USC 2009 : Did We Expect Too Much?

There was a chill in the air early Monday as I walked onto my balcony to check the weather.  The sky was heavily overcast.  Not your typical sunny Southern California day.

My thoughts fluctuated between working out inside and venturing to the local park that sits on a steep hillside overlooking downtown.  It was one of those somber in between mornings, where you wished it would either rain or the sun would finally break through.

It became apparent that it wasn’t going to do either.  The damp chill and the overcast sky seemed stalled and unwilling to budge.  

Still deciding whether to go out or stay in, I sat down at my computer and checked the sports section of the Los Angeles Times.  The Joe McKnight story that broke over the weekend was still with us.  I figured it would be.

In the latest report, it seemed that McKnight would not make the trip to San Francisco with the rest of the team.  He had to remain at USC to take care of “compliance issues.” 

Right.  In other words, he needed to explain why he lied about never driving the Land Rover.

But even more sobering than the weather or McKnight’s use of a Land Rover belonging to a marketing executive was the news that three Trojans were declared academically ineligible for the Emerald Bowl.

Wonderful.  It never rains in Southern California; it just pours.

I smacked my desk in frustration.  How can these guys do that?  Don’t they know that USC is a university and not a minor league proving ground for the NFL?  Don’t they realize that they are here to study and not just play football?

As I continued reading, my frustration turned to anger when I learned that Pete Carroll was “disappointed” by the situation.  I was angry that he was merely disappointed and not downright livid like I was.

Not that these three players would miss the Emerald Bowl but that they were short-changing themselves.  They were throwing away the opportunity to get a valuable education from a great institution that would benefit them their entire lives.

I was upset that they were depriving those, who deserve and would appreciate a scholarship to USC, of the opportunity that they were squandering away.

Some two or three-star high school players were now attending junior colleges or lesser state schools because these five-star players received a free ride to USC, which they didn’t even appreciate.

I guess I had reached my boiling point because I at once decided to head over to the damp, chilly hillside to workout.  I threw on a sweater and a jacket and took off, shaking my head and wondering what has been going on with USC this year.

I had just started my workout when a friend called me.  He asked if I wanted to join him at another park across town.  Fine.

We worked out for a couple of hours.  I had totally forgotten the troubles lingering over the USC football program like the dreary clouds that hung overhead.

When I got back and sat down at my computer, the McKnight story emerged again.  The team left for San Francisco without their thousand-yard running back.

Maybe he was going wait for the weather to clear then drive the Land Rover up along Big Sur later in the week.  It’s a great drive.  Wonderful scenery.

I also read about all the troubles Mark Sanchez has been having in New York.  It seems as though Sanchez and Matt Barkley are mystically entwined.  

Sanchez is the reason that Barkley started at quarterback for USC as a true freshman. He would have red-shirted if Sanchez had returned for his final year.

Both were praised by their head coaches.  Both started off very well.  Then both hit some bumps in the road, and soon things were going from bad to worse.

Now both the Trojans and the New York Jets are completing dismal seasons.   Both defenses broke down along the way.  Both were due in part for their inept offenses’ inability to remain on the field for any length of time.

A rash of interceptions by the two first-year quarterbacks, fumbled snaps, false starts and three-and-outs held their defenses hostage so that one after another key defenders went down for several games or for the season.

I stared out the window at the dreary sky and thought about a much brighter day late last summer.  I was standing on the upper deck of the baseball stadium looking down onto Howard Jones Field where the Trojans were going through Fall Camp.

Aaron Corp was hobbling around with a large brace on his leg while Matt Barkley led the first unit.  It was the beginning of the Barkley Experiment, one which its initiator, Pete Carroll, hoped would make up for Mark Sanchez’s unexpected departure.

Sadly to say, it was an experiment that would eventually go awry.

I distinctly remember watching a player in a Number 16 yellow jersey looking on while Barkley threw pass after pass for an hour and ten minutes.  The only break was for a few special team punts.

I thought Number 16 would go in after the special teams had finished, but he didn’t.  Matt Barkley continued to lead the first unit.  According to Pete Carroll, Barkley needed all the practice he could get if he had to start at quarterback.

That surely made sense.  But why did Barkley have to start at quarterback?

Number 16 continued to watch from behind the lines, just a helmet in hand, no football.  Finally, the 70-minute drill ended, and the coaches called in Number 16.

No time to grab a football and warm up, just get in there and do your thing.  He took the snap and then suddenly…Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam!  Four passes, four completions.  Not bad for some guy who has been standing around for 70 minutes without a ball in his hand.

Then just as soon as it started, it was over.  The coaches brought Barkley back in, and Number 16 returned to the line of reserves.

So was this guy Mitch Mustain really that bad, that far behind that he didn’t deserve more of a look. What if he had taken more snaps with the first team?  Was it really that urgent that Matt Barkley get 90 percent of the snaps?

I guess I just don’t realize how little I know about football and maybe even less about human nature.

Anyway, staring at those clouds I thought about another quarterback, Kellen Clemens, who had to stand around in New York last summer just like Number 16 had to do here on the opposite end of the country.  

Both watched some young kid get all the attention of the coaches and all the press. They had to hear about how great these young guys were.  

The one in New York was being compared to Joe Namath.  The one here in Los Angeles, we were told, was far ahead of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and even Mark Sanchez when they first arrived at USC.

But all that Clemens and Mustain could do was to stand around and wonder if they would ever get a decent shot.

A decent shot?  Surely they expected too much.  Then again, did all of us who swallowed all the hype expect too much?

When the coaches told us that Barkley was the best option for USC, did we expect too much?  Maybe, maybe not.

When the coaches told us that this year’s defense was quicker and more disciplined than last year’s, which sent no less than eight players to the NFL, did we expect too much?

When Pete Carroll praised the new coaches who joined his staff from the NFL, did we really expect a seamless transition?

I opened my eyes and stared at that dreary sky.  I didn’t know all the answers but I knew this.  

Wishful thinking and undeserved praise can often do more damage than outright lies.  But then again, football’s just a game.  Isn’t it?