Can Oregon Be Offensive Enough for Ohio State's Defense?

The theme that seems to be building through all the stories is that Oregon's strength is it's offense, while Ohio State boasts a great defense.  That is where the game lies. If the Bucks cannot keep the Ducks out of the endzone, it doesn't much matter what Ohio State's offense can do. It probably won't be enough.

Here is what Oregon's Offensive Coordinator said about the Buck's 'D':

Their defense is complete and has no weaknesses. They have great schemes, tackle well and are big, fast, talented and athletic. If I had to compare them to another team probably the great USC defenses from the early and mid-2000s. Their line can cause pressure when they rush three or four so they don’t necessarily have to blitz. They have a successful system in place and execute it well and it has paid off for them.”
– – ­Mark Helfrich, Offensive Coordinator

That part about Ohio State not needing to blitz kind of scares me. Opponents' blitzes make Masoli's job easier. He reads the blitzes and attacks the void. But a good defense that knows to stay home and stick to assignments can conceivably remove the trickery and deception and force the Duck players to rely purly on their own talent.
 
The running backs' holes may not be as big or open as long. The receivers will have to work that much harder to get open and pull in the ball. Masoli will have to be sharp as a tack.
 
This is not to say that the misdirections and fake handoffs won't work. I believe they will. But the Ducks will have to pull out all the stops. Leave nothing to chance.

Another quote by Helfrich shows that confidence still runs deep in the offensive minds at the Casanova Center. This story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer gives Buckeye fans the plain truth:

Ohio State offense vs. Oregon offense: "Our No. 1 job is to score."
By Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
December 29, 2009, 3:28PM

Mark Helfrich, the Oregon offensive coordinator, today offered a quick glimpse into the different offensive philosophies that will be on display in the Rose Bowl.
I told Helfrich that a coach had once said the first job of the offense is to not put the defense in a bad position. I neglected to mention it was Ohio State's Jim Tressel that espoused this idea. What is the take of Oregon, and head coach Chip Kelly, on the offense's most important job?
"Our No. 1 job is to score," Helfrich said. "I don't think we approach it that way. We don't operate too much, and I think this comes from Chip, we don't operate too much in 'nots.' We don't operate in 'don't do this.' We want to play fast and have fun."

 
I can say it in two words:
\/
\/
 

OVER

 

WHELM

 
That's it. No fooling around. The rapid pace between snaps -- "As fast as I can talk," says Coach Kelly. The fakes. Misdirections. LaMichael James. Ed Dickson. Masoli. A stable of receivers.  And then, just like in the Civil War -- On my command, unleash Blount.
 
Just when the Buckeyes think they've got a handle on Little Train James, just when they think they can contain Masoli, just when they think they can eat everything Chip Kelly dishes to them, the coach needs to come to the Buck's table like a server at Olive Garden holding a peppermill. And he needs to pour on a generous sprinkling of Blount onto their heaping plate til it overwhelms the senses. 

What do the Duck offensive players think about their chances against this great Ohio State team? Let's ask Ed Dickson . . .
“[Ohio State defensive players] all look like they could play in the NFL today. They are very physical and we have to match that toughness…when our offense is faced with a challenge we’ll usually rise to the occasion and we are really excited about that. They are very fast and very big, but we feel we have a slight advantage. We will never back down from anybody. We welcome all comers.”

– – Ed Dickson, tight end

"Would you like some ground pepper with your meal? . . . . . . Say when . . . ."
 
Be advised though, Ohio State is VERY aware of what they'll be up against with Oregon's offense. They will be entering this contest with their eyes open. And if the pace is too fast, not to worry. They have a plan.
Here's the latest from the Columbus Dispatch:
 
Buckeyes brace for Oregon's fast pace

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 3:07 AM
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

LOS ANGELES -- The Oregon offense is like a kid playing hide and seek, rushing through the countdown and shouting "Ready or not, here I come!" way too early.
The Ducks actually delight in this. They love catching defenses in mid-adjustment.

"Oh yeah, it's a chance to get a cheap pancake," left tackle Bo Thran said yesterday. "Sometimes, (defenders) are late getting into their stance or late getting lined up, so yeah, our tempo definitely helps out a lot."

Running back LaMichael James said he enjoys surveying a defense scurrying this way and that, chests heaving.

"It's really fun to look at those guys and see them tired and have their heads down," he said. "I tell (quarterback Jeremiah) Masoli to speed it up and say 'hut' right now, because it really is fun to see."
[Come, come now, LMJ. That's just mean.  You're sounding like the kind of guy who would heckle the Special Olympics.]

