Category: Trojans in NFL

Bears’ handling of Caleb Williams and Justin Fields involves complexities and problems

The Bears have not structured their organization the way one would expect. Can their unorthodox approach work?

The Chicago Bears’ thought process before the NFL draft has not been clear. It is confusing more than anything else. It seems the Bears will keep the top pick and draft Caleb Williams, but there’s one reason picking Caleb doesn’t make sense.

We pointed this out weeks ago:

“The one thing preventing some people from assuming the Bears will take Caleb Williams is that the Bears have retained head coach Matt Eberflus. Doing so invites the possibility that Caleb will have two coaches in his first two seasons. If the Bears fail in Year 1 under Caleb, Eberflus will be gone by 2025. Chicago would have to hire a second coach for Caleb. That simply doesn’t make any sense.

“However, no one said the Bears were sensible.”

Drafting Caleb would have made a lot more sense if the Bears hired a new coach and fired Eberflus. Retaining Justin Fields’ coach, only to draft Caleb and send Fields to another team, just doesn’t seem rational on a lot of levels. Yet, it might very well happen and thereby shape the first stage of Caleb Williams’ professional career.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Solomon Byrd gets his big chance at NFL scouting combine

Solomon Byrd likely needs a high-impact combine to boost his NFL draft stock.

USC senior edge rusher Solomon Byrd just wrapped up his pre-draft season by playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Now he gets to prepare for the NFL combine with his recent invite announced days ago.

Byrd was productive in his two years at USC, transferring from Wyoming after the 2021 season.

In 2022 and 2023, Byrd recorded 77 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, two passes defended, four fumble recoveries, and five forced fumbles.

Byrd played in the final game of the 2023 season, a win over the Louisville Cardinals in the Holiday Bowl. In his last game as a Trojan, Byrd recovered one fumble and recorded four total tackles.

Byrd should benefit from having been coached by Shaun Nua at USC. Nua, at Michigan, developed Aidan Hutchinson into an elite pass rusher and difference-maker for the Detroit Lions. Hutchinson helped the Lions make the NFC Championship Game. Byrd’s football IQ should stack up well against a lot of other defensive linemen.

The problem for Byrd is that on a USC defense coached by Alex Grinch, he and his teammates on the defensive line didn’t get much help from the Trojan linebackers or defensive backs. It wasn’t easy for Byrd to stand out. He was also overshadowed in 2023 by Bear Alexander. How this will affect his overall draft standing remains to be seen, but that’s why the combine is so hugely important for Byrd. We will see what he does with this opportunity.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

USA TODAY Sports columnist: Caleb Williams should expect the Cam Newton treatment before NFL draft

A USA TODAY Sports columnist tackles a topic which, sadly, did not end with Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII (1988).

It is a topic that won’t go away in the NFL: The way Black quarterbacks are treated and talked about, whether as draft prospects or as established quarterbacks in the National Football League, is different from white quarterbacks. No one might enjoy discussing this topic, but it’s there because it has existed for a very long time. Caleb Williams might be entering this new world. Cam Newton and other Black quarterbacks were the subjects of intense scrutiny and might have a few words of advice for Caleb as he prepares for the 2024 NFL draft.

In an ideal world, Super Bowl XXII between the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos in 1988 should have ended the debate about whether a Black quarterback could lead a team to a Super Bowl title. Doug Williams, the center of an intense media firestorm in the days leading up to that game, helped the Redskins score 35 points in the second quarter en route to a 42-10 blowout win. Yet, here we are, over 35 years after that Super Bowl, still discussing Black quarterbacks and how they are evaluated compared to their white peers.

USA TODAY Sports columnist Mike Freeman addressed this topic. Let’s look at some of the things he said, and which other NFL analysts have said, as Caleb Williams prepares to go under the media microscope:

Sam Darnold considers his options after 49ers lose in Super Bowl

Sam Darnold has a lot to think about in the weeks before NFL free agency.

