FOOTBALL

USC’s Offensive Line Is Meeting Expectations

How bad was USC’s offensive line vs. BYU? I’ve questioned the effectiveness of offensive line coach Tim Drevno since he returned to USC and yesterday the line looked overmatched trying to block three down linemen. Center Brett Neilon was repeatedly overmatched.

I can’t even remember how many times I pointed out in the offseason the offensive line would be a weak link.

One fallacy emerging is that BYU somehow provided USC opponents with a guide to stop the Air Raid offense by dropping eight players into pass coverage.

Back in February I pointed out an in-depth article that illustrated how Washington has dominated Washington State the past five seasons by . . . dropping eight players back!

56 thoughts on “USC’s Offensive Line Is Meeting Expectations”

    3. Reporter: coach wolf, on that 4th & 12 you decided to run the ball and gained 3yds. What happened there?
      Wolf: A Pac12 coach told me when the defense has 4 in the box, you should run. It didn’t turn out like we hoped.

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  2. You’re wrong, Scott…yeah, with big dudes up on you with a few years on you maybe you might miss a few, too…but, they also gained yardage running it off Brett, too….QUIT BAGGIN OUR OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINES…they’re playing decent football.,.

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    1. USC OUTRUSHED BYU ON THE ROAD! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Good grief…and, LAY OFF OUR SECONDARY! They were right there most of the day! Surely, better than I’ve seen in years…and, young still!

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      2. 3 INTERCEPTIONS WAS THE DIFFERENCE! You think Jack Sears couldn’t do everything and more for the ballclub Slovis does lol!? Jack threw 1 interception the whole camp lol…omg…the horror of it all…fans have to sit here and watch a quarterback’s ups and downs WHILE USC DUMPS GAMES IT SHOULDN’T!

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  3. This is not an air raid offense. We were sold this bill of goods by Swann and Helton to deflect from the miserable offense that Helton/Martin attempted last year. The air raid SC is running is easy to defend per Washington’s domination of WSU. BYU did the same thing. I have mentioned repeatedly, you have to have the horses up front or you are screwed. You have to be able to run the fucking ball. Helton does not understand power football. I question what he does understand. The man is so out of his depth I actually feel sorry for his gross incompetence. He should be fired now, let Harrell be head coach until year end. Then ALL staff should be swept out. New AD can make his choice. If Helton was over ruling Harrell calls in second half yesterday, then Harrell should show some balls and quit now. That would be the end of Helton.

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    1. Linkster — It’s telling that Helton and Clancy addressed the media after yesterday’s loss —but Harrell did not. There will be b.s. explanations of that fact by later today or Monday —but I think a rift is growing. Harrell is not happy —you could see it last week in post practice interviews. You’d have to be blind not to. He’s not excited or enthusiastic anymore. It’s dawned on him he’s working for a psycho…..and he’s under contract. That’s a fucked up situation for any young coach….
      #….HeltonPoisonsEverythingHeTouches….
      #….EvenSamWentDownhillHisFinalYear…

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  4. I realized who Helton reminded me of…Homer Simpson. One can easily see many of the Homer Simpson quotes coming out of Helton’s (Gomer Simpson’s) mouth:

    1. “Operator, give me the number to 911”

    2. “Stupidity got us into this mess, and stupidity will get us out”

    3. “Trying is the first step towards failure”

    4. “Three little sentences that will get you through life: 1)Cover for me. 2)Oh, good idea, boss. 3)It was like that when I got here”

    5. “I’m normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me”

    6. “If I could say a few words…I would be a better public speaker”

    7. “What is the point of going out? We are just going to end up back here anyway.”

    8. “I think the saddest day of my life was when I realized I could beat my dad at most things…my kids realized that when they were 4 years old.”

    9. “If you don’t like your job, don’t strike. Just go in and do it half-assed”

    10. “I hope I didn’t brain my damage”

    11. “That’s it. You people have stood in my way long enough…I’m going to clown college”

    12. “I think they picked me for my motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I am around.”

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      1. What to do?

        1. Fire Helton

        2. Hire Urban Meyer…just his presence will change the culture with both players and coaches. Program will instantly have national attention, fans will immediately be back, and merchandise sales will sore. Urban looks bored sitting behind a desk commenting on other teams.

        Worried about the ridiculous buyout clause? The program is losing more money every day Gomer stays.

        It is not complicated.

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      4. Chris hits the bulls eye with the difficulty in hiring Meyer. Aside from anyone’s personal views about Meyer, many universities may steer clear from Meyer for exactly the reason that Chris points out.

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      5. Chris —It’s primarily up to the injured party to report abuse. It’s not up to a non percipient witness to report hearsay….and risk becoming a involved in litigation himself.