Much has been made of the Ducks' frantic pace. Some of it seems legitimate; some seems to be entering the territory of urban legend.

Oregon definitely pushes the tempo. Of its 65 offensive scoring drives in regulation this season, 25 -- or 38 percent -- took less than two minutes off the game clock.

That's how the Ducks are seventh nationally in scoring (37.7 points a game) while only 115th in time of possession (26 minutes, 58 seconds).

It is what sets the Ducks apart. They are not the only team to run the spread and the read option, not the only team relying on quickness and a dual-threat quarterback.

But when you pair the scheme and the talent with the go-go-go pace, it can be disconcerting. Confusion becomes Oregon's ally.

"We don't want a defense to be set. We want a false step right at the snap," offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. "Hopefully, that's created by playing fast and creating a moment of indecision for those guys."

Taking a closer look at the numbers, though, it may not be that big of an adjustment for Ohio State. Oregon averages 69.3 plays a game; OSU's opponents averaged 64.5 this season -- so the Ducks run about five more plays a game. [Time out!  Back up the Percentages and Statistics 201 Class for just a second there. Let's recap. Only 69.3 plays per game. Time of possession less than 27 minutes per game. As for points per game, let's just throw out the first half of the season and say in the final six games they have averaged a little over 42 points. That's six TD's per game.
Well they're obviously not taking a lot of time on those plays. And they're putting up a lot of points. So how does one explain Oregon not running that many more plays than OSU's other opponents?
You can't, unless you look at the rule book where it says once a team has scored, they have to stop making plays and give the ball to the other team.  And THAT, my friends, is the achilles heel in the Ducks' armor.
Six TD's per game? That's six naps the Buckeye defense can take while the Ducks are forced to kickoff and let Terrelle Pryor and company try to keep up.]
The Buckeyes also have seen some elements of hurry-up and "look-look" (when a team lines up, then looks to the sideline for the call), most recently this season against Toledo and Michigan. [Michigan? You're comparing Oregon to Michigan? Coach Kelly's first year at Oregon when they went to Ann Arbor, THAT Michigan?]

But OSU is certainly concerned -- enough to significantly increase the amount of running and conditioning during the past month. They've dubbed it "the Run for the Roses."

"In the beginning, guys were huffing and puffing, and now guys are more into it," defensive lineman Doug Worthington said. "Guys are running to the ball, the wind is there, and things are more second nature. It has already helped, and hopefully it will help on January 1."

Safety Kurt Coleman said, "It's mind over matter."

Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said the biggest challenge is getting the calls in on time. But he has also prepared his players what to do in case they don't get the call.

In a nutshell, the instructions are: Pick a defense, any defense. Just be set to go at the snap.

"If we don't get the call, as linebackers, we're going to have to make our base call and go out there and ride with it," linebacker Austin Spitler said. "Just get lined up. As long as everybody is on the same page, we're going to be successful." [WOW! . . . Good luck with that, guy.   Pick a defense, any defense? Just go out there and "ride with it"?   These people really don't have a clue, don't they. 

I have to also wonder how far Ohio State's Athletic Director spewed his coffee when he read this.  He must have been thinking, "I've got umpteen million dollars worth of coaches on the sidelines and in the booth.  We're in the freakin' Rose Bowl, and the D. Coordinator is saying, 'In case we don't get in the defensive call in time . . . '

"In case you don't get in the call in time? . . . .   What am I paying you guys for?"

Ya, I'm sure this is going over really well in Columbus.
"In case we don't get in the call in time . . . . . In case Oregon is just snapping the ball and running plays faster than we can look at a chart and give a hand signal . . . . . .
I know, I know, this is the Rose Bowl and all. And we're 0 for 3 in our last bowl appearances, but in case this is just too hard for us to handle . . . . . ."

"You guys just . . . . run a play . . . any play.  And we'll just stand here and pray to God that it works. Because that's all we'll be able to do.

You guys on the field just . . . . just . . . . Ride with it . . . .GO FOR IT . . . . . Go for broke . . . . . Break a leg . . . . . . Take the cheese . . . . . Run one up the flag pole and see who salutes.  We'll be right here rootin' for ya.

Because we won't have time to get in a play. We'll be too busy with our heads down looking at our charts, recalculating Oregon's plays-per-game statistics, wondering how soon our next nap is coming up . . . . . "


Buck(eye)ing Tradition
Another comparison between the two teams has to do with overall style.
Here is Jeremiah Masoli's take on it:

“[Ohio State is] definitely a tradition-rich team with a long history, while we’re known more for our recent teams and flashy uniforms that Nike generously provides for us. We play different types of styles, too, so it will be fun to see them match up.”

