I have neglected the blog lately. If I had loyal followers, I am sure they are pissed and have moved on to bigger and better things. So here is my attempt to win you all back.
Oregon's win over ASU was a huge success in a number of ways. First and foremost, I did not have to stay up and watch the replay. A&L a local bar was able to get the feed and show the game. Several hundred Duck fans piled into the bar a few hours early to watch the game. Secondly, the Ducks won and won BIG.
Oregon's offense looked more balanced, which was a nice change. I never doubted it, but there are plenty of naysayers who didn't think Oregon could last without being able to throw. But 200+ yards through the air and another 300+ on the ground, the O rolled. Oh and 54 points is usually good proof of good offense.
To get more specific, we have our new game changer. Chris Harper. This season he has ran for a TD, thrown a TD, and caught a TD. He has played QB, RB and now WR. He has proven that he is the athlete and could play all over the field. Hell if we wanted to move him to the other side of the ball, I'm sure he'd do fine there as well. The point is that Harper has stepped up to become a solid WR for the Ducks when they needed it most. The WR in general stepped up their game against ASU and showed that they are capable of being dominate. Jaison Williams is still waiting to show some sort of consistency, but it does seem that every time he catches the ball we see how good he is. He could be the best receiver in America if he could catch the ball and prove consistency and not disappear in games. But with the emergence of Harper, I expect this to greatly benefit Williams.
As well as the offense played, it was the defense that came to play. Corners Walter Thurmond III and Jarius Byrd both had great interceptions and played the way we all knew they were capable of. The d-line played well against the run and put pressure on Carpenter. The defense allowed 20 points, but some of it came in garbage time and when you score 54, you are giving the ball back to the opposing offense often (good illiteration).
It was a good win. I enjoy wins like this when Beaver fans come out and either congratulate the Ducks and/or say that the other team lost and the Ducks still aren't good. And so on and so forth. Its a shame that the Beavers are so focused on what the Ducks do that they lose focus on the task at hand. (the next opponent). Which is ASU.
Anyway. Cal. This will be a very tough match up. Cal has been very solid at home against the Ducks. And are one a 2 game win streak against he Ducks. But the bears have shown inconsistency. The QB play has created controversy and what was once supposed to be a great season, has at times seemed like a down year. But the bears are still 3-1 in the conference and have as good of a chance as any at going to the Rose Bowl.
The bears have a good o-line. A running game that can be great. A QB that has had his moments. A respectable defense. A good coach. And home field advantage. This makes the game Saturday anyones guess. What team will show up for both sides? Will it be an offense shoot-out or a defensive battle?
I'll be at the game. I am excited and nervous. This is the point in the season where I always get nervous. A loss now is much more detrimental than a loss early in the season. But I also manged to get my tickets in the Cal section. Good times.
- Berns
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Role Reversal
The Oregon vs Oregon State rivalry over the past decade has developed into one that finally matters. 20 years ago both teams always seemed to be scrapping at the bottom of the barrel. The Ducks started to make a name for themselves and about 5 years later the Beavs started to make noise. Duck fans always reminded the Beavs of who they were and their losing ways. Duck fans were considered by "Beaver Nation" as rude, arrogant, uneducated and biased with their statements of Beaver fans and the team. To an extent this was true, but that's why it's a rivalry. You wait all year for one game to beat and embarrass your in-state opponent.
The tables have turned. This is not because the Ducks are becoming a worse team than the Beavers as they have a very similar record since 2000. But now it is "Beaver Nation" who make the outrageous arguments and statements. Two perfect examples are the Building the Dam blog and Paul Buker's blog on Oregonlive.com. These Beaver writers have one focus how the Beavers are in comparison to the Ducks. Duck blogs/writers compare the Ducks to the rest of the nation. This is a fundamental difference. It's hard to help your team build credibility nationally or even just in the Pac-10 conference if your number one focus is pointing out areas that the Beavers are better than the Ducks. Lets point out one area the whole world sees that should be focused on. 4-2 vs 2-3. Interesting.
Great win against USC. No team will do that again this year. Tough loss to Utah. But how do you give up 11 points in the final 3 minutes of the game? Throttled by a great Penn State team. (but then beat USC?) Handled a rebuilding Hawaii team. But lose to a mediocre Stanford team?
Beaver fans have a short memory when it comes to the negatives. But they hang on to the coat tails of success until the day they die. The Beavers will be .500 after this weekend. But they have to keep it up. Play well against the other good teams in the Pac-10 and make a respectable bowl game to be considered the "great" team that all their fans believe they are.
