Dawgs with attitude

The weakest opponent on the schedule – San Jose State – is up first, yet you’d think it’s the Apple Cup to Tyrone Willingham.

“I see it as critical,” he said of the season opener, “if you want to win them all.”

Ho-kay.

For two years, the University of Washington Huskies have had trouble winning at all, and yet here is the second-year CEO of the Dawgs suggesting the loftiest of ambitions, though with the hint of a smirk. Maybe it was a dumb answer to a dumb question, or maybe Willingham is simply trying to impress upon his players the power of absolute faith.

So far, it’s working. Running back Kenny James has spouted off about being in the Rose Bowl. Guard Stanley Daniels wasn’t quite so expansive, saying only, “If you’re a Husky fan, come watch us play. We’re going to do good things this year.”

But then, this is what August is all about.

It’s hard to know exactly what’s behind the smiles and happy predictions on Montlake, unless it’s the notion that things couldn’t possibly get worse than they’ve been the last two seasons.

Yes, 2005 – Willingham’s first at UW after being fired at Notre – represented a baby step forward. The Huskies showed a smidgen more fight than they did the year before, and now there are 22 players on hand who have starting experience in a Husky uniform.

But there’s a reason the Huskies are a consensus pick to again finish dead last in the Pacific-10 Conference. With any number of sub-.500 teams, it can be suggested that improvement in one or two areas could put them in the bowl picture. Not so with Washington. The Huskies need to make some dramatic strides across the board to make that kind of leap.

It starts with their best player. Quarterback Isaiah Stanback is unquestionably a talent – a terrific arm, shifty, with speed that clocked out at 10.48 in the 100 meters at the Pac-10 track meet. It’s just as undeniable that his poor decision making has cost the Huskies more than a couple of victories, and that without big strides in that area, the Dawgs will be back taking target practice on their toes.

Stanback, however, contends that ability is not what separates the Huskies from success.

“We’ve always had talent,” he said. “We kept ourselves in the first half of games on talent last year. But the second half, something else kicks in and you’ve got to be confident enough to go out and execute when things get tough, when you’re tired. That’s something we didn’t do last year but should be able to do this year.”

Stanback’s success will be dependent on a mostly inexperienced offensive line patching things together. This means relying on the likes of center Juan Garcia, one of the strongest Huskies but one who’s missed two entire seasons with leg and ankle injuries. The Huskies do have some experienced and capable receivers, led by Sonny Shackelford, but an injury to James has left the running back position “bone thin,” in Willingham’s words.

“But we’ll manage it,” he said.

But UW’s second-half resiliency falls on the defense, which surrendered nearly 35 percent of its points in the fourth quarter a year ago. And this is an area with problems.

The team’s best pass rusher, end Greyson Gunheim, suffered a knee injury in a special-teams drill and is likely to miss the opener. Dashon Goldson, who moved from safety to cornerback to fill a desperate need, has been slow to come back from a high ankle sprain. Scott White, who started every game at linebacker a year ago, left the team for a short time after being demoted to second team and leaves an experience gap in the starting lineup.

But linemen Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and Wilson Afoa have had their moments this fall, and there must be a reason Dan Howell has jumped ahead of White at linebacker. And if the Huskies can get junior college safety Ashlee Palmer through the eligibility hoops, he could be a difference maker in the secondary.

Naturally, however, Willingham claims the biggest hurdle of all is mental.

“I’ve said all along, the biggest challenge – whether it’s in my becoming head coach of a program or some manager in Microsoft taking over a department – is about attitude, getting to a common ground,” he said. “I believe our team is getting closer to my mindset, and my mindset is I don’t really care if we’re picked 11th in a conference of 10 teams.

“We’ve got just as good a chance as everyone else.”