Scott - Arent you glad they got Davis & Jarrett?

[Scott4USC]

USC will continue to win without Mike Wiliams.

I think USC can overcome the loss of Mike Williams with obviously a great player taking his spot. USC has that in Davis, Jarrett, Lewis, Smith. Bush can line up wide as well.

But I really think USC is going to be a lot better moving the ball on the ground. The OL is more mature, have great overpowering kind of talent in Lutui, Malu, Byers, Justice , Matua and Drake and co. Add to that a nice core of FBs who can block. Add to that a superb group of TEs who will give you the snot bubble on their blocks in Byrd, Holmes, Guenther, and the new guy Thompson.

Leinart will be better because of experience.

Additionally, I see with the young talented stud RBs improving leaps and bounds with having a full year of in Strength and conditioning, with the highly acclaimed Oracle of Troy, the USC S&C coach legend in the making, the one and only Coach Carlisle.

His results have NFL scouts (and other S&C coaches in the world lol) awe struck , mouths wide open in respect if not reverence for his achievements.

These RBs are going to be bigger, faster, stronger, and just a lot of trouble for any team trying to stop them. They will be running behind the athletic collection of mammoth offensive lineman.

USC will still have a lethal passing game with Leinart throwing accurate arrows that don?t miss there mark. SO after the play is snapped and the WRs run their routes and look up, the balls will be there for the great cast of Trojan receivers to catch, over and over again.

USC will also compensate with a better defense then last year. USC defense should be in a word, smothering.

Big Mike Williams will be missed; he is the greatest Trojan WR ever. USC will replace him with perhaps not the greatest, just another great Trojan WR who has the potential to be... well we'll leave that thought for a time when about 8 games have been played and we see who is making the plays from BMWs old position.

 

[Scott4USC]

You dont replace a Palmer either. But USC did replace him with a QB who made plays and got the job done. Some feel there was no drop off from Palmer to Leinart.

There will be a drop off, but hopefully it wont be to much of a drop off in plays. USC has some extremely talented WR who will be giving it there all. I think they will be a tough group to cover and will strike some fear into other teams. Lewis 6-1 225 , Davis 6-4 210 and the 6-5 200 Jarrett will be tough to stop.

USC has such a better team, a team that should be able to run. A team with a better defense. The new WR will even have a QB who throws a more catchable ball then Carson did. Carson the human laser Palmer threw bullets. Leinart throws a ball that is THERE, just lobs it in there.

All the WRs USC has are capable of making big plays, the coaches are very excited about Lewis, Jarrett and Davis like they were about BMW.

What that translate into is not clear just yet. But it is an indication USC should be in fine shape with the WRs in the stable and an experience QB at the helm.

I am still confident USC will compete for a NC without Mike Williams. With Mike Williams, lets just give USC the NC.

 

[gman2]

Big Mike Williams will be missed; he is the greatest Trojan WR ever.

seriously- its really not even that close.

williams isnt even in keyshawn's league in terms of being usc's best receiver.

you of all people should know better.

johnson had some of the greatest hands ive ever seen on a college receiver, is one of the best blocking receivers in the last few decades, and he AVERAGED 20+ yards a catch his junior year.

no comparison.

 

[The Big Tease]

shit....gman.....Scott was like 14 years old when Keyshawn was in college, I am sure he knew even less about football than he does now.

 

[jpblack34]

Hey TBT....Happy Bday...just saw it..hope you had a good one...JP

 

[Kdogg21]

Happy B day bud!!!!

 

[The Big Tease]

Thanks guys! Just hung out and the wife took me to dinner. Got back and found out that the late games kicked my ass, LOL. That shoudnt happen on your B-Day should it?:shrug:

 

[Scott4USC]

gman2

I along with many other USC fans feel Mike Williams IS the best all time WR at USC. If he stays one more year, there will be no doubt he is the best WR ever at USC. I agree you can make great arguments Keshawn was USC best WR and he was awesome. He is one of my all time favorite Trojans. I remember his awesome performance in a bowl game against Texas Tech. I think Keyshawn was much better than Mike in YAC but Mike is more dominant.

