Trying to Find the Wins in a Loss

That forced fumble. . .  That drive to tie the score. . . . After three-and-a-half quarters, FINALLY, we found our Ducks.

Casey Matthews forces fumble.

"Too small" Casey Matthews put on his speed burners and caught the Heisman QB 'god' from behind. He knocked the football free in front of the watchful eyes of Cliff Harris.

Oregon's ball.  And Darron Thomas was ready.


Cliff Harris recovers fumble.

 With three pass completions including a 29-yard catch by D.J. Davis on 4th and five, Thomas brought the Ducks to the four yard line.

After an Auburn penalty and a timeout, Thomas flipped a beautiful inside pitch to LamJ for the touchdown.



LamJ scores off Thomas shovel pass.



Maehl Man delivers 2.

Oregon made no hesitation about going for two. Auburn was ready, or so they thought.  But they never saw it coming, that pass -- a diagonal cross-field heave that your Pop Warner coach told you NEVER to throw -- into the arms of the always reliable Maehl Man.

Good News: Score tied. A new ballgame.

Bad News: Cam Newton had 2:33 left to put his near perfect field goal kicker into good position. I started preparing myself for the odds.

You know the rest of the story. We'll save the "Was he down?" discussion for another time.

I want to tell you about the near-equal drama simultaneously happening in our house.

My grandson, ten year-old Joe, was just as excited as the four grownups in our living room.  When Maehl caught that two-pointer, our collective screaming had no doubt rattled our neighbors' windows.

The body flip and continued run of the Tiger player everyone thought was down, combined with the endlessly long review of the player's knee outside the goal line, had blood pressures soaring all over the nation for sure.

Can you imagine what it was like for a ten year-old who grew up with Duck fans, has been to Autzen more times than many of you lately, rarely has seen a Duck loss in his young life, and has been talking and thinking about this game for over a month?

His voice started getting higher, shrill even. With increasing rapidity, he was shouting, "HE WAS DOWN!  HE WAS DOWN!  HE WAS DOWN!"  Joe was hopping up and down on the couch, his hands slapping the cushions.

I, sitting nearest to him,  became alarmed that I was about to see my young Duck padawan suffer his first stroke at the tender age of ten. I jumped up and went to him and as I did, he broke into tears sobbing, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I sat down and put my arm around him and said "Joe, it's OK."  We all tried to calm him down, and at the same time cool our own levels of anxiety and excitement.

I very calmly explained the reality of the moment to him. If Auburn makes this field goal, they win. That's it. The game is over.

With my arm still around him, we watched the ball sail between the uprights. And we grown-ups filled the air with nothing more than benign exhales and simple utterances like "That's it." "It's over." And Joe observed as we all got up and started taking dishes into the kitchen.

Oh don't let this charade fool you. We were all crying like colicky babies on the inside. But none of us wanted to be the one to teach Joe how to lose your composure and allow something you love -- something that's supposed to be fun -- tear you apart.  Football is ideally supposed to be an escape FROM the harsh world and not a part of.

As the elder Duck fan in household, I knew more than anyone what the Ducks are capable of doing to their beloved fans. Football, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, you name it . . . . Each soul-filling win has the potential to merely set you up for the next heart-crushing loss.

String 12 wins in a row?  God help us all.

In the minutes that followed, I noticed Joe was following me around the house. The events of the last three hours still swimming in his young mind, he kept uttering things like, "I hate Fairley." "Fairley played unfairly."  "He was down."  "If the Ducks had only . . . . "  "I wish Thomas could have . . . . "

I turned to him and said, "Joe, do you know what you're upset about?" 

He just looked at me.

"You're upset that your Oregon Ducks just lost the National College Football Championship by three points.  And I'm telling you, that's a pretty cool thing to be upset about.  Do you understand?"

His eyes started misting up again as his mother came by. I tried to explain a little more about how most teams never even get to the championship (That would be you, Beavers.).

I could have stretched that thought out in perspective with examples of things to really be upset about like death and war and a shooting in Tucson. But I stuck to the event of the moment.  Hey, he's TEN.

Still, any bit of wisdom you can teach a ten year-old is probably something worth remind ourselves.

You've heard of the game, "Would You Rather"?

