Washington State football chat transcript - 9/13

Sep 13, 10:01 AM srchat (Admin): Hello and welcome everyone to the live chat. I’m only JUST getting home from the Boise State game so bear with me this morning. Sep 13, 10:01 AM Cougs121212 (Guest): As an Idaho grad, was it a little extra gratifying to watch Boise St. lose? Especially in that fashion? Loving the work so far, Theo! Sep 13, 10:03 AM srchat (Admin): I am a completely unbiased and impartial journalist, so I was mostly rooting for the game to end. But, you mentioned I AM an Idaho grad, so I guess I’ll just leave it at that. Sep 13, 10:03 AM JFM Cougs (Guest): Any updates on Marcus Strong, is he practicing? Sep 13, 10:04 AM srchat (Admin): I’m not able to watch practice, so can’t say one way or the other. Sep 13, 10:04 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): Why is Luke holding the ball so long? Sep 13, 10:07 AM srchat (Admin): He has been very tentative. Luke can be an overthinker at times and it seemed he was being pretty cautious during that game. That’s usually a good thing, but sometimes you just need to let it rip. Receivers probably need to do a better job of separating themselves, too. Sep 13, 10:07 AM tbrazas (Guest): Not asking about the injury itself, but how much do you think the absence of Robert Lewis has impacted Luke’s performance so far? Specifically: do you think his apparent struggle to find open receivers would be about the same or noticeably improved if Lewis had played? Sep 13, 10:09 AM srchat (Admin): I’d say you’re probably onto something. I didn’t cover this team last year, but I know how stagnant the offense got when it lost its top inside threat (Cracraft) last season. I think the younger inside guys are looking better, though, and the outside receivers have been more of the problem through two games. Sep 13, 10:09 AM 3SammyMoore (Guest): Have any of the Frosh that are redshirting caught your eye?? Sep 13, 10:10 AM srchat (Admin): Travell Harris looked strong in camp. Sep 13, 10:10 AM Guest2090 (Guest): Has Falk looked any more decisive in practice this week? Sep 13, 10:12 AM srchat (Admin): Again, I don’t watch practice, but Leach said he was steady during yesterday’s practice and a few of the players told us he seems to be unaffected from Saturday’s game. Sep 13, 10:12 AM JFM Cougs (Guest): I have noticed that both of our starting corner backs have horrible ball skills, they never turn to locate the ball, is this something that Grinch tries to teach them during camp? Sep 13, 10:14 AM srchat (Admin): Yeah, turning certainly would’ve helped on at least one of those TDs. I haven’t seen Grinch give any specific instruction one way or the other, but I know most DB coaches do have a preference. Sounds like that could be a good Grinch question for Thursday. Sep 13, 10:14 AM Guest1 (Guest): You can’t watch practice from the Library? Sep 13, 10:14 AM srchat (Admin): I can watch it. I can’t report what I see. Sep 13, 10:14 AM Guest440 (Guest): Through 2 games what has been the most surprising thing about the team? Sep 13, 10:15 AM srchat (Admin): That the defense is better than the offense and that the defensive line is possibly the strongest group on this team while the offensive line is currently the worst. Sep 13, 10:16 AM srchat (Admin): (That’s according to Leach, by the way. Not me.) Sep 13, 10:16 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): What did you think of McBroom’s game? Seemed like he was breaking into the backfield a lot. Sep 13, 10:16 AM srchat (Admin): He’s eating whatever Hercules Mata’afa is eating, I guess… I saw the same thing and it’s good to see they’re developing some depth up front. That was a major question mark coming into the season, I know. Sep 13, 10:19 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): What exactly was Leach upset about the O line….run blocking? Seemed like the QBs had plenty time to throw. Sep 13, 10:22 AM srchat (Admin): All of it. A few of the sacks may have been on the QB, but … there were still five of them. He did mention the run blocking, specifically, but it was more of a general critique regarding their effort, toughness, etc… Sep 13, 10:25 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): What is Leach using as Ex-lax this week to get his offense un-constipated? Maybe a bit more Wicks? Sep 13, 10:26 AM srchat (Admin): I’m not sure if Wicks is the cure. Jamal Morrow was listed as the single RB starter on the depth chart this week, so I’d expect to see a lot of him. How do you get un-constipated? Well, playing Oregon State always helps… Sep 13, 10:27 AM cubsfan7331: Dimry had a good Spring Game and based on reports had a good camp yet has had minimal catches through 2 games . With his size and speed they need to involve him more. This would be