Read Oregon Duck blogs and you will see that Duck writers and fans may believe in their team, but they also have a realistic view of what they can do and who they are.
55-46-10 - Let me give you a hint. This is not a locker combination.
- Berns
The tables have turned. This is not because the Ducks are becoming a worse team than the Beavers as they have a very similar record since 2000. But now it is "Beaver Nation" who make the outrageous arguments and statements. Two perfect examples are the Building the Dam blog and Paul Buker's blog on Oregonlive.com. These Beaver writers have one focus how the Beavers are in comparison to the Ducks. Duck blogs/writers compare the Ducks to the rest of the nation. This is a fundamental difference. It's hard to help your team build credibility nationally or even just in the Pac-10 conference if your number one focus is pointing out areas that the Beavers are better than the Ducks. Lets point out one area the whole world sees that should be focused on. 4-2 vs 2-3. Interesting.
Great win against USC. No team will do that again this year. Tough loss to Utah. But how do you give up 11 points in the final 3 minutes of the game? Throttled by a great Penn State team. (but then beat USC?) Handled a rebuilding Hawaii team. But lose to a mediocre Stanford team?
Beaver fans have a short memory when it comes to the negatives. But they hang on to the coat tails of success until the day they die. The Beavers will be .500 after this weekend. But they have to keep it up. Play well against the other good teams in the Pac-10 and make a respectable bowl game to be considered the "great" team that all their fans believe they are.
Read Oregon Duck blogs and you will see that Duck writers and fans may believe in their team, but they also have a realistic view of what they can do and who they are.
55-46-10 - Let me give you a hint. This is not a locker combination.
- Berns
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Need to go .500 against LA
It was bound to happen
Being the Duck optimist I am, I believed there was a chance. After the first quarter. My confidence grew. Only to be shot down, step on, ran through a blender and poured down a street drain.
The Ducks were over matched. The two keys were USC's lateral speed on defense. 1: It was impossible to get to the outside and make something happen. At times, Blount almost looked star-struck when he'd hit the hole and see two future NFL backers looking to punish him. The running game never really got going. Other than the first drive. 2: USC's offensive weapons are too fast for single coverage. I felt coming into this year that the secondary would be amazing, but the play action has made them look foolish. There were a number of times when players were wide open, because the play action froze the U of O defenders just enough, that they couldn't catch up.
That's the way Oregon's D has been for years. Allioti plays man to man and if there is one mistake, the team is in trouble. It's time for a change. But Nick Allioti and Mike Bellotti have so much history, it may not happen. Hopefully this game was a wake up call and there will at least be strategic changes made.
Keep Focus
Maybe its the high expectations. Or the early success. Or the mental toughness. But Oregon players in the past few years have not been able to maintain for an entire season. (Not as bad as the beavers, but close).
Mental toughness is where I am pointing fingers. Oregon has had exceptional talent year after year. And things have seemed to unravel. (2007) Losing Dixon was tough. But there was no back up plan, things started to fall apart and players lost their head. (2006) A huge win against Oklahoma, climbing in the standings and then free falling to the Las Vegas bowl. Then getting embarrassed by Mormons (BYU).
These next few games will prove if this team is for real or a middle of the road Pac-10 team during a bad Pac-10 year.
First is UCLA. A team that beat, at the time #17 Tennessee to start the year, then get thoroughly demolished by BYU.
This is not a great team, but they are not a bad team. They have dealt with the losses of two qbs. Oregon fans understand, but offer little sympathy. Overall, UCLA has talent. It's a matter of putting it together. The team has a new coach in Rick Neuheisel, who is not the most respected man in the eyes of Oregon fans. He will have a nice "welcoming" on Saturday. UCLA will take advantage of mistakes, but they won't dominate you from start to finish.
Reasons Oregon wins:
Being the Duck optimist I am, I believed there was a chance. After the first quarter. My confidence grew. Only to be shot down, step on, ran through a blender and poured down a street drain.
The Ducks were over matched. The two keys were USC's lateral speed on defense. 1: It was impossible to get to the outside and make something happen. At times, Blount almost looked star-struck when he'd hit the hole and see two future NFL backers looking to punish him. The running game never really got going. Other than the first drive. 2: USC's offensive weapons are too fast for single coverage. I felt coming into this year that the secondary would be amazing, but the play action has made them look foolish. There were a number of times when players were wide open, because the play action froze the U of O defenders just enough, that they couldn't catch up.
That's the way Oregon's D has been for years. Allioti plays man to man and if there is one mistake, the team is in trouble. It's time for a change. But Nick Allioti and Mike Bellotti have so much history, it may not happen. Hopefully this game was a wake up call and there will at least be strategic changes made.
