Good

A cynic might say, ""I talked to my agent and no one was taking me before the 5th round," but who cares—glad to have him back for another season.

By worldblee on 01.10.19 10:06am

Absolutely nothing cynical or wrong with exploring his options

With Haskins and Murray leaving this year, qb class not as weak as expected.

I hope kj can put up even better numbers next season, work on his short pass accuracy timing, and pocket awareness. I feel like there were many sacks he kind of ran himself into that he can elude with more practice.

I think we are now in contention for the north. Herbert is back but at least no browning no minshew. somebody please hire leach out of the pac 12

By stanford6thman on 01.10.19 10:05pm

Keep in mind

UW has Jacob Eason coming off transfer next season — he transferred from UGA, and was ranked as the best pro style QB in his HS class of 2016. Obviously unproven, but could be a better QB than Browning was.

WSU - I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to pick up someone like, say Wimbush, but in any case, they can do well (not as well as this season, but well) with an also-ran QB under Leach’s system. Unfortunately it looks like he’s here as well for at least next year — I was hoping WVU would chase him, but alas they did not.

By Brendan Ross on 01.11.19 5:55am

Yea but I don’t think Peterson is a qb whisperer like leach

He didn’t do much with Browning’s development over four years. I’m hoping it’ll kind of be like UCLA and their qb transfer this season. Definitely better than the alternatives but a so so year.

By stanford6thman on 01.11.19 9:12am

This is great news for Stanford -- and I think for KJ as well

RE: contention in the north. With Shaw, we’ve always got a chance. But didn’t the team lose like 11 starters? That’s a lot of talent to replace…

Here’s hoping. Go Cardinal!

By g8tgod on 01.10.19 11:22pm

The weakest link is probably o line next year

With so many guys graduating or turning pro. I sure hope carberry Does better getting sarrell Hamilton Dalman ready compared to this season. The wide receivers I think will be a pleasant surprise with st brown and wedington and fehoko all speed guys that can stretch defenses while the Wilson and Parkinson feast on shorter routes. And on defense obviously the biggest loss is Okereke and maybe barton. The d line is getting better and stronger with some talented freshman pass rushers joining and only one senior leaving who didn’t provide much pressure. The safeties are all back as well as adebo. Eboh and his speed can fill in nicely for holder

With kj back I like our chances a lot in the north.

By stanford6thman on 01.11.19 3:58am

Barton still has one year of eligibility left, I think

By Intellectual_Brutality on 01.12.19 10:27am

Barton has officially retired from football

Same with Buncom. Both pretty big losses. Barton I can understand as he probably never fully recovered from knee injury. Buncom more a surprise although I guess he’s well on his way to becoming a neurosurgeon and doesn’t need football.

By stanford6thman on 01.16.19 4:47pm

Great news for the card!!

KJ was the second best QB in the pac-12 behind only Minshew and should be even better efficiency-wise if we had a semblance of a run game. The talent at wide-out is stocked and so is the talent on the OL. It’s about injuries and gelling early that will get through a tough season.

By layman on 01.11.19 12:38pm

Lookin' Ahead With Cagey KJ, and his associates Mills & West Att. @ Pigskin LLD...

…the Tree Farm is loaded at QB !!! in 2019…and WRs Weddington, Fehoko, St. Brown and Stewart are all young but talented, and TE Colby Parkinson is big enough to give opposing coaches a case of Parkinson’s disease… but, But, BUT what of the vaunted run-game ? That is the question that should be on everybody’s quadreceps… ‘ships are rare-to-non-existant when ya cain’t run d’ball..
…’n OC Jesse the Brick Burkett is gone, OG Nate Himbig Herbig is gone, OG Brandon Gotta-Lika Fanaika is gone, TE Kaden the Catchsmith is gone, and there, that there is the core of the OL.. meanwhile new OL Coach Carberry under-performed perhaps (?) especially compared to the late bloomin’ Bloomgren ?
— …i’m concerned.

By maddogsfavsnpiks on 01.11.19 2:30pm

Little and Sarrell are back

‘ships are rare-to-non-existant when ya cain’t run d’ball..

Defense, imo, is slightly more important. But a run game helps out your defense along with your passing. I’m hoping that with no Heisman candidate in the backfield and KJ having a penchant for throwing deep, our run game will resurface simply because teams will have to play us a little more honest.

