Huskies-Gonzaga: Yeah, that didn't go so well

The UW-Gonzaga game last night, well, it didn't go so well. The overall impression that I received was that the Huskies were just not ready for the game. It's a lot to ask of a young team to play their first road game against a team like Gonzaga, and it was pretty obvious that the Huskies weren't prepared for a road game of that magnitude. One of the major issues with the Huskies so far has been their slow starts to games, and that's an issue that will be compounded on the road. The biggest surprise for me was how poorly the Huskies played on defense. I expected the turnover problems and general sloppiness, but the Huskies were just awful on defense last night, especially in the first half. They were really slow on defensive rotations, which resulted in a ton of easy lay-ups for guys like Matt Boldin, and kick-outs for open threes by Derek "the Weasel Boy" Raivio. The only players for UW who impressed me were Jon Brockman and Quincy Pondexter, due to their overall composure. No one else appeared to be prepared for the game. Justin Dentmon was absolutely brutal, a real nightmare game for him. Adrian Oliver was in foul trouble and couldn't do much. Ryan Appleby was invisible. Spencer Hawes, even though he ended up with a good stat line, looked like he had forgotten how to play basketball for the first fifteen minutes of the first half; he was called for two traveling violations and an offensive foul, and also attempted two bank shots that didn't even draw rim. Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt thoroughly outplayed Hawes. Hans Gasser didn't bring his normal gusto for setting screens, which was part of the reason why the shooters couldn't get open. That was a pretty difficult game to watch as a Husky fan; I felt like the Huskies issues were really exposed, and you have to wonder if they'll be able to get their game together before LSU comes here, and before conference play starts. I still have a lot of confidence in this Husky team, and I think they'll be really good by the end of the season, but I hope they turn it around soon and don't dig themselves a hole they can't get out of.

Also, just because I happen to be at the computer when I normally wouldn't, here are some NFL observations: do you think think Mike Shanahan would like to take back the Jay Cutler experiment about now? Hmm, yeah, in hindsight it wasn't the past decision to pull your starting quarterback during the middle of the stretch drive to the playoffs and replace him with a rookie who had yet to take a snap in an NFL game. What surprised me about that decision was how many pundits where prepared to crown Cutler's ass, to paraphrase Denny Green. Rookie quarterbacks just don't perform well, even the one's who turn out to be good quarterbacks eventually. And there's a definite difference between the situations of Matt Leinart and Vince Young and Cutler's situation. Leinart and Young have no pressure on them; they're rookie quarterbacks on shite teams, and they're not expected to do much. Cutler was put in with the expectation that he'd give Denver a better chance to reach the Superbowl, which is a completely unreasonable expectation; if you look at rookie quarterbacks in the last twenty years, Ben Roethlisberger is the only one to have even a modicum of success, and that was in a situation where he was heavily protected by a great run game and great defense. Cutler's situation is somewhat analogous, but at the same time it isn't: Roethlisberger was inserted into the starting lineup in week 2 or 3, if I recall correctly, and that was as the result of an injury to the starter and back-up. Cutler's promotion was purely elective, and come's at a crucial junction in the season. Just not a good decision by Shanahan.

Indianapolis must be the worst good team in quite some time. Jacksonville absolutely killed them today, running all over them. Anyone can run on them, and the entire league knows it at this point, and it's the perfect remedy for the Indy offense, by keeping them off the field and making them unable to get in a rhythm. I don't see Indy being able to win in the playoffs. They've still got a good shot at a first-round bye, and could possibly win their second-round game, but do they have any chance when the conference championship comes around? San Diego and Baltimore would destroy Indy, and so would New England if they get another shot at them. Cincinnati would be the only potential AFC playoff team against whom I'd give Indy the edge.

I wonder if Sports Illustrated is regretting picking Carolina-Miami for the Superbowl? There can't be a more disappointing and underachieving team than Carolina, and the "Jake Delhomme as good quarterback" ship has sailed.

I think we'll soon enter be entering the "Vince Young as overrated quarterback" era; he's just not a very good passer yet, but his running prowess covers it up. I must admit that his run to beat Houston today was absolutely awesome, though. I actually think he could end up as a more successful running quarterback than Michael Vick, due to his size. Vick just seems like he'll eventually suffer a horrific injury, and he also seems much more reliant on his running than Young, to the detriment of his passing game.

Well, I've got to finish watching the potential Hawk comeback. This team is really killing me. Seahawks just blew it. God I hate this team.