Quack Fix: Volleyball sweeps, a day with Chip, Ducks land another commit
by jtlight on Oct 19, 2009 6:54 AM PDT
in Morning Quack Fix
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PrintIt's hate week! And for the first time in many years, Washington has a pulse. And I like it that way. It's much more meaningful to beat a hated rival when there is something at stake, like, last year's Civil War. While UW took a bit of luster of the matchup with a mind-blowing loss to ASU, it should be a fun week. On to the quack!
- Congrats to the Oregon Volleyball team, who beat Stanford for the first time since 1989, and secured a weekend sweep of the bay area schools. The Ducks are off to a great start and area ranked 15th nationally, though will likely move up after knocking off two ranked teams.
- George Schroeder spent a day with Chip Kelly a couple weeks ago. And then he wrote about it. If you haven't read this already, make sure you do, as it gives an excellent look at Coach Kelly and his daily life, including how he interacts with players, other coaches, and fans. After the Boise State debacle, I think any honest Duck fan would admit they were worried after Kelly looked like a deer in the headlights. But after seeing the growth of the team and coaching staff, I could not be happier with Chip Kelly as head coach of the Ducks.
- Adam Jude of the RG also filed a great piece over the weekend, on two redshirting Oregon receivers, Diante Jackson and Tyrece Gaines. While Gaines seems to be struggling with the lack of playing time, Jackson has embraced it, and is working hard as a member of the scout team. I'm especially excited for Jackson. His work effort matches his talent, and he just seems like one of the most likable members on the team.
- Duck Territory has the rest of the recruiting services beaten, and has broken the news that the Ducks have landed DB/LB 3-star commit Isaac Dixon. Dixon is a bit of a "tweener," and could play outside linebacker or safety. Wherever he ends up, the Ducks have done a fantastic job for recruiting talent and versatility, which has led to so much success this season on defense.
- Looking ahead to the Huskies, that Ducks are an early 5.5 point favorite. Just remember, the Ducks have won the last 5 games by at least 20 points.
- It's always good to have another Husky to hate (especially after years of the frustratingly likable Willingham), and the Huskies have given us just such a man! Meet Nick Holt, who Ted Miller took to task yesterday for his antics during the ASU loss. I'm gonna take the ball boy in the "Who will Nick Holt punch first" pool. And then the Raiders will hire him.
After the jump, we have a few videos, including Chip Kelly and Jeremiah Masoli after last week's practice, and an Oregon midseason report card. GO DUCKS!
Chip Kelly after Friday's practice
Jeremiah Masoli after Friday's practice
Inside the Pac, Oregon's midseason report card
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But we need to find new ways to spell it
We can have a Dixxon, a Diccson, and a Dyxun.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
You forgot my favorite
D’xn
It's spelled "T-A-K-O-T-U-E-S-D-A-Y-S-!-!-!."
I support inroywetrust in his support of The VD Special in his support of me supporting Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
I'm right there with you, Tkmt.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
That Schroeder piece was great
Chip Kelly seems like a great man for the job. Incredible work ethic, cares about the people around him, committed to doing whatever he needs to do.
If there’s one minor quibble I have, it’s his reluctance to do some of the ESPN stuff. I understand his aversion to distractions (with his schedule, they would be death), and I sympathize with his distaste for public speaking and that kind of thing. But if the Ducks want to continue to gain national recognition, they are going to have to do some of that stuff. It just comes with the territory.
I don’t think it’s a big deal, and I think Kelly has adopted the philosophy that if they win, the accolades and attention will come anyway. That makes sense, but it’s a media driven world. I don’t think the Ducks are desperate to become a national powerhouse or anything, but increased visibility can’t hurt when the program is being run so well.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
Agree with your quibble
I shed a tear when he said he turned down being mic’d at practice. I love those things.
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
by trumpetduck on Oct 19, 2009 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions
agreed
What a workaholic THE Chip Kelly is. I was fatigued after just reading it.
