Impressive Huskies, Unimpressive Corp

by Mike Salk

Another quick one today as I’m about to head out to watch the Hawks. Actually, you should come join me! I’ll be at the 13 Avenue Pub in Lynwood, click the logo for info…

 

Some quick notes on the Mariners and Huskies from this weekend:

-I could not be more impressed with the Huskies, especially Jake Locker. He was good all game, but the final drive was amazing. Obvioulsy the throw to Jermaine Kearse on 3rd and 15 is going to stand out, and for good reason. It was thrown hard and accurately – gutsy throw and right on the money. Congrats to Jake as he seems to be taking a big step forward.

-Um, Chris Polk is pretty good. Strikes me as a guy who could be a 3rd down back on Sundays.

-Aaron Corp was awful. Truly awful. God awful. I’m running out of modifiers for “awful.” So bad that Times writer Danny O’Neil acurately called him “Corp(se)”. I picked the Trojans because I thought that offense would be too much for the Huskies to handle. But with Corp running the passing game, they looked entirely one-dimensional. I mean, how could Pete Carroll let this guy stay in the game? He was KILLING them!

After Joe McNight and the impressive Stanley Havili gashed the Husky defense in the first quarter, defensive coordinator Nick Holt stacked the line to shut them down. The vaunted Trojan line was good, but the Huskies D was up to the challenge!

The 8-man front forced the Trojans into plenty of third down passing situations, and that’s where Corp struggled most. Despite having numbers on his side, his offense failed to converty on ANY of the 10 third down opportunities. Throw in a couple of turnovers in the red zone, and you have a recipe for a Husky upset.

Of course, the secondary effect of Corp’s struggles was the way it forced the Trojan offense to run in obvious passing situations. Facing a third and 6 in the red zone on their final drive, Pete Carroll ran into the line rather than risk another Corp interception. That forced USC to setle for a tying field goal, and allowed Locker the opportunity to get his team into field goal range for a win (instead of needing a touchdown).

-I’m still not sure how I feel about storming the field. I love the enthusiasm and appreciate how big a win this was for a program that has suffered through some lean years. On the other hand, this is a proud program that shouldn’t need to rush the field. So, I’m not criticiszing; I just feel funny about it. How about you?

-Did anyone DVR the postgame show on KOMO 4? If you did, can you PLEASE put Brock’s homecoming king video on YouTube and send me the link? Send it to brockandsalk@espnseattle.com

Whoops! Ran out of time! I’ll offer some Mariners thoughts either tonight or tomorrow. But they involve Jack Wilson, Type A/B free agents, Felix Hernandez, and the future. Stay tuned for that, and join me at the 13th Avenue Pub for the game!