Bowl Season Wrap-up

Déjà vu all over again…
Pete Carroll probably should have reviewed a tape of last year’s Michigan v. Texas Rose Bowl in anticipation of last night’s national title game. Last year’s Rose Bowl was eerily similar to the game this year, especially the part where Vince Young continually slices up the defense with crossing routes and scrambles. In both games the eventual loser held a substantial lead at the start of the 4th quarter, only to see that lead evaporate under the feet of Vince Young. In both cases, the losing defensive coordinators (Carroll and Jim Herrmann) made the poor decision to not use a linebacker or safety to spy Young on every play. USC didn’t even have to worry about stopping a running back as skilled as Cedric Benson, which was Michigan’s excuse. I think we can officially remove the genius label from Coach Carroll. He failed in the NFL because he was lax with his team and didn’t pay enough attention to detail. His lax attitude toward discipline results in plays like Reggie Bush trying to lateral after running for a 40-yard gain. Seriously, what was the Heisman trophy winner thinking? I haven’t seen someone try that in serious competition since the 1996 Turkey Bowl. Coach Carroll should have kicked a field goal in the 1st quarter instead of trying to sneak Leinart on 4th and 1. A little more about that play…why would you split Reggie Bush out in that formation to leave an empty backfield? If you’re on the Texas D, it’s 4th and 1, and the running back splits out, any sort of run to the outside comes off the table. At that point you know they will try to sneak it, or go for the bomb on a pump and go. So you stack the middle of the line and leave your db’s in coverage and you’re prepared for both contingencies. Let’s jump to the 4th quarter when USC is facing a 4th and 2 in the middle of the field, with little time left, and a 5-point lead. YOU PUNT THE BALL! By punting, you’re forcing Vince Young to go at least 80 yards for the go ahead TD. Besides, 4th and 2 is longer than it seems, especially when you couldn’t get the 6" you needed on 4th and 1 earlier in the game. The truth is that USC’s win streak was forged with superior talent (Leinart, Bush, Mike Williams, etc.) and by beating up on the weak PAC 10. Coaching didn’t contribute nearly as much to their win streak as recruiting and playing in a weak conference did. See you later Trojans, and please take Sean Salsbury with you.

Coaching "Genius"
There are always quite a few college coaches residing in the so-called "genius" category. Wins and losses in bowl games seem to me to be the best measure of coaching prowess. Most teams are healthy for their games and the coaches have upwards of 4 weeks to prepare for their opponent. The coaches have 12 –13 taped games of their opponent to review for their gameplan. Right now, Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech), Jim Tressel (Ohio State) and Mack Brown (Texas) are the only coaches operating at the genius level. The matriculation of Vince Young and Marcus Vick may knock Beamer and Brown down a peg or two, but their teams are usually performing well at the end of the year. Tressel seems to be the best coach in the country right now, which is sad for this Michigan fan. The only saving grace is that it’s only a matter of time until his program is toppled by recruiting violations. I’m kind of surprised the NCAA hasn't been harder on them with the Clarett and Troy Smith episodes, but there is clearly a pattern of impropriety there and the NCAA will catch up with them sooner or later.

The Replay Booth
What makes being a replay official so difficult? 99 times out of 100 the television replay offers "indisputable video evidence" to affirm or reverse a call by the time the referee calls up to the booth. The TV announcers know the correct call from their vantage point and I know the correct call from my couch, but all too often the idiots in the replay booth either don’t alert the on field crew to the replay or make the incorrect call. Is this job really that difficult? The replay officials look very professional and seem to be engaged in serious debate while they stare at the TV. And why can’t they get a TV larger than 19" for the booths? They should have a 50" plasma in there. Actually, I’m not even sure the little TV in the replay booth is actually tuned to the game. All of the vigorous debate that follows an easy call leads me to believe that the tiny TV is tuned to looney tunes and those idiots are discussing the various legal actions that Wile E. Coyote could file against the Acme cooperation. Either that or someone clever has taken one member from 2 or 3 different foreign language broadcasting crews and locked them in a room with a tiny TV that only runs George Bush speeches and can’t be turned off. That way every time the cameras show the replay booth the viewer will see 2 or 3 professional looking gentleman staring at the TVita, while they engage in serious debate, when we’re really seeing 2 or 3 foreigners talking about what an idiot we have for a President (who was a male cheerleader in case you forgot).