FOOTBALL

USC Sunday Buzz: Player Misevaluation

There are so many things I could say about USC.

But let’s look at player evaluation for a minute. Ceyair Wright has not played the past two games. Is he hurt? He dressed yesterday. Lincoln Riley said Wright was the most improved defensive player and top cornerback in spring practice and training camp.

Then there is Eric Gentry. He had six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. But he hasn’t played a lot, in part because of competition, Riley said. That means Riley’s infatuation with Tackett Curtis.

Right now, you would have to say Riley misjudged both players.

  • USC’s defense is now ranked 111th nationally. Remember all the media fanboys (and regular fanboys) who spent the offseason and part of this season telling you defense was better.

37 thoughts on “USC Sunday Buzz: Player Misevaluation”

    1. If he hadn’t fumbled at a crucial point in the Utah game (and it was his second I believe) Wiley wouldn’t have pulled Number-0, and so Wiles learned from that and let ‘0’ play through the Cal game where he was a hero

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      1. The problem with the offense is the O-Line……that and Caleb not willing to take the short stuff when it is open. Caleb wants to throw a bomb on every play. You run the ball and throw short passes. That brings those safeties closer to the LOS. Then you throw deep.

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  3. Whether the defense is better (it’s not) is beside the point
    Wiley-Grinch TRIED to improve it bringing in a boatload of new guys
    It just didn’t work out as planned, and now Wiley is unjustifiably being blamed “for doing nothing”

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      1. Again, he tried by bringing in a gang of new guys who he expected to perform better than they have, which was an indication of the quality player found in the Portal

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    3. The problem with the defense is Alex Grinch his shit coaches and the stupid “Speed Defense” scheme that he had to run at Washington St. that he still runs because it’s all he knows.

      USC and Oklahoma are Blue Bloods, they can attract top tier recruit talent as long as they invest in elite coaches that know what they’re doing, that have a resume that shows they develop those players preparing them for the next level.

      Everywhere that idiot Grinch goes he recruits the same type and size of players that he had at WAZZU. He wants that same scheme that WAZZU had to use, he implements it everywhere he goes. He’s a dumb fuck!

      What he doesn’t understand is that Oklahoma, USC and Ohio St. are known for recruiting size in the trenches, at linebacker and in the secondary, they’re a different animal than most teams, they don’t need to run those gimmicky bullshit defensive and offensive schemes, they have a history of being dominant, big, they wear opponents down as the game goes and by the 4th qtr. opponents are done.

      At least that’s how they used to be.

      All this “Air Raid” and “Speed Defense” shit was drawn up for teams that couldn’t recruit size, strength and speed. They couldn’t hang with the Big Boys so they had to find a way to try and speed up the game and tire out the big elite teams.

      It’s been the same gimmicky shit that Kiffin, Sarkisian, Helton and now this clown Riley runs, fast pace offense that’s small, weak and always soft, no match for the Blue Blood teams that stayed true to the power football that made them elite way back when.

      Kiffin and Sarkisian were mentored by Norm Chow, they had his playbook and they fucked it all up by trying to put their spin on it. Those two clowns reduced Chow’s playbook to bubble screens, quick slants, dink and dunk predictable play calling. The only reason they had success at Alabama was because Saban was able to recruit the best of the best, a monkey could have called offensive plays and been highly successful.

      Riley and Grinch are recruiting the same type and size of players that fit in their system, on offense Riley couldn’t care less about the quality and size of the offensive line because the way he figures it, he wants the ball out fast on pass plays so pass protection he couldn’t give a shit about, it’s why he always has mobile qb’s and they’re usually running for their lives.

      As for the run game, he usually abandons it pretty quick, doesn’t matter how well it’s working, he always gets pass happy.

      The defense, Riley doesn’t give two shits about defense, you can tell he hates being bothered with questions about it. He said after the humiliating loss to Tulane that he was going to be more hands on with the defense this year, that he was going to watch over Grinch, that was a fucking lie because he’s allowing that idiot Grinch to do the same stupid shit that he did last year.

      USC needs to quit hiring these idiots that are one dimensional because if they don’t hire a real defensive coordinator and staff they’re really going to be fucked in the B1G.

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      2. Excellent analysis and everything is spot on. The reason that Kiffin and Sark did well at Bama is that Saban would put a foot up their candy asses when they started all that happy horseshit.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Tebowobama was spot on in his analysis. We are scheming for an offensive that can’t recruit lineman and a defense that can’t recruit anyone. Why are you doing that at USC where you should be able to recruit top 5 classes every year.

