Tuesday Press Conference Highlights

Pete Carroll on Notre Dame, injuries, penalties, Mark Sanchez, Stafon Johnson and more.

Comments

[true SC fan]

Pete: DO NOT, Please DO NOT put Booty back in. As you have said yourself, Mark is a more versatile QB, and that is what we need right now.

[Bill Baldwin, Jr.]

To me it's very simple. Mark Sanchez is BY FAR the more mobile of the two quarterbacks, a leader who can become a truly great quarterback before he finishes at USC and he should start at ND on Saturday.

I'm real happy that Booty was throwing better yesterday and I wish him all the best at whatever pro team he ends up with next season, but I would rather not have the "pleasure" of seeing his # 10 on the field when it counts for the rest of the season.

Cold, perhaps, not appreciative of his good games, yeah, that too, but truthful. John David Booty makes me nervous. He has since the first game I watched him play for us. With Sanchez and some other key guys back on the O Line particularly, I believe we have a realistic chance of winning the rest of our games.

If Pete Carroll puts Booty back on the field, we'll be lucky to win two more games. I realize he's only lost three games as a starter, but SC could and should have won all three, had Booty been the leader and great QB we've been told he would be. He isn't and we didn't. And on that note, here's my final comment for the season on John David Booty.

Consider this list of past USC quarterbacks.

Bill Nelson
Pete Bethard
Craig Fertig
Troy Winslow
Steve Sogge
Jimmy Jones
Pat Haden
Mike Rae
Vince Evans
Paul McDonald
Rob Hertel
Rodney Peete
Todd Marinovich
Sean Salisbury
Brad Otton
Rob Johnson
Carson Palmer
Matt Leinart

If the choice for Saturday was start John David Booty or one of these men in their senior year at USC, ANY one of these men, Booty would be manning the clipboard in South Bend, which is where he belongs when Mark Sanchez takes the field.

[Ted Altman]

The Times needs to confirm if Bill Baldwin, Jr., the author of the comment above is over 13.

[Bill Baldwin, Jr.]

Yes, Ted, I am in fact 51 years past 13 or 64 years old. Since it took you nearly 5 1/2 months to pose the question, I wasn't sure you would easily be able to add up the two figures.

However, assuming you could do the math, what exactly is your point? Sanchez played great at ND and we won 38-zip. Yes, Mark did have a few bad plays at Oregon, but surely you would not say Sanchez was responsible for USC losing that game to the Ducks? That was a team loss for sure and now history. It iS true, however, that John David Booty certainly lost the Stanford game for us, even that fact must be obvious to you now in retrospect. And that loss, even though there's little doubt it kept USC from the National Championship game against LSU, is now history, as well.

In the end, Booty played well in the Rose Bowl and I again wish him well in the pros. I also stand by my statement of Oct. 17th.

I'm sorry it took me almost a month to respond to your question. I found it by accident, as the subject had long since been put to rest by the LA Times.

[ellen baldwin myer]

Bill, you haven't changed at all. True Trojan. Please get in touch with me. I have been trying to reach you.