Starting with the most obtuse . . . .
That Trojan's Got a Lot of Cock!
Speaking about Oregon, Trojans sophomore defensive lineman Jurrell Casey told ESPNLosAngeles.com "They have a good running back and a good quarterback. Other than that, they're really not that good."
[Oh yes. Word was given. The Ducks are aware.
Casey is one of their best players. Ironically, his best game last year with 11 tackles was against Oregon. That's right, he totally dominated that 47-20, worst loss in USC history. In fact in that game I would say with him, USC had a good D. lineman. Other than that . . . . .]
Regional Expert
[But hey, he's just an emotional player. What you really need is an expert to break down the reasons why USC will beat the Ducks. Kenny Legan of 'The Daily Trojan' claims to be such an expert in his article: "Victory Lies With Trojan Offense".
He's fairly even keeled, pointing out that if USC gets a few turnovers early to give their offense a chance, that would be good. But then he goes on to say that it really falls on the offense. Here's an excerpt:
The point remains that even if the Trojans do get a few stops, it’s inevitable the Oregon offense will get its points much like Scooby-Doo eventually gets his Scooby snacks. For an offense that leads the nation with an average of 55.1 points through seven games, it’s apparent that nobody is going to stop them.
Thus if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Even though Stanford went up big on Oregon, and Arizona State made the Ducks punt 11 times, both offenses eventually stalled . . . .which allowed the Ducks to stay calm, get back in the game and eventually take it over. [Good analogy if it wasn't slightly backwards. The Ducks stayed calm first, THEN THEY FORCED the opposing offenses to stall, which allowed them to get back. BTW. Don't leave out WSU or Tennessee. They were all fired up in the first half having Oregon on their home turf.]
This can’t happen against USC. [Why not? "Because I said so." ]I’m not saying that Barkley, senior running back Allen Bradford or the explosive wide receiving/kick returning duo of senior Ronald Johnson and freshman Robert Woods need to score every time; the Trojans could probably get away with punting once. [To Cliff Harris?]
The more USC can score and continue scoring throughout the game, the more it will put pressure on the Ducks and put them in a situation they have not been in yet this year — trailing in the fourth quarter. As we’ve seen in the last three weeks, when a No. 1 team finds itself in a tight contest late in the game, it has choked and faltered. [Now now, don't sell your team short. USC has proven they don't have to be anywhere near #1 to choke and falter late in a tight game.]
It’s not like this is an unreasonable request from the offense. . . . .[OK, that's enough. Bless his heart. He's darling.]
Leon, have you been scheming again?
ESPN's Ted Miller offers insight to what's going on inside Coach Lane Kiffin's head these past few weeks. Here's an excerpt from his article with the tantalizing headline: "Does USC Have a Secret Scheme for Ducks?":
But rest wasn't what the Trojans focused on during the bye week. In fact, there was extra running, live tackling -- something Kiffin has avoided due to injury worries for a team that lacks depth -- and fast-paced practices that attempted to match the pace with which Oregon plays.
"We worked harder during the bye week," cornerback Shareece Wright said. "We actually didn't take a break."
So it's hard to blame Kiffin for trying match that speed, even if ratcheting up for Oregon is akin to cramming for a final. [So what's the problem? You're talking about my entire college career.]
"I just think if you try to do it all of a sudden in the week you're playing Oregon, it's not going to help a whole lot,'' Kiffin said. "We've been doing this now for a few weeks, taking a different approach to the bye week than if we were playing someone else - the speed that we practiced at and the way we approached it.''
[Allow me to interject Nick Aliotti's reaction to Kiffin's preparation of their defense. Below is from The Oregonian:]
Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti was flattered, but he was also skeptical that a team can adequately prepare for the Ducks' tempo, regardless of when they start and how high the quality of their athletes.