Here are the "stat" comparisons. Remember, Keyshawn played at USC as a JUNIOR and SENIOR. Williams was a TRUE FRESHMAN and SOPHOMORE. In addition, Williams did not play much in the first few games as a Trojan, the coaches made him earn his spot and he did not start for most of the year (but had lot of playing time). I would also agree Williams had better QB's throwing to him, but Williams also was not "the" man because USC current offense spreads it around. Keyshawn was "the" man. I think Williams #'s would be even more impressive if he was basically the only option. Lastly, Williams often has had to sit every 4th quarter for 2 years and for example against UCLA he only played in the 1st half. That said, here are their comparisons.

Keyshawn Johnson
11 games
66 catches
1362 yards 20.6 average
9 touchdowns

12 games
102 catches
1434 yards 14.1 average
7 touchdowns

Mike Williams
13 games
81 catches
1265 yards 15.6 average
14 touchdowns

13 games
95 catches
1314 yards 13.8 average
16 touchdowns

Williams is USC all time touchdown leader. Williams has scored 30 touchdowns in 2 years. I have never seen a more dominant college WR than Mike Williams. Nobody has EVER stopped him one on one and I don't recall him getting stopped many times being covered by 2 people. Simply dominating.


***Happy Birthday The Big Tease. Sorry I am a day late.
FYI I been going to just about all the home games/watching away games since I was 3 years old.

 

[RexBudler]

seriously- its really not even that close.

williams isnt even in keyshawn's league in terms of being usc's best receiver.

you of all people should know better.

johnson had some of the greatest hands ive ever seen on a college receiver, is one of the best blocking receivers in the last few decades, and he AVERAGED 20+ yards a catch his junior year.

no comparison.

Gman I think you are wrong on this one...I pretty much saw all the games at USC that these 2 players played.....I loved Keshawn and he was sick...believe me...but to say its not even close to compare them and Williams isnt in Keshawns league is almost laughable....Williams also is big and physical and has pretty much great hands and no one has stopped him...I wouldnt say Williams was alot better but Keshawn was a level below him IMO....Williams has done all his damage as a fresh and soph.....who knows what will happen if he goes pro

 

[gman2]

i think you west coast guys are weary maroon colored glasses.

mike williams wasnt even the most dominant receiver in college football THIS year. (that would be fitzgerald)

of course mike williams is going to make 5'9 defensive backs in the pac-10 look foolish.

but the run-after-the-catch and the downfield blocking isnt even close (when compared to keyshawn).

williams reminds me a lot of randy moss. makes some great catches, but drops far too many easy passes. and for as big as he is, hes not as good a blocker as keyshawn was.

receiving isnt all about outleaping guys on a fade. more to it than that.

nothing wrong with disagreeing. i can respect that.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I agree with Gman on this one. I think Williams has talent but is not "currently" as good as Keyshawn was. Also didn't Keyshawn face better defensive players in his time? I'm pretty sure he did.

 

[RexBudler]

thats fine .....but do you really think their is no comparison between the 2...of course there is......if you think Keshawn was better than I cant argue that....but I can argue the fact that there is not a comparison between the 2......if Keshawn was better thats fine....but he wasnt better to the point where there isnt a comparison

 

[Scott4USC]

gman2

i think you west coast guys are weary maroon colored glasses. mike williams wasnt even the most dominant receiver in college football THIS year. (that would be fitzgerald)

Fitzgerald has been shut down twice this year. Mike Williams has never been shut down in 2 years. Mike Williams was the most dominant player in college football.

of course mike williams is going to make 5'9 defensive backs in the pac-10 look foolish.

He has made a lot of other top quality non pac 10 teams db's look foolish. Give me a break.

williams reminds me a lot of randy moss. makes some great catches, but drops far too many easy passes. and for as big as he is, hes not as good a blocker as keyshawn was.

Mike Williams is a great blocker. I honestly do not remember Keyshawns blocking (I am sure he was a great blocker), but in no way can you put down Mike Williams blocking. The USC coaches have praised him and the other WR's on great blocking. In addition, Williams had only one game in his career wear he dropped passes that cost the team. (@KSU his frosh year) He has been solid since and even made a one hand touchdown catch.