WOULD YOU RATHER . . . . .

. . .hate losing the National Championship, or love winning the GoDaddy.com Bowl?

. . .lament a loss to end up 12 - 1, or cheer a victory giving you a winning record of
6 - 5?

If you're a fan of any team that has it's ups and downs, you get enough of these losses into your system until they start acting like a vaccine against despair. 

Disappointment? Sure.  But no need to despair . . . . unless you were one of those Duck fans who spent $10,000 for a ticket.  I truly pity those poor bastards.

THANKS LIL' BROTHER
There we Duck fans were, standing on a cloud. And after the game, who was there to help us down?  Our Little Beaver Brothers were waiting to step us back down to our grounded reality.

 Tuesday morning I woke up to find this email from one of my Beaver friends:
\/
\/
\/
\/

Beautiful. That's great.  No really.  I'm laughing even now. Thank you for welcoming me back down from my high.  National Championships may come and go, but you'll always be there for us, Beavs.

BTW, tell Quizz I said "Hi". . . . . . . . Hey, where'd he go?


So as Mike Brady would ask his Bunch,
what can we learn from this experience? *
*Editor's note: I'd like to take this moment to welcome newest subscriber Connor Fieggen to the readership -- a young teen who probably has NO IDEA what I'm talking about with Mike Brady or Bunch or whatever.

Perhaps we can learn from this loss that which we win by teaching our children and reminding ourselves the character building value of dealing with loss and disappointment.

From this loss we can learn the virtue of graciousness.


From this loss, Coach Kelly reminds us of priorities and perspective.
“I said in my first game [Boise State] when I was the head coach one game doesn’t define you as a person or as a football player,” he said. “And the same thing still holds true. These guys are champions. I love them. We’ll be back.” -- Coach Chip Kelly after the game

In fact if we take a moment, we can discover all of the things we gain -- the "wins, if you will -- in the silver lining of this loss.  We Ducks have WON some immeasureable human qualities from this contest that Auburn fans will never know. 

We say congratulations to Auburn. You have won. But we have NOT lost.

 . . . . . . . . . .

 . . . . . . . 

 . . . . .

 . . . .

 . . 

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !

Losing sucks and so does Auburn.

And you Beavers can all GO TO HELL!!!!!

I hope you've learned
a valuable lesson from this.

Just don't tell Joe I said that.

--KB

Toss the Coin Already!

If the Ducks lose, I will sink to the floor and cry like a colicky baby.
If the Ducks win, I will sink to the floor and cry like a colicky baby.

If you're like me, you're ready. You've read all there is to read. Studied plenty of game film. Heard every opinion. Analyzed every chart. Scraped up every shred of clue from even a closed practice.

In Sunday's Oregonian was one final huge pre-game special section with tons of stories -- thanks in part to both teams showing up for a mandatory media day on Saturday.  Finally, the poor reporters who've been camped down there for a week had some new material.

If the Ducks win, I will tattoo the
winged 'O' glove design directly
on to my hands.

I couldn't read any of it. I'm exhausted. I'm just DONE. I realized what I, and probably you, have been looking for through all of the thousands of column inches and scores of broadcast hours.  We've been looking for one distinguished expert to say, "The Ducks will win. And here's why . . ."

But even when someone says that, are you going to believe him or her?  Not when there's someone else saying the same for Auburn.

Look, here's the long and short of it. Oregon can win this game. But both teams are evenly matched for different reasons. Auburn is a little bigger. Oregon is a little faster. But beyond that, it's in the air.

Oregon can beat Auburn if they can contain Cam Newton. And the Trailblazers could've beaten Chicago if they could've contained Michael Jordan.

If Cam Newton has a Heisman kind of day -- the game of his life much like Terrelle Pryor in last year's Rose Bowl -- the Ducks would have to be perfect.

If Oregon's defense messes Newton up, and the special teams are special, then Oregon's offense can steal the show.

Please don't ask me for the data to back that up because like I said, I'm done. Not going to worry about what anybody says anymore.

If Oregon wins, this color
"Yell-n-Scream"Yellow/Green
is going up on my living room walls!

Just toss the coin. Let's get it on. Git 'er done. Lock and load. It's GO time. 

Because . . . . .





BECAUSE . . . . . . . . .