"I think it will help them, I don't think it will hurt,'' Aliotti said. "But we play at hyper-speed, we play at a speed that is just incredible. Sometimes as a defensive coach, I can barely get a call in before the next play is played. Until you really see it live and in color ... when you see it live, it's something to see.'' [Seriously, from what I witnessed last week in Autzen against UCLA, TV doesn't do it justice. Watching them all jump up and prepare for the next play is like watching water run uphill.]
[On hearing of USC's preparation, linebacker Spencer Paysinger adds:
"Anybody that does a "Fuji'' (a hurry-up drill) out here with us in the first period will be blowing wind. Hopefully we'll be doing Fuji with them the whole game.''
[Nasty. Of course it would be all cap NASTY if I knew what the heck a Fuji was. But I don't. So it's just Nasty. But it sounds scary enough, like it's all . . . . . .mountainous and color film . . . . . Japanese like, Ninja Nasty and . . . . . . . OK I got nothing.]
[Back to the Scheme article:]
The fundamental issue is fairly simple: What the heck are the Trojans going to do against the nation's best offense? Apparently something different. Monte Kiffin has been widely hailed as one of the originators of the Tampa-2 defensive scheme, which it appears the Trojans are finally getting the hang of. But that's not the right defense to defend a spread-option, Lane Kiffin said.
"That defense really does not fit playing against Oregon at all," he said. "That defense is more about stopping the pass." [I beg your pardon? It was good enough for Cal's Kevin Riley; but Oregon's passing game isn't good enough for your Tampax-2 or whatever?]
The Ducks pass pretty well [Ya, no s**t!], but they do rank third in the nation in rushing with 322 yards per game.
[Well that's true. OK Leon, good plan. In between running extra windsprints, overhaul the defense your team finally learned. ]
Of course, it's possible there's a bit of gamesmanship going on here, with Kiffin intimating an entirely new defensive scheme for Chip Kelly's Ducks to try to figure out.
[THAT'S the scheme. Kiffin is going to make Kelly THINK he's going to stop the run. But once the ball is snapped to Darron Thomas, it'll take him an entire "one-Mississippi second" to realize, "Oh, I guess they're defending the pass." And he'll be FORCED to hand it off to the Heisman Trophy guy if he doesn't keep it himself.
Absolutely diabolical. Leon Kiffin is Chip Kelly's Lex Luther!
Kelly didn't seem too concerned, however, noting that it's typical for the Ducks to see new schemes.
"Usually, what we see on Saturday isn't what we saw on film, because we play a different offense than most everybody else in our league," he said. "We have to make adjustments within the game."
You mean those adjustments that almost completely shut down the other team in the second half?
Wait! Leon Luther isn't done yet. At the start of half time, he's going to have half his team fake injuries in the tunnel so Allioti can't get back to the locker room and do his magic with a squeaky marker on the drawing board.
And the Ducks seem to do that well, see 54.3 points and 569 yards per game, with both totals ranking No. 1 in the nation.
Don't make me angry. You wouldn't
see me if I was angry!
But if Duck fans still want to see the game, go for it. Because as of late last night, the game is NOT a sellout. Blame it on a bad economy or a bad feeling, but SoCal-ers are about as excited for this game as they are for their choice of governor.
USC should enlarge the size of their plywood shirts in the endzones to make the Coliseum look fuller.
USC Game time 5pm Pacific on ABC. If you're not finding it, look on ESPN2 or 3.
Your Banter Grows Tiresome.
Now is the Time We Dance!
There's someone out there living my dream. http://www.youtube.com/user/AllDuckedOut is a youtube channel with Oregon videos and highlights. http://www.oregongridiron.com/ also features their videos, although they play better on my computer at All Ducked Out.
They create a new motivational video every week. Below is my favorite. It has the best song. It was made for the ASU game several weeks ago. So enjoy it, but to remain relavant, you'll need to close your eyes for the very last second -- especially you, Mr. Decker.
CRANK IT! STAND ON YOUR OFFICE CHAIR, AND LET IT ROLLLLLLL!
No comments:
Post a Comment