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      6. MG,
        He was arrested twice. Even after the second arrest, Meyer kept him on staff. Their wives were communicating about the abuse, supposedly keeping Urban out of it, sure. But we are not talking about a legal issue, we are talking about football, where coaches are supposed to be building character into young men. Urban is a failure in that regard. He will undoubtedly win games, and I guess that is all that matters to most.

        I’d rather lose every game without him than win them all with him.

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  6. The above points on the air raid…several of us have observed similarly … anyone wanting to view the matter in the hands of skilled practitioners go watch replays of the Chargers two playoff games from last season…using the drop 7 or 8 they made Lamar Jackson look so bad that all off season that was the sole focus of the media in covering the Ravens (clearly the off season was well used by that Harbaugh and Jackson as he looks to be light years beyond that already this season)…then watch how that defense faired against the Patriots…New England went to the ground and then mixed in play action and throws to Gronk…and it was a demolition…the point being no matter how electrifying the passing attack may be…at some point you have to be able to control the line of scrimmage and run…

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  7. It is not simply dropping eight men in coverage.

    Why it worked for BYU (and UW) is because they had some very good LB’ers who could drop back but also charge the box and hold their own on running plays. When USC tried to run, those LB’ers were there to hold RB’s from breaking off a big run. USC probably could have controlled the game with a run game but their OL could not dominate the LB’ers crashing in. The running game could have done more but USC’s linemen are now mostly pass blockers and not suited to be tough and physical as a running game requires.

    #It’sNotJustAboutDroppingEight;It’sHowTheLB’ersCanDisguiseACoverageDWhileBeingAbleToComeInAndDefenseARun

    #ExhibitAOnBYULB’ersAthleticism-INT#1andINT#3

    #OnTheFirstPick,TheBYULBWentCompletelyHorizontal

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    1. Agreed – it involves mixing coverages as well as blitzes and stunts … last year the buzz term was “walk around” but at base it is doing enough to get the QB to pause an extra beat to enable the rush to get home … and the D line playing the run while in route … people keep acting like the air raid is revolutionary … it is anything but … it is primarily designed to enable teams with inferior talent to have a way to offset talent differentials … and it has led to a few upsets … but generally speaking well coached superior talent renders it one dimensional and shuts it down …

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      2. Because Pat Haden believed that all you needed was an exciting offense to win championships and nothing more. That moron didn’t think big, strong linemen were necessary and so he went and pushed out big, tough EdO and brought in an offense guy, LoserSark.

        When the Ducks started flying high under Chip Kelly, Haden said all USC needs is that to be competitive again. So down came Sark to speed and tempo the USC Trojans into an embarrassing mess.

        #WhatMakesItWorseIsHadenWasARhodesScholarAndShouldHaveBeenSmarterThanThis

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      3. gt —That is a very good question. But I think we’d probably still be okay if we had fresh faces running the defense and special teams. I’m not a professional Baxter or Pendergast hater —but they aren’t holding up their end of the bargain this year (or last year).
        #…[AndAirRaidWouldn’tBeFatalProblemIfHeltonWouldButtOut]….

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  8. What happened to the much-ballyhooed Air Raid? From the get go of the game SC was falling back to 2018 style of play with long counts at the line of scrimmage instead of fast plays. Slovis looked like he had no practice at facing a dropped back 8 in coverage – deer in the headlights. And I’m not sure about the so-called 30 seconds of “noise” about Lynn Swann not being retained no affecting the team (as some media commentators state). If Swann is out that means the other shoe – Helton – is about to drop and players might be affected knowing their coach is on the way out.

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      1. gt —It’s not a rumor. Harrell said he was going to stick with the Air Raid even if Slovis experienced trouble. Harrell is a gunslinger — HE didn’t change HIS mind about offensive philosophy between Wednesday and Saturday. Helton went back to HIS philosophy of NO philosophy. It had to make Harrell sick to his stomach —which is manifestly why he needed time to cool down before he talks to the press ….and gets more prepared to say all the things Helton wants him to……
        #MessageToHarrell:TellTheTruth

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      3. Any chance Harrell bails before Helton? I’d be teed off if the HC did that to me. I guess if he stays, he’d be the interim HC. Helton always panics in game situations.

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      4. Arturo —I’m sure Harrell has already contacted his lawyers…and I’m sure they’ve already told him he has to honor the contract he signed……
        #AllHeCanDoNowIsStandUpForHisSystem….
        #…AndForceHeltonToListenOr,MoreLikely,SidelineHim

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  9. For young Mr. Harrell coming to USC as an OC is quite an achievement.
    Coming to USC with Clay Helton…not so much.

    Good Luck Mr. Harrell, you’re going to need it !

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    1. Harrell was a great QB. And he worked with a great offensive mind, Mike Leach. He knows what he wants to do with this offense. But he can’t go all out with it —cuz Helton is second guessing him all the way. Now it’s up to this very young offensive coordinator to straighten Helton out before Utah —and I don’t think he’s up to that. He hasn’t been around long enough to know how to deal with a psycho boss.