BECAUSE . . . . . . . .



I GOT A FEELING



Shake off the jitters. You know the drill. Crank both of these vids and get yourself amped for something wonderful.

Win The Day

Fast, Hard, Finish

NCAA Football National Championship, Monday, 5:30 Pacific. Lots of pregame and postgame around it. All on ESPN

Oh BTW. Win or lose on Monday, I'm walking tall on Tuesday. Never been prouder.

--KB

The Bigger they are . . . . . .

Oregon's "small" defensive unit gang-returns a fumble
by Stanford, who would go on to win the Orange Bowl
and impress Cam Newton!

Auburn fans and their media have done a good job of buying into a couple of myths. Let me deal with the most glaring one here.

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?

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
brought to you by Jimmy Fallon

Ducks Spread Good Will

Here's a great story printed in Christmas Day's Register Guard. It's good to see Kelly coaching this kind of "spread" in life lessons.

With typical efficiency, Chip Kelly, Ducks spread lasting cheer

By George Schroeder
The Register-Guard
Published: Saturday, Dec 25, 2010 05:02AM

They are Duck fans. Let’s start there. And although they have deep connections to Eugene, there means Stockton, Calif.

So when the gift arrived from Oregon, they were surprised. Then they opened it.

A T-shirt. Some scrawled signatures. “We were flabbergasted,” Jill Perrapato says.

“It was awesome,” says her 13-year-old son Joey.

What did it mean?

First, back up.

It’s Christmas. We’re gathering with loved ones, giving and receiving. Around here, Duck gear figures to be among the hottest presents. Maybe, if you’ve been really good, Santa brought tickets to the biggest game in Oregon’s history.

But today, let’s focus on small gestures that, when unwrapped, blossom into huge gifts. Let’s note how Oregon football is lifting spirits with more than touchdowns and wins.

Let’s highlight deliberate acts of kindness like the visit Walter Thurmond III and Patrick Chung made to Newberg two years ago to visit a dying teenager. They spent almost an hour with Andrew Meinert. Held his hand. Told him to keep fighting against the aggressive brain cancer.

Andrew lost that fight not long afterward. But a grateful family cannot forget how two Ducks brightened a very dark situation.

“They touched us so much,” says Matt Meinert, Andrew’s big brother. “It meant a lot to the family. It really helped us get through that time when there wasn’t a whole lot we were looking forward to.”

Last month, Chip Kelly and a few players and coaches visited Charles Cummings and other disabled residents of the Independent Environments group home. Charles showed off his Duck room, complete with photos taken earlier of him with the coach.

It was an hour of elation. No, more like ecstasy. And if you dropped by today?

“Charles is still riding high,” says Fred Renter, the group home’s executive director. “The Ducks really generated some lasting joy.”

A week ago, 21 kids from two local elementary schools gathered at Target on the west side of town. After pizza and soda, they were handed $100 bills and told to buy gifts for their families, and helped on the shopping sprees by Oregon football players.

Kelly, by the way, wrote a check to cover the costs. A year ago, the Ducks sponsored 10 kids. Next year, the goal is 118 — a kid for every player.

To capture the moment, you needed only to watch one little boy running around the store, wildly waving that Benjamin Franklin. And to see two giant football players in Santa hats following him everywhere.

To understand the impact, you needed to hear one mother, when the school called to tell her of the opportunity, who began crying and explained she’d just spent the family’s Christmas money on an emergency.

“Pretty amazing,” says Denisa Taylor, the principal at Cesar Chavez Elementary. “It was good for the Ducks and good for the kids.”

Yeah, good for the Ducks. When they see how their presence, and their presents, can generate lasting joy — “It’s almost like having a superpower,” says James Harris.

Harris is the assistant athletic director who, among other things, coordinates “O Heroes.” (While we’re on the subject, if you’re looking for an O hero, start with Harris.)

Harris says the program is teaching Oregon’s athletes how, with a small investment of time or energy, they can “change people’s lives” — or at the very least, positively affect them.

Sometimes, all it takes is a few seconds. A signature and a stamp.

Which brings us back to a 13-year-old fan from California’s Central Valley. Joey Perrapato has always been a Duck fan in a family of them.