– – Jeremiah Masoli, quarterback

Time out for just a minute. I think Masoli has been reading too many national sports mags and blogs. I'm hearing the same thing everywhere: Oregon is flashy, new, edgy. Ohio State is LONG in history (old), and full of tradition. 
Tradition, tradition, tradition. What do people mean? If I were a Buckeye fan, I would take exception. The overuse of the term is suggesting a meaning of 'outdated' or 'antique'.
 
Certainly Ohio State doesn't want that label. After all, they went out and got a top flight QB that Oregon coveted.  If they want to recruit the big guns, they can't allow the "tradition" talk to get out of hand. They'll need to rebuke any talk of a team like Oregon being edgy and new compared to their "tradition" image. 
 
Here's an Ohio State player to set the record straight:

Ohio State senior Kurt Coleman compares the Ohio State and Oregon programs

OK fine . . . Tradition it is.  Ohio State is like "Fiddler on the Roof" -- two entities that no 18 year-old athlete of today can relate to, but you can still count on them to sing and shout the word "TRADITION".

Also he did offer his own word to characterize Ohio State's approach to stopping Oregon's offense:
 
"Hopefully". 
 
Is there any Duck fan out there who is NOT sooooooooo ready for this game?
 
--kb

Terrelle Talk

[However Terrelle Pryor goes, so go the Buckeyes. While his stats are comparable to Masoli's, he has thrown 10 interceptions to Masoli's five this season. Nevertheless, he is a great passer and scrambler.
The big news is he's playing hurt. According to Mike Tokito's article in the Oregonian:]

Pryor on Monday surprised many by revealing an injury that had not been spoken of previously: a slight tear in the posterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees. He would not reveal which knee was injured or how he was hurt. Pryor also had been hobbled by an ankle injury early in November, but says he'll be ready to play Friday.
"I'm hurting everywhere," he said. "It doesn't really matter. I don't have time to worry about injuries. Neither does anybody else on our team." [Well good luck with that "not worrying" thing. We had a QB once who had a knee injury, but nobody worried about it too much. Then they went to Arizona and . . . . well I'll spare you the gory details.

Here's a video of Pryor's press conference. You may recall he was heavily recruited by Oregon when he chose Ohio State. He talks about that in the video. Tokito adds to it in the following:]

Two years ago, when the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor was the most sought-after recruit in the country, the Ducks were in contention to sign him. Oregon coach Chip Kelly, then the offensive coordinator, was the Ducks' point man in the effort.

"Chip Kelly, he can recruit like crazy," Pryor said.
Pryor said Oregon's relationship with Nike and what he perceived to be "about 20 million uniforms" for the Ducks were attractive, but the distance between Eugene and his hometown of Jeannette, Pa., was a big minus. Ultimately, though, he didn't so much rule out Oregon, Penn State or any other school that recruited as he embraced Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel.
"Once you got see the Buckeyes and you talk to coach Tressel and coach Tressel wants you, he's going to get you there," Pryor said.
There are plenty of fans who thought Pryor, who has run the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds, would have been an ideal fit for Kelly's spread offense. Some believe Ohio State's much more conservative, run-first offense hinders Pryor's ability to excel, but he says the play-calling is fine with him.
"I'm not Jim Tressel, I can't pick the plays," he said. "Whatever they give me, I try to do to perfection."

Rose Bowl: Terrelle Pryor

[Pryor wears those glasses because he read this book in his Literature for Athletes class about a guy that nobody recognized whenever he wore them.

I have a hunch about the difference between Kelly's play designs for Masoli and Tressel's for Pryor.  When the ball is snapped into each quarterback's hands, it appears that Masoli already knows whether the first option of the called play is there for him or not. He also knows what options two and three are because they are designed into the play. Hence, the 'Spread OPTION'.

Tressel's plays are simpler.  And so Pryor is left more to create on his own if the play breaks down.

That could go one of two ways for Oregon. If they stay at home and play good disciplined defense, they can contain him and avoid big explosions. But if they let Pryor get away, or give him time to scramble and find a receiver, they got trouble.

 Here's another video from the Oregonian with Duck defenders talkin' some Terrelle. Notice they mention Darron Thomas. The third string QB is playing the roll of Pryor on the scout team. :]

Ducks talk: On Ohio State QB

[Both teams know that their defenses cannot just go after the opposing QB balls-to-the-wall. Look for both to execute careful and contained blitzes. 