If ya can't get your Dick Enright, get your Dick Harter!
yeah, it was nice
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
by trumpetduck on Oct 19, 2009 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions
That was downright Bedardian.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
Moseley has an article on the Ducks at the halfway point of the season:
The good news was, Oregon was starting to demonstrate the fruits of its labor in practices. Kelly preached the week prior to the Cal game that the Ducks were practicing as well as ever, and it showed on that Saturday.
It’s a lesson that hasn’t been lost on the Ducks since. Two defensive assistants who deserve huge credit for that unit’s success, coordinator Nick Aliotti and line coach Jerry Azzinaro, are among the most vocal coaches around, but lately even they don’t often find cause to raise their voices in practice.
"That’s the one thing about this team — they understand that preparation is what leads to their success on Saturday," Kelly said. "It’s not just happenstance."
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
Congrats to Patrick Chung on his first career INT yesterday
Yes the game was 59-0 Pats at that point but I don’t care. One of my favorite Ducks of all time got his first pick.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
Byrd
He had two key picks in the Buffalo win. And Stroughter had a KO return for a TD…a good day for the state of Oregon in the NFL.
Byrd is making a serious bid for the all-rookie team. J Stew with another +100. Al Afalava with some big hits for Chicago.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
Al Afalava is a thug.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
HATE WASHINGTON week
Here we go:
Bow wow to Washington.
Bow wow to Washington.
Heaven help the slobs at Washington.
They’re falling on their knees at Washington.
The boys come out to play—but only for the pay.
They’ll never sign the dotted line without a Chevrolet.
Oh subsidies the cry at Washington.
They never win a game without the referee,
And over the land the greasy band will leave a trail to Washington forever.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
by skywaker9 on Oct 19, 2009 8:44 AM PDT reply actions 2 recs
HEY!
One of those links led to a Husky blog! Ugh, now I have to take another shower. There should be a NSFDF (Not Suitable For Duck Fans) tag on that.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
Watching the UW ASU game on FSN
For those that watched it, doesn’t it seam like all of ASU’s effective plays on offense are the type of plays we have in our offense. Quick screens, zone runs from shotgun, drag routs, seam routs up the middle. Watching this game give me a positive feeling about our offense vs their defense.
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
UW’s defense is incredibly bad (they’re currently giving up almost 7 yards per play. Oregon is giving up less than 4). I am very excited for this weekend.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
And I have a feeling
That if we can get up on them early, they might just fold. They can’t be feeling too confident after they Coug’d it Saturday.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
contingent on masoli
nuff said.
Q: How many OSU freshmen does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, it's a sophomore course.
I don't necessarily agree.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
I lean just slightly to A23’s side on this. I’ll feel better if Masoli is out there.
Same time, looking over the stats the JT put out, I was surprised that UW’s 6.8 per play is actually worse than their performance last season. I really didn’t think that was possible. In fact, UW’s performance in yards per play has gotten worse every year since 2004, except for a very slight improvement in 2006.
You can’t coach foot speed.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
Oh I would certainly rest easier with Masoli playing.
But to say that the game hinges on Masoli playing or not is overly dramatic. Costa is extremely capable and I personally feel he displayed it last week.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
Extremely capable?
I hate to be the guy who points out the turd in the punchbowl, but Costa was 9 for 17 for 82 yards against UCLA. Yes, UCLA has a solid defense, but Cal, who put up all of 3 points two weeks in a row, tore them apart, so they can’t be all THAT good. Costa managed the game well, and the Ducks could probably win with him on Saturday, but he wasn’t good against UCLA.
I admit, I’ll be very nervous if Costa starts the game.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
I hate to be the guy who points out the turd in the punchbowl, but Costa was 9 for 17 for 82 yards against UCLA.
Forgetting the most important stat of the UCLA-UO game.
Costa 1-0 as a starter
--Dominic, Addicted to Quack
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
Of course, and I gave him plenty of props for that in the postgame thread. He managed the game well and earned the victory.