a good week for all the receiving corp to get involved. Where is the fade? Has it faded away? Sep 13, 10:28 AM srchat (Admin): Agreed, both he and Dez Patmon have yet to really make their mark on the season. And both were superb during fall camp. I think they’ll be able to take their shots against this OSU team. Sep 13, 10:28 AM JFM Cougs (Guest): Has Gary Anderson lost his team, why do you think Oregon State has gotten worse this year? Sep 13, 10:32 AM srchat (Admin): That’s a tough job. I can’t imagine it’s too easy to recruit talent to Corvallis right now, with the success UW, WSU, Oregon have had. So he’s at a disadvantage there. They’re also breaking in a new QB and that usually takes some time. Sep 13, 10:32 AM b17anderson: Did Patmon and Dimry get in the dog house during the second half? I don’t remember seeing either of them on the field very often if at all in the 4th and OT. Sep 13, 10:34 AM srchat (Admin): I know Patmon drew some pretty high marks from Derek Sage for his blocking, but yeah, neither did much to contribute otherwise. I’d guess they just felt more secure with Martin Jr. and IJM out there. Sep 13, 10:34 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): Has Cody regressed this year? I noticed on a few plays he didn’t keep his head on a swivel and helped/blocked the wrong guy. Sep 13, 10:37 AM srchat (Admin): I think we may still need a larger sample size, but I did pay special attention to the one-on-ones between him and Hercules during camp. Hercules got the best of him a lot… Sep 13, 10:34 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): Has Cody regressed this year? I noticed on a few plays he didn’t keep his head on a swivel and helped/blocked the wrong guy. Sep 13, 10:37 AM srchat (Admin): I think we may still need a larger sample size, but I did pay special attention to the one-on-ones between him and Hercules during camp. Hercules got the best of him a lot… Sep 13, 10:37 AM Guest8073 (Guest): Anything the Cougs should be worried about with regards to Oregon State? Sep 13, 10:41 AM srchat (Admin): The running back, Ryan Nall, really tore up the Cougars last year in Corvallis. He hasn’t had much of an impact through three games this year, but I’m sure he still has their attention. I covered their QB while he was at Idaho and he might have as much raw talent as anybody in the conference. On defense? No, nothing to worry about… Sep 13, 10:42 AM JFM Cougs (Guest): Do you think Brett Rypien lost his starting job? Sep 13, 10:45 AM srchat (Admin): With the problems they’re having on that O-line, it sure seems like they’re better with Cozart in the game. I don’t think he’s the more talented quarterback, but right now I’m not sure if they have a choice. Sep 13, 10:46 AM Uncle Larry (Guest): How quick is the hook on Falk if he struggles again Saturday? If so do they ever go back to him? Sep 13, 10:49 AM srchat (Admin): I tend to think they’d let Luke work through the issues this week, as long as the score isn’t in jeopardy. That said, I imagine they feel much better with Tyler Hilinski in the game than they did a week ago. Sep 13, 10:51 AM 3SammyMoore (Guest): Do you see Sean Harper starting to see more action in the secondary? He’s a JC kid that looks the part, just needs to get some game action under his belt. Could be Robert Taylor’s replacement next year. Sep 13, 10:53 AM srchat (Admin): I think we’ll see a number of the reserves on the field the next two weeks. I’m expected a few pretty lopsided games. Sep 13, 10:54 AM srchat (Admin): I know they like Harper, though, and I agree that he has a good chance to start next season. Sep 13, 10:54 AM JFM Cougs (Guest): If healthy do you see Marcus Strong taking more reps away from Pippins, even as a senior Pippins looks to be a liability out there? Sep 13, 10:57 AM srchat (Admin): Part of me expected Strong to take that job during fall camp. I know they won’t hesitate to pull the plug on Pippins if they feel he isn’t getting it done. And Strong is your CB of the future, so more reps certainly wouldn’t hurt especially if there’s not much a drop-off between he and Pip. Sep 13, 10:57 AM 3SammyMoore (Guest): During Camp, what would you say is the biggest change from Coach Joe to Phillips? Sep 13, 10:59 AM srchat (Admin): I didn’t cover Joe, but every coach and player I’ve talked to about Phelps tells me he’s a great technician. That’s really something they emphasize, and I don’t want to read into it too much, but maybe that means Joe wasn’t AS good of a technician. I don’t know, but whatever Phelps is doing, it seems to be working just fine. Sep 13, 11:01 AM srchat (Admin): OK, thank you to all of you who joined this week. Same time next week and be sure to follow along with the rest of our coverage at http://www.spokesman.com/wsu-football/.