Think Washington's Jake Locker. Containment is the key. Unless of course they see Pryor walking gimpy with the bad knee. Then he's LIVE MEAT!]
--kb

Merry Christmas wish from Ohio State fans

Wishing all of you and yours the happiest of holidays.
--kb

Civil War Memories, Christmas Dreams

One more look at the Civil War.

[Chip Kelly won the Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor this week. The whole season is his masterpiece. But if you could narrow it down to just one drive, or one or two plays, we could easily point to what everyone is still talking about -- the final drive of the Civil War.

The following is a story from a few days ago in the Oregonian.

UO football: Chip Kelly knows the pause button as well as fast forward


By John Hunt, The Oregonian
December 04, 2009, 5:38PM

EUGENE - In keeping with his customary routine of celebrating victory, Oregon coach Chip Kelly reported to the football office Friday morning and began studying some video of Ohio State, the Ducks' opponent in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

Then he took a break to join The Dan Patrick Show on the radio, and Patrick asked Kelly about the pace of his offense, how Kelly seemed to want to floor the accelerator at one point in Oregon's dramatic 37-33 Civil War win over Oregon State on Thursday night.

"Here's what we want to do,'' Kelly said. "We want to play as fast as I talk. We weren't playing as fast as I was talking at that point in time.''

But there was a more important point in the game when Kelly put his foot on the brake - the final 6 minutes and 9 seconds, when the Ducks kept the ball away from OSU's Sean Canfield and the Rodgers brothers.

That 6:09 is an eternity in the Kelly era of offense. In fact, the Ducks haven't had a scoring drive that long in more than two years. (On Oct. 13, 2007, they salted away a 53-7 win over Washington State by keeping the ball 8 minutes and 43 seconds.)

Two fourth-down conversions helped the Ducks keep the ball and keep OSU off the field.

The first came on 4th-and-3 from OSU's 33-yard-line with 3:29 left and Oregon leading 37-33. A 50-yard field goal is a bit out of Morgan Flint's range, and Kelly has consistently gone for it on fourth down between the 30s, so this was no surprise. It was entertaining, certainly, when quarterback Jeremiah Masoli bowled over safety Lance Mitchell to pick up the first down, but not surprising.

But when Kelly went for it on OSU's 19-yard line on 4th-and-2 with 1:43 left, it raised some eyebrows. Why not kick the field goal and get a nice 7-point lead?

"It would have still kept it a one-possession game - it just gives them a chance to tie it,'' Kelly said. "If someone tells me our season is going to come down to a 4th-and-1 and I have Jeremiah Masoli, who I believe is the best quarterback - for our offense - in the country, would I put the ball in his hands? I wouldn't hesitate, and I'd do it again.

"We had moved the ball on that drive and felt pretty comfortable with what we had.''

The situation - the potential for being second-guessed - wasn't too unlike what New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick faced a few weeks ago when he went for it on 4th-and-2 with two minutes left against Indianapolis, although the field position was different. The Patriots failed, barely, and the Colts came back to win.

"Jeremiah Masoli and Tom Brady are a little bit different,'' Kelly said. "I don't think Tom Brady's running over free safeties.''

Some Oregon State fans are second-guessing Mike Riley's decision to go for it on 4th-and-15 from Oregon's 27-yard-line on the previous possession (Canfield just missed James Rodgers on the sidelines and the Ducks got the ball back with 6:09 to go). A 44-yard field goal would have brought OSU to within 37-36.

But it's hard to second-guess either coach. Oregon State is now 9 of 12 (75 percent, tied for third in the nation) on fourth-down conversions this season; Oregon is 13 of 20 (65 percent, 20th in the nation) after converting all three chances Thursday night.

[Ball possession was like oxygen in that game. Riley knew it. In OSU's final drive, keeping the ball was first priority. Scoring was second. And this might have played into Kelly's thinking on the subsequent drive. For Riley, kicking the field goal to trail by one and giving the ball back to Oregon merely increased the chances that OSU loses that game.

For Kelly at the 1:43 mark, kicking a field goal to go up by a TD and giving the ball back to OSU does not guarantee a victory as much as keeping the ball and suffocating the clock.

The traditional coach's mantra is to "Put points on the board."  Both went away from conventional wisdom in that fourth quarter. And as Kelly points out, with Masoli running the show, it worked for Oregon.

Give Kelly the C.O.Y. award. Second place goes to Riley. ]

 
Oregonian Sports Editors think they're funny.
 
[On page D3 of Tuesday's Oregonian this week, you will see the story about Chip Kelly winning the C.O.Y.
There's the big headline reading:
UO's Kelly wins coach of the year,
along with a large pic of him.
Next to that article, and I mean RIGHT NEXT TO that article on the right is another story with the headline.
Kelly confirms interest in the Notre Dame job.
 
