Just about everybody hates clichés. They're simple, they're unoriginal, and
they're bland, among other things. But, whether we like them or not, clichés are
often true.
That might be why they're all over the place in football. If not for clichés,
how would coaches and athletes talk to the media? How else would we know that
you gotta take ‘em one game at a time, play from snap to whistle, and give it
110 blah blah blah blah blah?
“It's not how you start, it's how you finish.” That's one of my personal
favorites. I've probably said and written that one at least a thousand times.
“Great teams aren't always great, they're just great when they have to be.” I
learned that one from John Facenda!
How about this one: “It's the sum of little plays that add up.” True, very
true. And very applicable for Cardinal Football too, as that lesson had to be
re-learned the hard way by Stanford during last Saturday's game at Notre Dame.
For most of the past two seasons, many Stanford fans' complaints have
centered around the big play. Too few produced by the offense. Too many allowed
by the defense. So far this season, those trends have largely reversed. Against
Notre Dame, Trent Edwards completed seven passes that traveled 20 yards or more,
a single-game number that probably hasn't been seen at Stanford since Todd Husak
and Troy Walters were doing their thing. The defense bottled up a quarterback
who had torched Purdue for 432 yards passing the week before.
So big plays weren't the problem for Stanford. But little plays were. Big
plays are nice, but (say it with me) it's the sum of little plays that add up.
Especially when you're on the road in front of over 80,000 fans and on national
TV.
Not every little play went against the Cardinal. With just seconds left on
the clock, and Stanford trying for one final, desperate throw to the endzone, a
pressured Trent Edwards stepped up in the pocket, inadvertently bumped into J.R. Lemon, and was wrapped up by a Notre Dame defensive lineman, who began spinning
Edwards toward the ground.
But on his way to the turf, Edwards had the presence of mind to somehow throw
the ball toward the line of scrimmage. Instead of a game-killing sack, the
incomplete pass stopped the clock with two seconds remaining, giving the
Cardinal a bonus shot at the endzone. In the play-by-play, that sequence simply
goes down as “Edwards, Trent pass incomplete.” But that little play meant much,
much more than that.
Still, the little plays went Notre Dame's way early and often. In their first
two possessions, Stanford drove impressively to touchdown's doorstep. But both
times they had to settle for field goals. A 6-0 lead is fine, but a 14-0 lead is
far better. Edwards fumbled a snap on a third-and-one in the second quarter, and
was intercepted on a two-point conversion attempt (more on this later). Stanley Wilson dropped a fourth-quarter interception, and Notre Dame scored the game's
final touchdown five plays later.
For a surefire way to tell which team is making the little plays and which
team is coming up short, check out the third down conversions, one statistic
that never lies. Notre Dame converted ten of their 19 third downs. Stanford went
just three of 14. That set of numbers tells the story.
Mark Bradford is a big-play receiver, but there were a couple of
opportunities for little plays that didn't go his way. Early in the second
quarter, Edwards fired a third-down pass toward Bradford, who was open after
running a 10-yard in. The throw was high, and a little behind him, but still
catchable. The ball skidded off Bradford's hands, and Stanford had to punt.
Early in the fourth quarter, with Stanford facing 3rd & 16 from their own
six, Bradford ran a deep out, and Edwards found him, this time with a perfect
pass. But Bradford didn't react quickly enough to the ball, and a first-down
catch slipped away. Mark may have been thinking about those two little plays all
the way home from South Bend.
Another little thing that went against Stanford: timeouts in the second half.
They had to use their first one before the ill-fated two-point conversion
attempt in the third quarter. The second was burned before Stanford's
fourth-down attempt late in the game. While I have no problems with the second
timeout being called, the Card would have been in a little better position if
they hadn't had to waste that first timeout.
Sometimes it's better just to take the five-yard penalty. I'm sure that in
hindsight, Stanford would rather have tried the two-point conversion from the
eight-yard line and had two timeouts in their pocket down the stretch. When the
other team has the ball and is trying to run down the clock, there's a huge
difference between having at least two timeouts and having just one.
Making all the little plays isn't something that just happens overnight.
Maybe the Notre Dame game should just be chalked up as another learning
experience and another step in this year's maturation process.
After the game Coach Teevens and I crossed paths outside the stadium. I shook
his hand, then held up two nearly-pinched fingers, the international symbol for
“this close.” Coach sighed in exasperation, “I know…I know…”
Anyone who ever said “Don't sweat the small stuff” never lost a football
game.
