2010 Spring Fish Wrap – Quack Attack Edition

Happy Memorial Day Cougs!  And welcome to yet another spring fish wrap.  The first five opponents – Oklahoma State, Montana State, SMU, USC and UCLA – are all in the books, and this time it’s the Quacks from Eugene in the cross-hairs as we take a post-spring look at Oregon.  The Ducks come to Pullman on October 9th for Homecoming, but there’s plenty to say about what’s been going on, you know, off the field….but what about how things look on the field of play?  Let’s see…..

I guess there are just so many ways we could go on Oregon.  I’ve been thinking about this one for a while, and the choices are many – fights, thefts, DUI’s, Facebook freak-outs, etc – on and on it goes.  But it’s SO MUCH GROUND that has already been covered, so it’s like why even go there?  You are reading this, you are pretty aware of what’s up at Oregon.  But just in case, this per the Oregon Live blog:

LB Kiko Alonso, Soph.
Offense: DUII, minor in possession, other traffic offenses. Picked up on Feb. 20 after driving erratically.
Legal: Pleaded not guilty on March 5.
Team: Suspended for the 2010 season.
Impact: Alonso did little on defense in 2009 but is still an extremely gifted linebacker with star potential. It might have been a breakthrough season for him.

K Rob Beard, Soph.
Offense: Charged with assault after altercation with woman led to brawl that left him unconscious and in intensive care. DA said he got a “knuckle sandwich.’’ Pleaded guilty to physical harassment.
Legal: One year probation and 100 hours of community service.
Team: Suspended from 2010 season opener against New Mexico.
Impact: Kickoff man, expected to compete with freshman Alejandro Maldonado for the Ducks’ field goal kicking job, replacing Morgan Flint. Doubtful the game with the Lobos at Autzen Stadium comes down to a field goal.

K Mike Bowlin, Fr.
Offense: Involved in fight on Jan. 23 with Beard, also beaten but not as severely.
Legal: No charges as of yet. The DA has been busy with other things.
Team: Left team on Feb. 16.
Impact: Was highly rated kicker coming in but already has been replaced with freshman Alejandro Maldonado.

WR Garrett Embry, Jr.
Offense: Stole computers and other electronics from SAE fraternity house on Jan. 23, caught from behind by fraternity member. Pleaded guilty on March 12 to second-degree burglary, a felony to be treated as a misdemeanor.
Legal: One year probation, 140 hours of community service, restitution of $5,000.
Team: Dismissed from team. Kelly said he was gone on Jan. 8.
Impact: Good special teams guy (nine tackles on kick coverage) but unreliable receiver with two catches in two years.

WR Jamere Holland, Sr.
Offense: Vulgar, disparaging post on Facebook page concerning Kelly’s discipline of Alonso. Opined, “How the (expletive) you kick kinko off the team.’’
Legal: None.
Team: Dismissed on Feb. 22, continued electronic diatribe.
Impact: Was team’s fastest player but plagued by off-field problems and on-field ones, too, as far as route running and effort. Will be missed for field-stretching speed but that’s about it.

RB LaMichael James, Soph.
Offense: Fight with (ex)-girlfriend. Pleaded guilty to physical harassment on March 12 after assault and strangulation charges were dropped.
Legal: Two years probation, 10 days in custody to be served by community service.
Team: Suspended from season opener against New Mexico.
Impact: With Barner at running back, the Ducks might beat the Lobos, who went 1-11 last season, by 40 instead of 50.

LB Josh Kaddu, Jr.
Offense: Minor in possession, trying to break into an SUV, while drunk, that wasn’t his. Vehicle owner did not press charges.
Legal: None yet.
Team: None.
Impact: Perhaps the most physically gifted athlete on the defensive side. Nick Aliotti needs him in his newly quickness-focused defense. Missed a good chunk of 2009 with a broken foot.