David and Jill, his parents, are from Eugene. They have family here, and they’ve visited often through the years.

An uncle played for Oregon, back in the 1960s. Joey has loved the Ducks since before he knew what they were. There’s an “O” in their front yard, and Joey has a running battle with Mr. Brunn, his history teacher, who’s an Ohio State fan.

But except for Saturday afternoons watching football, it has been a rough fall.

Joey’s father, David, has been out of work. A pressman for the San Francisco Chronicle, he lost his job when the printing plant was sold to another company.

And a few months back, bothered by persistent pain in his left leg, Joey went to the doctor. He expected a pulled muscle. His mom thought he might miss a week of P.E.

They discovered a tumor in Joey’s thighbone. He underwent surgery and missed most of the fall semester. He’s only just now off crutches.

And even as he healed, the family waited anxiously for lab results. Was the tumor a rare bone cancer? Or was the second diagnosis correct, that it was benign?

Into this situation, Dewitt Stuckey sent a T-shirt.

Oregon’s reserve linebacker is from Stockton, but the Perrapatos have never met him. He knew only that “there’s a kid in Stockton,” Jill says, “with a tumor in his leg.”

One of Jill’s friends from work knew the Perrapatos were Ducks. And that Joey was headed for surgery. And also, the friend knew Stuckey.

A few days before Joey’s surgery, the friend dropped a bag on Jill’s desk. For Joey, from the Ducks.

He opened it a day after surgery. The T-shirt was signed by, well, they think it might have been every Duck.

And it is hard to describe what those autographs meant.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Joey says. “They don’t even know me!”

Understand, players regularly sign items at Harris’ request. Recently, as a result of a project started by LaMichael James, they shipped a half-dozen autographed footballs to Medford, where they were given to kids fighting cancer.

Photographs came back, cute little bald kids beaming as they held their new prize.

“It was an awesome deal,” Harris says.

Which, you’ll remember, is exactly what Joey thought about all those signatures on a piece of green cloth.

Do the Ducks know how they encouraged a kid in Stockton with a tumor in his leg? Joey’s mom wants to make sure they do, and to thank them for lifting the spirits of a family facing all sorts of fear.

"It really is spectacular,” Jill says. “Just that they could — in this season, of all seasons, when they’ve got so much going on — that they could take a minute to do that.

“They might see it as a small thing. But it was a tremendous thing for our family.”

As was the news Thursday afternoon, when the lab results finally came back:

All clear.

“We’ve got a healthy son!” Jill says, and she wants to share the good news with everyone.

They’re grateful for the very good news. And even a month later, they’re glowing over a small gift that meant so much.

Joey cannot wait to return to school. He’ll wear the T-shirt to history class, because “this is gonna kill Mr. Brunn.” Is there any doubt what it did for Joey?

“If it’s possible,” he says, “I now love the Ducks even more.”

E-mail george.schroeder@registerguard.com. Follow at twitter.com/GeorgeSchroeder

That's really awesome. Hope all of you are enjoying the holidays.

--KB

"O, Star of wonder. Star of might."
Hey, who can say it DIDN'T look like that?!?!?

Practice Makes Perfect: Part 2

From Auburn Athletics official website:

Cam Newton put down
his stiff arm trophy and
stopped smiling for the
cameras long enough to
get in a little practice.

AUBURN - The Auburn football team returned to the practice fields for the first time since winning the SEC Championship Game Dec. 4, as the Tigers practiced for an hour and a half in shoulder pads and shorts late Saturday afternoon. Due to construction of the new indoor practice facility behind the Athletics Complex, the Tigers held their workout at the Auburn Soccer Complex and Hutsell-Rosen Track.

   The practice was the first chance for the Tigers to being preparing for Oregon, Auburn's opponent in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 10. It was the first of four workouts that the team will hold before breaking for Christmas, with five more scheduled in Auburn after the break before the team departs for Arizona.
  The Tigers opened the practice with special teams drills before moving to individual and position drills. After more special teams work, the Tigers practiced against the scout teams for much of the rest of the workout.
  Following practice, head coach Gene Chizik said that the two-week layoff showed, but that he was pleased with the enthusiasm shown by the squad during practice.
  "It was a good opening practice today," said Chizik. "We were a little rusty. You could tell that we've been off for a little while, but it's nothing we didn't expect. The energy was good. The effort was great. We just have to get back into the flow of football things, and get focused on our game plan, and we'll do that. But today we were looking for effort and energy and that was definitely there."

