Oct 7 2015, 9:18 AM

srchat: Submit your questions now for our weekly 11 a.m. WSU football chat.

Oct 7 2015, 10:59 AM

Guest6934 (guest): Jacob, please give me your thoughts on these two players, Ngala Tapa and Deion Singleton. Do they look like they can be major contributors down the road. i.e. mainly next season.

Oct 7 2015, 11:02 AM

srchat: Neither Robert Barber nor Daniel Ekuale are seniors, so Tapa will have to earn any additional playing time. But that process already seems to be taking place. Tapa is very strong and moves very well for his size. I think he'd already be playing quite a bit if not for his conditioning, which still needs some work. I expect another offseason will do wonders for Tapa, and he'll be a regular contributor next year.

Oct 7 2015, 11:03 AM

srchat: Singleton sticks out for his size and athleticism but, other than the occasional big play in practice, not a whole lot else yet. He's young so that wouldn't normally mean much, but the Cougars have so many other young defensive backs. He's not going to be able to rise up the depth chart through the graduation of other players for awhile. We'll get a better gauge of where he currently stands next year, when he's allowed to play.

Oct 7 2015, 11:03 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Dotson seems like one of those athletes that is always hurt..do you think he will play many minutes this year ?

Oct 7 2015, 11:04 AM

srchat: I'm sure he'll start again once he's healthy. I don't know when that will be, however, as the Cougars seem to be being extra cautious with him right now and I haven't seen him since the Cal game.

Oct 7 2015, 11:04 AM

Guest2007 (guest): How many games of our remaining 8 will we have a MAJOR special teams blunder(s) that costs us anywhere from 10-14 points? PSU (muff'd punt, blocked FG, 10 points), Rutgers (punt return td, kick return td, 14 points), Cal (onside kick screw up, fake punt fail, 14 points).

Oct 7 2015, 11:06 AM

srchat: Well, like you point out, the mistakes certainly seem to plague the team. That said, none of the mistakes you listed were the same, and the coverage units looked pretty solid against Cal except for a 16-yard punt, which isn't really a game-changer. They seem to do a good job of not making the same mistake twice, so maybe you just need to wait for them to make every possible special teams mistake?

Oct 7 2015, 11:07 AM

Guest4273 (guest): It is obvious defense is improving, or has improved from last season. Special teams, although not good, is improving. The offense continues to be the weak link; o-line has been good, WRs are stacked, back are good, the one constant is falk. We have yet to put up 40 points with him as starter, most the time are lucky to 30. For a 3rd year guy in the system, it doesn't seem like he see's the field, and certainly doesn't make quick decisions. He doesn't make the explosive/game changing/game winning plays. Due

Oct 7 2015, 11:09 AM

srchat: Hey guest, 4273, I think your question got cut off.

Oct 7 2015, 11:09 AM

Guest2007 (guest): haha, good answer Jacob! During the week when we practice Special Teams, do we have the Special Teams gameday starters on the #1 units throughout the entire week? I heard we have backups on the #1 units, then Thursday hits and they put in the guys who will actually play on to the #1 team. Can you expand on this at all?

Oct 7 2015, 11:10 AM

srchat: The starters appear pretty consistent to me. Early in the week they may give a guy a look here or there and then once the game plan is set in stone they work with who they know will start, but I don't think there's some grand policy of having the backups play with the No. 1 units until Thursday.

Oct 7 2015, 11:10 AM

Guest8203 (guest): Why did cracraft seem to disappear in the second half last week?

Oct 7 2015, 11:11 AM

srchat: The offense by and large disappeared in the second half last week, putting up seven points. When the offense isn't clicking and the quarterback isn't hitting receivers like he was in the first half, there aren't going to be many standouts. But I don't think he was hurt or anything.

Oct 7 2015, 11:13 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Whats holding Lemora back...speed, instincts, lateral ?

Oct 7 2015, 11:14 AM

srchat: Kind of tough to say. He was the guy at nickel all through spring and early in camp, and then sort of disappeared. The most obvious thing to me is that Grinch just decided he wants a bigger, sturdier player at the nickel position. Lemora, a former safety, doesn't have the same body type as Isaac Dotson or Parker Henry.

Oct 7 2015, 11:14 AM

Guest-Infinity (guest): What is your overall sense of the league this year? In my opinion, the conference is at its weakest in a decade. Even the Cougs, who lost to an FCS team, have a resonable shot at a few wins. No dominating teams, seems like.

