Oregon's "New" Defense

Say what?!?

Everyone knows Oregon for it's fast paced, innovative and aggressive offense... But why should that be any different on the defensive side of the ball? After the first few games of the year (last year) it wasn't the offense that was impressing, it was the defense. Once the offense finally started to click, it was a thing of beauty.

Aliotti may have received a lot of crap in the past for his "bend-but-don't-break" philosophy but I think there is a good reason Chip kept him around. After reading this anaylsis on Oregon's "new" defense it's hard not to be excited for football season...

For some more analysis and video, try this article on addicted to quack.

Pac-10 Expansion?

Is the Pac-10 really prepared to offer 6 teams from the Big 12 like this article from Oregonbloods.com and this one from Rivals states? The Pac-10 is meeting this weekend in San Francisco to discuss the status of the conference and I heard earlier this week that they might propose something big... I just didn't think this big. I had also heard rumors that the Pac-10 might even suggest the addition of a Pac-10 network as soon as next week. Sounds like we might have a better idea of the Pac-10's intentions after this weekend.

2009-2010 Chip Kelly Quotes

I kept track of some of Chip Kelly's quotes throughout the football season... Here are some of the ones that stuck out to me... Please feel free to contribute if you have a good one.

· “Last time I checked, there is no ‘Hall of Average.’ “
· “I’m not making a bold prediction, but we believe we can win every football game.”
· “I think it’s kind of like if you watch the Tour De France, you know, when you pedal up the hill, when you’re going downhill you still keep pedaling if you want to stay in front so, there’s no cruising going on in Eugene.”
· “If your expectations aren’t to be the best, then… you know, nobody rises to low expectations.”
· “Our expectations are to win every game we play. I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen .... but no one ever rises to low expectations.”
· “(Golf coach) Casey Martin is our uniform coordinator. He was very well-dressed on the PGA Tour. He did not dress like John Daly. So I told Casey he can have it.”
· “You better show up. You don’t have to be the best team in the country. You just have to be the best team in the stadium on that day.”
· "Our whole season is a 15-round heavyweight championship fight. We're in the fourth round. Round four just ended, we get over to the corner, get a squirt in our mouth and get ready to go, and we got to get ready for round five.”
· “It’s Oregon vs. UCLA for all the marbles. That’s got to be your thought process. You actually have a week off next week — that’s how nice I am.”
· “Feed the tuna mayonnaise.”
· "We never flinched," Kelly said, bringing up the call before he was even asked about it. "I went for it on fourth down because I was confident we could get a stop and get another chance." After Oregon went for it on 4th down vs. Arizona in the final minutes and failing to convert.
· "At the end of the day it is a team game and the best award is being the Pac-10 Champion and we've got that one." (About only 1 player being named to the All Pac-10 Team)
· “I don’t know, maybe because we made it I have to announce I’m retiring on Jan. 2, because we kind of made it all the way to the top,” he added, jokingly. “But I think I’ll be here for a couple more years.”
· "I'll give any teller who gives me a lollipop four stars." Comparing banks to the recruiting websites.

Masoli feature on ESPN

Here is video on Jeremiah Masoli that was originally featured during the Nov. 7th College Gameday and was re-broadcast on Sportscenter prior to the Civil War.

Pac-10 Ranked Best Conference

Pac-10 was ranked the top conference this year by Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach. My only hope is that they show this by winning all 7 games they are favored in this bowl season. Going 12 for 12 in 2 years would be quite statement for the conference. See video below.

Oregon on SNL

Here is a sketch on Saturday Night Live tonight mocking the Ducks.

Mid-Week Links

It's Wednesday and Kelly has still not started the communication to reinstate LeGarrette Blount. Blount has been working on scout team the last 3 days of practice making many believe that he likely won't be reinstated for this weekend's game vs. the Cardinal. Obviously Oregon's still waiting on some of those "qualifications" to be met before starting the communication... Maybe a midterm grade or another counseling meeting?!? Who knows... I'm sure the Ducks will be fine without him...

Many are worried about a letdown after the big win over USC. Good thing Oregon's aware that would likely ruin the season.

Bleacher Report ranks Autzen Staduim as the #1 most hostile stadium to play in.
Another Bleacher Report ranks the Ducks as the #1 most unique offensive attack in college football.

So what would happen if everyone took a dive and Boise State and Oregon were battling for a national title spot? Here's a good rundown.

Here are some photos from Oregon's huge win over USC.

Frankly, I glad the Ducks are working on those high snaps from center. There have been a lot of plays that could have easily gone a different direction, literally.

Here's Moseley's practice update today.

The WAC hired a PR firm to help promote Boise State getting into a BCS this year. Last year Boise State was held out of a BCS game after running the table.

And my favorite link of the day... Here is who to root for (and against) over the next 5 weeks of the college football season if you're a Duck fan.

Go Ducks!!!