Relax.  It's Cincinnatti's Brian Kelly who thinks Notre Dame would be a good career move for him. But for those who peruse the paper by scanning headlines -- and if you had to put a number on those people, I think it would fall in the percentile range of . . . . hmmmmm . . . ALL OF US!! -- it was a bit of a heart stopper. And I'm telling you, I think it's too clever to be a coincidence.
 
Message to the Oregonian Assistant Sports Editor in charge of layout:
You think you're pretty funny, don't you?  Got a little chuckle over the idea of Duck fans crapping in their pants all across the tri-county area, didn't you? 
Who are you? An Angry Beaver?  Dirty Dawg?  Cougar with a cruel streak?  A Trojan Jackass?
 
Shall we call the hospitals and see how many green and yellow clad chest clutchers came busting into the emergency rooms that day?]
 
Lo' How a Rose e're Blooming
(For you Coug fans and other unsophisticates, that's a fancy Christmas song sung by a robed choir in a dark auditorium where you have to sit still for two hours.)
 
[Just in time for Christmas: Oregon Rose Bowl stuff and shirts and sweats and sweatshirts and keychains and ornaments and banners and pins and stuff. I'm seeing much of the same merchandise at the mall, Fred Meyers, Macys or of course the Oregon Duck Shop <-- (Click your way to savings NOW!)
 
 Remember, it's not a Rose Bowl Duck thing unless it has a rose on it. Some of the stuff I've seen looks like they took merchandise off the rack, inked up their red rosy rubber stamp and went to town. Here are a just a few of the items available.
 
 

I like both of these headwear -- Informative, yet understated.

Also available in long sleeve, the most abundant design.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Holy Moly. Is that the # for Masoli?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Several "Equal Time" selections showing both Oregon and Ohio State.
 
 
 

Classic DTO (Duck through O) design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Say it with pants.

 

 

 

 

All of that on a black field would look better.

We'll have to keep our eyes open for the dumbest, weirdest, or otherwise most unique Rose Bowl souvenir items. If you see one, bring it to my attention and I'll post it.

Later, a look at the stars of Ohio State.] --kb

THEY DID IT!!!

Photos from Register Guard

Beautiful.

It was harder than I had hoped. But should we be surprised?

What proved to be the difference? A couple of obvious things.

1) Which defense was going to have the more successful day? Although Oregon was giving away turnovers like coupons in a "Black Friday Sale-abration", the final answer lies in rushing totals.

Oregon: 288 yards rushing. LaMichael James accounted for 166 of those yards including this 52 yard explosion for the TD that put them ahead to stay.

OSU: 83 yards. Quizz Rogers was held to 64.

Without Quizz, OSU became one dimensional. But oh what a dimension it was. OSU's Sean Canfield threw for 306 yards and two TD's. They weren't dead yet.

With the game continually on the line for both teams, a second key factor became huge.

2) Fourth down conversions. 

The Beavers were one of two, including a fourth and 15 in the fourth quarter that failed.

The Ducks made all three of their fourth down conversions. And the killers were two in the final fourth quarter drive that ran out the clock.

A total of five attemped fourth down conversions. Gutsy calls by both coaches. And the ones for Oregon were the difference.

It is regrettable that OSU will probably end up in the Las Vegas Bowl. They deserve better.

But the Ducks earned exactly what they deserve. The Boise State disaster seems like a century ago. Blount's return and contribution to the win was epic.

I've already heard this once tonight and it bears repeating several more times.

Oregon Football 2009: What a long strange trip it's been.

More later,

kb

This is it.

Courtesy of 'Building the Dam' Beaver Blog.

Actually not courtesy of them at all. I just stole it.

[The game starts at 6 pm Pacific tonight on ESPN. At this time, I'd like to just take a moment to soak in what's been happening.

A week and a half ago after Oregon beat Arizona and OSU handled WSU, the talk was that this MIGHT be the biggest Civil War in history. Not everyone was sure. Duck fans like their game in 1994. OSU fans still hold on to their victory in 2000.

But day by day, the build up poured on. The blogs, news stories, videos, great stories of Civil Wars past, game preparations, fan preparations, banners, auto flags. bumper stickers, clothing . . . . this has gone beyond the normal X and O analysis and spirited bantering between the two teams.

Everyone feels it now. We're all saying it with conviction. With kickoff still hours away, this has already become the biggest Civil War ever.

The local sportstalk radio station is committed to 30 solid hours of only Civil War talk leading up to kickoff.

