Official Stopping Jake Locker Thread
 

Aside from doing what we do on D, should we assign 1 spy, 2 or even 3 to keep him contained? What say ye?

I'm reluctant to say this, but he may be just a big a running threat as Vince Young was.

BYU, on the road vs. Pac-10. Betting man will count this as a L.

I think Locker is a running threat, but we wont spy him with more than one guy. We may have our D-ends play containment instead of pass rushing for part of the game, but besides that when you play strictly zone defense running quarterbacks are not as big of a threat because everyone is facing the line of scrimmage.

Also Locker threw more interceptions than touchdown passes last year, and only completed 47.8% of his passes last year. This will also help in game planning for him.

I'm curious how exactly you spy with 3 guys.

I'm surprised to read that from you; Locker's decent, but nowhere near the threat that VY posed to teams.

BYU won't need to change much; I would spy him with 1 guy and make sure the rest understand their assignments. BYU needs to get physical with him; hit him early and often. He broke off a couple of runs on SC last season, once he started getting hit he stayed in the pocket.

I'm honestly not that concerned. I think the 'BYU susceptible to running QB's' issue is being overplayed.

As a follow-up, here's a comparison of some QB Rushing yards last year, compared to that QB's average:

AF:
Carney: 9 for 5, Averages 49 (on 10.4)

UNM:
Porterie: 5 for -15, Averages -2.6.

CSU:
Hanie: 13 for 13, Averages 0.8 (on 7.7 rushes/game)

UNLV:
Dixon: 8 for 28, Averages 27.
Clayton: 2 for 17, Averages 25.6.

TCU:
Dalton: 12 for 60, Averages17.8 (on 7.5 carries)
Jackson: 9 for 21, Averages 23.4 (on 7.3 carries)

Wyo:
Sween: 5 for -18, Averages -10.1.

Utah:
Johnson: 14 for 25, Averages 13.6 (on 7.7 carries)
(won't count Louks - those were gimmick plays).

SDSU:
O'Connel: 17 for 61, Averages 34 (on 11.3 carries).


In fact, of QB's who had 5 or more rushes, only Andy Dalton & Travis Dixon for TCU rushed for at least 1 y/c more vs. BYU than was their average for the year (Dalton averaged 2.4 yds on 7.5 carries per game, while Dixon averaged 2.5 yards on 11 carries per game).

Furthermore, Dalton is the only QB with at least five rushes to rush for more than 3.6 yards per carry (he was at 5.0).


I think it's safe to say that the 'BYU has a tendency to give up big rushing yards to QB's' theory is mostly overreaction to a single game. In fact, the league-leader in rushing for QB's, Shaun Carney, rushed for only 5 yards on nearly the same number of carries as is his average, so when BYU specifically game-plans to stop a rushing QB, they seem to be capable of doing so.

As much as I would like BYU to win this game...Waters has a point.

BYU has been HORRIBLE on the road, and the Pac-10 with their officiating "intangibles" will not help.

Historically, this is a "L" for BYU.

Bronco really needs to address BYU's "road woes" this year. If he can get BYU out of the gate with a quick start....the sky is the limit. To reach their goals he can not afford to get out to a slow start.

If BYU can tuck away a couple of Pac-10 teams, tack on the past 2 years and what they can accomplish this year?...then the next year could be really exciting when we get everyone back ...again.

The only thing that has separated BYU from victories in their last 3 road games vs BCS teams is their propensity to melt down between the opposition's 15 to 35 yard line with penalties, turnovers and missed FGs.

I honestly hope returning 10 starters this year will solve all three.

Dennis Dixon in the 06 LV Bowl

10 carries for 51 yards

LOL. You mean in the 2nd half when BYU was up 20 to 30 points? QB running was the least of BYU's worries at that point.

Jason Thomas in 2002 killed us, maybe that is what worries him.

lol. Yeah, that 38-8 squeeker was a nail-biter. Good thing we shut down everything else that game, eh?


Seriously, what was Dixon's averages rushing the ball, and compare that to what BYU allowed. I doubt you'll find much difference. Hence, my point stands - QB rushing is NOT the pivotal issue it's made out to be.



All that said, BYU should absolutely take Locker's running ability seriously and game-plan to shut it down. I just don't share the skepticism many have with BYU's ability to do so.

The last QB that honestly killed us with his legs was Ratliff in 2005.

That was embarrassing. But then again, we had more embarrassing play from the Defense that year than we've had maybe any other year since '01...

We'll play Locker just like we play every running QB. We'll let him run for 100 yards and try hold him under 200 yards passing plus get 2 or 3 picks. Then we try to throw up over 30 on offense and win by 7.

I think we don't spy at all. We play our zones and let our OLBs ring his bell a few times. This kid will throw it away against our zone.

