Selective Memory Pays Off Cardinal Safety Refuses To Dwell On 69-17 Loss To Texas

Tim Smith has memory problems.

Which is kind of unusual since he goes to Stanford.

But, darn it, the senior can hardly remember what happened last weekend. Which is kind of good since he is a defensive back on the Cardinal football team.

So, Smith’s memory problems are selective. The history major can tell you Napoleon’s last words, but he’s not so quick with an answer when asked to recall the final score of last week’s game at Texas.

A gentle reminder here, Tim. It was 69-17. And your team wasn’t the one doing the celebrating afterwards. Does that jog the ol’ memory a bit?

“Yeah, the plane ride back, it was pretty quiet,” the Stanford strong safety said. “Having what happened to us happen, it was the furthest thing from my mind going into the game.

“But we have put that behind us and are focusing on this week,” he added.

And there is where Smith’s selective memory kicks in - forget the past, focus on the future.

“Defensive backs have to have the shortest memories on the field because if someone catches a touchdown pass on you, you have to be able to bounce back and be in the next play,” Smith said. “Myself, the way I deal with it when I give up a touchdown is I feel it is my obligation to make a big play or get a turnover the next time I’m on the field.”

Problem was against Texas that didn’t happen.

“Tim, he made some plays and played well despite our shortcoming on defense,” said Stanford secondary coach Denny Schuler. “But even he had a couple of breakdowns.”

When told of his coach’s assessment, Smith concurred.

“He’s right. There were some plays that I could have made.”

Last season, there were hardly any plays the Jim Thorpe Award candidate didn’t make. He tied USC’s Chris Claiborne for the most interceptions in the Pac-10 with six. Three of those came against this week’s opponent, Washington State. And playing as a free safety, he led the Cardinal in tackles with 109. That total was third best in the Pac-10.

“The problem is you don’t want your free safety leading the team in tackles,” Smith said.

You don’t want to give up 443.5 yards per game either, but that’s what the Cardinal defense did last year.

That total put them last in the Pac-10 in yards allowed per game and at the bottom of the pack in Division I. Knowing things had to change, Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham got rid of defensive coordinator Bill Harris and promoted Kent Baer. One of the first things Baer did was move the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Smith from free safety to strong safety.

“Tim’s a big guy and we wanted to take advantage of that,” said Schuler of Baer’s changes. “We wanted to drop and play him lower in the box, closer to the line.

“The nice thing about a guy like Tim is he allows you to cover people - he is good enough he certainly can cover the tight end or pick somebody else up - but he can also provide you with a guy who is like a fourth linebacker.” “I’m taking on lead blockers now,” Smith said. “Just really trying to stop the run and make teams one dimensional.”

For three quarters against Texas, the new defensive philosophy actually worked. The Longhorns only had 79 yards rushing.

“We made them one dimensional, but then we didn’t stop that dimension,” said Smith.

In fact, the Longhorns passed for 380 yards. That’s more yards through the air than Stanford allowed to anyone last year. WSU had 372 passing yards in a loss to the Cardinal.

“But we really believe that we are a much better defensive team than we showed last week,” said Smith.

“The challenge is now for us to turn the page and forget about what happened down there and concentrate on what we are going to do this week.”

Sounds like Smith’s memory is starting to fade again.

Injury sidelines Wynn

The Washington State injury list isn’t very long, but it got more painful to look at on Wednesday.

The Cougars found out that wide receiver Milton Wynn, who left Tuesday’s practice with an injured finger, is doubtful for Saturday. Wynn, who had three catches for 20 yards in his WSU debut against Utah, broke and dislocated the finger.

He walked off the field saying he would be ready by Saturday, but on Wednesday, the 6-4, 210-pound junior college transfer returned to the field in street clothes. Still, there is hope he could return for the Sept. 18 game against Idaho.

Defensive lineman Jesse Ratcliff had to bow out of Wednesday’s practice with recurring back problems. He is questionable for Saturday’s Stanford game.

Defensive lineman Joey Hollenbeck is back in full pads after sitting out all of fall camp with a foot injury.

Running back Brad Philley was also back at practice, but the junior was wearing a non-contact jersey and had his hip pointer taped heavily. Wide receiver Marcus Williams worked out with a non-contact jersey and no shoulder pads because of a neck strain. Williams is probable for Stanford.