QB Jeremiah Masoli, Sr.
Offense: Stole computers and other electronics from SAE fraternity house on Jan. 23. Pleaded guilty on March 12 to second-degree burglary, a felony to be treated as a misdemeanor.
Legal: One year probation, 140 hours of community service, restitution of $5,000.
Team: Suspended for entire 2010 season.
Impact: Was Oregon’s biggest star of 2009 Rose Bowl team and would have been Heisman Trophy candidate in 2010. Huge blow to Ducks and, obviously, his life and career.

DE Matt Simms, Jr.
Offense: Charged with assault, later reduced to harassment for fight in retaliation for Beard brawl on Jan. 23. Pleaded guilty on March 2.
Legal: Got 40 hours of community service.
Team: Dismissed on Feb. 3.
Impact: Walk-on. No impact other than having available bodies at practice.

Pretty staggering isn’t it?  Note that this is all “activity” from January to March, 2010, and doesn’t include the infamous thug-life move of LeGarrette Blount last September.

We thought the 25 screw-ups in the last 18 months were bad at the end of the Bill Doba coaching regime, but this is nine players in a three-month period who got in deep sh!t.  But it got so bad this spring, that even an 18-year old Oregon cheerleader got popped for DUI and MIP!  What in the world is going on down there?

Obviously you are going to have issues with NCAA football teams.  Young men make poor decisions at times, it just happens, and it’s almost impossible to find a 100% “clean” program, at least amongst BCS teams.  We live in the real world, where you can take off the blinders and understand how these things can happen, right?  But this is one ugly trend.

So is Oregon out of control?  Who knows.  But ESPN’s Outside the Lines tackled the Ducks and their recent truckload of issues.

So it’s not just a local or regional issue, it’s been a NATIONAL story that the worldwide leader globbed onto.  And it’s been a pretty heated debate, so much so that Oregonian columnist John Canzano got into it with Chip Kelly on a radio show.  There are strong points raised by both sides, and Canzano went on to write about the aftermath, as well as another long conversation with Kelly, after the show.

Whew.  Get all that?  But beyond all the things that have already happened, the interesting thing to watch going forward are actually a couple of things – 1) How much of these troubles can be laid at the feet of Mike Bellotti?  Did Bellotti look the other way the last few years, in the ultimate quest to finally get the Ducks back to the Rose Bowl?  Did he recruit the “wrong” kind of player, ignoring potential character issues and instead brought on kids that were more apt to thug it up?  And 2) How much of a leash will Kelly get, in 2010 and beyond?  Will he get the chance to establish his own program, with his own types of players, or will the Oregon brass drop him at the first sign of trouble?  When is enough, well, enough?

You have to hand it to Kelly, in that he at least has been trying to get out ahead of some of this stuff, and hasn’t exactly been hiding under his desk and firing off press releases.  Going on the radio, being out there in the public eye with a recent trip to military installations, etc, he’s showing that he’s in charge of this thing and he’s holding those accountable for their actions.  I guess time will tell how it all plays out, but man, what a frickin’ ROLLER COASTER start to Kelly’s head coaching career at Oregon!

2009:    10-3, including 8-1 in the Pac-10, and of course, the Pac-10 champs.

OFFENSIVE SYSTEM:  Innovation Nation is the best way to put it, as Oregon leads the surge of Read-Option Spread offenses around the country.  The Ducks are a little more ground-heavy with the read option approach, compared to some more of your spread offenses you might see in the Big 12 who throw it out of similar sets, like an Oklahoma or Texas.  Per Wikipedia, some basics on the scheme:

Despite the multi-receiver sets, the spread option is a run-first scheme which requires a quarterback that is comfortable carrying the ball, a mobile offensive line that can pull and trap effectively, and receivers that can hold their blocks. The essence of the spread option is misdirection. Effectively, this is the old triple option except that it utilizes spread sets. In particular, the quarterback must be able to read the defensive end and determine whether he is collapsing down the line or playing upfield contain.

