Washington Herald: Husky O needs a little TNT

UW offense is efficient but it needs to be a little more of the other 'E' word: explosive

By Mike Allende

Herald Writer

SEATTLE - One word has been used to describe the University of Washington's offense in last week's loss to Air Force: Efficient. Not exciting, not explosive, not unpredictable. Of course, after struggling through a horrible season last year, efficient is pretty good praise. But at some point, efficient won't be enough. The Huskies will need big plays to go along with the short passes and consistent running game. Washington thinks it has the athletes to come up with big plays. Running back Louis Rankin is a potential game-breaker, Johnie Kirton could be a special tight end, and coaches think one of the receivers, possibly Corey Williams or Sonny Shackelford, could emerge as a big-play threat.

But the one player who holds the highest hopes for breaking out into a playmaker is junior quarterback Isaiah Stanback. Last week, Stanback showed he has made big strides as a pocket quarterback, completing 19 of 27 passes for 242 yards, a touchdown and, most importantly, no interceptions. It was quite a step for a player who last year completed 35 percent of his passes and was more likely to take off and run if he faced even the slightest pressure rather than relax, check off his receivers, and then make a decision.

But while Stanback was, well, efficient, there was a lack of big plays. The longest pass play was 38 yards (the only play over 30 yards) and Stanback ran five times for just 12 yards. For a quarterback valued as much (if not more) for his running than his passing, that isn't enough.  Both Stanback and coach Tyrone Willingham say it wasn't a problem that Stanback didn't run more, and that the game plan partially called for Stanback to spread the ball around. Seven different players caught passes against Air Force.

"An important role for your quarterback is to involve the rest of your team," Willingham said. "It would be a real shame if we played with nine guys. That would not be an advantage for us. Do we also need to create opportunities for (Stanback) to advance the football? Yes, I think that's important because I think he can do that." Stanback said he has worked to improve his play in the pocket, and knows that teams are going to force him to beat them with his arm until he proves he can do that.

"Right now, I think teams are more concerned if I run than if I pass," Stanback said. "But that's fine because I'm a lot more comfortable being in the pocket now. And if I need to run, I can still do that. I'm going to do whatever I have to do to make a play."

Willingham said he plans on opening up the playbook more today. Cal's defensive backs are fast and aggressive, led by safety Harrison Smith, which means Stanback may be forced to scramble more. He'll have to avoid the rush of the Cal line, led by Brandon Mebane, and an emerging star in middle linebacker Desmond Bishop.

"They are always running to the ball," Willingham said. "That's an excellent quality. They have excellent team speed, and they are very aggressive in the secondary. They're going to challenge our receivers at every turn." "They play physical," receiver Anthony Russo said. "We're going to have to be tough, run the right routes and find ways to get open. We feel good about what we did last week, we just need to do it again." California coach Jeff Tedford said he knows Stanback is capable of hurting his team in several ways. Stanback did not play against the Golden Bears last year. "He has great potential, no question about it," Tedford said. "Not only with his arm but he can pull it down and run it, which is always a threat."