Murphy: Trash talking between Ducks and Broncos has only just begun
By Brian Murphy - bmurphy@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 09/01/09
You think the Oregon-Boise State trash talking has died down with kickoff fast approaching. Well, you ain't heard nothing yet.
You think it's only Oregon - and those sore-loser Ducks fans - that keeps talking about last year's 37-32 Broncos victory and the late hits contained within. Not so fast.
You think Ellis Powers' status as Public Enemy No. 1 in Eugene is safe. Well, Jeron Johnson, who ranks No. 2 on that list, has something to say about it.
Actually he has a lot to say. And he plans on talking and talking and talking throughout Thursday night's bitter rematch with the Ducks at Bronco Stadium.
ESPN better have its 8-second delay button ready if it plans on using those giant field-level microphones that pick up the sounds of the game.
Earmuffs.
"Parental advisory, definitely. There's going to be some very foul language going on on both ends," said Johnson, smiling broadly at the very thought of it.
The hard-hitting safety and linchpin of the Broncos' pass defense was a second-team All-WAC pick last year. He is a first-team All-World trash talker, a skill he is just as proud of as his tackling abilities.
"That's part of my game. I'm gonna talk trash. I know exactly how to even it up," Johnson said. "If you're a guy who doesn't necessarily talk trash and you get to talkin' trash and you mess up, that's going to take you out of your whole game plan. Now you're worried about talking trash to this guy. You just want to do your job and play your role. That's me. I've been doing it forever."
Seems like the Ducks have been doing it for months, too. They haven't forgotten - how could they? - the late hits by Powers (on quarterback Jeremiah Masoli) and Johnson (on tight end Ed Dickson) in last year's game in Eugene. Johnson was ejected for his hit.
"We owe that team and ass-whuppin."
--LeGarrette Blount
Funny how Ducks fans never mention the blatant spearing of a Boise State defensive back when discussing those dirty Broncos or the game's outcome.
Dickson told The (Portland) Oregonian that Boise State is "one of those teams that really doesn't rub right with me."
Johnson isn't surprised. One gets the sense that he respects the Ducks more for their willingness to mix it up verbally.
"We came out with the upset. If somebody beats you up, the next time you see them and you fight them, you're going to want to (pause) you know," Johnson said.
Johnson didn't finish the statement. He didn't need to. The Ducks did it for him.
"We owe that team an ass-whuppin'." star tailback LeGarrette Blount told Sports Illustrated after seeing the late hits again.
"Those emotions come out when you see that stuff," Blount later told The (Eugene) Register-Guard.
The emotions will be flowing again Thursday night. The atmosphere at Bronco Stadium will be electric. The trash talk - from Johnson and others - will be non-stop.
But it comes with a balance. Balancing that emotion with football smarts and discipline could well be the difference in this meaningful matchup of top-16 teams.
Among the jewels bestowed on the winners: the right to talk all the trash they want.
[So that quote has been flying around the state of Idaho for a couple of weeks now. And this Thursday night, BS fans get to see this, . . . . this "Ass-whuppin" fella up close. What are they to make of him? Both he and Masoli were fresh-out-of-the-egg new to the Ducks (I can't believe I just wrote that.) last year when BS came to Autzen. Did BS fans watch the Civil War since then? The Holiday Bowl? Are they assuming he'll only carry 18 times for 99 yards like he did last year against them? I don't think so either. This article suggests BS'ers already know why the blue turf is beginning to tremble.]
Oregon running back punishes opponents with size, agility
BY CHADD CRIPE - ccripe@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 09/01/09
The Boise State football team discovered all of the freakish talents of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount on one jaw-dropping run last year at Autzen Stadium.
Blount hurdled two bodies at the line of scrimmage - jumping at least a couple feet into the air while moving to his right. He landed in a balanced position and quickly made a jump cut to his left, shaking the diving tackle attempt of safety Jeron Johnson. Then he rumbled right through safety George Iloka on his way to a 16-yard score.
Boise State defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who hopped out of his seat Monday to re-enact that wicked jump cut, remains astonished as he prepares for Thursday's rematch at Bronco Stadium.
"Big time, NFL (talent)," Wilcox said. "Not a lot of people who are his size can move like that." [I certainly never knew a Wilcox who could move like that.]
Blount is 6-foot-2, 240 pounds. He can run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.6 seconds. And he has all the tools of a great back - vision, balance, agility.
He was labeled a "freak" as early as his high school days in Florida - a label he first considered an insult.