The above is from December 18th. As Auburn was getting into their first bowl practice in shirts and shorts to shake off the rust, Oregon was embarking on their fifth day of practice -- their second in full pads.
   In fact Oregon came out the day prior in full pads -- half the team dressed in blue and orange to resemble Auburn -- and they engaged in full 11-on-11 drills.

Oregon started workouts on the 11th, continued on the 12th; and on the 13th, while Cam Newton was appearing on David Letterman and smiling at every camera pointed his way, LaMichael James was already back in Eugene doing what he preferred, practicing with his team.  Then they took three days off and started a five day stretch on the 17th.

On Sunday the 19th after Auburn's first day of practice, they took the day off while Oregon practiced.

On Monday the 20th, both teams were at it in full pads -- Auburn for the first time and Oregon for their third.  At the end of the day, the respective coaches had the following to say.

From Rob Mosely of the R-G, Coach Chip Kelly, Oregon:
Chip Kelly called today's full-pads practice in the Moshofsky Center "as good as we've had."
"They were outstanding," Kelly said.
   With a break for the holidays looming after practice Tuesday morning, Kelly said he was concerned about players possibly losing focus. But that wasn't the case, apparently, and he hopes it continues.
   "I told them that -- they set the standard for how they were supposed to practice today," Kelly said. "Can they come back and do it again tomorrow?"

From Auburn Official Football site, excerpts from Auburn Coach Gene Chizik's press conference:
"We're really getting a good look at Oregon more and more as the days go by. They're an extremely well-coached, very talented football team in every aspect. . . . . We have our work cut out for us. Today we're going to go out and have a good practice and be much sharper than we were on Saturday. We had great meetings and walk-throughs and focus-ups and we expect to kind of get back closer to where we were in the (SEC) Championship game. We have a lot of practice to do. We're excited about it. We'll be in full pads today, and we'll get after it today and get back to the physical nature of the game and continue our preparation." . . . . Again, they're just a great football team.

[Talking about Oregon's option schemes combined with their tempo. . . ]I don't know that I can compare them exactly to anybody that does that day-in and day-out that we've played against."

[Referring to Cal, the team that came closest to upsetting Oregon. . . ]
There are some things that you can take from that, and within what you try to do, you can implement some of that stuff. At the end of the day, you have to stick to what you feel comfortable with and what you do.

With that said, I hope Coach Chizik is comfortable with the fact that to this point, Oregon has out-practiced his Tigers eight days to four.
   What's more, Friday the 17th, a day before Auburn got together for their first practice, and three days before Coach Chizik commented how they're still "getting a look at Oregon more and more", "have our work cut out for us", and "have a lot of practice to do" . . .
Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews tweeted the following:
Back at this morning . . . Finally the Auburn game plan is in place.

Oregon had it's plan of attack on Auburn ready the day before the Tigers even started their first practice.

What is the drive behind these two teams? My theory is this. Almost exactly one year ago, Auburn won the Outback Bowl while Oregon lost the Rose Bowl. Since then, both teams have won every game.
  Auburn is approaching this game as a team that has won 14 consecutive games including their last bowl game over Northwestern.
   Oregon is approaching this as the team that lost the Rose Bowl, as noted in this excerpt from a recent article from the Oregonian.
Avoiding distractions. 
   It's something Oregon coach Chip Kelly has preached all season, and it's at the heart of his "Win The Day'' motto..
   And it's something the Ducks admittedly didn't do a great job of a year ago in the days leading up to the Rose Bowl.
   "We were a little distracted last year,'' center Jordan Holmes said. "There was a lot of stuff going on, and we didn't handle it very well. We're going to treat it like a business trip, just like we've done every game this year.''

   Oregon isn't talking about what they've accomplished. They're focusing on correcting what they failed to accomplish last January. They would have been preparing this way if it were the Rose Bowl or even the Humanitarian Bowl.  It just so happens to be the National Championship.