Oct 7 2015, 11:16 AM

srchat: I would agree with your assessment, with the exception that Stanford certainly looks like a dominating team. I think the early loss to Northwestern made a lot of people forget about Stanford, but Northwestern is now ranked No. 13. Since that game Stanford has done nothing but dominate. The conference has a lot of teams that can dominate, but only Stanford has been consistent about it.

Oct 7 2015, 11:17 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Are the WR's just not getting open fast enough, creating space or is air reaid too predictable ?...Falk is moving in the pockect however he just seems to be holding on to the ball too long versus connor

Oct 7 2015, 11:18 AM

srchat: There are definitely plays where receivers aren't getting open, but that will always be the case. I think Falk needs to just throw the ball quicker and not always wait for a player to be wide open with nobody near him.

Oct 7 2015, 11:18 AM

Guest8385 (guest): The punter looked like he had the first down however appeared to hold up at the last minute, was it a first down if he holds on..?

Oct 7 2015, 11:19 AM

srchat: After watching the replay a few times, I'm not 100 percent how it would be called but my inclination is no. It seemed like his forward progress was stopping short of the line. Honestly, he gets it with a favorable spot, doesn't get it with an unfavorable one.

Oct 7 2015, 11:19 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Whats the scoop on Little Buck...speed ?

Oct 7 2015, 11:19 AM

srchat: Speed, change of direction, instincts. He's just never really been a factor. That said, he's a big hitter like his brother.

Oct 7 2015, 11:20 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Tough to tell...looks like he does not like contact !...Basler would have taken it to the house !

Oct 7 2015, 11:20 AM

Guest4606 (guest): how are oregons dbs?

Oct 7 2015, 11:21 AM

srchat: They have not played very well at all this year. That's a matchup the Cougars should be able to exploit. They better do it quickly because defensive end DeForest NFL draft pick sort of player and he'll be coming after Falk.

Oct 7 2015, 11:23 AM

Guest4606 (guest): Who will DeForest be matching up against?

Oct 7 2015, 11:24 AM

srchat: He'll be all over the place. If you watch the Leach video from yesterday, he goes into how Oregon likes to have him line up all along the line depending on the situation.

Oct 7 2015, 11:24 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Hercules had a great game...looks small for a DL..must be country strong with a great first step...How Is Kingston progressing and lastly , more of Mitchell this week...big dude..had a nice play last week ?

Oct 7 2015, 11:26 AM

srchat: Hercules is very strong, one of the strongest players on the team. Kingston Fernandez hasn't stuck out much, not as much as he did last year. I expect Mitchell to play more against run-heavy teams, so there's a decent chance he sees more snaps against Oregon.

Oct 7 2015, 11:30 AM

Guest4606 (guest): dahl gonna pancake deforest?

Oct 7 2015, 11:31 AM

srchat: That'll definitely be the matchup to watch on Saturday, and one I'm sure many NFL scouts will watch the tape of over and over again.

Oct 7 2015, 11:32 AM

Guest8385 (guest): Kid from Montana looks like he could be very good ?..thoughts ?

Oct 7 2015, 11:32 AM

srchat: Could you be more specific?

Oct 7 2015, 11:33 AM

Guest6675 (guest): what is your take on the OL giving up so many sacks. Not holding blocks long enough, or just getting beat?

Oct 7 2015, 11:34 AM

srchat: Well the offense was doing a decent job limiting sacks before Saturday's game. I think it was a combination of Falk holding on too long and the line having maybe its worst game of the season. Cal defensive end Kyle Kragen is also a beast.

Oct 7 2015, 11:34 AM

Guest8385 (guest): did you ever interact with Chris Ivory >,,what a player, had a huge apple cup years ago...

Oct 7 2015, 11:36 AM

srchat: No, Ivory was before my time. I've gone back and looked at his college stats and it didn't seem like he made that much of an impact before being dismissed, the Stanford and Washington games notwithstanding.

Oct 7 2015, 11:38 AM

Guest6330 (guest): Any takes on why the line is -17 for Oregon? I'm thinking probably -7 or -8.

Oct 7 2015, 11:39 AM

srchat: The bettors seem to be underestimating the Cougars, because I agree that line seems pretty high. It seemed really high last week and WSU beat the spread by 11 points, so, might be some easy money if you're into that sort of thing.

Oct 7 2015, 11:51 AM

srchat: Alright, if there are no more questions we'll end our live chat here. Thanks for joining the discussion and check in shortly for the full transcript.

 

 

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