KOIN TV is doing a Civil War special starting at 4:30. They are also hosting a game viewing party at the Bagdad Theater in SE Portland. The game is on ESPN, a broadcasting partner of ABC.  KOIN is CBS. Obviously they feel the public interest in the game weighs over network affiliation.

The entire state is into it. Both teams together are dedicating the game to the Oregon National Guard. The national attention is unprecedented.

I was listening to former Duck tight end Josh Wilcox on the radio last night. He was asked to compare the 1994 Civil War that sent the Ducks to the Rose Bowl to that of today. He pointed out that back then, it was a huge success that that Civil War and the game one week prior (against Arizona, I believe) were two consecutive games on ABC. Back then, that was as close to big time as Oregon could dream of.

This season, I believe only one game was not televised. And that was only because no one could stand to watch WSU, not even Coug fans.

Obviously the internet has intensified the coverage and communication a thousand-fold. But I digress . . .

My point is, let's recognize what has been achieved right now, before the coin is tossed. When you see people for the opposing team today, wish them 'good luck' of course. But then congratulate them. Celebrate with them what the two teams together have accomplished today. This evening, the state of Oregon will be the center of the football universe.

COOL!


In case you were one of the five or so Duck fans who haven't seen this yet.

Here it is. The video that has moved a generation of Duck fans. It has everything: music, dancing, the Oregon Mascot, humor, controversy (Did I mention the Oregon Mascot?). And now you can even get a T-Shirt!

I have two versions here for your viewing enjoyment. The popular original and a remix with scenes from the Arizona game added. Play them both and choose the one that better suits your style; because on this day of the greatest Civil War ever, you have a duty.

For the rest of the day, you are to play one of these videos every 30 minutes. Doesn't matter if you're at work or home, in a meeting or a bathtub. Set a 30 minute timer on your watch, and when you hear the beep, show your love for your Ducks.

Stand on your desk. Go to the window ledge. Take your laptop with you in the car and do it on the turnpike. Don't matter if you're in Oregon, Seattle, Yakima, Las Vegas, New Jersey or all points in between. Today is the day of ALL days to declare your love for your Ducks.

Sing along. Dance. Stomp. Jump. Shout. With an Autzen yell, cry "Mo, mo, mo."  Make a joyful noise. It doesn't matter. Whatever you do, do so today. Do so, NOW!

Now turn your volume up ALLLLLL THE WAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Original: "I LOVE MY DUCKS"
by Supwitchugirl.



Remix: "I LOVE MY DUCKS"
by Supwitchugirl
Remix by DJ WiKy

Supwitchugirl - I Love My Ducks (WiKy Remix) from DJ WiKy on Vimeo.


I love my Ducks. Or as we used to say in the old days . . . .
Go Ducks.

--kb

PRACTICE CRASHERS

I thought Coach Kelly said he wanted to keep practices closed this week . . . . .

Yep . . . . Just trying to keep myself occupied until kickoff . . . . . . .  --kb

Why so Civil?

[ I've been scanning the blogs for Oregon and Oregon State on this, the run-up to the War for the Roses -- one of the most significant Civil Wars in its 113 year history.   What am I seeing? Lots of razzing and ribbing? Low blows? Cheap shots? Rabid rivalry rhetoric? 

Not hardly.

I checked the Beavers' 'dam' site and was stunned to find an intelligent forum made up of several Ducks and Beavers having a friendly, respectful, intellectual discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the Ducks and how the Beavers plan to attack them.

\/
\/
\/

WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!!!

Where are the jokes?
How do you get a Beaver off your porch? Pay for the pizza.

Where are the pics?

This is how we've been fighting the Civil War for 113 years.

Now look at what's happened.

Take a look at what I'm reading. After Oregon's win over Arizona, the Beavs started a thread on their blog called "Hate Week". Got it? 

"HATE WEEK". (Click link for full thread.)