I guess I’ve just seen a lot of people show a lot of enthusiasm for Costa’s performance. I’m not all that enthusiastic about 9-17 for 82 yards, that’s all. He will improve with more playing time, but I just don’t see a reason to be so sure about Costa, given the way he passed against UCLA.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
UW made Danny Sullivan look like a real QB, and that dude blows.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
cal put those 6 points up against two top notch Defenses. And Washington has a way worse D than UCLA
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
by trumpetduck on Oct 20, 2009 12:10 AM PDT up reply actions
The only significant UW I've watched
Was the UW-ND game. There’s a reason Clausen is second in the nation in passing efficiency. The seams that UW’s D gave him to throw the ball were like 7-lane super highways. I saw him complete passes where there was no defender on the television screen when the receiver caught the ball.
UW’s defense is remarkably bad. I really just hope Kelly doesn’t overthink this. As long as people are healthy, there’s no need to get crazy with the gameplan. Just do our thing, and the offense should be fine.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
If there’s one thing that Kelly is awesome at, it’s keeping it simple. I have no doubt that will continue.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
This is definitely one game where we just need to line up and punch ‘em in the mouth. Our team talent is far superior to that of UW and Oregon just needs to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and they will win. That’s what we did in the second half to UCLA, that’s what we need to do here…I have no doubts Kelly will have the team focused to do just that.
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
our D is not good ...
… but we play a soft zone as our base and we don’t blitz often in order to hide our weaknesses. We are statistically very tough in the red zone. Thus our strategy will be to give up some yards, try to get you in third down, try to force you to kick FGs and try to keep the game close by scoring more TDs than you. It is not pretty, but it is how we keep games close. I have no illusions about the talent mismatch, but Oregon has not been good at converting third downs this year (second worst in the Pac 10) and hasn’t been able to pass effectively in the red zone all season. This is the only thing that makes this matchup somewhat interesting.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Those are good points
I think it would greatly behoove the Ducks if they connected on a couple of big plays that resulted in TD’s. They haven’t really done that yet. A big downfield pass or a long run by LMJ (that actually gets him to the endzone) could really help the third down/red zone struggles.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
Oregon hasn’t really struggled in the red zone, though 3rd down has been really rough.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
Heading into the season, I (we) hoped Jamere Holland would be that deep threat. So far, no such thing. Oregon will have to preasure UW’s defense with quick passes and speed on the edges, similar to how the Ducks have approached the Huskies the last couple season. Of course, this is Oregon’s strength.
Ed Dickson will be a very difficult match-up for UW this week. At the same time, I expect to see the Huskies gamble a bit more and try to pressure Oregon’s backfield. Why not, they have little to risk at this point and still a lot to gain. Oregon’s O-line will have to be on its game.
The Ducks will have to avoid some kind of ungodly game by Locker, where he tosses for 350 and 3 TDs, and maybe runs for another. I put that on the shoulders of our front seven, much more so our corners and safeties. The front seven has to, at the same time, collapse the pocket and contain Locker more times than not.
BTW, a Tweet from Moseley ’bout an hour ago says:
Jeremiah Masoli is preparing as the starter for Saturday’s game at Washington, despite his lingering knee injury, and Nate Costa is working as the backup. Masoli still had a brace on his right knee, which was injured against Washington State, but seemed to be moving more fluidly as compared to last week.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
I feel like our third down stats are a bit skewed
BSU, terrible game. UCLA game with Costa struggling in the first half. There is a third of our games. Look for Oregon to run over the Dline in the redzone.
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
maybe ... on the road they are worst in the pac 10 this year
but even at home, they are seventh at less than 35% (UW is over 50% for the whole season). UO hasn’t shown a legit 3rd down receiving threat outside of Dickson to date. It may or may not hold true, but I’m sure it is the stat that Holt is going to game plan around.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Well, then his gameplan better be, get Oregon into 3rd and long. This may sound simple, but Oregon is 6/41 on 3rd and more than 7, and 17/37 on 3rd and 6 or less.
