What to do with Jake Locker
Oct 27, 2010, 3:48 PM | Updated: Apr 4, 2011, 7:52 pm
MyNorthwest.com staff
Washington quarterback Jake Locker said he’ll play Saturday against Stanford despite sore ribs and a bruised thigh that have limited him over the last two weeks.
But should he?
Brock and Salk debated on Wednesday’s show whether the Huskies should consider resting Locker for the next two weeks, the thought being that he would then be healthy for Washington’s final three games.
Sitting their best player for two weeks might seem counterintuitive, but here’s why it makes sense.
At 3-4, the Huskies need to win three of their remaining five games to become bowl eligible (which would almost certainly guarantee them a bowl berth). Washington’s next two games are against perhaps the two toughest opponents on their schedule. They host No. 13 Stanford this weekend before traveling to Autzen Stadium to play top-ranked Oregon.
The last three games, however, are much more winnable. The Huskies finish against three unranked opponents – UCLA, Cal and Washington State.
Since their ultimate goal is to reach a bowl game, Salk thinks the Huskies should at least consider resting the senior quarterback:
“The best way to get there is to sit Jake for two weeks and take a shot at the three games you think you can win. I understand that’s not a sports mentality. I understand thats not the competitive, ‘I want to win every game’ mentality most coaches, most players, most athletes have. But it might be the right way to actually achieve your goal.
“Don’t you need Jake Locker as close to 100 percent for those final three games as possible?”
Brock, however, doesn’t like the idea of essentially conceding two games:
“You just can’t think that way. I don’t think a coach thinks that way, Jake Locker doesn’t think that way, his teammates don’t think that way.”
Brock also thinks the Stanford game might be more winnable than people think:
“You’re at home and you’re desperate and the weather is horrible. Stanford, though very good, is not the most explosive, fastest, most dynamic team that, as we’ve seen this season, really causes the Huskies problems.
“So if he’s able to go at 50 percent capacity, you’ve got to roll him out and go with it.”