That seems pretty self-explanatory. Sets the table nicely, I think.
So read these "hateful" tirades. The first one starts it off from the Beaver Host:
(Beaver posts in orange. Ducks in yellow. Props to the two main posters, VD Special of Building the Dam and dvieira of Addicted to Quack)
. . . .and I think our coaching staff needs to break this game film down and do EXACTLY what Arizona did. Contain Masoli, force him to make decisions, few blitzes, play good pass defense.
And he's backed up by a couple of his goons:
Crash the defensive ends and hit Masoli on every.single.play.
ABSOLUTELY
He showed good touch sometimes. But usually his balls were wobbly and he made bad decisions.
Whoa! Pretty mean words making fun of a man's wobbly balls.  But stupid words as well when we can argue that without Malosi's decisions, the Ducks lose that game. Never fear though. Here comes a Duck to put these clowns in their place.
I know Masoli gets some crap about being a questionable passer but you really don’t want to do this given your secondary. If anyone gets past the first level, it’s a broken tackle to the house. Also, even though we prefer to run, Arizona was giving us the pass all day and we made plays, especially Maehl. Masoli’s completing almost 60% of his passes. You don’t want to isolate in the box or we’ll throw WR screens and TE curls to the sideline all day.
OH SNAP! Did I just hear a Beaver butt bone breaking? That was a vicious kick. Do the Beavs have anything in the tank after that smackdown?
Well there’s no question that your offense is dynamic. Stats don’t lie. But given the options of forcing Masoli to throw and forcing him to run, I say contain him and force to throw. Obviously its a pick-your-poison sort of deal, but I don’t think anyone could argue with saying that Masoli is a better runner than he is a thrower.
Did you catch that? Beaver bastard used the 'D' word.  Thinks he's smarter than any Duck 'cause he can slip in a little 'dynamic' bomb and get away with it.

I HATE the word 'dynamic' -- especially after I read through 10 pages of want ads and see post after post saying: "Looking for dynamic individual to fill dynamic position for dynamic company." What the hell are they talking about? 'Dynamic' is full of hidden meaning. What they're really saying is "Our company and job suck in their own special way, and we're hoping you can suck with us."

It's overused to the point of having no real definition. You ask 100 people what the word dynamic means and 60 of them will offer different meanings. Forty will have the same answer: "I don't know."

And now this rodent licker dares to call the Ducks' offense 'dynamic'.
Give it to him Duck fan . . . . .
I don’t know. To me, it’s a simple matter of playing to your strengths. Your corners haven’t had the best year and putting them on an island against a spread is tough call. Yeah, Masoli may not be able to make all of the passes, but the ones he does are always going to be high risk for you. By taking your best players and crowding the box, you have to pray that the ball is thrown badly, gets tipped or your corner makes an amazing tackle.
Obviously you follow the Beavs more than Oregon so I may be stepping a bit over the line here, [OUCH. Below the belt with some condescending patronization.]  but it seems to me that the strength of Oregon State is their Linebackers and D-Line. Let those guys make plays and use their superior ability to help out on the passing game so you don’t get burned on the edge. What Arizona did effectively was put a spy (sometimes 2) on Masoli and keyed the rest of their front on LMJ. The problem is that Masoli made great plays on the rollout. Yeah, he got stopped a few times for loss more than he normally would, but the edges were open most of the time and even when they weren’t, our receivers made plays.

[(Sigh) OK this is what I'm talking about. These guys are just having a nice, respectful, and even informative conversation about how the Beavs solve the problem of Masoli. The Beav respectfully brought Masoli up. And the Duck is trying to help him out.

Last chance. Hey Beav, the Duck did condescend you in suggesting he knew more about your own team than you. Cmon. Give him a shot. Something about his mother. Anything. LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!

You're not stepping over the line. You're absolutely correct
Our strength at D this year is in the front 7. And our DBs haven’t the best year. But let’s face it, neither have your receivers. Outside of Maehl, nobody has really stepped up (not to say that there isn’t talent there, they just haven’t lived up to it). I’ve seen about 5 games this year, and all I remember seeing is dropped ball after dropped ball, and Masoli making some throws that his arm strength probably doesn’t allow. He gets away with it because often times the receivers are matched up one on one, so there isn’t much need to “thread the needle.” My point is, we want to make sure we stop the run first and force Masoli to pass. That’s our best option.
Snnnnorrrrrrrrre . . . Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
What is this world coming to? The biggest Civil War ever is going to be the friendliest? What's with all this . . . . this maturity and niceness. Can't we all just stop getting along?

What's next, peace in the Middle East?  This has a stench of Socialism. Somehow Obama has got to be behind this.

I've got these new neighbors on our block. Beaver fans. They are the cutest young couple -- just starting out their married lives. They got their little Beaver banners and they go to all the Beaver home games on Saturday and to church on Sunday. Nice. Friendly.

And I'll tell you, after reading this stuff it almost -- ALMOST, I said -- makes me not want to TP their house and yard with green and yellow streamers after the Ducks crush their hopes and dreams Thursday night.

Oh I'm still going to do it. It's my duty as a Duck. But I'll probably refrain from the classic crap-in-a-burning-bag-and-ring-the-doorbell maneuver. Like I said, they're new neighbors. I'll save that for next year.

But fine. If the new Civil War is to civilly discuss technical strategy here, then Beavers, if you really want to crowd the line and force Masoli to throw, GO FOR IT.