        Liked by 2 people

      4. tebowoboma,

        Nice write up. It is true about the defense at SC being dominate in the past. Riley needs to pull his head out and get a run game first and then a pass game for this season and for the next. #0 is doing a great job and Riley needs to have him running.

        Riley has to become the head coach and not just an ocoridnator. Great thought on your part.

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    4. He isnt being blamed for “doing nothing” he is being blamed for keeping Grinch. He could have pulled in the best athletes and Grinch would have found a way to make them play poorly as a defensive team.

      5 star 2026 CB commits to USC today. Did they tell him Grinch is gone and he said “that is all I need”.

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Grinch’s famous line is, “I didn’t like the way this player or that player practiced this week, so that’s why you didn’t see him get any playing time during the game”

        Grinch wants to play games, show everyone who’s boss, he’ll sit players that should be starting and sometimes for weeks on end.

        Grinch pulled that crap with Raesjon Davis last year and he’s doing it again this year. Davis should be starting, but Grinch would rather go with undersized linebackers who he thinks are quicker and they maybe, but they can’t tackle for shit, they’re out of position, they not big enough to go through anybody, they get tossed aside or shoved completely out of the play.

        Tackett Curtis down at the goal line, he couldn’t get through a gap if his life depended on it. It closed and he was stonewalled, he tried to go around the lineman, but by then the Cal player had walked into the end zone, Curtis looked ridiculous, a non-factor and still Grinch kept running him out there…damn!

        He might end up being good, but right now there’s no way he should be out there as much as he is.

        Liked by 2 people

  4. As far as cherry-picking what Wiley may have said about a player,
    he is not going to be completely ‘open’ with such a question,
    he has the player’s feelings on the line, instead of
    ‘Wright will never be right, he’s improved but not enough to get on the field

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  6. USC football is a shit show and unless AD Cohen sits little Lincoln down and MAKES him can most of his shitty staff and gets him to focus 100% on recruiting and developing players, the shit show will continue .

    I doubt Jen has a big enough clit to do it

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  7. Seen it a thousand times. A coach gets infatuated with a player who is simply not that good or not ready to be a starter, but refuses to put him on the bench because he doesn’t want to admit he’s wrong. And that right there is CLR’s Achilles Heal, his ego. He’s shown repeatedly that his ego is writing checks that USC cannot cash.

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  8. Of all the defensive players Reilly took in from the portal, the only star is Bear Alexander. He will play on Sundays. CRW is functional and has helped the team but is not an NFL player. Mason Cobb, Anthony Lucas, Kyon Barrs, and Jack Sullivan have all underperformed. So is that because they were not particularly good to begin with and therefore ended up in the portal. I don’t think so. Barrs, Lucas, and Cobb all have talent. Cobb was all conference in the BIG 12 last year. I think it is defensive scheme and coaching. The Cal running back, Ott, was stopped twice for no gain between the tackles and then popped out for long touchdown runs. There is no gap containment, or edge integrity and the linebackers look pathetically slow at times. This happens almost every game and we are now in the ninth week. When are we going to see improvement from Tackett Curtis and why is Raejon Davis still on the bench? Odom needs to go along with Grinch and Donte and Nua needs to develop Lucas and if he can’t he needs to go.

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  9. Riley is losing the fan base and fast. Even the fanboys on the other blogs are turning. Riley is demonstrating zero sense of urgency or disgust with his coaches or overall program. It’s his bs pressers that got most shaking their heads. After Kiffin, Sark, Helton and now LR, I’m thinking the only way this program is going ever resurrect is a defensive minded coach with a Norm Chow type as OC. Kirby smart, Lanning, Saban, Pete Carrol, Venables, etc, are some examples. Sure there’s offensive minded guys who are up there, but notice they have top notch DCs because they understand the game from a HC view, not OC view. We lack toughness. We play like a pass happy team.

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    2. That’s why I laughed 2-3 weeks ago at the ticket office for not caring if long time season ticket holders let our tickets go the past year or two, because we didn’t care for all of the changes. Previously, we had stuck through thick & thin because we enjoyed knowing our seatmates, watching their families grow and getting old with each other.

      The new fans don’t care about that. Their “friends” are on Fakebook and Instagram. They won’t keep their tickets through thick & thin. Most of them will be gone next year.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. slo pa-troll: “let our tickets go the past year or two, because we didn’t care for all of the changes”

        What the fuck, you lying sack of shit. That is exactly why you avoided any comments about the drone because you were never at the game. You always told Blog how you were getting ready to leave for the game and tailgate. You also told us that you were a season ticket holder and this was the first season you failed to renew.

        You got caught pulling the same shit you call Gabby out for. When are you going to meet Gabby for your ass whipping

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