Random Thoughts™ on the Illinois game

I guess I should be excited. The Huskies lost the turnover battle, gave up over 100 yards in penalties, and probably had well over a 100 yards of offense marched back by those penalties, but still finished with 616 yards and 34 points on the road against a non-terrible opponent.

Keith Price, again, finished around 10 yards per attempt. That surprised me seeing that, because it felt like UWs WRs took forever to get open in this game.

ASJ was a non-factor, though he was held (without getting the call) on what would have probably been a 30+ yard completion late in the game. Ross had a pretty big catch (IIRC), but otherwise didn't do much. Jaydon Mickens had a fairly good game while also reminding us that he sucks at catching the football if it isn't behind the LOS. Kasen Williams bobbled, but still caught, a huge catch or two. Price spread the ball around. Smith was our top receiver. He's a senior, and I seriously wonder where the hell he's been the last several years. Especially last year.

Regarding ASJ. He looks slow. I think it's just a perspective thing, now that UW has a few true burners at WR we've gotten a better perspective on our team speed. And ASJ doesn't have it. I honestly would not be shocked if he ran a 4.8 at his combine. I still would love to see Seattle get him, but I'm thinking ASJ is a pretty safe bet to reach Seattle's first pick at this point. Even if that first pick is #32.

I am probably speculating too much, but I think ASJ's lack of speed might end up hurting him in this new super quick offense. This offense is built off of yards after catch, and ASJ is not a yards after catch guy. And though I think ASJ is absolutely a viable deep target, it takes him time to get down there, and UW is dialing up fewer deep plays (as a percentage) than they used to. I think ASJ is a perfect fit for a traditional pro style offense, but I think for the Arizona/Oregon/UW style a more athletic TE is preferable. Even though I have issues with Colt Lyerla and think that in a pro-style offense ASJ is clearly the better of the two, I think if UW could trade ASJ for Lyerla it would probably benefit UW's offense the way it is currently constructed. I hope ASJ proves me wrong. It's early, and I'm conjecturing.

I really like how Keith Price is protecting his body this season. His decision making has been extremely sound, especially when it comes to making choices to avoid contact.

UW's rush offense is weird. Washington is averaging over 250 yards rushing a game so far this season, and yet I would guess they are probably also averaging over 10 tackles for loss per game. Make no mistake, UW's O-line still sucks. This new scheme is doing a terrific job of hiding warts. Even when UW lineman lose their individual battles at the line, the opponent's front seven is usually spread out so much that a running lane is almost always present, and Sankey has a real gift for getting small and darting through the narrowest of alleyways. Our running game, just like Oregon's a few years ago, is pretty much all scheme and RB talent.

Whoever the coach for Illinois is, he's weird too. He generally outcoached Sark in the 2nd half, coming up with new game plans and trick plays that gave UW serious problems, but for a coach so smart with his adjustments, he didn't have the first clue about clock management. He basically sat on his timeouts at the end of the first half so that he could get the ball back with barely any time remaining, and in the 2nd half he wasted a time out (when down a touchdown late in the game) to make UW slow down their offense, and wasted another to stop the clock after most of the play clock had already expired.

Watching the Seahawks during the Carroll era has deadened my nerves to penalties. Seriously, we had what, 9? 10? Penalties against Carolina? And it felt like nothing compared to some of the preseason games we endured. But in this game, I began to genuinely wonder if one of the officials had taken the over-under line on Illinois. Not only were some of the calls and non-calls shady, but it seemed like a very high number of those penalties were "clutch", reversing badly needed big plays for UW and putting them in a hole. By contrast, the penalties against Illinois were not only far less frequent, but always seemed to occur in situations where they'd be declined or make no real outcome on the game. It's a big credit to Washington that they still overcame a lot of 1st and 20 and 1st and 15 situations after some of those backbreaking calls.

Sankey is a terrific weapon on the screen. I hated watching him run out of bounds several yards early to avoid being hit though. Maybe that's smart, but Beast Mode has spoiled me.

Sankey is really, really hard to tackle despite his smallish size.