Some of his or James' best runs came when all the D were against the line,  the O-line opened one hole --just one, and the ball carrier hit it perfect. And remember, you still have to know who is carrying the ball.

Take a look at this pic of the Arizona defense you speak so highly of. This was a TD. Arizona had everyone in the box. They knew it was going to be a run. Look at the AZ defender on the left. He's flying in to tackle the Duck whom he believes is the ball carrier, only to feel a little silly two seconds later.

You want Masoli to pass?  To hammer the above Duck blogger's point a little harder, I give you the names Ed Dickson, Jeff Maehl, Jamere Holland, Lavasier Tuinei, Garrett Embry, NIck Cole, Rory Cavaille, D.J. Davis, Tyrece Gaines, David Paulson -- all of these guys plus a few others have been on the receiving end of Duck passes. And they agree with you. They would love for Masoli to pass more. YOUR STRATEGY is to hope they drop too many passes.

Stopping Masoli's running and forcing him to throw is kind of like breaking Darth Vader's light sabre and forcing him to only throw heavy objects in the room at you with his mind.

But we're all friends here. So I really mean it when I say:
Good luck with that.

Bathroom Humor

You've probably seen this already. The Beaver port-a-potty.  A Beaver friend sent these pics to me a couple of years ago. Someone on the Beavs blog site http://www.buildingthedam.com/ felt he should drag it out again this week like some tired old Christmas lawn decoration.

Very funny. Creative. Took a lot of work and pride, no doubt.  But I'll see your Beaver with orange toilet. . . . . .

\/
\/
\/
\/

. . . . . and raise you a Duck with Photoshop.

You might recall Ben Siegert was the legendary Beaver football player who got caught

speeding through campus drunk with a . . uh-hum, test subject from the gay sheep lab

riding in the back of his pickup. His explanation of the matter was never quite clear.

C'mon Beavs. Give us something new.
Future posts to reach a higher intellect are coming, unless I am forced to reply to another Beaver shot.  

They were just NOT going to lose.

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

--Vince Lombardi

Jeff Maehl celebrates clutch endzone catch to tie score and send game into second overtime.

Photos from Oregonian and Arizona Republic.
[They never gave up. They never stopped believing. Even as the Arizona students started pouring out of the stands to rush onto the field in the final minute, the Ducks knew they weren't done.

"I saw it and I actually smirked. It was kind of funny. I wasn't really worried about it."

-- Jeremiah Masoli on seeing red-clad Arizona students ring the sidelines ready to rush the field.

[Back in 2000, the Ducks went down to ASU and came back from a two-digit deficit to defeat the Devils 56 - 55 in 2 overtimes. It was the game where Joey Harrington earned the nickname "The General". I wondered at the time if we would ever see anything like that again.
Clearly, yes.
In this game, the Wildcats scored 24 unanswered points and led by 10 at one point in the fourth quarter. They had the Mo. But Oregon had Masoli.

"I was just resolved," Masoli said. "I'm just really happy with the result and really proud of our guys. They just played their hearts out the whole time." 

Above: Masoli runs for first TD.

Right: Maehl makes that tough catch for score.

Below: Dickson catches TD to tie score at end of regulation. 

[While Oregon's defense did all it could to keep Arizona from running away with the game. . . .

  Left: One of three sacks on Nick Foles.

Right: Arizona fumble recovered by Will Tukuafu in endzone.

Below: Now THAT'S A TACKLE by T.J. Ward.

. . . Arizona still played tough. And they in turn refused to let Oregon get away with any cheap explosion plays.
Every point, every yard that the Ducks earned were hard.

So that's how they played.

Hard. ]

Right: LaMichael James gained 117 yards, but hardly any explosion runs and no TD's.

Cliff Harris was in perfect position, but still couldn't block this TD pass at the end of the first half.








[Which brings us back to the Lombardi quote, and the play of this special Duck team, especially Jeremiah Masoli. He was not going to walk off that field without his win. He showed incredible grit and character.

The winning TD.

It was announced today that he earned the National Performer of the Week Award by the College Football Performance Awards. No doubt if you asked him about it, he would tell you it's nice, but all the same, he'd rather win the Civil War and Rose Bowl.

"We just have perseverance," Masoli said. "That's one of the characteristics of this team. Everybody on our team believed to the end."

Don't let anyone stop you, Masoli.

If you didn't see the game or wish to watch it again, ESPN declared it an 'Instant Classic'. Look for it this week either on ESPN Classic or ESPNU.

We'll talk about Civil War soon enough. I'm going to let the memory of this incredible win sink in just a little while longer.] --kb