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| Oregon's "small" defensive unit gang-returns a fumble by Stanford, who would go on to win the Orange Bowl and impress Cam Newton! |
Fact: Auburn's offensive line outweighs Oregon's defensive line by an average of 304 to 259 pounds.
Myth: Auburn is going to win because of it.
The last time I heard such a big deal made of the lines' weight difference was when Oregon faced Colorado in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. Oregon won easily 38-16 while holding the Buffalos, who had averaged 229 yards rushing, to only 49 yards.
The truth is offensive lines typically outweigh defensive lines. Laws of physics say that the immovable object has to be significantly bigger than the unstoppable force. The question is, who has the quicker feet? Better skills? More energy? Smarter teamwork?
You think this is the first big offensive line Oregon has faced? USC's starting 10 averaged 297. Washington was 303. Even Portland State had five O-linemen on their roster over 310.
"Well ya, KB, but what about SEC teams?"
Like Tennessee? A whopping 308! The truth is, I would love for Oregon to play more SEC teams if only to dispel the myth about their dominance.
Ask TCU how impressed they were with Wisconsin's grain-fed meaty boys in the Rose Bowl.
Interestingly, the ones not getting caught up in all this BIG talk are the Auburn coaches. In this article from the Opelika-Auburn News,
(Pronounced Opel- LEEK-a. Actually I don't if that's how its really pronounced. I just hope so because I like to say Opel-LEEK-a. . . . . What does an Italian car mechanic say whenever someone brings in an Opel and complains of always having to add oil?)
I forgot what I was talking about. . . . Oh ya. Fortunately for Auburn, their offensive line coach ain't no fool, unlike their fans. . . .
Ducks defense has its fair share of depth
By David Morrison
Published: January 02, 2011
A number of statistics pertaining to the Oregon football team’s defense catch the eye of Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes.
The combined poundage Ducks’ front line isn’t one of them.
Grimes said he doesn’t put much weight behind the fact that Auburn’s offensive front outweighs Oregon’s starting front four by an average of 45 pounds (304 to 259).
“If a lot has been made about that, they’re concentrating on the wrong things,” Grimes said. “Often (size is) one of the things that’s overestimated, because there are a lot of times where a defensive lineman that’s 270 pounds is a lot better player than a guy who’s 310 pounds.”
And that was before he got a chance to watch the Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and TCU.
The Badgers’ offensive linemen had the Horned Frogs’ front outweighed by an average of about 50 pounds, and TCU was able to make enough plays to pull out a 21-19 win.
The stats Grimes would rather focus on are where the Ducks’ defense ranks nationally in sacks (18th), rush yards per game (16th), points per game (12th) and takeaways (third).
“Those guys don’t give up on a play. They make a lot of hustle plays,” Grimes said. “Diving at the quarterback and tripping them at the last second for a sack, jumping and batting the football down. They get a lot of turnovers just because they play so hard.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Ducks have a nearly constant rotating cast of characters to help keep them fresh.
Oregon has 26 players with 10 or more tackles this season, 21 with a tackle for a loss, 11 with a sack and nine with an interception.
“To play so many plays on the defensive side of the ball, they are very good at what they do, especially with the high explosive offense that they have,” Tigers quarterback Cam Newton said. “They probably don’t get on the bench as long because of what the offense possesses. It makes them have so many plays on defense.”
The complexity of Oregon’s scheme complements its defenders’ effort.
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said the Ducks utilize their team speed by bringing pressure from just about everywhere on the field.
“They’re not ever going to be in the same place,” Malzahn said. “They’re never going to be still. They’re going to be moving. They come at you from different angles. They do some very unique things.”
Even though Oregon’s depth chart is set up in a conventional 4-3, Malzahn said the Ducks bring most of their blitzes from odd fronts, so it’s never very certain where the rushers are coming from.
He said Oregon’s defense has “some similarities with Mississippi State,” which had the most success against Auburn’s offense this season, allowing only 348 yards and 17 points in September.
