These have historically been the football teams to put up early season brutal scores like 72-0. They are the ones we would scoff at for their obscene beatings of lowly "St. Mary's for the Blind" patsies.
But was that Oregon? Our Oregon? We can't and shouldn't read too much into their romp over New Mexico, except to say I think this team is much more prepared for the season's start than last year's team that walked into Boise State with vengeance on their minds but nothing to back it up.
A good thing too, because ironically, a part of BS awaits them at Tennessee. A favorite Oregon son (and cousin), Justin Wilcox, is the new defensive coordinator for the Vols after his stint of the same position in Boise. It was his defense that made Oregon look tired and silly for two games in a row. Now he's looking to go 3 and 0 over his alma mater this Saturday.
In the Oregonian today is a great article by John Hunt about Wilcox and the defense he'll have waiting for the Ducks. Below are a few excerpts. Read the entire article here.
While reading through this, I want you to think about the toughest test for the Ducks this Saturday. Will it be Wilcox's defense? Tennessee's fairly new offense? The more than 100,000 crazy orange rednecks in the stands? Or something much worse? Read on . . .
But first, click on the video below, then continue reading while it's playing.
Oregon football: Justin Wilcox tries to stop Ducks againEUGENE -
Published: Wednesday, September 08, 2010, 7:02 PM
In defending the Oregon Ducks, it seems, Justin Wilcox has all the answers. Dave Wilcox, Justin's father, former Ducks star and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, agreed.
In the 2010 season opener with his new team, Wilcox and the Vols shut out Tennessee-Martin 50-0. Like Oregon's 72-0 win over New Mexico, it was the school's first shutout since 2003. Granted, UT-Martin and the lowly Lobos aren't exactly challenging, but Wilcox already has proved himself many times over.
"If you think you know everything,'' Wilcox said, "you might as well change jobs.''
He did, and that's the problem for Oregon. Wilcox, who shut down the Ducks as Boise State defensive coordinator a year ago, is now coaching Tennessee's defense.
If Wilcox can do it again, he will have proved himself to be the biggest thorn in Oregon's recent rosy run of success. If Tennessee, a 13½-point underdog, can somehow - with the help of Wilcox - have Oregon's number, then he will have accounted for half of the Ducks' losses dating to the 2007 Sun Bowl:
Without Wilcox in the stadium, the Ducks would be 22-3. Against Wilcox, they would be 0-3.
Now play this video, even if the other one is still running. Keep reading . . .
"We're not playing against Justin Wilcox - we're playing against Tennessee,''
"Thank God - Justin's too old,'' he said. "And he's a little skinny guy now.''
Justin Wilcox is all of 33 years old. With Wilcox as defensive coordinator, Boise State was 49-4. Not only did he help shut down Oregon to open last season, but he and the Broncos capped a 14-0 season with a 17-10 win over TCU - that's a total of 18 points to Oregon and TCU teams averaging a combined 75.
"I think he's excellent,'' said Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, who coached Wilcox for one season, in 1999, when he returned to the Ducks from the NFL. "I think he's a bright star, shining star, the sky's the limit for him.'' [He could be the Ducks D. Coach should Alliotti ever move on.]
But like many in the Ducks' program, Aliotti stopped short of crediting Wilcox with the win at Boise last year.
"All I can say, I would never have expected our offense to look like it did on that particular day,'' Aliotti said. "But he's good, he's a rock star.''
Mark Helfrich, who had a trying debut as Oregon's offensive coordinator in Boise, said it was a combination of the Broncos' preparedness and the Ducks' lack of any kind of cohesion.
"It wasn't an 'Oh my gosh, we didn't prepare for this' kind of thing,'' Helfrich said. "We played really poorly and they played great.''
OK. Now play this one. Ya, you see what I'm doing. JUST DO IT NOW!
If the 72-0 win had the Ducks feeling pretty good about themselves, this week has grounded them a bit. To prepare for Tennessee, the Oregon coaches had to pop in the Boise State tape one more time - in addition to Louisiana Tech tape, the most recent stop of first-year head coach Derek Dooley, and Texas Tech tape (special teams coach Eric Russell) and others.
"When we turned that film on, that was a great dose of humility,'' Helfrich said. "There are some things from that game that we can execute, and there are some things from that game that we can throw out.''
The problem, the biggest problem, was that there just weren't that many plays to look at. Oregon's first seven possessions, stretching well into the third quarter, consisted of six three-and-outs and one safety. Before the Ducks' lone scoring drive, Boise State had 19 points and Oregon had run 19 plays. . . . . .
In their third crack at Wilcox, the Ducks already have made some adjustments. Their system for sending in plays from the sideline has changed this season. Instituted in the spring, a series of poster-sized boards, each with four distinct images, is flashed from the sideline.
Kelly said the new signage system enables an even faster tempo. It also keeps Tennessee graduate assistant Peter Sirmon from cracking the code. [Oh no. Sirmon too?!?!?]
Sirmon, a seven-year NFL veteran, was a grad assistant at Oregon last season before joining his good friend Wilcox in Knoxville. The two were roommates and teammates at Oregon from 1996-99.
And finally from some drunk Vols . . .. Turn your volume WAYYYYYY UP!!!
There is no bad blood between Oregon and Tennessee, who have never met. Among the Ducks players, there is a healthy respect and maybe, just maybe, the desire to get back at Wilcox a little bit.
"Yes and no,'' center Jordan Holmes said. "He schemed us up pretty well last year, but when it comes down to it, it's just football. He's a really good defensive coordinator. If you can beat his scheme, you can beat a lot of schemes out there in the country. It would definitely be something that we would take pride in.''
By now you know the single scariest thing facing the Ducks this Saturday:
The dreaded heinous ROCKY TOP! Coach Kelly knows it too . . . .
The following is from R-G writer Rob Moseley's blog:
“Once two strangers climbed ol’ Rocky Top looking for a moonshine still. Those two strangers ain’t come down off Rocky Top, reckon they never will.”
Yes, that was, of all people, Chip Kelly after practice today, singing the words to the unofficial Tennessee fight song, “Rocky Top,” which played on a loop for about the last three-quarters of practice today. Reckon we heard it 25 or 30 times.
“I love the song,” Kelly said, noting he’s done the same when USC is on the schedule. “... It’s a prominent factor for us, so just, get the guys used to it.”
It was also hot and humid in the Mo Center again today. Mike Bellotti was on hand watching and said the last time he created such conditions in the Mo were in 2003 prior to the opener at Mississippi State. But he just spent one day practicing in such conditions.
Kelly doesn’t want weather to be an excuse, he said, and so had his team practice in those conditions Tuesday and Wednesday. He said players are being weighed before and after each practice, as usual, to check that they’re staying hydrated.
“Getting in this type of environment has been really, really helpful for us,” Kelly said. “... We’ll be prepared from that standpoint.”
If the Ducks can beat Rocky Top, they can beat anybody. I'm not talking about the Vol's football team. I'm talking about a method of torture used at Guantanamo Bay.
Where is Osama Bin Laden?
I do not know.
"Oh Rocky Top, you'll always be, HOME SWEET HOME TO MEEEEEE
Goooooood Olllll' Rocky Top -- Wooooa. . . . . "
Please I beg of you, STOP. Can't you just waterboard me?
Oregon at Tennessee Game time 4:00 PM Pacific. ESPN2
--KB
1 comment:
We know that the only way Justin Wilcox has to stop the Ducks is to try to go after Thomas with blitzes. If they sit back, we'll run all over them. They have to blitz. I hope we are ready.
As for that turncoat Peter Sirmon, I think I'll call his dad!
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