Some Quotes from the Weekend

"I don't know if we made a statement, this is just what we planned on doing, If it makes a statement, it makes a statement. That's just Oregon football and how we roll." - Jeremiah Masoli

"It was a real mess for us tonight, Oregon did everything that they wanted to do." - Pete Carroll

That was the first time ever, in the 14 years that I've been on the show, that a head a coach would be willing. We're happy if they'll come over and do an interview on the show, let alone put on a mascot head. I think that just speaks volumes about his approach and what he's doing here in Eugene. He really does a great job of not taking himself too seriously and at the same time having his team incredibly prepared. I think it was a lot of fun and brought a lot to the show." - Kirk Herbstreit

"It was a great game, a great game. It brings back a lot of memories of 2007. It's a different atmosphere with a night game, but it was a great, great, great day." -Dennis Dixon

"They did all the zone plays we'd practiced for. We got beat up up front. They kept hitting us in the mouth" -Taylor Mays

"That's the most relaxed I've been in my career" - Jeremiah Masoli

"They overloaded us and threw us off our game plan, and we missed our chance to stay in the game… We couldn't keep up with the fast-paced offense of Oregon, and we couldn't settle the ball. The Ducks' running backs had their way with us, and they were much too fast. It was a real mess with the running game; they outran us, and we couldn't make the tackles." -Pete Carroll

Among the most interested Oregon students watching the game was freshman Jackson Rice of Moraga, Calif. He is the Ducks' punter. He played one snap. -Ivan Maisel

"I walked back and forth a lot, just in case, my favorite games are the ones I don't have to play." -Jackson Rice

“I was telling them to speed up. I was like, ‘Go faster, go faster, they’re getting tired, they’re getting tired.’ And that’s what they did.” -LaMichael James

What the &$%#@!!!

First some Husky fans pay $500 to change the lights on the Morrison bridge to purple and gold (Of course Canzano had to chime in)... And now I start seeing ads for "The Dawg Den" on Ducksportsnews.com? Are you kidding me?


3 words... Thank you Huskies! Cheers to reminding me why I hate you so much and making this rivalry fun again... You've been silent for way too long. Too bad it will be back to normal next year after your QB bolts a year early for the NFL.

In the mean time, keep telling yourselves this is a "trap game." I think we'll find out the truth on Saturday. Go Ducks!!!

A Day with Chip Kelly

Here's a great article from George Schroeder at the Register Guard that goes over one day in the life of Chip Kelly. Gives you a new appreciation for how much effort goes into the head coaching job... "Feeding the tuna mayonnaise"

Chip Kelly on ESPN

Watch more ESPN videos on AOL Video

Breaking Down Some Numbers

I've heard some arguments recently how Oregon hasn't proved themselves in the Pac-10 yet because the teams they've beat are 0-8 in the Pac... But the teams the Beaver's have beat in the Pac-10 are 4-2! I thought I'd look into the 0-8 and 4-2 a little more... because numbers can be deceiving the way you use them.

First and foremost, 3 of those 8 losses are to OREGON!

The remaining 5 are all respectable losses:
2 - USC (who has won the Pac-10 the last 7 YEARS!)
2 - Stanford (who started 3-0 in the Pac-10 before losing to OSU)
1 - Arizona State (who may only be 1-1 in conference but despite how bad ASU has been playing this year... this loss was by Washington State)

Washington State has a bye and Cal & UCLA are playing each other this weekend. That means despite what happens, that 0-8 record will only be 1-9 after this weekend. Still sounds bad, huh?

Let's take this same logic and apply it to the Beavers... The teams they've beat have a record of 4-2 in the Pac-10 (Or 4-0 if not including the Beavers)... Sounds much better than Oregon's 0-8, right?!?

Let's take a look at those 4 wins from Oregon State's opponents (Plus 3 of the 4 are Stanford's wins).
2 - Washington State (enough said)
1 - Washington (Yes respectable this year... but they are still the team that went 0-12 last year).
1 - UCLA (respectable)

Oregon State's conference loss is to Arizona, a team that is 3-2 or 1-1 in conference (that 1 win being over Oregon State and one loss being to... Washington).

So what'd we learn from that exercise?!? Not much, not much at all... but since I'm already this far...


For $hits and giggles, let's take a look at Oregon's non-conference opponents... They are 11-6 (or 10-4 if not including Oregon). So far this season all of Oregon's opponents are 18-15 (or 17-10 if not including Oregon).

***If you exclude the two patsies (Washington State and Purdue whom only have 1 win each and are likely not to beat more than anther team or two) you are looking at an opponents record of the other 4 teams at 16-5 (or 15-2 if not including Oregon).

Take a look at Oregon State's non-conference opponents... They are 10-8 (or 9-6 if not including Oregon State). So far this season all of Oregon State's opponents are 20-14 (or 18-10 if not including Oregon State).

***If you exclude the two patsies (Portland State and UNLV whom only have 2 wins each) you are looking at an opponents record of the other 4 teams at 16-6 (or 14-4 if not including Oregon State).

Both teams seem fairly equal when you break them down like that...

Oregon's Non-conference Schedule (excluding UofO): 11-6 (10-4)
OSU's Non-conference Schedule (excluding OSU) : 10-8 (9-6 )

Oregon's Overall Schedule (excluding UofO): 18-15 (17-10)
OSU's Overall Schedule (excluding OSU) : 20-14 (18-10)

Oregon's Overall Schedule w/o patsies (excluding UofO): 16-5 (15-2)
OSU's Overall Schedule w/o patsies (excluding OSU) : 16-6 (14-4)

So after this long and extensive look at this... Just what have we learned? Mainly that the numbers don't matter yet and won't make complete sense until the end of the season when everyone has had a chance to play one another... Plus I pretty much just wasted 15 minutes of my life... And you wasted 5 for reading this (but what else do you have to do on a bye week?!?).

Nonetheless... bring on the rest of the schedule...
Go Ducks!

Crazy Fans

I would really like to see the followup video where this guy gets jumped for being such an idiot. Yeah, you sure told Spurrier...

Boondock Saints: All Saints Day

Finally, after 10 years after the release of the original Boondock Saints, the sequel will be released in select theaters on Oct. 30th. Here's a link to the trailer. They will have a link to theater listings in the future.

Arrested Development Movie Update

So it's finally in happening... After waiting for all the main actors to jump on board, Mitchell Hurwitz and Jame Vallely are now working on the screenplay for the future film. Production is likely to begin in the Spring.