USC football: Players’ two cents on offensive struggles

October 29th, 2008, 7:30 am · 3 Comments · posted by Adam Maya, staff writer since 2006

The 17 points USC put up against Arizona was its lowest total since a 24-17 loss to Oregon last October. From 2002-06, the only time USC failed to score 20 points was a 13-9 loss to UCLA in the 2006 regular season finale.

Clearly, something is up with this offense. Media and fans have said more than their peace about the situation, so I asked the players what they thought.

What is the offense lacking right now?

Fullback Stanley Havili: “I think last week we played a good team. We played a good Arizona team. Give them credit.”
Running back Stafon Johnson: “Consistency. I can’t really say why it is. For the most part we just got to convert on third downs and score in the red zone, and do it consistently.”

Why has it been so inconsistent?

Havili: “For an offense to execute plays well, every guy has to do their part. There’s a couple times where not all 11 are on the same page. Obviously, it’s hindered the offense.”

What does your specific unit need to do better?

Offensive guard Alex Parsons: “We need to communicate better. That’s always an issue with us. For all of us its always footwork, our hand placement is always something we can work on. Late in the game sometimes guys get tired, their hands kind of go everywhere.”
Receiver Ronald Johnson: “We got to get everybody healthy. On top of that we got to come in with focus. Last game we should have done a lot better than we did. My group, we were kind of beside ourselves. We should have come out ready. We were just kind of unfocused coming in.”

What do you personally need to do better?

Havili: “Block. That’s something I really need to work on. I never blocked throughout high school. I never played fullback throughout high school. I was a tailback.”
S. Johnson: “Starting to be a leader on the field, show that I’m here no matter what. Even if I’m not in the game I’m here on the sideline at all times. Just be there whenever I’m called on.”

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joe says:

October 29, 2008 at 9:15 am

Stafon Johnson looks like a leader at the AZ game. That awesome cut block was the key to the winning touchdown. Lead by example.

Doug says:

October 29, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Is it true that USC is ranked #5 in the BCS, with one loss by a single TD, has the best record in the PAC10, the best defense in the nation, has a chance at the BCS Title game, and the only PAC10 team that does? Just asking. From the ways the many articles are written, you would think that USC’s football program was in the trash heap.

Juice22 says:

October 30, 2008 at 1:22 pm

USC’s play calling didn’t make sense versus AZ. AZ’s rush defense was ranked 6th and USC’s rush offense was ranked 2nd. Wouldn’t you run all day long when you have a strong rush versus a poor rush D? Instead, USC was throwing on 1st downs and running on 3rd downs. The offensive coordinator, Sarkisian, calls play as if USC were weaker in talent than the opponent. It seems like he is trying be unpredictable in his play-calling but he is staying away from his team’s strengths. He should have established the run early before going for such long passes that lead to nothing. Some of it was Sanchez’s fault for going for broke too often but the play-calling lacks logic.

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