The Ducks also have a hybrid rush end/linebacker in 6-foot-3, 232-pound senior Kenny Rowe (12.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks, four forced fumbles), who does everything from filling run gaps to dropping into zone coverage for Oregon.
Think 6-3, 259-pound Georgia junior Justin Houston, who tallied six tackles and a sack against Auburn in the Tigers’ 49-31 win on Nov. 13.
“The good thing would be that we’ve got 30, 35 days to prepare for the unusual things they do,” Malzahn said. “You never know about the wrinkles a team might have with this may days to prepare. We’ve got to be able to adjust, got to be able to identify to their plan early enough.”
The Ducks’ secondary more than keeps up the whole “speed” motif.
Cornerback Cliff Harris, who has four punt return touchdowns this season, and safety John Boyett have combined for 10 of the Ducks’ 20 interceptions this season.
Harris, Boyett, corner Talmadge Jackson and safety Eddie Pleasant have also combined for 32 pass breakups this season.
“Speed,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. “Those guys can run and they’re not afraid to play man coverage, and they’ve done it against some really good receivers.”
So how are the Tigers reacting to these challenges Oregon presents? It's right here in yesterday's Oregonian:
BCS National Championship: No curfew for Auburn, but Cam Newton won't give details on his evenings out
Published: Tuesday, January 04, 2011, 6:45 PM
By Lindsay Schnell, The Oregonian
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Chip Kelly has imposed a strict curfew with the Oregon Ducks in the week leading up to the BCS championship game, but on the other side it’s all fun and games with the Auburn Tigers. For now.
After Internet reports surfaced that star quarterback Cam Newton and some of his teammates were out at a club till almost 2 a.m., Newton was asked on Tuesday if any sort of curfew has been put in place for Auburn.
“I think that’s up to coach (Gene) Chizik,” Newton said. “If he said, ‘Lock it down’ I’m pretty sure we don’t have a choice about that … it wasn’t a lockdown last night. Just being around this program has been an excellent, excellent environment, not too much stress. Everybody’s just smiling and having a good time.”
So what did Newton and others do Monday night in their free time?
“I can’t really say that on camera,” Newton said, before laughing. [HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa . . . . . . . We're laughing right along with you Newton. After all, Las Vegas has you winning by 3. Oops! Make that 2-1/2. It just went down this week!
Hmmmm. Think fewer bettors are laughing with you because they've been noticing the two teams' different approaches to the game?
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| Cam "Just smiling and having a good time . . . . . " |
One thing Newton did for sure was watch the Orange Bowl, where he saw Pac-10 quarterback Andrew Luck complete 18 of 23 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Cardinal to a 40-12 defeat of Virginia Tech. Newton came away impressed.
“Andrew Luck had an excellent game,” said Newton, adding that watching a good quarterback performance “absolutely” gets him amped before a big game. “He raised the bar for quarterbacks to come. He managed the game very well, and I was pleased with him.” [You'll be raising your bar to someone who lost to the Ducks, Cam. BTW, Luck finished second to you in the Heisman. If you lose Monday, don't you think you should give him the trophy?]
THIS JUST IN:
OREGON'S POWER BALLAD
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2 comments:
Although they haven't said it in so many words, you get the impression that Newton and Auburn are walking out a sense of entitlement or destiny. It will take more than just smiling and chilling to win on Monday. There are some real differences between the two programs.
Where they both run the spread option, the "option" for Auburn is pretty much predetermined when the play comes in from the sidelines. For Oregon, the option comes at the moment Thomas reads the defense. Think about the difference. Cam Newton gets his option instructions from the sidelines. Kelly has trained Thomas to instintively react to his opponenent's movements. That makes Newton like Universal Soldier and Thomas like Neo.
I was watching College Football Live on ESPN last night. Lou Holtz said as much noting that when Darron Thomas walks up to the line, he doesn't know where the ball is going until he reads the defense. Therefore the defense can't out-guess Thomas because Thomas is getting his cue from the defense!
Thomas as Neo. Hmmmmm. Wonder if I can photoshop that!
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