Remind me again - what QB ran for 100 yards against us in the last two years?

Locker is certainly one of the most talented running QB's we've faced in the last two years, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him run for less than 60 yards against us.

I watched a couple of highlight videos of his and he looks okay. He's big and fast, but I don't think that he'll do more damage than several other athletic QBs have done in the past. Talk of him running for 200 yards and throwing for 200-300 is absurd. 100 yards rushing and 150-200 in the air is possible, but I really doubt it.

My big question is, who is he going to distribute the ball to to take the pressure off himself? As far I can tell, he's lost his top RB and his 3 top receivers this season. Those are some big holes to fill when you run a lot of play action and bootlegs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player...layerId=184374

Until he becomes a more efficient passer, his feet aren't going to consistently make any difference. In half of his games, his pass efficiency was under 100. In 7 of 12 games, his completion percentage was under 50%.

If you really want Jake Locker stopped, I know this guy . . .

We haven't faced anyone good the last 2 years
 

Locker ran for almost 1000 yards, averged 5.7 per carry, and had 13 TDs playing in the PAC 10. He's going to get plenty of yards against our conservative 3 man rush.

Well.... Shit

We all know il Padrino.

ANYONE good?

Shaun Carney rushed for 637 yards @ 4.7 YPC last year. Against BYU: 9 rushes for 5 yards.

Dennis Dixon rushed for 583 yards @ 5.6 YPC last year, following his bowl appearance, on a bum knee. He didn't rush 100 yards against BYU.


You're overstating your case here. Yes, Locker is easily the most talented running QB we've faced in the last two years. Yes, he's going to gain some yards against us. I doubt he rushes for 100+ yards, as BYU's truly not shown a tendency to give up those kind of yards to ANYONE in recent years.

Also, FWIW, our 'conservative 3-man rush' is misleading as well. We rush at least one LB on most downs.

Jake Locker
 

Decide for yourself, here is his rushing stats per game.

Opp / Carries / Total Yards / AVG

SYR / 10 / 83 / 8.3
BSU / 16 / 84 / 5.3
tOSU / 14 / 102 / 7.3
UCLA / 15 / 92 / 6.1
USC / 18 / 50 / 2.8
ASU / 12 / 48 / 4.0
ORE / 13 / 78 / 6.0
ARI / 23 / 157 / 6.8
STAN / 16 / 97 / 6.1
OSU / 6 / 16 / 2.7 <-- knocked out of game in 2nd qtr via helmet-to-helmet collision.
CAL - did not play -
WSU / 14 / 103 / 7.4
HA / 15 / 76 / 5.1

Locker averaged 88 rushing yards per game last year in the PAC-10. This year I think it will greatly depend on the receivers. If the young guys can mature quickly than he probably wont have nearly as much rushing attempts and thus less yards, however, if the young receivers act like young receivers than his rushing attempts will pivot on Brandon Johnson and the running game and if it produces or not.

I doubt he will need to rush for 1000 yards again, but it's possible.


So far, he has and will continue to spend the off-season working on his intermediate passing and touch. Also, since the start of January, Locker has taken it upon himself to round up all his young receivers four times a week to practice the passing game and build chemistry with each other.

"Year 2 with Jake in our system, you will see him grow big time," Lappano said. "You won't see the mistakes, some of the short throws that he missed. I don't think you are going to see that. Fundamentally, he's pretty sound."

"The prime culprit was inconsistency hitting short-to-intermediate throws.

"We want to see his accuracy improve, especially on the short stuff," Lappano said. "What I want to make sure is that the quick passing game, the 7-8-yard hitches, the quick screens, all that kind of stuff is on the mark."

Locker says he thinks he began finding that consistency during offseason drills. He threw four times a week and also took part in seven-on-seven drills twice a week.

"I didn't change any of my mechanics at all, just concentrated on my footwork and just tried to throw the ball as many times as I could," he said. "That's one of the things I needed to do is just throw and get repetitions and get used to the routes we are running and get comfortable with [the passing plays]. I felt like I got a lot better at that this offseason."

Article Source:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...41_uwfb02.html



He looked very good throwing the ball in the spring game:

"And while there were a number of highlights in the eyes of UW coaches — the apparent improvement of the defense, the playmaking ability of some of the young skill players on offense — the continuing progression of Locker might have been the biggest."

"Locker led his team to just one touchdown and was on the Purple team, which lost to the Gold 10-7. But his numbers spoke loudly as he was 13-of-17 passing for 159 yards and one touchdown, with a couple of passes dropped."

Article Sources:
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=404989
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...36_uwfb27.html

Good info and welcome to the board.

I think having one of the defenders tackle him is the best way to stop him.

I stand by my prediction that he won't rush for 100 yards against BYU, and I will be unsurprised if he rushes for less than 60.

