House Of Sparky: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
Network Message: 50% Off: CBS/SB Nation Fantasy Baseball

Some Rays of Sun Shine Through

Although the rain came down steadily throughout the game, there were some bright spots on the field for the Devils in a tough 20-17 loss against the Georgia Bulldogs.  Here is a quick break down of how the Devils fared...

QB: Not all the blame can go on Danny Sullivan as there were a few untimely drops from the receiving corps, but Sullivan's accuracy was plain horrendous.  Sullivan couldn't seem to make a big play when we needed it and mismanaged the play clock several times.  In order for this team to succeed, we need some production from the QB.

QB Grade: D

RB: Nance was the main RB for the Devils tonight, and he didn't take the opportunity for granted.  Dmitri carried the Devils for much of the game with explosive runs and several catches.  He scored the only offensive TD for the Devils, and showed that he can handle the majority of the carries for this team.

RB Grade: A-

OL: The offensive line provided Sullivan with some time to throw the ball for once.  The pass and run protection held up relatively well throughout the game, sans a few breakdowns on some of Nance's runs.  Compared to the OL's of the past few years, this one rose up to the occasion against a tough SEC defensive front.

OL Grade: B

WR/TE: The WR's had game changing drops.  A number 1 receiver (ahem...Kyle Williams) is expected to make the routine plays while also making some outstanding plays.  Williams did neither.  2 Huge drops in the 4th quarter took away first downs from the Sun Devils anemic offense and killed the momentum after a turnover.  With Sully's good passes being few and far between, we can't afford to drop the ball.  Knapp also had a drop, although we would've most likely been stopped short of the first.  Overall, I expect more from the WR's.

WR Grade: C-

Special Teams:  The special teams met expectations with their play. True frosh Bobby Wenzig connected on a 43-yd field goal attempt, but also got a low kick blocked with the game on the line.  Its unfair to expect Wenzig to play up to Weber's level, but with our offense we are going to need him to connect when called upon.  His leg looks very weak on kickoffs, leading to good UGA field position.

The return team played average.  Williams often looked tentative to return kicks, calling for fair catches before truly assessing whether he had room to run.  In a game like this, field position is key and we need Williams to make better decisions when returning kicks.

Special Teams Grade: C+

Defensive Line: The DL did well against the run, but got very little pressure on QB Joe Cox.  With no sacks, and very few hurries, it makes you wonder where Dexter Davis has gone.  The DE's need to step up and get some pressure on the opposing QB's.

DL Grade: B-

Linebackers: The LB's are the strongest part of this team.  Burfict, Munns, and Nixon all made big plays throughout the game.  Vontaze Burfict continues to show why he is the prize posession of Erickson's recruiting class.  Despite running through a misplaced referee, Burfict jumped over the line to stop UGA on a critical 4th-and-1.  He's a beast. The linebackers make their presence known all over the field and fought hard through the end of the game.

LB Grade: A

Secondary: The secondary played pretty well.  There are few WR's better than AJ Green, and despite his 153 yards, the coverage was usually pretty decent.  On Green's catch to set up the winning FG, Singfield was well positioned on the play.  Green made an NFL-caliber grab.  In wet conditions, the CB's and Safetys looked pretty good.

Secondary Grade: B

Overall the Devils played a good game and beat most people's expectations. Time to come back to the dry desert and prepare to take on the Beavers next Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.

Poll
Which Sun Devil unit was the most surprising against the Bulldogs?
RB's
20 votes
WR
3 votes
TE
1 votes
LB
13 votes
OL
12 votes
DL
3 votes
Secondary
3 votes
Special Teams
1 votes
QB
5 votes

61 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 16 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

More from House Of Sparky

Devil Links for November 10th

Nov 2009 by mlev811 - 9 comments

ASU Upset Bid Fails

Oct 2009 by ASUBoyd - 16 comments

Comments

Display:

Danny's time is up as far as I'm concerned

I know the WR’s dropped a few, but good lord that was terrible. He’s just not a Pac 10 caliber QB.

Great game by the D. I’ve said on here a few times that I believe the defense will win us a game we have no business winning — it almost happened last night. I believe the D will be the best in the Pac 10 by the end of the year.

Nance looked good — I was shocked by the OL’s ability to create running lanes.

Overall, I give the team a B- It’s not everyday you go into a hostile SEC environment against a ranked team and give them everything they can handle.

But, no moral victories. This one hurts.

Imagine if we had even an average QB — we’d be 3-0 right now. ugh.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Sep 27, 2009 8:10 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

could not agree more

osweiler needs to be named the starter as soon as possible

by DenverDevil on Sep 27, 2009 8:59 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I agree

I’m willing to put up with freshman mental errors for the chance to make some plays. I think Osweiler would bring some excitement to the offense.

by mlev811 on Sep 27, 2009 9:59 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

not to mention

the sooner he gets in the sooner those mental errors start to go away

by DenverDevil on Sep 27, 2009 11:03 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Completely agree

Hopefully we don’t have a let down this week against Oregon State. Hopefully the stadium is packed since I know we got some pretty big recruits coming to visit this week. Mainly Nick Rowland the guard from AZ.