Based on that last couple of years, Shaw seemed compelled to try and over-leverage our offensive standouts and I think that made it easier for teams to defend against us I think Shaw calls a better game when he doesn’t rely on one player.

By Blackjoy on 01.11.19 4:17pm

So True..."Ty Montgomery Disease"

When he went down with injury toward the end of the year, our offense blossomed. I also remember many calling for him to be moved to running back given our dearth of backfield performers that year. Maybe it was a little prescient……

By hoyaparanoia on 01.12.19 8:46am

Heartbreaking to hear Bryce tore his acl playing cal

I know it’s a rivalry game but oh do I wish he hadn’t played. how in the world will he be fully recovered in time for the nfl combine? He’s a late round pick now. Durability questions after all the Ankle issues and now major knee surgery. It still upsets me greatly how Shaw didn’t use love properly this season, basically overused him running up the middle even when it was clear to everyone our line couldn’t run block at all.

Let this be a cautionary tale to all stanford players Thinking of leaving early for the draft. If ur a day one selection for heavens sake go. U can finish ur degree anytime u want. Injury risk and in particular Shaw ball are just too risky to stay behind

By stanford6thman on 01.13.19 10:40am

Wilner’s coaching grades are in. Seems about right

Washington State
Record: 11-2/7-2
Coach: Mike Leach
Grade: A
Comment: Leach was named coach of the year in the conference and nationally (by the American Football Coaches Association), and it’s tough to argue with that honor. He made so many smart decisions in the offseason, expertly assimilated Gardner Minshew, was on the wrong end of an inexcusable officiating call (at USC) and still had the Cougars on the outskirts of the playoff chase. In the Hotline’s view, he was one game (the Apple Cup) from an A+ performance.

Utah
Record: 9-5/6-3
Coach: Kyle Whittingham
Grade: A
Comment: One of Whittingham’s finest seasons (and there have been many good ones). The Utes won the South despite late-season injuries to their quarterback and tailback and a difficult cross-division schedule. We’re not sure what happened in the second half of the Holiday Bowl, but it doesn’t detract from the overall effort. Whittingham remains one of the best coaches in the conference, and one of the most under-appreciated.

Stanford
Record: 9-4/6-3
Coach: David Shaw
Grade: C+
Comment: The Cardinal dearly missed offensive coordinator/line coach Mike Bloomgren. But on a more nuanced level, Stanford had too many slow starts, too many predictable, dead-on-arrival plays that created long-yardage situations, and probably should have turned the passing game loose weeks earlier than it did. Whether by design or not, the Cardinal is losing the traits that made it different. Not sure that’s a good thing in the long run.

By stanford6thman on 01.15.19 3:47pm

Wilner gets a C - for that puff of fluff...

Football is NOT Wilner’s strong suit.. His analyses of football are superficial and are NOT truly perceptive of football’s ins and outs. For instance he fails to calculate strength of schedule and level of injuries on both the OL, to a star RB, having a new OL coach, and a relatively inexperienced OC.. amongst others of Wilner’s analytical short-comings…
Meanwhile, Shaw, with 2 very close losses this past year : by 4 to Pac12 champ Washington; by 3 to Pac12 North runner-up WSU; and tough back-to-back losses to Utah (Pac12 overall runner-up) and on the road to #3 ranked playoff participant Notre Dame, countered by 9 wins including a win in the Sun Bowl, should qualify Shaw for at least a B .
But Wilner shows his main mind-set is to generate more clicks with more controversial, more outrageous, and in the process, less accurate columns.