   Keep smiling for the cameras, Auburn. Stick with "what you feel comfortable with". Practice like you've already won the game. That's what the oddsmakers are telling you after all.
   But for Oregon, that day is still weeks away. They're just focusing on winning the present day. Like Saturday the 11th, Sunday the 12th, Monday the 13th, Friday the 17th -- days you weren't even on the field. 
  January 10th?  We'll see who's comfortable then.

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays. Merry Christmas.
--KB

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 1

Two things make Chip Kelly very proud; and they're not wins, records, or awards (BTW, Kelly just picked up his third, nope . . . . make that fourth Coach of the Year award.)

Kelly has said two things to the media. 1) He strives to make Oregon the fastest team in the nation. And 2): Nobody practices harder than Oregon.

Today, we can look back and agree with what he's been trying to tell us all along -- that those two goals he CAN control translate into the wins, records, and awards that he otherwise could not control.

I am currently working on a story of the glaringly different approaches between Auburn and Oregon toward practices for the big game.

But first, I'm giving you some homework. The following is a MUST READ if you are to better understand Chip Kelly's philosophy behind his team's approach to success. On December 2nd, Michael Sokolove wrote in The New York Times Magazine about his peek inside the practice routine of Chip Kelly's Oregon Ducks.

It's too long to paste here, but let me give you a couple of excerpts to whet your appetite. Then you'll see the link.

In the city of the distance-running legend Steve Prefontaine — Eugene is known as Tracktown, U.S.A., and is also where the sporting-goods company Nike was started — Kelly has transformed football into an aerobic sport. This style is particularly of the moment because it is apparent that football, at least in the short term, will become less violent. Kelly’s teams have found a new way to intimidate, one that does not involve high-speed collisions and head injuries. “Some people call it a no-huddle offense, but I call it a no-breathing offense,” Mark Asper, an Oregon offensive lineman, told me. “It’s still football. We hit people. But after a while, the guys on the other side of the line are so gassed that you don’t have to hit them very hard to make them fall over.”



Asper, who is 25 and served a two-year Mormon mission before starting college, is among several Oregon players who told me that opponents sometimes beg them to slow down. “A guy from Tennessee said to me, ‘If you keep running plays that fast, I’m going to throw up.’ I just said, ‘Sorry, but Coach will get mad at us if we slow down.’ I mean, what else are you going to say? But I admit that I’ve messed with guys’ heads. One defensive lineman started complaining to me in the first half, and I said: ‘This ain’t nothing yet. Wait till you see how fast we go in the second half.’ ”



Oregon does no discrete conditioning during practice, no “gassers” — the sideline-to-sideline sprints that are staples in many programs — and no “110s” — sprints from the goal line to the back of the opposite end zone. The practice itself serves as conditioning. Just as they do during games, Oregon’s players run play after play — offensive sets; punt and kickoff returns and coverages; field goals; late-game two-minute drills — but at a pace that exceeds what they can achieve on Saturdays. Nick Aliotti, Oregon’s defensive coordinator, explained that the team can go even faster in practice because the “referees” — student managers sprinting around in striped shirts — spot the ball faster than any real game official would.



The way he [Kelly] trains his players is drawn, in part, from documentaries he has watched of military training. “You see how they train the Navy Seals. They squirt them with water, play loud music and do all these other things when they have to perform a task. That’s how we practice. We want to bombard our kids.”
Here is the link to the whole article: Speed-Freak Football
After reading this, I'd love to hear your comments.
 
--kb

Uniform Commitment

CHOOSING SIDES

Oh no. Look who's a War Eagletarian:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs will take some time off in early January in order to see his beloved Auburn Tigers play in the BCS national title game against Oregon. "I've told my friends the only request I have is a nice Chinese restaurant for the night before the game," Gibbs said, "so that we can have some duck."
Ya? Well it hurts me to say this Gibbs, but I've got your duck right here ready to give you the left wing AND the right, you Obama Care loving, bank regulating, birth certificate hiding, rich taxing, polar bear hugging, OK-to-ask-and-tell-ing pinko socialist, fascist, communist, monarchist, elitist, populist, pluralist, atheist, pacifist, alarmist, never been kissed, make me pissed (gasp, pant, pant, pant, gasp, pant, pant) . . . . . . . . .
LIBERAL!!!

