Stanford Coach Shaw Calls Another Lousy Game, Refuses To Blitz WA State QB Until 3rd Quarter, Refused To Blitz In 4th Quarter, Loses Game That Should Have Been Won; Takes Blame For Loss
By Dave Levine
Coach David Shaw called another terrible game (play-call-wise). Instead of passing to Bryce Love and letting him do what McCaffrey did last year, Shaw hardly played Love. Plus, he refused to use Love on kick returns thereby removing a triple threat.
While the offensive line played the worst game of the season (yes, even worse than last week’s). Then, Shaw pulls Costello for the Gimp Burns who keeps the ball for a few yards.
Shaw clearly didn’t want to win this game. Instead of calling for sweeps with Love, he continued to try and run up the middle which Burkett & Co couldn’t handle.
It’s a shame that Stanford–on national tv, no less–stunk up the place. Not even under “Cactus Jack” Curtice was a Stanford offensive line this bad and back then, they were awful.
Coach Shaw took full responsibility for the loss though he didn’t play a single down. But he WAS responsible for the horrible play-calling on offense and lack of adjustment (blitzing) on defense. Falk thus had a field day save for the third quarter.
Speaking of defense, Quentin Meeks is having a terrible year and made some really bad decisions today. Had he played tight, he may have picked off a few passes but half the time he wasn’t even looking at the QB and seemed lost.
Anyone who has studied the game knows that when you’re about to face a pro-style passing team with a quick-releasing QB, you have to blitz and blitz often. At some point, you’re going to get to him and hopefully make him remember you. That didn’t happen until the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, Shaw stopped all blitzing and Falk went back to work tearing the Stanford defense to shreds. A prevent defense almost always “prevents winning”!
I repeat what I’ve posted for weeks, now–FIRE COACH SHAW! And replace him with a coach with fire in the belly who takes it to other teams instead of calling for sideways passes and stupid attempts at running up the middle when the offensive line can’t block their way out of a paper bag. Hire a coach who builds up the defense with big, fast, bruising linebackers and taller DBs with speed. Hire a coach who uses the best running back in the country as a receiver, making him a double threat and consider using him as a kick returner. McCaffrey did it to perfection and Love is faster than him!
