, et al) slow it down…as soon as the 3 and outs stack up, Clancy’s side will fold…

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      3. 67 — Sure those teams scored on us —but they did it illegally (by Helton standards): They made halftime adjustments ……
        #TheyShouldaBeenPenalized…
        #WeWereDoingGreatInTheFirstHalf….

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      4. Leave it to James to put his finger on our absolute worst case scenario: A good defense shuts down the passing game —leaving us to rely on the run (which will go nowhere) and….then…Clancy’s defense……
        #…WhichWillDoJustFineTillTheyGetBeatUp&WornDown….
        #….InThe3rdQuarter….

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      5. MG-
        That’s the well known story line where this offensive approach is concerned…the sad thing is that it’s all about attitude and approach…not play-calling…

        Some forget that under Pete USC was primarily a passing team…but they could run when they wanted and needed to (I’ve pointed out you could characterize last season’s Patriots playoff run in precisely the same terms)…it’s the ability to do everything, and everything well…and the running part, against tough/physical/top level teams, won’t come from gimmickry, but rather from the line having been coached/prepared properly…

        I still think Clancy’s defenses fold more than the circumstances demand, but have to admit that they have been left exposed to inordinate amounts of stress by Helton (and the former WKU clan), and see that being even heightened now…

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      6. James — One more (not inconsequential) thing —Pete knew where the talent was. He immediately knew what he had in Lendale White. He knew what he saw in Leinart. Helton is 3rd rate at recognizing what he’s got. I have a sneaking suspicion we’ll lose some games cuz Helton is bound and determined to stick with Carr in the run game (Carr will be fine catching passes coming outta the backfield but not trying to break the line as a runner —he’s just too easy to bring down). We COULD have a running game if Helton picked Stepp as the starter —-but he won’t.

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      7. MG-I saw where you had commented on that earlier and I agree (plus the danger, which as I tried to point out if memory serves that even Pete fell prey to, of trying to keep too many mouths fed/happy)…Pete even knew it in ’02 with McCullough and Vargas…EdO showed it with Buck Allen (I became a convert to – I’ll refer to it as “Then” Dan – Dan on the ‘style because he pointed out repeatedly that Buck Allen should be playing when Kiff was still in the fold)…would seem at best Carr is the ’02 McKenzie, ’03 Bush, ’08 Gable and/or McKnight…can only hope they do use him correctly…

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      8. James —To put it another way, Carr will only become a liability if they over rely on him as a weapon. He’s not an every down back —he’s not strong or durable enough. If they toss him some short passes, though, he could kill this year.

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  6. ZERO,
    Yes, Scott alienated himself within the Sports Information Cabal, headed by non other than ‘Capo Tessalone’ can’t be telling our secrets Scott !
    When you don’t pump out the ‘Company Line’ you gotta’ go.
    Gotta’ keep the faithful spending the big bucks.

    Scott makes a valid point and observation in the provenance and capabilities of Harrell, just who has he seen at the College level who he would compare Slovis to ? His broad experience has led him to see players at Oklahoma State, Washington State and North Texas. Incidentally, his coaching experience equals five…yes only FIVE years !!! Sure bet for an NFL gig next year…not!

    His time with Sittrell, they went 23-17 .575 w/l % in any power five conferences equals middle of the pack, far from outstanding !
    The last game coached by Harrell was last years New Mexico Bowl, they played Utah State, Harrell’s offense was CRUSHED 52-13, you homers will probably pass it off as just a bad year, well, 2017 they played in the New Orleans Bowl Troy 50 North Texas 30 again a beat down.
    So, to those thinking Graham Harrell’s offense is going to revive this program are suffering cognitive dissonance!

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      3. UNT also beat Arkansas with Harrell as OC. The year Harrell arrived at UNT, their offense improved to 35 pts a game and 450 yards of total offense.

        Not saying Harrell is a savior, but he has a record. Given the circumstances with Helton, I doubt SC could have hired someone clearly better.

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  7. “I’ve seen Peyton Manning throw at USC.”

    Wolf, when has Payton Manning thrown against USC? We only played the Vols in ’40, ’45, ’80, & ’81.

    Or are you talking about the other USC?

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  9. I’m sure he’s referring to the “best he’s seen at this point in development”. Sheesh, let’s over-analyze everything to make your point.

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  10. they need to install an ‘I told you so’ next to the ‘like’ button as the losing record becomes clear …of course I expect the sunshine always positive rose colored glasses crowd to thin out as the season progresses…whereas if by some true miracle I am wrong and SC wins Pac12 south and or title I will be happy to be the dumbest SC football fan in the universe…I had hoped the OC aka GH WAS GOING TO BE THE REAL OC…he isn’t ,helton still runs practices and all of it…thanks AD.

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  11. Trojan67,
    Yes N.Texas beat Arkansas, with the exception of E. Illinois and Tulsa. the ‘Arkies’ were 2-10 in 2018 and you’re assigning significance to that ??
    Harrell is still a .575% coach! His last outing though, shows precisely that his offense is very vulnerable and not as spectacular as the ‘Homers for Gomer’ perceives!

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    1. UNT should not even beat a crappy Arkansas team, but they beat them 44 -17. As I mentioned above, Harrell is no savior, but he turned UNT’s offense around. Mack Brown also offered Harrell a job.

      Is there an obvious OC Helton could have hired who would be better? Any assistant coming to SC knows that they might be part of a house-cleaning after one year. That makes it hard to hire good people.

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  12. USC Trojan football Comfortably Numb…

    USC Board of Trustees, Lynn Swann, Clay Helton and Clancy Pendergast…Comfortably Dumb!

    USC President Carol Folt currently getting fitted for her Dunce Cap so she can join her worthless corrupt incompetent underlings on this trainwreck we’re all witnessing.

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    1. So much there to work with…
      Brain Damage…Money…Welcome To The Machine…Wish You Were Here…Echoes…Sheep…
      But dare I ask…which one’s Pink?

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      2. There needs to be some serious Learning To Fly going on around that place…we’re definitely suffering from more than a Momentary Lapse of Reason…and if the powers that be aren’t replaced, we’ll be locked in a Terminal Frost…won’t ding the Division (Victory) Bell…

        So much to work with there…

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  13. Trojan67,
    I’ll liken your rebuttal of “UNT should not even beat a crappy Arkansas Team” to…UCLA should not even beat a crappy USC Team…I’m waiting.

    You further opine “Harrell is no savior” I certainly concur.

    As to Helton’s ability and cognitive ability to analyze coaching talent for a position on his staff, his past performance is quite indicative to his future performance in the limited metric of Offensive Coordinator…shall we look at previous failures, Tee Martin, Tyson Helton (nepotism notwithstanding)
    Bryan Ellis, not very outstanding, is it?

    However, you proffer continuing assertions that Harrell is going to change our direction. Let me just state, that in spite of your opinion, blind faith or hope in your belief that he will achieve success, none are a strategy for winning.

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    1. Yes, ucla should not beat a crappy usc team. Never. Words to live by.

      If I had a magic wand, I’d have Swann and Helton gone yesterday. I do expect that Harrell will significantly improve over Martin and Ellis.

      I don’t root for coaches or ADs, but I do root for the kids on the team. I don’t want them to pay the price for lousy coaching and leadership.

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  14. Harrell loves this guy. You could see it from the first time he stepped on the field in a USC uniform. Harrell has had nothing but high praise for him. I think that he’d like to get him in as a starter sometime early in this season. Why else would he make him number 2. He wasn’t really the second best. Even though he surprised everyone and looked great, I still would have had him #4 behind Daniels, Fink and Sears.

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