He topped 100 yards just three times in those games you listed. The lack of experienced talent at the key skill positions seems, to me, to lead to the belief that BYU will be able to key on him and prevent many long runs.

I don't think BYU has won an out of conference road game since Bronco has been Head Coach.

Nope. In fairness, BYU's been very, very close to winning it's OOC road games the last two years. The worst loss has to be at Tulsa. There's really not much shame in losing a road game to a BCS school, even if it's an average one.

It's time to end this trend:cool:

Now that we are less than 2 months from game time, how are we going to contain Jake Locker, with our schemes, while respecting his ability to pass (assuming that he has improved). Our Safeties will be crucial in this.

Jake Locker
 

Jake wasn't that bad... yes he at times got too jacked up and overthrew people, but he also had below average wide receivers dropping passes left and right. Hell sometimes Jake was so excited about playing in the game that he would hold his breath and this would tend to end up with the ball sailing on him. He calmed down as the year progressed. I think you will see a major improvement in his passing game this year. He looked great in the Spring game, very accurate with his throws. He went 7 for 7 on one 80 yard TD drive. I think he finished the game 14 for 17 or something close to that.

The offense was not bad last year, we averaged 29.2 points per game. The major problem was that our defense was the worst in our 118 year history of Washington football. I think the biggest key to the game will be if our new and revamped defense can stop or at least slow down your potent offense. A very large uphill battle for us for sure.

BYU will obviously be the favorite to win this game, but I don't think it will be anywhere close to a cake walk or a blowout. You will for sure have your hands full with Jake Locker:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BMfiq9CXss8

To say that I am nervous about this game is an understatement. This will be a very tough game for us to win, why? It's at Husky Stadium and IMO there are many unknowns on the Washington team that make predicting the outcome more difficult. I will be happy with a 1 point victory to be honest with you. I'm coming up for the game and will be happy with just that.

How do you see your team performing with all the new replacements this year? I am intrigued. I know that Chris Polk is supposed to be a stud, but what about the others at the different positions?

dawgs
 

There is reason for optimism since we have a new, proven (in the NFL) defensive coordinator but that is on paper only until we play games. It is the same with all the frosh at the skill positions. On paper there is a ton of talent, but it is young and inexperienced. Ty is a horrible game day coach, but he has at least added some burners the last couple years. Goodwin, Shaw, both Polk kids (they are cousins), etc. Shaw and J. Polk are track stars in their states, Curtis Shaw in Cali and Polk in Oregon. Shaw ran a 10.56 in the 100m dash and Polk ran it in 10.63. Jordan Polk looks like a midget in this video clip, but in the off season so far he said he has gained 15 pounds of muscle and improved his 100m time by ..05 seconds because of the all the new muscle. Loved his quote, he said "I have been working out like a dog to get ready for UW football".
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tiUNvgi4L48

Alvin Logan (big, 6-2 218) and Anthony Boyles (6-3 190) should also have big impacts as big targets in the receiving game this year.

Chris Polk on paper and in high school is an absolute stud, we stole him from USC where he was committed for 6 months. His nickname in high school is "little Bush" because his play style reminds people of Reggie. Lappanno said he plans to use C. Polk (and Shaw) just like USC used Reggie Bush.

The starting running back job should be Brandon Johnson's to lose. He has not had much game time but he did play one and a half quarters last year against Cal after Rankin got hurt. He rushed for over 100 yards against Cal in less than two quarters. You can see our RB in action here in the second half of this video clip, he is number 6, number 9 is Rankin (who graduated).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=afy44jLiqMw


The bottom line is, we have a lot of raw talent, but it is inexperienced and full of question marks. Until Ty PROVES he can consistently win games, I am not predicting a better record than 6-6.

I hope I am wrong of course.

Especially if he chucks a water balloon at So'oto.

I know, YOhio. You can call me a zoot if you'd like. I just couldn't leave that one alone.

My prediction for our Dawgs this year
 

This is how I predict the season will go for us if I think with logic and do not take into account anything that is unknown (like impact of new coaching staff in key coordinator positions and young talent). I think our worst case scenario is 3-9, and our best case scenario is 6-6. Either way Ty gets fired, so it is a win-win situation.


Aug. 30 at Oregon - L
Sept. 6 BYU - L
Sept. 13 Oklahoma - L
Sept. 20 BYE - Hopefully Ty gets fired this week, if we lose to BYE we are in serious trouble...
Sept. 27 Stanford - W
Oct. 4 at Arizona - W or L - toss up
Oct. 11 BYE
Oct. 18 Oregon State - W or L - toss up
Oct. 25 Notre Dame - W or L - toss up
Nov. 1 at USC - L
Nov. 8 Arizona State - L
Nov. 15 UCLA - W
Nov. 22 at Washington State - W
Dec. 6 at California - L