1. Smiling wide this morning. Great to have Stanford football back and it was a great win. Obviously the first half wasn't pretty but I take it as a big positive that we covered the spread against a decent team in a game where major things went wrong in imposing our will/gameplan. From a big picture perspective, the offense was only a tad shy of pre-game Vegas expectations and the defense clearly out-performed expectations. I think almost all of us would rather have that than the reverse, especially since the second half showed tantalizing potential for the passing game. David Shaw and @MCOOK2953 made very astute post-game comments about putting a passing game look on film that should give teams pause about completely loading the front against us. I see no reason why this game should dampen any enthusiasm for the season.
2. I think it is fair and right to criticize Shaw/Pritchard for running so much on first down in fairly predictable ways. I am also proud of my CSR brethren for acknowledging the growth, maturity, and potential glimpse of an exciting future in Shaw's self-criticism on this front. But I also think our fans were a little harsh on Shaw/Pritchard last night (from what I saw on the board/chat room/etc.). Yeah, it's disappointing we couldn't get anything going in the run game, but I don't think abandoning Love/"opening it up" earlier would have been attractive. The run game is foundational for Stanford's personality and effectiveness and the reigning Heisman runner-up needs to get touches. I believe that even more strongly in light of the fact that the feast or famine model of getting stifled on a vast majority of his runs was actually the case last year. It was not a case of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results) for us to keep going back to the Love up the middle well.
3. My big picture key for the team, as I posted ad nauseum over the off-season, is run defense. The first quarter gave me a very unpleasant I-told-you-so feeling. And then we tightened it up. With, as several posters have mentioned, a lot of green defenders getting their first meaningful action. Just as tantalizing as the passing game performance in my book. If Lance Anderson has figured this out, he could be moving off @msqueri and @fborg81 watch. Time will tell. I don't want to be too sanguine, though, there were moments of ugliness in our run game and Okereke and Barton frequently frustrate me in that phase, while Edwards unfailingly does so.
4. I agree with those who view the game as an arrow up for Costello. He didn't quite have it all together, struggled to consistently maintain connection with Smith (something he's talked about and I think will unlock dominance when they can get it together), showed some rust in threatened pocket situations, and yet put together a stellar statistical performance. That performance was of course mainly due to JJ Arcega-Whiteside's dominance, but I firmly believe that both QB and WR deserve credit when things click so well. I don't know whether Costello will be dominant or merely very good this year but I thought it was a good performance, probably even very good or excellent if you judge on the curve of coming off injury and missing the spring.
5. JJAW! I was on the bandwagon super early and am pumped that he has emerged into a national force. I laid out an extensive case in the off-season for viewing him as one of the ten best receivers in the nation and after last night I think All-American type discussions are not too outlandish. Looking forward to @Treez Nuts surfacing for some celebratory GIFs.
6. I think the pronouncements of death for Love's Heisman campaign are premature. Obviously a big step back but it will be forgotten and then some if he powers a win over USC. In any case, I think we all agree this is secondary to team success and he played a part in siphoning an overriding amount of focus from SDSU's defense in a game where the offense turned it on for a big second half performance.
7. We were dominant in pass protection last year and that's going to continue again this year. Big asset for any team to have, downright frightening for opponents when it's a team with our weapons. Run blocking clearly a work in progress but a) Burkett dressing and doing drills last night is very encouraging going forward and b) as I said above, feast or famine running is not new for us and I don't think we're far off at all from seeing the Love of old.
8. If Holder can get back and stay healthy, our cornerback group is something truly fantastic. @JeebsOak made a comment in the chat room about Alameen Murphy being the kind of guy who makes it through Stanford perceived as a fine player but not a star and then goes and plays a decade in the NFL. I'm feeling that prediction. Paulson Adebo had an absolutely phenomenal game for a freshman making his debut. Sky is the limit there and I see a superstar, maybe even immediately. Two passes defended in your debut is pretty neat. In general I liked what I saw from our DBs but am really hoping Antoine and Simmons can get healthy and push Edwards, who has frustrated me for years. As for the pregame question of who has emerged among the unproven DBs, it looked to me like Obi Eboh got the most run.
9. I add my voice to those who were very encouraged by the DL play. It's clearly not a dominant unit (though I think will be a year or two from now) but each guy stepped up and made some plays. Jackson didn't quite step up to the coaches'/my exhortation to show up in the stat sheet with something other than tackles, but he did everything short of that. Literally all five of his tackles was a good play in terms of the result from a down and distance perspective. The last one was not technically a tackle for loss, but it was a 4th and 1 stop so that's just as good in my book. Swann flashed in ways that validated my/@gary1221 optimism that a future superstar is budding. Williams showed up behind the line of scrimmage. And yes, @Alwayswithaudacity, we need to eat crow on Booker. That is a stunning performance for a true freshman. 4 tackles and a (13 yard) sack? AYFKM? Let's see if he can replicate it, but not only might he be a good player, he might even be a great one!
10. As I said above vis-a-vis the run defense, the linebackers frustrate me at times. And I realize they'd look better with a more mature DL that could more consistently get a push into the backfield. But there were positives. Okereke is a freaking missile when he fixes in on a target. That will show up week in and week out. Alfieri is much more at home at OLB and I'm so psyched to see the results all season long. I said before the game I really wanted to see him party in the backfield and he did, twice (four times if you count hurries). Barton had some plays I hated but was around the ball a lot, even more so when you account for how many drives Branch was in instead. Toohill was Toohill-esque, very competent. I'd like to see a step forward this year and think we'll get it.