"I was like, 'You're a freak, too,' " he said. "Then it was like, 'You're a freak on the field. Nobody can stop you.'
"I guess the term now is 'beast.' I've been seeing that around."
Freak. Beast.
Either way, the Ducks are about to unleash Blount. He shared the backfield with senior starter Jeremiah Johnson last year.
This year, Blount is the senior starter - and he is almost certain to get more than last year's 10.5 carries per game. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry with 17 touchdowns last year.
BY CHADD CRIPE - ccripe@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 09/01/09
The Boise State football team discovered all of the freakish talents of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount on one jaw-dropping run last year at Autzen Stadium.
Blount hurdled two bodies at the line of scrimmage - jumping at least a couple feet into the air while moving to his right. He landed in a balanced position and quickly made a jump cut to his left, shaking the diving tackle attempt of safety Jeron Johnson. Then he rumbled right through safety George Iloka on his way to a 16-yard score.
Boise State defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who hopped out of his seat Monday to re-enact that wicked jump cut, remains astonished as he prepares for Thursday's rematch at Bronco Stadium.
"Big time, NFL (talent)," Wilcox said. "Not a lot of people who are his size can move like that." [I certainly never knew a Wilcox who could move like that.]
Blount is 6-foot-2, 240 pounds. He can run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.6 seconds. And he has all the tools of a great back - vision, balance, agility.
He was labeled a "freak" as early as his high school days in Florida - a label he first considered an insult.
"I was like, 'You're a freak, too,' " he said. "Then it was like, 'You're a freak on the field. Nobody can stop you.'
"I guess the term now is 'beast.' I've been seeing that around."
Freak. Beast.
Either way, the Ducks are about to unleash Blount. He shared the backfield with senior starter Jeremiah Johnson last year.
This year, Blount is the senior starter - and he is almost certain to get more than last year's 10.5 carries per game. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry with 17 touchdowns last year.
[LeGarrette Blount playing at UCLA last season.
Don't call him a freak. Hurts his feelings.]
"He's one of those guys who has the innate ability to get stronger as the game goes on," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "It's like a body blow in boxing. It just kind of wears you down. He had a tremendous offseason for us. He's in great physical condition right now. We're ready to strap it up and ride him."
Blount planned to commit to Auburn out of high school. However, his test scores weren't high enough and he landed at East Mississippi Community College, where he rushed for 2,292 yards in two seasons.
He then chose Oregon over Florida State.
He credits his father, a small school linebacker, for his physical running style.
"I've heard stories of him denting in people's helmets and cracking people's helmets," Blount said.
It's not difficult to imagine Blount doing the same.
The Broncos say they must be careful not to go for the big shot at Blount. Instead, they'll grab what they can and wait for the cavalry to arrive.
"Very rarely have I seen one guy make a play on him - form him up and get him on the ground," Wilcox said. "It just doesn't happen."
And oftentimes, Blount just makes would-be tacklers look silly.
In the Holiday Bowl, he hurdled an Oklahoma State defender who went for his legs.
"People underestimate his athletic ability," Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli said. "His hurdles are so quick É and he's still running full speed afterward. He doesn't look like he can do that."
Other times, Blount just plows right through defenders. His first scrimmage play this fall immediately hit YouTube because he stiff-armed a teammate into the turf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktOyVo6WT_E
[I think LeGarrette Blount's middle initials should be JNF. I don't know how many times he's hurdled tacklers, outrun them, bulled over them or just plain made them look like children and I've said that's "Just Not Fair".]
"I haven't seen him hurdle anybody in practice," Oregon safety T.J. Ward said, "but he has run a couple people over."
Kelly calls Blount his "Mariano Rivera" - a reference to the New York Yankees closer. Blount often scored touchdowns late in games last year to finish off weary opponents.
"He's our closer," Kelly said. "He seems to fly when you get into the fourth quarter."
[If you are with a pack of dogs, you let the bigger dogs do your barking, right? I'm not a big fan of pre-game trash talking, but if your pack needs to send a message, let your biggest baddest dog say it.
So Blount blurts out the "ass whuppin" comment and later explains it without apology. Who of the Broncos is saying, "Oh ya, well he's gonna have to get through me." "He better hope he can back that up." "I'll show him what a 'whuppin' feels like." . . . .
Blount gets a pass on this trash talk because no one dares stand to object. BS is doing right to quietly prepare for the game without jabbing a stick in Blount's cage.]
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