Oregon has simply been terrible in 3rd and long, much worse than other teams. If Washington can force that, they should do OK, but I just don’t see that happening a whole lot.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
The insinuation ther is that Holt
A. Has the mental capacity to arrive at an effective game plan
B. Has the ability to communicate that game plan to his players and
C. Assist his players in carrying out that game plan during the actual game
At this point, from what I’ve seen of the guy, I have my doubts that Holt can
D. Wipe his own rear
E. Pour water from a boot with instructions on the heel
F. Stand upright
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
I understand a lot of people are on Holt’s case following the ASU loss. He probably deserves it. UW did only give up 13 points to USC, and they’ve played somewhat better than last year overall. Regardless of circumstances, I can give the guy at least some credit for that.
This is college football. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, someone unexpectedly pulls out a fantastic defensive scheme on you. Ducks just need to do what they do, give Masoli time to work and hang on to the ball.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
That's pretty funny ...
… but he is the guy who has game planned the D that held the Oregon spread to an average of 12 pts a game over the last three seasons … and before you say “yeah, but that was with USC athletes” keep in mind that those 12 pts a game were lower than the average pts allowed for USC each of those seasons. He seems to have some ideas on neutralizing the spread option.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Nice use of selective stats. In 2008 and 2007 Oregon scored more on USC than their season average. They fell short in 2006.
I don’t really think, with USC’s talent, that proves a whole lot about Holt’s ability to stop the spread option.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
yes - I stand corrected. I swapped 07-08 when looking at CFBstats.
so much for my aha moment.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Also, I don’t know what Holt did at USC, except collect a paycheck, because everyone considered Carroll to be the real mastermind of the genius. I figured Holt was just there to tell Carroll his hair looked nice.
All kidding aside, what Holt has to work with at UW is far different than at USC, and that does matter. And that may be why the guy seems so frustrated all the time. Sarkisian seems to have undertaken the rebuilding project with gusto. Holt doesn’t look like he’s having such a good time.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
I think the offensive guru in him wants to be more complicated…just a guess. However, I think he’s learned (post Cal/USC and post-Boise) that sometimes returning to simplicity will yield better results. Next year, for example, with so many key starters returning, I think Chip will be able to finally reveal the depth of his playbook.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
It would be interesting to look into this, but I’ve always felt that Oregon runs a very simple offense under Kelly. There are not all that many running plays, and trick plays don’t happen that much. Seems like the Ducks have always focused on execution, unlike under Crowton, when he was just insane.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
Its because their D is slow
They have some nice young guys on D (Trufant the freshman is going to be good) but on a whole, they lack a lot of speed. If Oregon can get the ball to the outside (LMJ, Dickson, Maehl) they are going to pick up huge chunks of yardage. Oregon shouldn’t really face a lot of 3rd and long type situations.
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
Moseley reports the USC game will stay at 5pm local start time.
After some conversations about potentially moving kickoff for the Oregon-USC game on Oct. 31 to 7:15 p.m., the start time will remain 5 p.m., UO officials have said
.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
Booooo
I was really hoping for 7. I’ll be out trick or treating with the kids for at least half the game now. I love my boys, but that’s tough.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
you knew they had to keep it at 5pm. ABC is definitely going to want it to be their evening Nationally televised game. Plus, don’t be surprised if CGD makes a Halloween visit for some Eugene candy..
Its either Eugene or Atlanta for the cocktail party…Take care of UW and then its CGD in Eugene!!!!!!
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
I didn’t know any such thing. I’m constantly amazed at the decision-making that TV studios make, especially when it involves giving less air time to west coast teams.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
obviously I am guessing, but i figured ABC is going to want their
night game to be either Oregon USC or Texas v Ok State. Just makes sense…we’ll see however
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
this week OSU at USC is a night game
sooooo looks good for us when we play the trojans
Much of the credit goes to a defense that hasn’t allowed a substantial touchdown drive in nearly a month
by trumpetduck on Oct 20, 2009 12:12 AM PDT up reply actions
It was actually ABC pushing for the move to 7, so that the game wouldn’t be going up against Texas/Oklahoma State nationally.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
ahh good to know
Does ABC show a lot of 7 games..or were they wanting another network to show it at 7 so they get higher ratings on the TX v Ok St game?
Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"
I think they wanted to show it on their networks at 10pm, which isn’t done often. I think it was so that more people would watch both TX/Okie State, and USC/Oregon.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
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