FOOTBALL

Here’s Why Coaching Matters At USC

Earlier today, I ran this Todd Orlando quote on Chris Steele: “You want guys to be aggressive. If you get too much into a corner’s head and make them soft, you’ll never get that back.”

You know why this is a bad quote?

Because it means you don’t know how to correct it. It means you are not coaching. If USC cornerbacks are holding and grabbing in games, it means they are doing it in practice. It needs to be fixed . . . by the coaches.

It’s the coaches’ job to teach and correct. Not to just allow things to keep happening.

31 thoughts on “Here’s Why Coaching Matters At USC”

  1. Ok, based on this blog post can anyone, blogger or posters, name an assistant the last ten years at USC who knew how to teach and correct? Has USC had an assistant like that recently?

    No “recruiting prowess” here. A guy who “coached?”

    #InquiringMindsWantToKnow

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. Did wonders with Ronald Jones…which numbskull idiot coach are you referring to?

        USC’s coaches didn’t do a damn thing for Ronald Jones, that kid earned every single yard he gained the hard way.

        Jones never had any blocking being done for him. It was Jones talent that allowed him to make something out of nothing. He should have averaged 150+ yards rushing a game if he had minimal blocking. I don’t know how many times he got hit in the backfield just as he was getting the ball and he still managed to gain yards.

        Had Jones gone to Alabama, Clemson, tOSU…he would have won the Heisman.

        USC/Helton & Co. wasted that kids talent. Such a shame.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. TO’s right. In RoJo’s final year he was met in the backfield on a significant number of carries (same for Carr that year). Reign of Troy quoted a metric from a data analytic firm. I vaguely recall that RoJo was met by a defender on RoJo’s side of the LOS about 40% of the time.

        To grab 1500+ yards (which sounds too high) is mostly on RoJo.

        I also vaguely recall that Sammy D was finally overly frustrated at the lackluster O-line play that year and exploded in post-game comments.

        Liked by 3 people

      5. The coach was Deland McCullough —smart, charismatic and a born leader. He’s now with Kansas City as their running backs coach. He had Jones making ONE cut and then taking off —-something that could really help Carr out …instead of dancing around at the line waiting for things to open….

        Liked by 3 people

      7. I really like it when the aliases fight with each other…..
        #”ItIsOnlyThruDebateThatWeArriveAtTruth”
        —-John Stuart Mill

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Good point, but on the other hand, I can see what Orlando is saying. There is a ton of holding and interference that doesn’t get called in every game, a bit that is obvious, a lot that is more borderline and that never gets whistled.

    The way the game has evolved with QBs so much better now than in the past, there is just a lot more contact now between DB and receiver than there was back in the day. If you have a corner that is playing it “clean” on every play, never risking the penalty, they are going to get picked apart.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. SO true, 67. I love how aggressive our corners are playing —it’s preferable to waiting around to make the tackle after the uncontested reception [I just wish Clay finessed his answer about how tough they are —it’d be nice to have a public relations campaign going on between our coach and the flag happy Pac 12 refs]……

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Based on the first 2 games, I thought that the secondary, along with Drake Jackson and Tuipuloto, were the relative highlights of the D.

        BTW, why are we playing in the frozen tundra at night? Start time is 7:30 pm.

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Larry Scott insists that the Trojans play one Late October/Early November night game in either Utah or (usually) Boulder. It nullifies USC’s finesse passing game. This year, it is Salt Lake City.

        The Trojans will come out of SLC with a ton of injuries. We always leave Boulder with a long list of walking wounded.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. 100% solid, ’67.
      In the pros, if the WR starts the hand-play then the DB is permitted the exact same “handsiness.” Let ’em play.

      The problem is likely not Steele but the subpar Pac 12 officiating.

      Liked by 3 people

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  3. Tony Orlando is wrong.
    I have made many course corrections during my successful career. He has to trust his players. I know now why he was booted by Herman at UT.

    Some crappy bosses have tried to get in my head and said and did some pretty awful stuff to me. I ignored it and pressed ahead. Guess what? I survived all of them.

    As Jimmy V said “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up”

    Liked by 2 people

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    2. I don’t miss Charlie Bucket the corrupt moderator who hijacks posters handles in addition to his 10 aliases…

      Trojandude207
      1d ago
      Well this IS interesting. I am not sure if this site is for me anymore. Each email address used generates a unique symbol that represents the email address. One person on this page has 10 such symbols generated for his username. That is some next level trolling. And none of messages upon this thread has anything to do with the the purpose of the thread. It has developed into a prepubescent name calling.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Nobody ever said Charlie was afraid of taking things to the limit. And beyond….
        #HeCanBeSuchABadBoySometimes..
        #ButYaGottaAdmitHeDoesHaveHisMoments

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Scott’s doubling down on a poor take. Nothing Orlando said is wrong, and nothing Orlando said is to be interpreted the way Scott says it should. It is something said by every defensive coach everywhere. To pretend otherwise is ignorance.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. He has no clue. The best corner draw their fair share of penalties. They are physical and they don’t allow separation. If you are all over your guy, you will get some flags. Bad corners don’t get flagged, they get beat.

      Liked by 1 person

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