It is an age-old question for quarterbacks who make a roster in the National Football League but are unable to land a starting job: Is it better to wear a cap and hold a clipboard and collect a pile of money, knowing that one injury could immediately create an unexpected opportunity? Or, is it better to get a starting job for a not-very-good NFL organization, knowing that a bad team often means taking more sacks and being subjected to more losing and physical punishment?

That is the dilemma for former USC Trojan and current San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Sam Darnold after the Niners lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Darnold played in 10 games this season, going 28-for-46 passing (60.9%) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He started the Week 18 regular-season finale when the Niners, assured of the top seed in the NFC postseason, rested Brock Purdy and their starters. Purdy was briefly hurt at times during the 2023 NFL season, which gave Darnold some reps with the 49ers. He was, on balance, decent but hardly special. The good side for Darnold: He got to go to the Super Bowl after years of misery with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. The bad side: He didn’t get to play much.

For a man who was a No. 3 NFL draft pick and is 26 years old, starting games should matter. Going to the Super Bowl with the Niners was certainly thrilling, but NFL players live to play games, not watch them.

Vikings Wire has mentioned the possibility of Darnold being a bridge quarterback if Kirk Cousins gets snapped up by another team in NFL free agency. Darnold would play 2024 and then step aside in 2025 for the quarterback Minnesota might draft this April. This is the kind of choice Darnold has to make. We will see what happens.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Football analyst Merril Hoge shares harsh thoughts about Caleb Williams, belief in Justin Fields

Say what you really feel, Merril Hoge …

Merril Hoge, a longtime football analyst who used to work for ESPN, did not pull any punches in his evaluation of USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Via Mike Freeman of USA TODAY Sports, Hoge said, “First of all, his ability to throw on the run is very disturbing. It is very inaccurate and it’s all over the place. There’s a ton of RPO (run pass option), which nobody is going to RPO themselves to a Super Bowl in our league. … You gotta push the ball down the field. There are times when he does that. He doesn’t play with a lot of anticipation because of all the clean pockets that exist for him.

“The thing that’s disturbing me right now is his inability to be consistent on the move as a thrower. And he’s willing to do that a lot more than he has to. You don’t have that choice in our league … I don’t see anything magical with his arm.”

I think we might talk about this topic a little more in the coming days.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

The NFL’s next big event is the draft: Caleb Williams is now on the clock

The Chicago Bears are on the clock. How many teams will try to swing a trade? Will the Bears entertain offers?

The 2023-2024 NFL season has now ended. Super Bowl LVIII is in the books. The Kansas City Chiefs successfully defended their Super Bowl LVII championship, beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. We now have the NFL scouting combine and then free agency, but those are ongoing events without a pre-scheduled start time when everyone holds his or her breath and waits for a momentous occasion when lives and franchises will be changed. The NFL draft is the next really big NFL moment, on Thursday, April 25, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Either the Chicago Bears will pick Caleb Williams at No. 1, or they will trade him. It’s the next “all eyes on the NFL” moment in the sport which dominates American culture.

NFL draft storylines? Yes, please. Let’s walk through a few of them:

Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes dynasty reminds us: Caleb Williams needs an elite coach

Caleb Williams can’t do it alone. He needs a coach who understands how to maximize his talents in the NFL.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially an NFL dynasty, now that they have won three Super Bowls in five years and, more centrally, have become the first NFL franchise since the New England Patriots in February of 2005 to win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime to win Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are the new immortal coach-quarterback combo, replacing Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. All of this is surely being noticed by Caleb Williams before the 2024 NFL draft.

Caleb Williams is special, but special quarterbacks still need the right fit. They need a coach and an organization equipped to unlock their talents.

Let’s talk about this a little more:

The 49 Super Bowls with at least one USC football player

49 Super Bowls. USC has made quite an imprint on the biggest of big games.

The USC Trojans have left a very large imprint on the Super Bowl. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a pivotal player in the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII one year ago. Ronald Jones of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LV, the other Super Bowl trophy won by a Trojan this decade. All in all, USC players have played in 49 of 57 Super Bowls. That’s a very high percentage of times in which the Men of Troy have rostered at least one player for the NFL’s ultimate showcase.