By maddogsfavsnpiks on 01.16.19 8:37pm

Way too early speculation on who will play next year

The season’s over. It’ll be month before the spring game. So why not some idle speculation about who will play next year? Here’s my (way too long) a take.
Offense:
QB: Costello is a lock to start. But his backups are both very green. Mills 2 passes; West 5. Looking forward to both being healthy in the spring and seeing who solidifies the #2 position.
RB: Scarlett a lock to start (looks like he’s coming back) Speights will be primary back up. The success of either one depends upon the line in front of them. But if either gets hurt or if Scarlett graduates, then will Shaw move Wedington to the backfield or take a chance on the vaunted freshman Austin Jones? Shaw will probably show his hand about a possible Wedington move in the spring game.
FB: Two possibles: Heimuli at 5’11" and Jay Symonds at 6’3." Both carry a lot of weight. Should be fun to see who the better blocker is this Spring.
WR: Loads of bodies here: Michael Wilson, Osiris St. Brown, Donald Stewart, Simi Fehoko, Elijah Higgins (freshman). I’m betting Wilson on one side and St. Brown on the other. Fehoko has an outside chance of breaking in.
TE: Colby Parkinson a lock for one sport. Needs to improve his pattern running. Scooter Harrington will likely start on the other side. A good blocker. Tucker Fisk is the third. Another player with good bloodlines. No idea if either one can catch. Not much speed there at the position, however.
Kicker: Jet Toner is a lock to kick field goals. Interesting to see if he will also be used for kickoffs, or if Shaw opts for one of the punters below.
Center: Drew Dalman pretty much the whole ball game. Great blood lines. If he gets noticeably stronger, he could actually be good. I see Dylan Powell as his backup. No idea how he’ll do.
Guard: Stanford is loaded with players listed as tackles, but very few at guard. Somebody has to move over. Trey Stratford coming off an injury year will be worth seeing in the Spring Game. But I imagine Branson Bragg may start as a freshman. Talk is that either Foster Sarell or Devery Hamilton will be put in as guard if beaten out by the other at right tackle. I’d go with Hamilton as he seems to have better foot speed that Sarell. I’d also expect Henry Hattis to be moved over to a guard spot. But all the guard candidates need to get much, much stronger.
Tackle: Little is a lock at left tackle. I’m guessing Sarell at the right spot. Both need to stay healthy and, like the guards, get a whole lot stronger.

Defense:
DE: Booker and Swann are the front runners to start. Don’t know if Dylan Jackson is coming back. Fox will likely be the first sub in the rotation.
They all need to work on technique and strength. If they do, this could be a strong point of the defense.
DT: Wade Perry will probably start, but Michael Williams could give him a run, as could Ryan Johnson. Another interesting battle to see in the spring game.
OLB: Like the tackle/guard situation, Stanford is loaded with OLB, but really hurting with ILB. So expect one or two outside linebackers to move inside. I think Gabe Reid and Jordan Fox start, if Casey Toohill doesn’t come back. Curtis Robinson has pretty much been a bust so far, but I think he’s a good candidate to move inside. That leaves Thunder Keck, Joshua Pakolo, Tobe Umerah, and Tangaloa Kaufuli to show us all what they got in the spring game. For name only, I’m rooting for Keck.
ILB: With Barton’s departure, this key position lacks anyone with significant experience. Stanford’s defense next year will depend in large part on how well this position is played. And the candidates? Andrew Pryts (only 6’1"), Ricky Miezan (very fast, but only his 4th year playing football), and Jacob Mangum-Farrar (also fast). One of these has to emerge as the captain of the front 7.
CB: Adebo a lock. (One writer didn’t even pick him as first team all-Pac 12 next year. Has he ever watched him?) The other side will be a battle between Trejohn Butler, Obi Eboh and Kendall Williamson. I think it will be Eboh despite Williamson’s good showing against Pitt.
FS: Malik Antoine pretty much a lock here, even though he’s only 5’11." Backed up by Noah Williams.
SS: A toss up on another position that Stanford’s defense needs. Stewart Head (6’4") has the size and speed; not sure why he’s not played much. I’m guessing he’ll battle with Salim Turner Mohammed (freshman)
Punter: Tough to replace Bailey, but it should be a good battle between Charlie Beall and Alex Gracey. I’m guessing Beall, but the Spring game will tell. Unfortunately they don’t do kickoffs in the spring game, as I think that could be a kickoff to who will start.

Anyway, that’s my first salvo on next year’s team.

By SU74 on 01.17.19 6:16pm

Thanks for the thorough evaluation,'74...

…i have concerns at this point, about several positions : OL; OL coach; P; and @ LB. At the latter, the losses of experience and explosiveness in Bobby "the Ogre" Okereke, Joey "the fiery Ferrari" Alfieri, and Sean "the bomb" Barton, will be very difficult to replace, let alone improve upon, and if Casey takes even one of his Toohills, the D could be less like a Dam-Wut-Am an’ more like a sieve…

By maddogsfavsnpiks on 01.25.19 3:51pm