Morning Quack Fix: Graziani's advice to Costa, the latest injury news, and going on the road

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 7:23 AM PDT in Morning Quack Fix

We have a big game tomorrow down in LA, and here's the quack to get you through the next day:

John Canazano's at it again! Oh wait, I guess not. His latest piece is actually pretty good, comparing Nate Costa to Tony Granziani, whose first career start also came in LA, also due to the starter being injured. Coincidence? Here's to hoping the game, and the season, end in similar ways.
Here's your recent injury news. Gildon will start, T.J Ward is practicing again, but there no rush to get him back to the field. Overall, next's week BYE couldn't come at a much better time. Well, unless it was this week.
Rob Moseley has an interesting question for Duck fans. What do the Ducks do if Costa goes down? I hope the coaching staff has already decided, because pulling a BSU and only putting in Darron Thomas when it's too late would be very frustrating.
Ken Woody has a great blog post on "the Autzen mystique." This is usually a topic discussed in the off-season, when there isn't much to talk about, but it's good to hear Woody's perspective on just how noise affects players and games, both mentally and physically. He also talks about what the Ducks must overcome as it heads on the road this week.
Adam Jude from the RG has a piece on LaMichael James, and how he has flourished and grown as the starting back. He's gained nothing but priase from his coaches and teamates, and is working hard to be able to handle the responsibilities of starting for a whole season. An important note from the article, if Blount is able to become reinstated, James will still be the number one option, and he has earned that.
Here are a few more comments from new UO commit, Nick Rowland. Turns out it was actually some advice from Husky Head Coach Steve Sarkesian that helped him know where he should commit. This article also has a note that Oregon is out of the running for Trovon Reed, though to my knowledge, he's still visiting during the USC game.
In QB recruiting news, the underrated 2010 commit Bryan Bennett (the only QB Oregon will take in the 2010 class) had his official visit and it was great. Meanwhile a top 2011 recruit, DaMarcus Smith out of Kentucky, has Oregon as his top school early, after falling in love with Oregon during Dennis Dixon's senior season. Word is he will be visiting during the USC game, which is shaping up to be a huge recruiting weekend.

As always, leave your comments, as well as your answers to Moseley's question, below. GO DUCKS!

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Comments

Tony "the Shnoz" Graziani

There’s all kinds of similarities between the ‘94 Rose Bowl Season and this season. I agree, here’s hoping Ol’ Three Knee Lucky Number Nate takes the reigns like the Shnoz, and this game ends the same way!

Quack!!

http://goduckspodcast.com/

by muchas g on Oct 9, 2009 8:44 AM PDT reply actions

I do wonder what it says about UO

That our most successful pro QBs, Graziani in the Arena League and Feeley in the NFL, were both largely backups.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 9, 2009 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

that our good QBs were drafted high by terrible franchises and were never given the time, teammates or coaching needed to develop into a good NFL quarterback. Seriously, the Detroit Lions, I think 99% of QB would have been a bust in that situation.

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions

And let's not get started

On Akili Smith and the Cincy Bungles.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 9, 2009 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Not even getting

I was litterlly going to type, and don’t even get me started on the Bengles. But I didn’t have the heart.

Good work sir, I like your style

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions

getting, kidding, same thing right

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions

You're not getting!

by Bill Musgrave on Oct 9, 2009 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Masoli was supposed to have his evaluation from a doctor yesterday. Has anyone heard anything about the results of that evaluation? I was expecting that if everything is fine Mosely or somebody would announce that, but it’s been eerily quiet. Has anything been said or written about the results of the eval?

Guy behind me at Autzen says "why do the fans yell 'OOO' when we are on D?" He then proceeds to yell "DEEEEEEEE" on every defensive play for the rest of the game. As Carlos Mencia would say, "Dee DeeDee".

by MarineCorpsDuck on Oct 9, 2009 9:47 AM PDT reply actions

I believe Moseley mentioned yesterday that Masoli was unavailable for comment. I’ll try to find that link.

by ntrebon on Oct 9, 2009 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Here’s the link.

And, the passage in question:

Jeremiah Masoli was out there again today, but as he said yesterday, he’s preparing to come off the bench behind Nate Costa only if needed against the Bruins. Masoli said he had an MRI conducted Tuesday and was meeting with doctors today for another evaluation, but between Kelly’s policy of not updating injuries and Masoli being unavailable today because of his class schedule, I have no update on his knee.

by ntrebon on Oct 9, 2009 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions

I have not heard a thing, and according to the above-linked injury report, niether had Moseley. While it could be a Dixon situation where the coaching staff and players simply lie about it, Kelly has been honest with injury reports so far: The player is either out for the year, or day-to-day.