As the Super Bowl moves closer to 60 games, the histories and retrospectives we remember from earlier decades seem smaller by comparison. I can remember my mom buying me the Official Encyclopedia of Pro Football, a thick, tall, black book with massive photo spreads… of the first 16 Super Bowls. Super Bowl history wasn’t very lengthy when I was a kid.

Now, though, we have 57 games in the books, with a 58th game to come on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.

USC is a top-three program in all-time Super Bowl appearances among players. This refers to total appearances by players, as opposed to the number of players who have made an appearance. (In other words, this counts repeat/return appearances by individual players. Lynn Swann, Ronnie Lott, Ron Yary, Anthony Munoz, and many other Trojans returned to the Super Bowl after making their first trip.)

After Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots in 2019, the USC sports information department put the number of total Trojan Super Bowl appearances at 114. Ronald Jones put that number at 115 in Super Bowl LV, but other outlets put that number higher. A 2014 review put USC’s appearance total at 111, just to provide some context on this point. Given the number of USC appearances since Super Bowl XLVIII (Seahawks-Broncos) in February of 2014, when that review was published, USC’s total went to 121 with Ronald Jones’ appearance. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Ronald Jones were both rostered and active for Super Bowl LVII with the Chiefs. Robert Woods won a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, but he was injured and not active for the game. You get the idea: There might be disputes about who officially counts as a rostered player.

Former USC quarterback Rob Hertel has an NFL player page, but he is not on the Pro Football Reference page for the 1980 NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, who played in Super Bowl XV versus the Oakland Raiders in January of 1981. That explains the discrepancy between some final tallies and others.

It’s worth knowing that, just so we’re clear.

Now, enjoy this gallery of the 49 Super Bowls in which at least one USC football player was on a team roster.

Great USC Super Bowl moments

Mike Garrett played in the L.A. Coliseum in the first Super Bowl. USC has continued to create memorable Super Bowl moments.

The USC Trojans have left a significant imprint on the Super Bowl. 1965 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett, a future athletic director at the University of Southern California, played in the very first Super Bowl, which was held in USC’s home stadium, the Los Angeles Coliseum. He won a Super Bowl three years later in Super Bowl IV against a Minnesota Vikings team with Ron Yary, who won the 1967 national championship at USC and became the cornerstone of an elite Viking offensive line which propelled the franchise to four Super Bowl appearances and a full decade of NFL relevance. Bud Grant’s Vikings were annual NFC contenders throughout the 1970s, always a threat to make the Super Bowl.

Over 50 years after Mike Garrett and Ron Yary met in Super Bowl IV, USC’s Ronald Jones won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Kansas City Chiefs. USC has written quite a story in the Super Bowl. Last year, JuJu Smith-Schuster made a difference for the Chiefs when they defeated USC’s Marlon Tuipulotu and the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

Take a trip down Memory Lane with this look at some of the memorable USC Super Bowl moments from the past 57 years.

One year ago: Reliving JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Super Bowl LVII win with the Chiefs

JuJu Smith-Schuster had a night he will never forget at #SuperBowlLVII. Relive his game of glory and the reactions which poured in.

Former USC Trojans star JuJu Smith-Schuster has had a roller-coaster NFL career. However, none of it mattered after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl one year ago.

Smith-Schuster caught seven passes in Super Bowl LVII. He was held by Philadelphia Eagle defensive back James Bradberry on a third-down pass inside the final two minutes. The holding penalty enabled the Chiefs to drain the Eagles’ timeouts and run the clock down to 11 seconds before kicking the winning field goal with eight seconds left. Smith-Schuster played a key role in helping his team win the Super Bowl. It’s the latest Lombardi Trophy for a Trojan football product.

There was a lot of news attached to Smith-Schuster’s Super Bowl victory. The fact that he was the focal point of the game’s most important and controversial play made him even more central to the postgame conversation. Regardless of what you think about that penalty call, this much is true: Another USC player is a Super Bowl champion.