Even though it was a loss I was proud of this team for fighting hard till the end. Nice to see we got some votes in the AP top 25 this week. We got some respect from that game.

by qbdoyle1 on Sep 28, 2009 9:16 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Danny looked good against scrubs but against GOOD teams he falls apart.

I was really impressed by the entire Defense, and holding Georgia to 20 points after how they have been scoring shows that they are for real.

by JoeCB1991 on Sep 27, 2009 9:18 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

Our time is now

On defense, we are as good as we’ve been in years. Can we risk Osweiler’s youth with this defense? I believe we can. Come on, make the tough decision Coach Erickson.

by Cory Williams on Sep 27, 2009 1:08 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Tough loss!

But the Devils did the conference proud with the effort down in Athens. Thought you guys had them!

by BillyZoom on Sep 28, 2009 7:03 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

FYI--for the silly sully bashers

FYI–the last time ASU played in the rain we lost 44-10 to OSU and Rudy went 9-27 (OSU 2006). It wasn’t raining nearly as hard.

If you think about it when playing in inclement weather ASU QB, TE, and WR figure to struggle.

I expect the ASU offense to be pretty good this week in the dry heat.

by vivelosdiablos on Sep 29, 2009 1:46 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

I thought ASU looked pretty scary at UGA...

This should be an interesting game. I think both our teams are underachieving a bit but I’m worried about the boost ASU will get at home. The only thing intangible I can think of that OSU has going in its favor is the possible let down after the UGA game.

To a lesser extent, the UGA/ASU game reminds me of the LSU match-up we had a few years back—a great showing against a ranked SEC foe on the road only to come up short and suck for the next few weeks. As a Beav, I’m obviously hoping that Dennis will guide you down that path this week, only to rebound later.

by ArbyOSU on Sep 29, 2009 4:42 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Oh ok

Well I expect to see a 300 yard passing game in the dry heat back in Tempe, since it’s all the rain’s fault.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Sep 30, 2009 5:37 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

not buying it

i’m not buying that it was all the rain. He hasn’t made very many plays past 5-10 yards all year.

by mlev811 on Sep 30, 2009 8:54 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Dirk

I’d be happy with 200yds passing which would lead to an easy win over OSU.

But really—man don’t you think it figures that any ASU QB (or UA for that matter) would have issues in that kind of rainstorm?

Think about it dood—and while your at it stop being such a negative nancy-boy!

by vivelosdiablos on Sep 30, 2009 8:54 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

ok dood

Sure, the rain causes issues. But he hasn’t exactly been tearing it up when it’s been nice and dry.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Sep 30, 2009 11:13 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Right

If Sullivan had looked better against the cupcakes we played in the first two games we wouldn’t be having this debate – the fact is that he hasn’t looked good at all this season and in the limited time that we’ve seen Osweiler he looked a lot better.

Admittedly – it has been a small sample size, and he was playing against the cupcakes’ scrubs – but he is still the future and the sooner he gets in the sooner ASU becomes a better team – both this season and for the next couple of years.

by DenverDevil on Sep 30, 2009 9:37 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

The East Valley Tribune has a pretty good breakdown of the situation up

LINK

I don’t agree with their end result, mainly because I don’t think this team is much better than an 6or 7 win team with either QB. Basically, I don’t think there’s a ton of difference between the 2 QB’s, and I’d rather Oz get the experience than waste a season on Danny.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Oct 1, 2009 5:40 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to House Of Sparky, a site dedicated to ASU athletics. Please join our community of diehard Sun Devil supporters!
Start posting about the Sun Devils »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Jeff_mug_h2_small
SB Nation's Pac-10 Tournament preview
Jeff_mug_h2_small
VOTE on SB Nation Pac-10 all-conference teams!
463px-logo_metallica
Lubick leaves ASU....for Duke???
Small
NFL Draft Projections 2010 -- Arizona State
Sundeviled_small
ASU Schedules Missouri for 2011 and 2012 Football Seasons
Small
New Arizona State online photo store
Jeff_mug_h2_small
Episode 3 of 18 And Life now live, featuring BBP's John Gasaway
Sundeviled_small
ASU Football Recruiting Talk - Revised 1/7/2010
Jeff_mug_h2_small
Episode 2 of '18 And Life' now live
Jeff_mug_h2_small
Check out new Pac-10 hoops podcast, 18 and Life!

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Next Game

Stanford Cardinal
@ Arizona St. Sun Devils

Thursday, Mar 11, 2010, 7:18 PM MST
Pac-10 Tournament - Quarterfinals - Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA

SB Nation's Pac-10 Tournament preview
The Return: Bracketology Report

Complete Coverage >

E-Mail Us

Facebook_medium

Feel free to e-mail us at HouseofSparky@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or contributions.

We have a Twitter page. Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/houseofsparky now!


Managers

Glasser_small Cory Williams

46d6r518_small ASUBoyd

Contributors

N10030361_41353390_734_small mlev811

Official Partner of CBS Sports