Also, the circumstances now are so different than when Dixon was hurt, I do not believe that the coaching staff would risk Masoli to further knee injury by having him practice if he had a torn ACL. So, I’m ruling that out at least.

So, what we’ve heard, is that Masoli has a buise on the inside of his knee, near the MCL. That’s something to be concerned about, but not season ending, and far from it.

My guess right now, Masoli has a knee injury, but is not out for the season. I expect him to be 100% by UW, but if the coaching staff isn’t being honest about the knee injury (which is possible, but not likely), he could be out a few weeks.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Which is fine

If we can’t beat UCLA with Costa, we aren’t nearly as good as we think we are.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 9, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions

amen

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Couldn’t agree more.

by MarineCorpsDuck on Oct 9, 2009 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions

If we can't beat fucla with Costa by 3 touchdowns,

we ain’t nearly as good as I think that we are.
And I tell you, I think the Yell-0 Bellies are going to get their shut-OW-t, obvously not against Cal or Cougs, but against the Bruins in their own cage. Eddie Pleasant is not going to be very nice. Clean and fair and quite unpleasant.

by DONALDUCK on Oct 9, 2009 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions

I read, while not sourced

he has a sprained MCL. Bleacher Report

"I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now I'm good at everything." - Demetri Martin

by haveasoda on Oct 9, 2009 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

The Bleacher Report is not a source.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions

It’s like the Wikipedia of sports.

by MarineCorpsDuck on Oct 9, 2009 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Except for the fact that Wikipedia has community standards.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

NAILED IT!

It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"

by JShufelt on Oct 9, 2009 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

wikipedia is a source

and i’m new to the game, i like speculation anyways

"I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now I'm good at everything." - Demetri Martin

by haveasoda on Oct 9, 2009 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Eh, Wikipedia has disclaimers when things are disputed.

It’s not scholarly, no – but I’d call it a source.

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Oct 9, 2009 7:27 PM PDT up reply actions

college professors won't accept it as a source.

at least mine wouldn’t.

wants to challenge the definitions of sin and search the world for lovers of ultimate beauty but never settle in.

by joffthedeckk on Oct 9, 2009 8:02 PM PDT up reply actions

That’s why you use the source in wikipedia, instead of wikipedia as the source.

It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"

by JShufelt on Oct 9, 2009 8:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Exactly.

Wikipedia isn’t a great source, but it’s a great starting point.

nearly got hit with a t shirt cannon t shirt while typing

worse than travis
-Ben.

by rockingharder on Oct 9, 2009 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions

As long as we're talking scholarly sources.

I need to find at least 12 online sources that state more or less that Kurt Vonnegut was a great man or was extremely influencial. I love Kurt Vonnegut, but I’ve discovered he’s damn hard to research.

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Oct 9, 2009 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Teacher won’t check, you only need like 9 legit ones. You can get away with 3 fakes, probably more if you’re willing to risk it.

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.

by Takimoto on Oct 9, 2009 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm not so sure I should. This is one of those like a hawk teachers.

I can say the word shit in the very back of the room during a vocal class discussion and I get the bampersand within seconds.

Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.

by qrsouther on Oct 9, 2009 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions

If it were college, that’s when you drop the class.

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.

by Takimoto on Oct 10, 2009 2:36 AM PDT up reply actions

Here's a source for you

“Kort Vonnegut was one of the greatest satire writers of all time”

Matt Daddy, ATQ, October 10, 2009 12:27pm

Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"

by Matt Daddy on Oct 10, 2009 12:27 AM PDT up reply actions

Kurt Vonnegut was a super pimp that literally had the strength of a thousand men. He always wanted to play defensive tackle as well.

J Shufelt, ATQ, October 10, 2009 8:07 Pacific

It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"

by JShufelt on Oct 10, 2009 8:06 AM PDT up reply actions

Ted Miller reports...

Rory Cavaille and safety T.J. Ward might be cleared to play on Saturday.
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/3742/ducks-might-get-two-starters-back

by frozenfowl74 on Oct 9, 2009 10:07 AM PDT reply actions

Also...Ted believes...

The future is now for the Oregon secondary.

