Are Coaches Playing The Best Players?

Here is a question for people who still defer to the judgment of Lincoln Riley.

Did you notice that USC played better at linebacker with the one-game, slap-on-the-wrist suspension for Desman Stephens?

Why did it take a suspension for Riley and Gary Patterson to see that the Trojans probably should have been playing other linebackers before?

Are the dynamic coaching duo blind at other spots too? What reason is their at the moment to trust their judgment?

I’m willing to bet their are some cornerbacks on the team who might be better. But apparently, we will never know.

49 thoughts on “Are Coaches Playing The Best Players?”

  1. KAM: I am sure coaches miss on some players

    DON: But coaches’ jobs depend on their players, so it stands to reason they are playing who they think is best

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yep…but I think what Scott is saying is Coach Riley may not know who’s best…..

      #ButNoneOfUsKnowsWhosHotAnyParticularWeek…

      #Cuz…..

      #NoPracticeVideos

      Liked by 1 person

      1. MG, I bet Wiley hears whose best from his coaching staff, but then uses his ‘gut-feeling instead

        Like

  2. Riley is just playing TrOJies football. just like great OJ Simpson, Stephens try to take Dante‘s head off. but just like OJ he got locked up!

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      1. Yeah, you’d think that after Rodney Alcala, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that.

        IF OJ did it, it was a crime of passion. Alcala did it for the fun of it more than 100 times!! Sick.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. not as queer as trOJies who still declare he’s innocent of murder!!

        #BizarreDenialism

        #NoShame

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  3. Scott, all I know is that Stephens is a captain and the coaches think he is an integral part of the linebacking corp

    By the way, thanks for the forum

    Liked by 3 people

      1. GEORGE —I ACTUALLY THOUGHT I WAS GREAT IN PRACTICE….BUT REALLY CAME TO A CRESCENDO WHEN GIVEN A GAME OPPORTUNITY….

        Liked by 2 people

      2. BTW…WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU, MY BUD!

        HOPE WE ENJOY A WIN THIS SATURDAY…… WE CAN THEN GET HEALTHY AND LOOK BETTER FOR SECOND HALF OF SEASON!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. DON: SC football still holds a bit of mystique as a carry over from the out-of-this-world Carrot years

    KAM: Everybody especially loves to beat SC

    Liked by 2 people

      1. it’s 8 if you toss out Agricultural Digest poll of 1928 and ’39. also 2004 remains vacated by NCAA due to cheating. again, sorry for dog-napping you and your mistreatment. (that was rookie coach John Wooden’s idea)

        #OrDidTheyChangeThat???

        #StolenValor

        Liked by 1 person

      2. 2004 is vacated only in the minds of the envious (SEC and their chogies ESPN and NCAA; Notre Dame; UC – but are blind – LA, et al). You know it. No different than all of your bought and paid for Wooden national championships (which I and many USC fans have no problem with – just doing what had been done at least back to Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma post-WW II, and what is now being done openly). Hail Gail Goodrich, Kareem, Bill, Jamal, Richard Washington, Maurice Lucas, Sydney Wicks, Swen Water, and the rest of the cast … Hail Mike Patterson, BKU, Sean Cody, Lofa Tatupu, Big Deuce, Matt, Dwayne, Steve Smith, Lendale … and yes, yes, yes … Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. KAM: Unfortunately Riley Coyote doesn’t get what it means to be a Trojan.

        DON: This is just another gig for him on his way to the NFL.

        Liked by 2 people

  5. SO CAL YOU NAILED IT AGAIN AND JOHN THAT 1962 TEAM WAS THE FIRST I REALLY REALLY ENJOYED. I CAN STILL RECALL MANY MANY PLAYERS. WILLIE BROWN AND BEN WILSON WERE JUST 2 OF MY FAVORITES

    Liked by 1 person

  6. SO SC LAYS CLAIM TO TITLES IN ’31,’32 AND 39– NO WONDER SC FOOTBALL CAUGHT ON IN LOS ANGELES. IT WAS THE HEART OF THE DEPRESSION AND THE TROJANS WERE ON A ROLL

    Liked by 2 people

  7. HELLO MR BUCKET. THE 1928 TITLE WAS BESTOWED ON THE TROJANS BY GRANTLAND RICE. EVERYONE RECOGNIZED IT. AND THE 1939 TITLE WAS BESTOWED ON US BY DICKINSON. BACK THEN HIS AWARD WAS VALUED MORE THAN THE NEW AP POLL. YOU CAN TRUST ME ON THAT CHARLIE.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. BISON, SINCE WE ARE TALKING HISTORY BACK TO THE 1930S, WHAT HAPPENED TO SC IN THE 1940S AND 1950S, WITH A RESURGENCE IN THE 1960S AND ESPECIALLY 1970S, SPOTTY IN THE 1980S AND WAS WORSE IN THE 1990S, BUT THEN THE 2000S AND CARROT

    Liked by 2 people

  9. KAM: Speaking of Carrot, if colleges had today’s Playoff system in place SC might have won it with Palmer in 2002, and 2003, 2004, and 2005 speak for themselves

    DON: In 2006 the ucla loss would have been irrelevant, and 2007 and 2008 were great teams

    KAM: It was a 7-year reign of SC football magic in the early 2000s with Alabama taking the crown in the 2010s. Now it’s anybody’s game

    Liked by 2 people

    1. USC literally should have been perfect from 2002-sometime in 2009 … remember every loss … Mike Williams drops against Wazu and KState; 3OT v Rodgers and Cal; failed 4th down w Reggie on sideline and refs giving VY an assist; 2 pt at Beav; can’t block Booty’s blind side against UCLA; Harbaugh/Pritchard 4th down prayer; Booty out/Dennis Dixon at Eugene; Halloween no wakeup call in Corvallis … off top of my head, 9 losses in 8 seasons by a total of 32 points … 2009 possibly too, if SEC hadn’t turned NCAA proxies loose and Pete didn’t gas up the getaway car …

      Liked by 1 person

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