’09 OFFENSIVE RANKINGS:  #6 in the country and first in the Pac-10 in running the football, averaging 231.7 yards per game.  The passing numbers weren’t great, not that they ever really were under Jeremiah Masoli at QB anyway, but still, just #98 in the nation, averaging 180.3 yards per game.  But when you run the football THAT well, the passing numbers aren’t such a big deal, as long as your score points, right?  Overall, they were #33 in the nation at 412 yards per game, but that was still good for second in the Pac-10 behind only Stanford’s 427 yards per game.  But it wasn’t just the stats, but the results that were impressive –  Oregon averaged 36.1 points per game, and scored over 40 points SEVEN times, tops in the Pac-10!

2010 RETURNING OFFENSIVE STARTERS: Nine offensive starters are back on this loaded offense, including LaMichael James, most of the wide receivers, and the entire starting offensive line.

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER:  The elephant in the room is Jeremiah Masoli, the all-conference dual threat QB who was set to have a huge senior year in the Oregon offense.  But that whole theft thing has derailed his career, as Masoli will sit out the 2010 season.  But don’t worry, there’s a lot of skill here coming back.  And the most talented?  Without question, LaMichael James is the choice.

Speed, quickness, great feet, vision, elusiveness, the ability to stop/start/spin, James is just the complete package.  The Youtube’s don’t lie!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeQI7AnChh0&w=425&h=344]

As a frosh last year, James ran for an impressive 1,546 yards and 14 TD’s in 2009, where his 1,546 yards are the best-ever for a Pac-10 frosh.  He averaged 6.7 yards per carry, a fantastic number no matter how many carries you get, but James racked up 230 carries in ’09.  And he was huge in the some of the bigger wins for Oregon last year, where he had 154 yards at UW, 183 yards vs. USC, and 166 vs. Oregon State, including the clinching 52-yard TD run with 1:20 left in the game to give the Ducks the Pac-10 title.

But oh yeah, he got into a really ugly incident with a domestic violence charge, a charge that he eventually pleaded guilty to back in March.  James will miss the season opener, but it is only a one-game suspension, and he will be back for the week two game at Tennessee.   Even missing the one game in ’10, it could be one hell of a race for the Pac-10 rushing title, with backs like Jacquizz Rodgers and Chris Polk among others returning for 2010!

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: A 4-3 scheme, but not exactly traditional, as they employ the “ROVER” position on defense.  Think of the rover as a mix between a strong safety and linebacker, a player who will step up into the box and try to give an extra body around the line of scrimmage.  It is all part of the aggressive nature of the way they play.  Oregon’s defense is fast and tries to be physical, and they will press you in the secondary.

’09 DEFENSIVE RANKINGS: 42nd in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 128.7 yards per game on the ground.  They were 44th in the nation in passing D, giving up 207.6 yards per game, but they were 25th in the nation in pass efficiency defense, good for third in the Pac-10.  Overall they were 35th in total defense, averaging 336.3 total yards per game.  They did lead the Pac-10 in sacks, with 36 overall.

2010 RETURNING DEFENSIVE STARTERS:  Sort of like the offense, the defense looks stacked, with nine starters coming back from ’09.  They do lose some impact defensive linemen in Will Tukuafu and Blake Ferras, but they will still start four seniors among the defensive front seven.

TOP RETURNING DEFENSIVE PLAYER:  There is a lot to pick from when you return nine starters from the previous season.  The linebackers are strong, with Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger coming back, and in the secondary, safety John Boyett led the team in tackles last year.  But I’ll go with the biggest impact guy on the defense, and that is none other than defensive end Kenny Rowe.

Now, Rowe is not your prototype defensive end, weighing just 231 lbs on his 6-3 frame.  But he gets the job done with quickness off the edge and brings the heat and intensity on the outside.  He led the Pac-10 in sacks with 11.5, and tied for third in the conference with 15 tackles for loss.  And he saved his best for last, tying a record with THREE sacks among four tackles-for-loss vs. Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.   He should have a big-time senior year, and will be in every preseason Pac-10 team imaginable.