Here are excerpts from the story:
White House press secretary Gibbs ready for Auburn's shot at BCS title
By Erik Brady and David Jackson, USA TODAY


WASHINGTON — Robert Gibbs lovingly placed a small statue of Aubie, Auburn University's tiger mascot, on the front of his desk at the White House Wednesday.

"You know that God is an Auburn fan," Gibbs said, smiling sunnily, "because the sun is orange and the sky is blue."
[Maybe the sun is orange in your smoggy world. But where I come from it's BRIGHT YELLOW, you pinko commie, Obama loving . . . . . OK, I'll give it a rest. ]
Gibbs grew up in Auburn, where his parents worked for the university library, and he and his brother sat in the faculty section at games. His esteem for Auburn football is so deep he'd even root for the Tigers against North Carolina State, his alma mater.


Gibbs plans to place a friendly wager with Oregon grad Sean Smith, assistant secretary for public affairs in the Department of Homeland Security. "I have as many combinations of hats, sweatshirts and jackets as our team does uniforms," Smith said.


Auburn fans hang toilet paper from old-growth oak trees at Toomer's Corner after big wins. Gibbs and his son Ethan, 7, did the same, "albeit with less toilet paper," in the tree in their front yard after games against Alabama and South Carolina. Ethan "thinks it's the greatest thing we've ever done."

Would Gibbs consider TP-ing trees at the White House if Auburn wins the national title?

"I will have to talk to the Secret Service beforehand so they know that it's simply a tradition," Gibbs said, "but that's not a bad idea."
[If he's allowed to hang toilet paper on the trees around the White House, the terrorists win!]

Look at what he hangs his orange hat on in this related article:
Gibbs will go the national championship game in Arizona with two old high school friends. "I think we win the game," he said, "because I think we have an underestimated defense."
"Underestimated defense"?!?!?  After playing an entire season, how are they being underestimated? One blogger pointed out:
Auburn's defense is allowing 24.5 points per game. Clemson, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama have shown it is possible to score plenty on the Tigers. Keep in mind: In the past six seasons, national champions haven't allowed over 19.9 points per game. [Oregon allowed 18.4 this season.]

In this Bleacher Report excerpt, blogger Bryan Dietzler is by no means a Duck homer; nor does he appear to follow the Ducks too much. But he seems to know football as he is a huge Chicago Bears fan.  He can apparently look at these two teams and estimate Auburn's defense just fine. He has Oregon winning:

When the Ducks have the Ball

 The Ducks are averaging a whopping 537 yards per game on offense with an average of 303 yards on the ground and 233 yards through the air. Their offense has been very tough to stop.

The Tigers are allowing teams to gain a total of 362 yards per game to opposing offenses. They are allowing opponents to gain 111 yards on the ground and 250 yards through the air. Their defense has had a solid season holding teams back and will face a very tough test against the Oregon Ducks.

So how does Oregon get past the Auburn defense? They have to do what they do best and start off fast. They have some great weapons in quarterback Darron Thomas and running back Lamichael James and those two need to crank it up against the Tigers defense. [What he doesn't realize is Oregon didn't always start off fast. Tennessee, Stanford, Washington, WSU, Cal . . . those were all either slow starts or otherwise mediocre first halves. If I may correct him, I'd say with all seriousness and sincerity that Oregon needs to do what they do best and simply finish with a lot more points than the opponent.]

The problems is, the Tigers can concentrate on shutting down James and that would take away a good part of the Ducks offense. Since that will probably be the case, the Ducks need to get the ball to some of their other play makers. Kenjon Barner can run the ball well and could be used often in this game (of the Tigers take out James).

Oregon could also get the ball to their wide receivers. Jeff Mahel has been spot on with his catches this season and is Thomas’ favorite target. If the Ducks can get the ball down the field to their receivers this will take less pressure off of James that would allow the Tigers to forget about him and be focused somewhere else.

As soon as they lose focus on James, he can then take advantage and come up with a big play. This would work well for the Ducks and should be something that they look into doing. [Yes this would work well. And it should be something the Ducks look into doing.

Wait a minute  . . . . . . THIS IS WHAT THEY DO!!!!  So I'm left scratching my head.
If Gibbs thinks everyone is underestimating his Tiger defense NOW, what is he going to think after they face the most prolific offense in the nation?]

