This year, Carroll/Bates tried to balance three.It just seems to me that instead of getting the ball to the top three or four players on a consistent basis, Pete Carroll feels he needs to keep his stockpile of five-star talent happy.Compare 'SC offensively with Oregon. Sure, the Ducks spread the field, but the ball is for the most part in the hands of four people.For that matter, look at Oregon State. And beside Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck, quickly name me one more Stanford offensive player. Yet both the Cardinal and the Beavers finished ahead of the Trojans in the Pac-10.Sure, the USC defense has flaws.Taylor Mays playing safety in punt return formation Not to mention his inability to break up passes. I know everyone loves the after first-down catch jarring hit and the stare down, but what does it accomplishEversen Griffen diving down the line of scrimmage while the quarterback rolls out around him. Where does he think he's going while Andrew Luck keeps running outside of him for a first down or touchdown. 
Since Carroll began inserting himself into the offense, first with Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin, now this year with Bates, the offense has been steadily going downhill.It's past time for one of the five most recognizable programs in college football, to not shortchange itself on the offensive side of the football.Go get a top shelf coordinator, let him implement his system, and get out his way.Then Coach Carroll, you can spend your time figuring out how to stop the spread. You can follow my random thoughts on the sports world on Twitter at plh55. . The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that former Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis could be interested in being the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator in 2010. Ron turner is currently the Bears offensive coordinator.Before weis was the head coach at Notre Dame, he helped tutor Patriots quarterback Tom Brady when Weis was the Patriots offensive coordinator. Weis has reportebly been contacted by six NFL teams about joining their staff as an offensive coordinator.Weis has worked with three quarterbacks in the past eight years, Jimmy Clausen, Brady Quinn, and Tom Brady. Brady, obviously has turned out to be one of the best players in the history of football. This article is also featured on Reservation For Six.

After careful consideration,we have partnered with, and accepted a significant capital investment fromMarlin Equity Partners," said Avner Schneur, Chief Executive Officer ofEmptoris, Inc. "Marlin Equity Partners provides Emptoris with a strongfinancial partner and the capital resources needed to fund the company'slong-term growth plans. Marlin also has deep experience in enterprisesoftware and brings a successful track record of developing and guidingmid-sized, high-growth companies."Marlin has consistently invested in and partnered with companies to growtheir businesses across all stages of maturity. The firm has specificexperience and investments in other supply chain, enterprise resourceplanning, and manufacturing software companies. Marlin Equity Partners,through its capital resources, provides its portfolio companies withmaximum flexibility in pursuing their objectives."Emptoris is a very attractive investment for Marlin Equity Partners.
Thecompany has a track record of success in a fast-growing market, a healthyroster of blue-chip customers, award-winning, market-proven solutions andworld-class management and software development teams. Given ourinvestment focus and expertise in enterprise software, we are confident wewill bring the resources and experience Emptoris needs to achieve itslong-term growth objectives," said Nick Kaiser, Partner in Marlin EquityPartners.With this investment, Emptoris is well positioned to execute its strategicplan for growth. Emptoris' primary focus will remain on providingmarket-leading supply and contract management solutions to its Global 5000customers. "This investment will enable Emptoris to accelerate theinnovation and expansion of its solution suite, and allow for continuedlong-term investment in its global and customer-oriented services, bothorganically and through strategic acquisitions," continued Schneur.AMR Research, a leading independent research firm, in a 2008 annualreport, states that it expects "the supply management market to grow at10 CAGR through 2012" and projects that "sustained double-digit growthwill continue fueled by the call for immediate supply management valuewith simplified business processes, cost containment and reduction, andcash acceleration." Emptoris enjoyed strong organic growth of 20 in2008, and demand for its solutions continues to grow as Global 5000companies increasingly seek solutions which help them cut costs and risks."One of the primary reasons we partnered with Marlin is because the firm'sleadership is completely aligned with Emptoris' management on thestrategic direction of the company. This shared vision and the deepcapital resources Marlin brings to Emptoris will be a winning formula forour customers," said Schneur. "Emptoris' leadership decided now was theright time to secure a stable and reliable source of capital."With the investment, Marlin Equity Partners has acquired a majority equityposition in Emptoris, Inc., and becomes the primary investor in thecompany, alongside Emptoris' management and employees.