TOP THREE POST-SPRING QUESTIONS:

1) WHO’S THE QB?? I know, it’s a layup of a question if there ever would be one in regards to Oregon and post-spring football.  But it’s just too big of a question to ignore, as the most important position on the field is suddenly available.  Of all the reports and such, it appears that Nate Costa and Darron Thomas are neck-and-neck as they head towards fall camp.

Costa has always been hyped, and many projected that he would be THE guy back in 2007 or 2008, but both seasons were lost before they even started, as Costa has now torn ligaments in his knee on a couple of occasions.  This is his last go of it, so you better believe he is going to battle with everything he’s got this fall.  Thomas, if you might not remember, was forced into action in 2008 as a true frosh, and showed some serious raw ability on the field.  Luckily for Oregon, Masoli would emerge and grab the job midway through ’08, and that allowed Oregon to redshirt Thomas in ’09, preserving his eligibility.  Thomas now has three full seasons of playing time ahead of him, and now that Masoli is out of the way for 2010, it could just be a matter of time before he owns the job.

I watched most of the Oregon spring game on ESPN (Yes, you are big-time if your spring game is on ESPN).  But anyway, of both QB’s, I couldn’t help but be more impressed by the play of Thomas compared to Costa.  Now you never, ever want to get too high or too low when in comes to scrimmages, I mean this is ground that has been covered before so we won’t go into all the reasons why you should freak out on either end of the spectrum based on scrimmages!  But Thomas just looks a little bit stronger overall in the grand scheme of things.  He might make some mistakes that come with inexperience, as he threw a pick-six in the first quarter of the spring game.  But overall he really played well, completing 15-of-23 for 196 yards and a TD, while Costa went just 7-for-13 and really struggled after the strong first quarter.  Thomas is the better athlete of the two, definitely faster and even a couple inches taller than Costa.  He seems like an absolutely perfect fit in the Chip Kelly read-option offense, and he might even have the better down-the-field ability compared to Costa.  Check out some quick video of Thomas for more:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MasxAicPVEY&w=425&h=344]

The comparisons to Dennis Dixon are inevitable.  Like Ed Cunningham says on the video, same body type, same running ability, etc.  But whatever happens, their duel to grab the reins of the offense will be one of the biggest pre-season stories in the Pac-10, if not the country!

2)  ENOUGH ABOUT THE OFFENSE!  WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE?  With Masoli gone for 2010, and the Ducks turning to a new QB, you might think the defense could be feeling some pressure to get off to a great start, if/when the offense struggles to find it’s rhythm?  Well, Nick Aliotti, the long-time Oregon defensive coordinator, isn’t sitting still.  Oregon has been tinkering with the defense all spring, including some new schemes and even some key position changes, all aimed at getting even better on D next season.  And it’s easy to overlook the D, after all the offense was so proficient for the vast majority of 2009, but Oregon’s defense really played well last year.  Their overall stats don’t exactly blow you away, as on paper they were 4th in the Pac-10 in scoring defense and total defense.  But did you know that, per Ted Miller, Oregon led the Pac-10 in total defense in all conference games?

But can they actually be better in 2010?  Maybe.  But the offense, believe it or not,  might have a big say in just how good they will be on D next year.  If they get the job done, then Oregon’s D won’t be on the field too much, and a fast, aggressive, undersized defense won’t be gassed.  But if the offense struggles to find itself with the new QB’s, and Oregon’s D is forced to keep going back on the field, it might be tough to maintain an upper-conference defense.

3)  AND THE OBLIGATORY SCHEDULE QUESTION? It’s not too bad, at least the out-of-conference schedule isn’t real scary.  They open with New Mexico at home, which won’t be much of a problem.  They do travel the next week to Tennessee, but with the coaching turnover in Knoxville, who knows what they will look like in week two.  With the changes going on down there, one would prefer to get the Vols early!  Then Portland State comes to Eugene, before Pac-10 play opens up the following week in Tempe vs. ASU.  The downer though?  Five conference road games this year, including at USC, at Cal, and at Oregon State for the Civil War.  They do get Stanford, Washington, UCLA and Arizona at home though, all teams that could be bowl contenders in 2010, so it’s not all bad.  And two of their five road games are against ASU and of course, WSU, teams expected to bring up the rear of the Pac-10 (sigh…).

