It just keeps getting uglier the Huskies, doesn't it? First, the Huskies,
whom I mistakenly thought had a chance at beating Oregon State, keep it
close until self-destructing with seven turnovers. The best news is that
Isaiah Stanback was exciting. The worst is that he has little concept of
keeping a hold of the ball, committing four turnovers by himself. The
Huskies are in freefall now, and it would take a miracle to save Keith
Gilbertson's job. Considering next week they play #1 USC, it seems to get
uglier. It might just be necessary for the program to get a fresh start. It
helps that new AD Todd Turner has a nice track record of hiring, the most
recent of which was Nick Saban at LSU.
The weekend was not any kinder to the beloved Cougars either. WSU found
themselves in a hole against Stanford. They battled back, but came up short.
The Cougars are a frustrating team this season. When clicking, they can be
suffocating on defense and explosive on offense. Other times inexperience
shows and nothing seems to work. There is an increasing "wait 'til next
year" feeling around this team. Swogger is the epitome of this; looking like
Drew Bledsoe one play and Steve Birnbaum the next. Now he is hurt and out
for the season. Can Alex Brink take hold of the job? I don't think so, but
then I thought Matt Kegel would be the next great Wazzu QB and Jason Gesser
would be a fine backup. I think anyone who reads this knows to disregard any
predictions I come up with.
The beloved Seahawks lost for the second weekend in a row, this time on the
road to the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots. Watching this game, it
was easy to see the "not ready for prime time" feeling about the Hawks. They
were tentative at times, did not handle the ball particularly well, and like
the Cougs, fell behind early. Despite their now 20-game win streak, the Pats
are vulnerable, especially against a team with a high-quality running back.
The Seahawks didn't play well enough to exploit that, and now find
themselves .a clear #2 behind the resurgent Rams. Now they face life without
Grant Wistrom for 4-6 weeks, and Koren Robinson is lost to a NFL substance
abuse suspension for three games. The Seahawks will have to show a lot more
grit than previously seen to get through this stretch of the season. The
signing of Jerry Rice will help, as there are few players in the NFL with
more desire than Rice, and it is hard not to listen to the best receiver in
NFL history. I hope that Darrell Jackson and Robinson learn something.
The Chargers looked great for about 52 minutes against the Falcons, leading
20-7 with about 8 minutes to play. At that point Super-Vick took over, and
Atlanta pulled it out 21-20. While the San Diego defense didn't play
particularly well (CB Sammy Davis was torched in particular), it's difficult
to fault them that much. The team played above its head the last couple of
weeks, and there are days when Michael Vick is unstoppable. Still, the Bolts
are better then expected. They still are not a playoff team by any stretch,
but .500 is not out of reach. The acquisition of Keenan McCardell should
help, though I question giving up any future draft picks for a 34-year old
receiver.
Finally, the Aztecs lost a heartbreaker to the equally struggling Colorado
State Rams. The big play was a fumble/not a fumble late by RB Michael
Franklin, but the cold truth of the matter is that SDSU lost a winnable game
against a decimated opponent at home. They are not nearly as close to
contending as I previously thought. Maybe new QB Kevin O'Connell will help.