RANDOM PAC-10 THOUGHTS
I'm not a coach, but I sometimes play one on the radio and the internet… I
don't go for two points unless I absolutely have to. To steal the line from
NFL.com's Tuesday Morning Quarterback: kick early, go for it late…
Special shout-out to the Colonial Pancake House in South Bend. They've been
very good to us every time we've walked in there with our full Stanford gear on
gameday. Notre Dame fans were being especially nice to us, both at the pancake
house and on campus. And then I found out why… they were rooting for Stanford to
win so Tyrone could be moved one step closer to the exit! Any other
Cardinalmaniacs™ that made the trip last week experience the same thing?
Big blows to cal and U$C's passing attacks, with Steve Smith and Chase Lyman
both out for the season. Somehow I think cal will be able to recuperate. U$C,
however…
So everyone's all atwitter over Aaron Rodgers completing 23 straight passes.
But those completions went for just 220 yards. Those short passes allowed the
Bears the chance to establish ball control, and 23 straight completions is
certainly a notable feat. But I'd be more impressed if there was more yardage
attached to those completions. This is why I think completion percentage is
perhaps the most overrated stat in football. If you're only throwing the ball
five, six yards downfield, you should complete at least 70% of your passes! To
me, the completions-to-attempts ratio isn't as important as the
attempts-to-yardage and, to a lesser extent, the completions-to-yardage ratios…
I'll put it another way: Aaron Rodgers completed 29 passes for 267 yards
against U$C. Dale Rogers completed just ten passes for 359 yards in San Jose State's win over Rice. Which would you take?
Don't look now, but the Cougars' offensive line is growing up right before
our very eyes. They were porous early in the season, but now they've allowed
just one sack in their last three games. They're also starting to run the ball
well, too…
Not a Pac-10 thought, but… our Chicagoland friends are blessed to live in one
of the greatest cities on the planet. It doesn't get much better than being in
downtown Chicago on a perfect autumn Sunday afternoon. There was such a vibe
there, such energy. Either that or those folks realized it would probably be the
last weekend of the year in Chicago without any snow on the ground…
TV programming note: it's another double dip of the Farm Report this week…
Friday evening at 7:00p and Saturday morning at 9:00a on FOX Sports Net Bay
Area. Who said this show wasn't ready for primetime?
PAC-10 PICKS
Arizona @ Oregon. Mike Stoops' season just got a little tougher; he
only has two healthy defensive linemen. Where's Tedy Bruschi and Rob Waldrop
when you need them? Look for Oregon to go to the ground and stay there. I
like Oregon by 17.
Arizona State @ U$C. The Sun Devils are arguably a more dangerous
opponent for U$C than the Bears. I think cal has the edge on offense, but
A-State's defense is better. The Trojans escaped with a game they didn't
dominate, and they know it. This could be another close one, and while it
wouldn't surprise me to see Andrew Walter add to his legend with a win here,
I like U$C by 6.
UCLA @ cal. On paper, the Bears should have few problems against the
Bruins. UCLA's defense is suspect, although LB Spencer Havner is having a fine
season. Drew Olson won't have Craig Bragg to throw to. This really shouldn't
take long at all. Expect to hear “Big C” a lot more than you hear “Sons of
Westwood” on Saturday (not that there's much difference between the two songs).
I like cal by 21.
Oregon State @ Washington. I can just imagine the scene at halftime
last week when the Huskies were carrying a 7-3 lead over San Jose State to the
locker room. Derek Anderson will probably make this game more interesting than
it should be, but the Huskies just don't have enough healthy bodies to get a win
anytime soon. I like Oregon State by 14.
Last week: 2-1 (straight up), 0-3 (ATS).
This year: 5-3 (straight up), 4-4 (ATS).
-- Got a thought on this column or on Stanford sports? E-mail me at
gocardinal@knbr.com! The ones I like
best will end up in next week's E-Mailbag.
Troy Clardy is a reporter for the Stanford Cardinal Farm Report, which
airs Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Net Bay Area. Clardy hosts “Stanford Sports
Weekly”, which airs Wednesday evenings at 8:00 pm on KNTS (1220 AM) in San
Francisco. He also hosts Cardinal men's basketball pregame shows on Stanford
radio network flagship station KNEW in San Francisco, and “College Football
Today” on KNBR 1050 in San Francisco.
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