WSU FOOTBALL BLOG SEZ DOT-DOT-DOT STYLE:…..Of all the teams rejoicing the loss of Pete Carroll from USC, maybe Oregon was one of the happiest programs of them all.  Oregon finished number two in the conference over the Pete Carroll regime, going 77-36 in Carroll’s nine seasons at SC.  Oregon won at least 10 games in four out of those nine seasons, and had just one losing season in the Carroll era (5-6 in 2004)…..Much has been made of the athletic ability of Darron Thomas, but he’s also a workout machine.  Thomas is a member of the “Oregon Iron Club”, totaling an impressive 1,026 pounds in the power clear, squat and bench press during 2009 testing.  And not that vertical leap matters for a QB, but he also record a 31.5″ leap in winter workouts!  Thomas was a four-star recruit from Texas, rated as the 6th-best QB in the country when he signed in ’08……It’s not a surprise, but Oregon continues to thrive at home.  Oregon went undefeated in Autzen in ’09, the first time that’s happened since the 2000 season.  But overall, Oregon has won at least five games at home in nine of the last 10 seasons.…..Oregon really got the monkey off their backs last year when they destroyed Cal 42-3 at home.  But even with last season’s drubbing, over the last several years, Cal has been a real struggle for Oregon, and they are just 2-4 vs. the Berkeley Bears in the last six seasons.  They might be just as happy to see Bob Gregory leave Cal as the defensive coordinator as they were to see Pete Carroll leave USC!…..Oregon had three players drafted in this spring’s NFL draft, with TJ Ward, Ed Dickson and Walter Thurmond III all selected on the second day of the draft.  Oregon has now had at least two players picked every year since 2002, and overall, have had 34 players taken in the last ten years, placing them near the top of the Pac-10 pecking order among NFL draft choices.  Over that span, Oregon twice had six players taken (2009 and 2002).  Joey Harrington was the highest drafted player in that time frame, going number three overall in the ’02 draft……Recruiting has been going well, as Oregon had the #13 class this year, their best finish on signing day since getting the #9 ranking in 2007.  Over the last four years, they have had no worse than the #26 class in the country (#13 in 2010, #26 in 2009, #23 in 2008, and #9 in 2007).  In kind of a weird twist though, right now Oregon has just three known verbal commitments for the 2011 class, so the early commitments aren’t exactly rolling in.  But it must be said that teams like UCLA and Oregon State don’t even have a single known commit, and Cal has just three commits right now, so it’s not the end of the world…..With their 36 sacks last year, Oregon continued to be one of the top pass-rushing teams in the Pac-10.  They have now had at least 30 sacks in 10 of their last 11 seasons. The last time they didn’t have at least 30 sacks was in 2001, when they had 24 sacks.  But the irony is that Oregon actually went 11-1 in ’01, winning the Fiesta Bowl while making  a strong argument for playing in the BCS title game!…..Some of  the best Duck sites around are OregonLive.com’s The Ducks Beat blog; the RegisterGuard.com’s Duck Football Blog;   EDuck.com, part of the Scout.com network; Oregon Duck Soup, by the Wines family and friends; DuckTerritory.com, part of the ESPN blogger affiliate network; and Addicted To Quack, part of the SB Nation network.

All for now.  For previous 2010 Spring Fish Wraps, go here:

Spring Fish Wrap – Oklahoma State Edition
Spring Fish Wrap – Montana State Edition
Spring Fish Wrap – SMU Mustangs Edition
Spring Fish Wrap – USC Trojans Edition
Spring Fish Wrap – UCLA Bruins Edition

Enjoy your Memorial Day, and as always, GO COUGS!