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      2. gt —It’s a tragedy —along the lines of The Caine Mutiny (with Helton playing the part of control psycho, Captain Queeg). Queeg is in over his head and, as a consequence, becomes more and more irrational. By the end of the movie version, you feel sorry for him.
        Helton’s done the best he can —but it isn’t near good enough…..
        #IBlameHadenForPuttingEverybodyInThisPosition….
        #…Helton,Players,Administration,Fans…..

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      3. MG
        Not the Caine Mutiny
        I’ve said it for months – he’s “Captain” Benteen from the Twilight Zone…
        and he can’t wait for you to see how special this team is (last night he apparently trotted out a version of that line again)…

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      6. MG
        Oh and you saw Dan’s article from today (on BR it had a split screen photo of him and Urban)…strangely, Sycophant Spratling is still spewing apologist bullet point statements, and RA is still acting in a similar fashion (eg defending Pendergast)…

        For all of you…no matter how hard he is to listen to, you should listen to the episodes with Coach Hyde…he has called this for tow years or more, and he never apologizes or backsteps…most recent episode from today he again spells out all of the many unacceptable failures/deficiencies of this awful regime…

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      7. All true, James. Hard not to feel a little sorry for Captain Benteen …I mean Coach Helton. Like Benteen, he’s not the world’s leader—he’s just not upper echelon (and he is unable to comprehend that). And throughout 2016-17 no one on the “crew” told him otherwise (and, following up on the Twilight Zone analogy, he got so used to being called the “captain”, he can’t let go and let Harrell rescue him)…
        #….NotOneOfThoseTwilightZonesWithAHappyEnding….

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      8. I still say it matters little as SC does not prepare their athletes to play football,it is a halfassed football due to halfassed practices…hellton is cheating these athletes and not developing them as SC has been known for…worse than anything Meyer may or may not have done…lying in their homes to them and parents while looking them in the eye and smiling…marital problems are not of any consideration to anyone but the married…they have many options and being adults ,supposedly, they can use them.
        Life is complicated enough ,sorting out marriage problems better left to marriage experts and lawyers, not football coaches…period.

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  10. Way to go Scott you tipped them. The loss is on you. But since the ads on your site ask if I know what my dog is telling me when it licks its paws, I’m guessing the dog is saying,” your floor tastes like dog piss. Am I right?

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  11. Way to go Scott you tipped them. The loss is on you. But since the ads on your site ask if I know what my dog is telling me when it licks its paws, I’m guessing the dog is saying,” your floor tastes like dog piss. Am I right?

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  12. Harrell is in an impossible situation. Don’t expect much from Folt until after the season and a full time AD makes his pick.
    Its sad…….but enjoy the open mouth look for now. When he flips his headphones down someday that ought to be a USC classic.

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  13. Thoughts on BYU: our offensive game plan and play selection doomed us. BYU was daring us to pass, and we fell for it (3 picks, and I don’t know how many triple-coverage passes I saw attempted…but more than a few!). Stepp specifically should have gotten more reps – and the running game was not faltering, it was actually wearing down their D, and was difficult to stop. Even though our line play was weak, our backs can manage with only three down linemen opposing them. There was not enough play action (zero?), and truly the only time we should have gone to the air was with their D in man coverage (which was infrequent).

    Bottom-line: this whole coaching staff needs to be shown the door. We have the talent on the field to win, but our coaching staff cannot do it. Helton, Baxter, Pendergast, Harrell, …they can all go, and we can start with a clean slate. Out.

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  14. Arizona State was able to come from behind against Michigan State with their freshman qb scrambling on a 4th and 13 to pick up the first down. Sears would have done similar things for SC against BYU.

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  15. This will be coach Heltons final year. Harrell just needs to bite his lip otherwise he will become radioactive & will be coaching Pee Wee next year. He got in one year. Most guys like him rotate onward every two years. Coach Helton will be off into the sunset & Coach Harrell will be at another div 1 school.
    I love Coach Helton but you guys need to set him free & let him be a big shot at Cerritos.

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    1. Yes! What a nice way of putting it. Free Helton…
      #Folt(AfterUtahGame):”Clay,I’mSettingYouFree”
      #Clay:”ButIDon’tWantToBeSetFree!”
      #Folt:”Don’tMakeMeCallSecurity”

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  16. there is some improvement on the ‘O’ line and Drevno is the reason…it is held back by hellton ball aka lets prance around in shorts today, or lets not get our ass right back out there ,we deserve a day off…a middle guard like Tonga needs to be double teamed ,everyone knows the center has to snap the ball to the q/b carefully in shotgun… it is true Jack or Matt would be better and both H&H are wrong…but it ain’t gonna happen ’cause hellton apparently does not like them.
    I don’t care what we run in the game or who does it…SOFT PRACTICES ARE KILLING THIS TEAM and its potential to be a real SC football team.

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