Go to this link, and go to the end of this video and watch Williams block. KEYSHAWN never did that. Where they show top 10 plays of the year.

http://www.trojanfb.com/usc_rotk_wmv.html

 

[gman2]

rex:

to your point- you are correct. im guilty of a little "overstatement". there are indeed comparisons that can be made and williams is pretty damn good.

im of the belief that keyshawn was simply a little better in every area, which in turn makes him better overall.

i think keyshawn had more reliable hands, was a great blocker (thats been his calling card in college and the pros), and was better after the catch.

williams holds the edge in terms of strength and the battle at the line of scrimmage.

overall, yeah i think keyshawn was a much better college player.

but you are correct, its wrong for me to say theres zero comparison.

scott:

sorry, this is a subjective topic. not going to drag it out. i can only go by what my eyes tell me and keyshawn was better (and fitzgerald was better this year in terms of his ability to take over a game. whether or not he will be the better pro remains to be seen)

 

[Scott4USC]

gman2

I agree with you it is a subjective topic and Keyshawn without question is one of the best all time USC WR's. So i have no problem with you thinking he is the best all time. However I think you are in the minority. Glaring difference between Williams and Keyshawn is Williams has 14 more career touchdowns than Keyshawn. Williams also has a National Championship, Rose Bowl Championship, BCS Orange Bowl Victory, and 2 Pac 10 Championships.

I also could not disagree with you more about comparing Fitz and Williams. But that also is a subjective topic. I think Williams hands down is better and more dominant WR than Fitz. I think Williams would be the 1st WR draft pick if he declared earlier. SOME SCOUTS HAVE SAID SO AND HAVE SAID WILLIAMS WAS THE MOST DOMINANT WR IN COLLEGE LAST YEAR. I can even look up the article. Williams right now is 20pounds over his weight he would like to be at to perform at these combines. He will not run better than a 4.6 at a combine. That will hurt him in the draft. That also might be the reason Williams chooses to stay at USC. He is set to announce on Monday.

I just read an article which found interesting. Went against what I said but here is a paragraph from it. So I changed my post a little.

Here are some of the comments I heard about Williams this weekend: "He's not the best prospect at his position in this draft and that's enough of a reason for him to wait." Another GM said, "I've known the kid and his family for a long time and he still has some growing up to do. Besides that, he will be the top receiver in the 2005 draft." One more general manager said, "The kid is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy next year and has a chance to break every receiving record in college football, and still be just 21 years old."

 

[z2000]

Williams made it official today. He is gone.

Best of luck to him in the NFL!

 

[Scott4USC]

Your right, it is official.

I think a major reason Williams is declaring early in the NFL is he was most likely not going to qualify academically for next season.

USC now lost 2 of their most dominant players to the NFL draft. (Udeze and Williams) I think Udeze def. made the right choice in leaving early, but Williams I think should have stayed. There are at least 3-4 other top WR's in this draft and Williams is taking a risk in getting drafted late 1st round. He will not run a fast 40 time.

Now USC is very very thin on experience for WR. This hurts the USC offensive passing attack. Luckily, USC has plenty of talent at the WR position so there is a decent chance USC can overcome this. I also think USC will become a more power running team this year.

Losing Mike Williams is a huge blow in my mind. USC now enters next season without their top two receivers, arguably their best defensive lineman(Udeze), both CB's and three/fifths of their starting OL.

I guess we'll see how deep USC really is. Not many teams can lose their all time best WR(BMW), their career leading WR in receptions(KC), the nation's top sack leader and sure fire 1st round NFL choice(BKU), a all conference CB and another 1st round NFL pick(Poole), a 2 year starting corner(Allmond) a 1st team all american offensive tackle(Rogers), a all conference center(Katnik), a 3 1/2 year starter on the OL(Vandermande) and survive.

It just got a lot more difficult to repeat. :drinky:

 

[bigdad2]

Scott - did you place the $1000 bet that you have been talking about since last month on USC winning the BCS title? Just curious as the odds might slightly change with Williams leaving...

 

[z2000]

I think a major reason Williams is declaring early in the NFL is he was most likely not going to qualify academically for next season.

Is this really necessary? He left, dont trash him.

 

[bbk]

Truly classeless trashing him; lucas really showing his true colors now; Williams will go no later that top 15 probably top 7-8; Williams made good decision in going. Clarett did not.