FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC Coaches Can’t Be Fans

I was pretty critical of the USC defense for its performance vs. Stanford.

But I stressed the other day no more so than the coaches.

“We’re not fans,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said Wednesday. “We can’t be in a position where we’ll be fine as long as the offense scores. So we’ve got to be better, much better in the run game and in the pass game.”

That’s how you know if you are a fan. Or Pro Football Focus. You ignore the shortcomings of the defense and pretend USC is better than it is.

I do not because against a good team it will come back to haunt USC. My only question is when USC will play a good team?

Speaking of Pro Football Focus, here’s some mystifying ratings:

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  • USC received a commitment from tight end Joey Olsen of Lake Oswego, Ore. He is listed as the No. 10 in the nation by 247. Rivals lists him as a three-star.

48 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC Coaches Can’t Be Fans”

    1. Ed, everybody keeps thinking and saying that the “lines man” are waiting to see how good SC really is before committing, so I don’t know

      However, I do know that but for some fortuitous turnovers (4) Stanford made, especially down on the goal line a couple of times in the first quarter, that the Indians disguised as Cardinals could have scored 42-points. — And how many points did our guys have, again?

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      1. HEY FAKE GUY
        I CAN MAKE JOKES LIKE THAT USING CLEAN WORDS

        OR

        I CAN GET DOWN IN THE MUD WITH YOU

        BUT

        FOR NOW

        YOU CAN STAY IN THE MUD MUDDAFUK

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I CONFESS TO BEING A TOUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT FRESNO ST THAN I WAS ABOUT THE INDIANS
    FIRST THEY COULD HAVE EASILY BEATEN OREGON ST
    SECOND THE KIDS FROM THAT AREA ARE JUST PLAIN TOUGH
    ITS IN THEIR GENES
    I SAW THE FRESNO ST RUINS GAME LAST YEAR AND THAT FRESNO ST QB WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD
    AND ONE TOUGH KID
    STILL
    IM PREDICTING OUR TROJANS WILL WIN AND COVER THE TWELVE POINT SPREAD !

    Liked by 1 person

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      2. steve,

        If Helton would have been coach this year, then Fresno would have won hands down. Tedford is a good coach and he will have them prepared. But with Riley, he has SC prepared. With the talent that SC has compared to Fresno, no disrespect to FSU, but Williams is a better qb and SC has better receivers, so SC should win.

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    1. Wolfe, can we get some inside information, or, can we get some post that give us something to say where we don’t get off base opinions that don’t have nothing to do what you posted? That’s all I’m saying. WITH YOUR DAILY NEWS POSITION AS A SPORTS WRITER, DO THEY GIVE YOU ANY INVESTIGATIVE ASSIGNMENTS LIKE HOW MUCH THESE PLAYERS GET IN NIL DEALS. OR HOW ARE PLAYERS GETTING ALONG WHO DON’T GET BIG NIL DEALS, OR M NELSON REALLY GOING TO FLIP TO TEXAS AM WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE REACTION THURSDAY WOLFE.

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      3. Hey Pasadenatrojan the family business was an auto dismantling yard “junk yard”. I learned all my business acumen from grandfather and father. We had the business in the great City of Wilmington, not to far from Banning HS, when Ferragamo n Coach Vol were dominating City Football. Those were the days of Freeman McNeil M. Alo, Leroy Holt J. Holloway D. Hooper Al. Washington who I played with who went to Carson then USC. Forgot to mention Eldridge Hudson, who would have been the first Big Pt guard, later went to UNLV with Tarkanian. I played with a gang of athletes from Carson, Banning and Gardena. Right now I’m a independent pro per civil litigator in real estate, family law, probate and conservatorship cases, and work with lawyers on big cases, That’s y I don’t put my profile on nothing conflict of issues that might arise. Just ask MG, LJ n who else understand legal jargon.

        Liked by 3 people

    3. HI CHARLES
      THAT HAS TO BE YOUR MOST EXCITING LINK YOU HAVE EVER POSTED
      HOW IN HELL DID YOU EVER CUM ACROSS IT ???
      HOW YOUGONNA KEEP THOSE GIRLS DOWN ON THE FARM
      AFTER THEY HAVE SEEN THAT ??

      THANX CHARLES !!!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  7. Hey, GT Wolfe does still work for DN, you wouldn’t understand, if he was an undercover journalist who lost his way on the way down the ladder as a sports blogger. But I still find your blogs somewhat controversial and entertaining.

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    2. Eric, Scottie has been gone from the DT for years. There was a purge, and pretty much all the veteran journalists were gone. He got himself banned back in the day from practices, so the whole “Inside USC” theme flew out the window long ago. He badly needs to develop some current sources.

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      1. I have ideas along those lines, 67….
        #TheyInvolveCarol….
        #…..ATwoPoundBoxOfChocolates…
        #..AndSomethingInLavenderFromVictoria’sSecrets…

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Mike, Tebow would dress Scottie in a tinfoil hat. And instruct him to talk a lot about the fictitious Apollo space program during the date.

        Liked by 1 person

      7. A great many Biden fans will have to do their best to hide their disappointment when, between the November elections and January 2023, he officially declares war on the country he swore to protect….
        #”It’sForOurOwnGood…WeHaveItComing…”

        Liked by 1 person

      8. …of course after January 2023 Jim Jordan will just keep blathering on Fox like he always does instead of doing one thing to help the working class he sez he represents…
        #ComeOnRepublicans,StepUpToTheFuckingPlate

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    3. Eric,

      Thank you for sharing. Great talent back then down in that area. My high school, Loyola, played against Freeman McNeil. Banning tilted the bus with their weight. However, Loyola beat them by the score of 42-7 and stopped McNeil.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Eric,

        But you don’t want to be like another Brian Panish? He was in my class at Loyola, and being the turkey he is, he got kicked out of Loyola with two other guys for destroying St. John Bosco’s locker room. He got kicked out of loyola and went to SJB. He bought the football field there and named it after him.

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  9. RILEY PRAISED BLACKMONS COVERAGE DESPITE THE THREE PASS INTERFERENCE PENALTIES CALLED AGAINST HIM.
    HE SAID ONE WAS COMPLETELY BOGUS AND HIS COVERAGE WAS TEXTBOOK !

    IN GENERAL HE LOVED THE KIDS PLAY ALL GAME.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. George, I think we hired the best available coach. We had to live through a decade of crap, but we finally got to the point where we hired a really good, professional, transparent coach.

      Liked by 1 person

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  10. The defense has got to improve. Look at who they practice against. Iron sharpens iron. Once the lemons Helton recruited start producing juice, the team will start looking better. USC didn’t just pick up any old kid who was in the portal. They went after kids with potential who were stockpiled at other schools. They will get better. Stanford scores awarded by the refs should not count against this defense.

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. There is not one team on the schedule that would scare me in regard to the defense. Not even a Utah. The best defense is the best offense.* As long as the score is higher on the USC side at the end of the game. Let is fly.

    * will a poor defense win a national title? Yes, ask Vince Young.

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    1. And Vince’s offense got the benefit of a phantom TD.

      Utah’s D gave up nearly 700 yards to Ohio St. last year. And their best defensive players are gone.

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  12. Joey Olsen is a 4 star on 247. Great length (6’5″), great speed (4.5), once he adds some weight (currently 200 lbs.), watch the stars jump. Just 16 years old.

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. Olsen is tested as the top recruit in Oregon. Lest just ignore that, right? Never good enough and not happy at the small success that they achieve and waiting for the sky to fall. Have we become so jaded that life has no meaning without drama?

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