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/3730/the-future-is-now-for-the-oregon-secondary

by frozenfowl74 on Oct 9, 2009 10:18 AM PDT reply actions

It is, I’m really excited to see what this group of youngsters can do. Also, let’s remember, while losing Glasper sucks, we’re still only replacing one starting CB from the beginning of the season. We have experience at the other 3 secondary positions.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

I thinking back to the dark times of summer here so I may be wrong

Didn’t we come into the season with Javes Lewis playing a little bit of both CB and Rover. If it comes down to it, move him back to corner, keep Boyett at Safety and have TJ Ward play Rover. Now of coarse it is not that easy to just plug guys into a different position in the middle of the season, and I dont even know if TJ can play rover. But that secondary is just appealing to me if we are struggling with the new replacement for the third.

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 11:04 AM PDT up reply actions

We have a lot of talent. We’ll just have to see if they can step it up. Boyett and Lewis have done an amazing job thus far. I’m excited to see what the rest of the youngsters can do.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

This is the difference between the Harrington era and now

Our depth. If we had this many injuries in 2001, we would never have done as well as we did that year…

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 9, 2009 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions

Cliff Harris is traveling to LA

…according to this report at GoDucks.com. And Rob Moseley says in his blog today:

Harris is traveling because, in my opinion, he’s going to play tomorrow at cornerback. Perhaps a lot.

Looks like we might see Cliff Harris for the first time. I’m pretty excited to see what this highly touted kid can do.

By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.

by JConant on Oct 9, 2009 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

The Rowland commit proves that if we beat USC

We could have perhaps our best recruiting class ever next year.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Oct 9, 2009 10:43 AM PDT reply actions

Moseley has a piece up on the travel squad and the QB...let the panic speculation begin

http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/duck-football/comments/kelly-changes-course-hawkins-is-travelling/

Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"

by Matt Daddy on Oct 9, 2009 11:25 AM PDT reply actions

So I can speculate about using the panic button?

It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"

by JShufelt on Oct 9, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Holland isn't travelling...

Does anyone have any idea what the heck happened to him?

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Moseley said he’s nursing an injury, so that could be it, but that guy has just dropped off the face of the earth…

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions

if we stop lying to ourselves was he ever on the face of the earth

he did nothing last year. He kind of had a good spring, but its spring, and had an ok summer but never actually did anything. I think this was a case of everyone thinking, we have a good team, so we have to have a good receiver, and he was the best we had. So he has to be good. I had class with him last year and the dude just doesn’t have it together. Can the really fast USC reject receiver experiment be over?

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions

JUUUUUUST like J-Will last year. Remember all the articles in the Summer about him seeing the eye doctor and whatnot? The only 2 plays I remember of Holland’s this year is the dropped TD against BSU and a dropped TD against either Purdue or Utah. I know the BSU one would have been called back, but still. He is only a junior though, so hopefully Frost can work with him and he’ll learn to catch better.

by MarineCorpsDuck on Oct 9, 2009 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Selective memory...

When he had the ball in his hands, he was great. He had two great plays against Purdue and Utah, taking short passes for huge gains.

Unfortunately, his route running and concentration sounds like it’s been very poor over the past couple weeks.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions

and route running, and commitment, and playing smart, blocking…

Best game in Autzen??

by trumpetduck on Oct 9, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions

One of those was hardly a dropped pass though. It wasn’t even a play. Offense screwed up before the snap.

It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"

by JShufelt on Oct 9, 2009 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Like I said, I knew the BSU one got called back. All I was saying is that he dropped a wide open pass. I am not saying he’s the same a J-Will when it comes to catching the ball, I just meant that they both received a ton of hype about how much they improved during the summer.

by MarineCorpsDuck on Oct 9, 2009 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions

We have good receivers

Maehl and DJ Davis

Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"

by Matt Daddy on Oct 9, 2009 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Another note on this, I’m glad they’re taking Hawkins. Like Moseley’s theoretical situation, what if Oregon’s up by a few scores late, and Costa goes down. Now, there’s an option that’s not the possible re-injury of Masoli or the burning of Thomas’ redshirt.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Oct 9, 2009 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Is Hawkin's redshirt worth burning though....do we have any info on him?

Hi, my name is Matt Daddy and I am a....
HUGE FREAKING DUCK FAN!!!!!!... "Hi Matt Daddy"

by Matt Daddy on Oct 9, 2009 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions

Costa played as a Freshman and then redshirted later. I think we did the same thing with Gildon (at CB) and many others. We can always do the same with Hawkins if need be.

by echo31 on Oct 9, 2009 12:59 PM PDT up reply actions