By the way, looks like we can add Lavasier Tuinei to Oregon's options. Here's a link to the latest on him:
Oregon Ducks rundown: Receiver Lavasier Tuinei appears to be on track to return for the title game



As for Gibbs adding celebrity, if not political, star power to Auburn's side
(BREAKING NEWS: This just in.  FOX News has reported that Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly will host a rally for "God, America, and the Oregon Ducks" at Autzen Stadium in Eugene next week.), not to worry. Oregon has picked up a few celebs of their own. .
 . .

Who is that jogging in a Ducks cap a few weeks ago?
It's none other than the lovely Reese Witherspoon.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ty Burrell from the hit comedy "Modern Family" grew up in Astoria
and is a HUGE Duck fan.



And here, showing off the Ducks' new uni's
for the Natty, are Portland native (and former Nebraska Cornhusker)
 Ndamukong Suh and former Oregon State star Stephen Jackson.
Both are apparently, I don't know . . . . . living out a dream?
Righting a wrong, working out a regret by modeling Duck gear?
Thanks but sorry guys. We'll take Witherspoon.



About those unis. . . Have you seen them yet?

Are you sitting down?

This was the look on reporters faces at the unveiling of Oregon's
National Championship uniforms this week in Texas.
(I'm guessing she's more of a traditionalist.)

Well, the gloves are nice.

Looks great Mr. Knight. We've included all
the elements you asked for. I don't think we
forgot anything . . . . uhhh . . . .
Ah oh. SCHOOL COLORS!

Hey, I like day-glo neon green/yellow as much as the next guy, if the next guy happens to be an eighth grader in charge of the poster decoration committee for the Jr. High Spring Dance!



"But honey, these are the shoes and socks the Ducks
are wearing in the Natty. So why won't you let me
wear them out of the house?!?!?!"



BCS National Championship: Oregon's new Nike uniforms designed in - and intended to be - a blur

Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 8:03 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 8:45 AM
By Allan Brettman, The Oregonian

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Fast, meet flash.

That was the result Tuesday as Nike unveiled the new football uniforms that the Oregon Ducks will wear next month when they play in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game.

Coach Chip Kelly, whose team's pace of play is among the most aggressive in the nation, now has uniforms designed to match.

"He wants to be known as the fastest team in the nation," said Todd Van Horne, global creative director for Nike football. He oversaw the team's latest uniform project, launched after the Civil War just 10 days ago.

What does fast look like in a football uniform?

"Speed looks like a blur," Van Horne said. "It's sleek, it's fast, it's minimal."

What's anything but minimal is the buzz surrounding the latest outfit -- a predominately white combination accented by neon yellow on the socks and shoes intended to look like a blinding streak as the nation's highest scoring team plays in the biggest game in state history. At least that must be the hope of fans, including Nike co-founder Phil Knight, when the Ducks take the field Jan. 10 against Auburn in Glendale, Ariz.

Tuesday's announcement will only add to hype around the Ducks. The event was held before a throng of reporters, with the modeling help of five NFL players (including Portland native Ndamukong Suh and former Oregon State star Stephen Jackson), with the backdrop of enormous Cowboys Stadium and the blaring of a high school marching band.


The uniform offers several bits of aesthetic flash and, for football aficionados, functional advancement. And while it will likely appear similar to the all-white road uniform the Ducks wore at USC this season -- a combination Knight has proclaimed his favorite, a victory after which he booked hotel rooms for Glendale -- Nike designers explained the latest product innovations. The bottom line: Lighter garments that are more responsive to movement and more efficient at keeping players dry.

Beyond building the hype for the on-field showdown, Tuesday's event served as a prelude to another surrounding this game. Although none of the officials from Nike, most of whom traveled to the event from the company headquarters near Beaverton, wanted to say so, one of their competitive business targets is undoubtedly Under Armour of Baltimore.


Under Armour is Auburn's equipment supplier. [Click the link in the title to see the entire article. It's kind of interesting.]

Viva la difference. And Oregon is certainly different. If any Auburn fan gives you crap about these uniforms, you can point out that what's worse than Oregon in these uni's is Oregon in these uni's while kicking Auburn's butt!