That RB for Illinois actually looked pretty good. Donavonn Young, listed at 6'0", 220. I can believe the 220, maybe, but he looked way below 6'0". Anyway, he was quick and powerful and pretty smart too. They should have given him the ball a lot more than they did.

Keith Price completed a pass to 9 different Huskies players.

The Huskies D-line did a good job generating pressure with 4 rushers. The defense struggled to get a tackle when they needed one to get off the field, but otherwise I thought they played well and Wilcox was quick to make adjustments. I'm not so sure about that 3 man front idea though. That seems a bit extreme to counter a running QB. Illinois always had a guy there to stop Price from running and they didn't have to sacrifice anything big to do it.

It has nothing to do with this game, but Marcus Mariota's QBR through three games has been 97.7, 97.0, 97.5. When UW and Oregon face off in a few weeks, I'm pretty much expecting a repeat of the 2011 Alamo Bowl.

I didn't get to watch the game, just looked at the stat book, but just knowing the style of play I agree with you on ASJ, he's kind of a square peg trying to fit into a round hole in this offense.

Funny, we've debated ASJ vs Lyerla for over a year now. I've always assumed they'd both be gone by the time the Seahawks pick. I'm now kind of starting to think they might both still be on the board.

Looks like you guys had tons of yards, but not as many points as that yardage total would usually yield. Trouble in red zone? Or was that the fumbles? or what?

Btw, Rick Neuheisel on the Pac 12 network said that Sankey might be the most valuable non QB in the Pac 12. And I think he might be right. I think DAT (And maybe even Thomas Tyner by the end of the year) will be the better back this year, but Sankey is more important to that UW offense than DAT is to ours. I also really like Carey down in Arizona too.

The penalties felt a little like home cooking. Otherwise, this falls under the same umbrella as the Bama win: take your road win, no matter how tight, and go home happy.

JSeahawks":3kamj1wv said:

Looks like you guys had tons of yards, but not as many points as that yardage total would usually yield. Trouble in red zone? Or was that the fumbles? or what?

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Uber clutch penalties. The timing was so brutal on those penalties, it made me genuinely suspicious. Seriously, not even joking- more than half the time UW made a clutch play they needed to have, yellow laundry would magically appear to wipe it out. It got to the point where you actually expected a penalty after every big UW play.

UW was solid in the red zone, but were kept from scoring position fairly often by the officiating and a pair of (just barely lost) fumbles. UW's offense got in a bit of a funk at the end too, momentum was clearly on Illinois' side after UW opened up the 21 point lead. UW seemed confused about whether to slow down in the 4th quarter to milk the clock or to continue the fast pace to ensure 1st downs.

Agreed about the road win. You take it and be happy. This stat has been making the rounds, but UW hadn't won a non-conference road game since Jake Locker was a freshman against Syracuse. Wow.

I couldn't take a lot from the game since I did the blurry feed thing, but one thing that stood out was the ability of the WRs to break tackles. Mickens, Williams, and Smith were abusing Illinois on the perimeter. That's going to be a strength all year and a nice easy play to help keep the hurry-up on track.

I'm not sure about recovery times and all that, but Smith shredded his knee a couple of years ago. I just think every guy and injury is different when coming back. Smith looks healthy to me now, but I wonder if a medical redshirt was used at some point. That might be something to look into because he's a definite weapon.

Kevin Smith has been hurt the past couple year, FYI.

When ASJ got his DUI he was suspended from some of the practices and he said he is out of shape compared to everyone else.

I agree with Sark in the postgame presser, he said ASJ did have some rust and that he will knock it off and get back to form.

I love being able to to nonco on the road and win.

I'm headed down to Palo Alto on the weekend of the 10/5 and picked up front row seats for $40. Nuts.

Can't wait for the Oregon game, scared to death of that line at Stanford. That game in LA against UCLA is looking tougher and tougher.

As always, Kearly; great write up and I look for your random thoughts before other related publications.