Game balls: JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Trent Irwin (what a play!), Alameen Murphy/Paulson Adebo, Diron Reynolds
2. I think it is fair and right to criticize Shaw/Pritchard for running so much on first down in fairly predictable ways. I am also proud of my CSR brethren for acknowledging the growth, maturity, and potential glimpse of an exciting future in Shaw's self-criticism on this front. But I also think our fans were a little harsh on Shaw/Pritchard last night (from what I saw on the board/chat room/etc.). Yeah, it's disappointing we couldn't get anything going in the run game, but I don't think abandoning Love/"opening it up" earlier would have been attractive. The run game is foundational for Stanford's personality and effectiveness and the reigning Heisman runner-up needs to get touches. I believe that even more strongly in light of the fact that the feast or famine model of getting stifled on a vast majority of his runs was actually the case last year. It was not a case of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results) for us to keep going back to the Love up the middle well.
3. My big picture key for the team, as I posted ad nauseum over the off-season, is run defense. The first quarter gave me a very unpleasant I-told-you-so feeling. And then we tightened it up. With, as several posters have mentioned, a lot of green defenders getting their first meaningful action. Just as tantalizing as the passing game performance in my book. If Lance Anderson has figured this out, he could be moving off @msqueri and @fborg81 watch. Time will tell. I don't want to be too sanguine, though, there were moments of ugliness in our run game and Okereke and Barton frequently frustrate me in that phase, while Edwards unfailingly does so.
4. I agree with those who view the game as an arrow up for Costello. He didn't quite have it all together, struggled to consistently maintain connection with Smith (something he's talked about and I think will unlock dominance when they can get it together), showed some rust in threatened pocket situations, and yet put together a stellar statistical performance. That performance was of course mainly due to JJ Arcega-Whiteside's dominance, but I firmly believe that both QB and WR deserve credit when things click so well. I don't know whether Costello will be dominant or merely very good this year but I thought it was a good performance, probably even very good or excellent if you judge on the curve of coming off injury and missing the spring.
5. JJAW! I was on the bandwagon super early and am pumped that he has emerged into a national force. I laid out an extensive case in the off-season for viewing him as one of the ten best receivers in the nation and after last night I think All-American type discussions are not too outlandish. Looking forward to @Treez Nuts surfacing for some celebratory GIFs.
6. I think the pronouncements of death for Love's Heisman campaign are premature. Obviously a big step back but it will be forgotten and then some if he powers a win over USC. In any case, I think we all agree this is secondary to team success and he played a part in siphoning an overriding amount of focus from SDSU's defense in a game where the offense turned it on for a big second half performance.
7. We were dominant in pass protection last year and that's going to continue again this year. Big asset for any team to have, downright frightening for opponents when it's a team with our weapons. Run blocking clearly a work in progress but a) Burkett dressing and doing drills last night is very encouraging going forward and b) as I said above, feast or famine running is not new for us and I don't think we're far off at all from seeing the Love of old.
8. If Holder can get back and stay healthy, our cornerback group is something truly fantastic. @JeebsOak made a comment in the chat room about Alameen Murphy being the kind of guy who makes it through Stanford perceived as a fine player but not a star and then goes and plays a decade in the NFL. I'm feeling that prediction. Paulson Adebo had an absolutely phenomenal game for a freshman making his debut. Sky is the limit there and I see a superstar, maybe even immediately. Two passes defended in your debut is pretty neat. In general I liked what I saw from our DBs but am really hoping Antoine and Simmons can get healthy and push Edwards, who has frustrated me for years. As for the pregame question of who has emerged among the unproven DBs, it looked to me like Obi Eboh got the most run.
9. I add my voice to those who were very encouraged by the DL play. It's clearly not a dominant unit (though I think will be a year or two from now) but each guy stepped up and made some plays. Jackson didn't quite step up to the coaches'/my exhortation to show up in the stat sheet with something other than tackles, but he did everything short of that. Literally all five of his tackles was a good play in terms of the result from a down and distance perspective. The last one was not technically a tackle for loss, but it was a 4th and 1 stop so that's just as good in my book. Swann flashed in ways that validated my/@gary1221 optimism that a future superstar is budding. Williams showed up behind the line of scrimmage. And yes, @Alwayswithaudacity, we need to eat crow on Booker. That is a stunning performance for a true freshman. 4 tackles and a (13 yard) sack? AYFKM? Let's see if he can replicate it, but not only might he be a good player, he might even be a great one!
10. As I said above vis-a-vis the run defense, the linebackers frustrate me at times. And I realize they'd look better with a more mature DL that could more consistently get a push into the backfield. But there were positives. Okereke is a freaking missile when he fixes in on a target. That will show up week in and week out. Alfieri is much more at home at OLB and I'm so psyched to see the results all season long. I said before the game I really wanted to see him party in the backfield and he did, twice (four times if you count hurries). Barton had some plays I hated but was around the ball a lot, even more so when you account for how many drives Branch was in instead. Toohill was Toohill-esque, very competent. I'd like to see a step forward this year and think we'll get it.
Game balls: JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Trent Irwin (what a play!), Alameen Murphy/Paulson Adebo, Diron Reynolds
