IN DEFENSE OF 'SC'S CONSERVATIVE STYLE FOCUS IS ON NOT GIVING UP BIG PLAYS.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF Staff Writer

With sacks seeming an endangered species for USC's defense, there has been debate about the Trojans' pass rush the past two weeks.

You could scapegoat the defensive line for the lack of highlight plays, but the secondary is hardly blameless. As one USC coach said: ``Sacks come from good (pass) coverage. Interceptions come from great pressure.''

There has been precious little of either lately. The secondary has intercepted just one pass in the past four games, and that was on a Hail Mary play at the end of the Washington State game.

``We're just trying to find ourselves as a defense,'' defensive end Brian Cushing said.

With USC's secondary usually sitting back in conservative coverages to avoid getting beat deep, there might not be many big defensive plays this season.

Seemingly gone are the games such as the 2004 Rose Bowl, when USC sacked Michigan quarterback John Navarre nine times.

Because the Trojans are not getting much pressure, teams are content to chip away at the defense, and USC coach Pete Carroll is sitting back in safe mode, without blitzing to increase pressure.

``We've been able to control the games because guys have not been able to go over the top,'' Carroll said. ``It's a little frustrating because teams are pecking away.''

With two of USC's top three cornerbacks (Terrell Thomas, Kevin Thomas, Cary Harris) having a combined 12 career starts, the Trojans seem to prefer to play with a bend-but-don't-break philosophy.

``Our philosophy is to eliminate the big play. If that is conservative, I guess you could call it that,'' defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin said. ``Conservative works for these opponents.''

Throughout his career, Carroll has preferred playing zone over man-to- man coverages, which helps reduce the number of big plays but also allows open spaces to exploit.

``As of right now, we're a zone team,'' Martin said.

That can chafe the players, who usually prefer to get in an opponent's face and play man-to-man coverage.

``If I were to choose, I'd play man-to-man the majority of the time,'' Kevin Thomas said. ``You get more into the game, and it's more interesting. I think the coaches trust us to play man-to-man, it just isn't part of the game plan.''

Thomas learned firsthand the dangers of zone coverages on the final play against Washington. Huskies wide receiver Sonny Shackelford found a weak spot and caught a 19-yard pass with two seconds left that gave Washington the ball at USC's 15-yard line. Fortunately for the Trojans, time expired before Washington could run another play.

``That's the hard part about zone, you have to read the routes,'' Thomas said. ``Shackelford got in the zone and read it. But I was looking at a running back and watching a receiver run an underneath route instead of reading (Shackelford) behind me.''

Martin said that although a more aggressive, attacking defense might sound as if it would solve the Trojans' inability to make big plays, it's too risky, especially in the pass-happy Pacific-10 Conference.

``I would love to say: `Forget it, let nine guys loose and cover with a safety and a corner,' but that's unrealistic with athletes today,'' Martin said. ``You're bound not to come out on top.''

Martin, who is in his first year at USC, said Carroll is not always calling zone defense and sometimes mixes in man-to-man coverages.

``I love this philosophy. This is the best mixture,'' he said. ``I've coached man-to-man where you're begging the coach to go zone because the corners are dying. Carroll harps on not giving up the deep ball and staying smart. But he makes it fun for cornerbacks, too. I questioned playing football for some of the guys I played for because it wasn't fun.''

Martin also pointed out that Carroll's defense is not totally passive. The Trojans play press coverage, which means the cornerbacks position themselves at the line of scrimmage before dropping into zone coverage.

``We're there in your face,'' Martin said. ``But we don't get beat over the top.''

An NFL coach who watched USC's games against Nebraska and Washington State said the Trojans' zone defense sometimes works against them.

``In (press coverage), it's hard to take away inside routes and most throws in college and the NFL are inside routes,'' the coach said. ``You're taking away the outside routes, but most quarterbacks don't want to exploit those anyway.''

The coach said he was surprised USC does not employ ``off technique,'' which makes the cornerback backpedal and cover the receiver instead of turning sideways and running.

``When you backpedal, if you know what you're doing, you can take away inside routes,'' the coach said. ``A lot of guys don't know how to teach it. It's old school, but effective.''

Carroll said he doesn't like playing ``off technique'' because it allows teams to complete short, quick passes.

``There's a better chance of completing the quick pass and three-step drop quarterbacks don't have it as difficult either,'' he said.

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(color) Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback eludes USC linebacker Keith Rivers during the Trojans' victory Saturday.

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NO. 3 USC VS. ARIZONA STATE