Keep Focus
Maybe its the high expectations. Or the early success. Or the mental toughness. But Oregon players in the past few years have not been able to maintain for an entire season. (Not as bad as the beavers, but close).
Mental toughness is where I am pointing fingers. Oregon has had exceptional talent year after year. And things have seemed to unravel. (2007) Losing Dixon was tough. But there was no back up plan, things started to fall apart and players lost their head. (2006) A huge win against Oklahoma, climbing in the standings and then free falling to the Las Vegas bowl. Then getting embarrassed by Mormons (BYU).
These next few games will prove if this team is for real or a middle of the road Pac-10 team during a bad Pac-10 year.
First is UCLA. A team that beat, at the time #17 Tennessee to start the year, then get thoroughly demolished by BYU.
This is not a great team, but they are not a bad team. They have dealt with the losses of two qbs. Oregon fans understand, but offer little sympathy. Overall, UCLA has talent. It's a matter of putting it together. The team has a new coach in Rick Neuheisel, who is not the most respected man in the eyes of Oregon fans. He will have a nice "welcoming" on Saturday. UCLA will take advantage of mistakes, but they won't dominate you from start to finish.
Reasons Oregon wins:
- They are pissed about USC and want to prove who they really are.
- Its a night game and fans get up for night games in Autzen.
- Its in Autzen.
- Oregon is ready to put up yards and points.
- Pissed about last years game.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
To be the best, you must beat the best
This is easier said then done.
If you watched last weeks OSU beat down of USC, you would think otherwise. OSU ran a great game plan that took advantage of their strengths and exploited the USC "weaknesses." Oh and by weaknesses, I mean catching a team off guard. USC is a dominate team. They have so many weapons on offense there aren't enough touches in the season to fully utilize them all. They are so good on defense that over half of the starting defense will be drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. They are that good. But again, OSU outplayed them.
The Beavers just pissed off the giant....And they want to take it out on the Ducks.
Great.
That being said, the Ducks played a great game last Saturday. They ran all over Wazzu. But again, it's Wazzu. I don't think the Cougs will win another game this year and beating Portland State is nothing to brag about.
But the Ducks have a ton of talent. They are fast on D, strong at the line and have great running backs who can help control the game. The Ducks do have a chance to win and make it the first time in 7 years the Trojans lost back-to-back games. But they have to play a great game. Limit turnovers, keep USC from gaining any momentum, play fast, play hard and attack. You can't play scared. If these Trojans smell blood, they are like sharks.
Watch that Beavers game tape. Watch how every Beaver player attacked, attacked, attacked. Ran hard, hit hard and played to their strengths. I'm a Ducks optimist and believe it can be done. USC won't be caught off guard. But Oregon won't be walked all over.
I refuse to predict this score (again, even though if you want, scroll down to some past posts and see what I said).
This is one Pac-10 game. Its not going to make or break the season. But this the game that is circled every year. And until USC is knocked off, it will continue to be.
GO DUCKS.
- Berns
If you watched last weeks OSU beat down of USC, you would think otherwise. OSU ran a great game plan that took advantage of their strengths and exploited the USC "weaknesses." Oh and by weaknesses, I mean catching a team off guard. USC is a dominate team. They have so many weapons on offense there aren't enough touches in the season to fully utilize them all. They are so good on defense that over half of the starting defense will be drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. They are that good. But again, OSU outplayed them.
The Beavers just pissed off the giant....And they want to take it out on the Ducks.
Great.
That being said, the Ducks played a great game last Saturday. They ran all over Wazzu. But again, it's Wazzu. I don't think the Cougs will win another game this year and beating Portland State is nothing to brag about.
But the Ducks have a ton of talent. They are fast on D, strong at the line and have great running backs who can help control the game. The Ducks do have a chance to win and make it the first time in 7 years the Trojans lost back-to-back games. But they have to play a great game. Limit turnovers, keep USC from gaining any momentum, play fast, play hard and attack. You can't play scared. If these Trojans smell blood, they are like sharks.
Watch that Beavers game tape. Watch how every Beaver player attacked, attacked, attacked. Ran hard, hit hard and played to their strengths. I'm a Ducks optimist and believe it can be done. USC won't be caught off guard. But Oregon won't be walked all over.
I refuse to predict this score (again, even though if you want, scroll down to some past posts and see what I said).
This is one Pac-10 game. Its not going to make or break the season. But this the game that is circled every year. And until USC is knocked off, it will continue to be.
GO DUCKS.
- Berns
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