The only thing we differ on, and this will sound reckless, is I'd like to see Price use his legs more. I am selfish that way. I watched Sark try to make a pro QB of Locker and did so, IMO, at the expense of the Washington Huskies. I am Dawgs first. I obviously root hard for our departed Dawgs at the next level, but at a fraction of how I root for them, and their success, while in Purple and Gold. I sure don't want to see any young man injured but that feeling, I hate to admit, is second to the Dawgs winning.

Of course I understand IF Price gets hurt, that greatly reduces our chances of winning, but that's the hand we are dealt and a risk I believe necessary, if we are to move back to our rightful position in college football.

Further, I don't see Price being drafted as a pocket QB. At least not in the first 4 rds. He will be required to use his legs if he is to find success in the NFL. So, IMO, Sark is either hurting Price's future chances or saving his legs for the NFL. I find both scenarios to be unacceptable. Go Dawgs.

I think he is trying to mold Price in more of a Wilson type QB, learn to use the field, play smart, use your legs to buy time and to keep the defense honest but don't risk yourself for one play.

chris98251":1h9v9296 said:

I think he is trying to mold Price in more of a Wilson type QB, learn to use the field, play smart, use your legs to buy time and to keep the defense honest but don't risk yourself for one play.

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This. When Price scrambles it's not to run downfield, it's to buy time for a receiver to come open. He's always looking to throw the ball, even when he's running.

Hard to argue the philosophy of it all, but we've watched him (last year) give up on too many plays, electing to throw the ball away instead of sliding safely for the first down. Even when somewhat gimpy, those plays were there, I felt his head was not.

RW don't play that.

EDIT: Just caught myself. The last thing I want to discuss is the (apparent) shell shocked Price of the past. It's a new year, he is playing excellent and that is all I should be thinking about. Love the kid.

HawkWow":2t6tnhy0 said:

As always, Kearly; great write up and I look for your random thoughts before other related publications.

The only thing we differ on, and this will sound reckless, is I'd like to see Price use his legs more. I am selfish that way. I watched Sark try to make a pro QB of Locker and did so, IMO, at the expense of the Washington Huskies. I am Dawgs first. I obviously root hard for our departed Dawgs at the next level, but at a fraction of how I root for them, and their success, while in Purple and Gold. I sure don't want to see any young man injured but that feeling, I hate to admit, is second to the Dawgs winning.

Of course I understand IF Price gets hurt, that greatly reduces our chances of winning, but that's the hand we are dealt and a risk I believe necessary, if we are to move back to our rightful position in college football.

Further, I don't see Price being drafted as a pocket QB. At least not in the first 4 rds. He will be required to use his legs if he is to find success in the NFL. So, IMO, Sark is either hurting Price's future chances or saving his legs for the NFL. I find both scenarios to be unacceptable. Go Dawgs.

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I don't know if you saw the game, but Price looked like he wanted to run the football (scramble) probably 6 or 7 times but was constantly met by a "spy" LB. Had he run, he would have picked up maybe 1-2 yards and taken a hit. I found it to be very good coaching by Illinois because they were ALWAYS prepared for Price to run. Price usually ended up just throwing the ball away or hitting a dumpoff, which is smart.

I can't recall the last game, Dawg or Hawk, that I've missed. It's probably been decades. Even when traveling abroad, someone is recording for me. They don't disappoint. Their livelihoods at stake. ; )

Passed on a wedding yesterday to watch the Dawgs. Recording is never an option if live viewing is available. No regrets.

More so than yesterday's game, I was speaking in general terms. But fortunately, thus far this year, I've not been concerned enough about the outcome to worry about KP using his legs to better position us for victory. But we won't have that luxury all year. IF Sark is saving the option for Stanford, Oregon and UCLA, I am 100% down with that mentality.

They have definitely ran him less this season than before. I love running QBs, but I think that's very smart. Price couldn't stay healthy in any of his previous seasons. But he's barely been touched in two games this year, and is completely healthy. A healthy Keith Price with a few seconds to throw is a really damn good QB.

You know kearly, if you can stomach it 8) , I would love for you to break down an Oregon game.

Were there any standout players from Illinois?