Michael Clay had 12 total tackles in the Washington State game, and Dion Jordan had seven, six solo. The emergence of these two are the beginning of resurgence for the Oregon defense, which through eight games has been good enough but only rarely dominant.
photo left: The Ducks won easy, often and big reeling off seven straight victories against the weak part of their schedule, but in November they face three opponents with a combined 20-4 record. Can the Oregon defense swarm to the challenge?
Clay gives the Ducks a physical, roving presence in the middle, an authoritative run stuffer. He’s their Albert Pujols, their number three hitter, the rbi guy who produces in the clutch. Jordan, The Preying Mantis, has the wingspan and athleticism to be a terror on the edge. Nick Aliotti has to quit messing around with Jordan. Stop lining him up in cute defensive looks, put him on the weakside offensive tackle and have him rush the quarterback. Hard. Every play. Get him in the backfield and let him be disruptive. The drop end was a nice innovation, but the Ducks need some intimidation and pressure in their game to be a great defense. Jordan is the fountainhead. Let him discover the joy of productive selfishness, and become a playmaking terror.
Anthony Gildon is likely back after an undisclosed injury and a one-game sit, and this is huge for the strength of the defensive secondary rotation. Gildon’s the dogged veteran among a group of young but talented dbs, and he can press Jermaine Kearse and contain him better than Troy Hill, who’s edged out Terrance Mitchell for the starting role on the other side. Duck fans still hold out hope for the reemergence of Cliff Harris, but Chip, always being Chip, isn’t tipping his hand. Harris can be one of the most skilled playmaking lockdown cover corners in football, but only when he isn’t being a hot mess. Kash bouncing back from a thus far lost season would be a huge story in the championship drive; a projected star has been a complete nonfactor so far.
Ekpre-Olomu had six tackles against the Cougs, Taylor Hart four (all solo) and Ike Remington five. These three are providing the bone and muscle in the Oregon defense, quiet role players with pride and ferocity. It’s utterly crucial that the Ducks wrap and gang tackle Chris Polk on Saturday. The Husky workhorse makes a living off yards after contact, a trait that will make him a star in the NFL. Against the Cougars the Webfoots allowed too much bounce: they would stuff the pile but fail to wrap up, and Rickey Galvin and Carl Winston, a couple of pony backs at 200 and 171 pounds, looked veritably Polk like veering off the pile and rumbling for good gains outside. The 222-lb. Polk, who’s already rushed for a thousand yards this season and over 3500 in his career, will look like Herschel Walker if the Ducks don’t rally to the football better. Troy Hill also had six tackles, and for a smaller cornerback he is extremely physical, a good hitter. The Ducks’ young secondary will lose some plays, but they won’t back down in the key matchup against Washington’s dangerous veteran outside receivers, Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse.
After asserting himself in recent weeks, Josh Kaddu didn’t have a sack or a tackle for loss against the Cougs. Although he had his best game as a Duck the previous week against Colorado with ten tackles, Kaddu had just one assist in the WSU game. They need him to be Spencer Paysinger to Michael Clay’s Clay Matthews. Kaddu has to show up in a big way in November, and play with hunger and consistency.
As a unit Oregon’s defense must take wing in a month they face improved competition. They won seven straight games against the weak half of their schedule by being occasionally dominant and consistently resourceful; it’s been a year of the dreaded bend but don’t break. Owing partly to the explosiveness of the Oregon offense and partly to their own inconsistency, they’ve spent a lot of time on the field, yielding an alarming 30 first downs to the Cougars. Third and eight became just a suggestion in that game. For a defense, that’s playing right, it becomes an opportunity to assert its will. Washington quarterback Keith Price has been sacked 15 times this year, and his effectiveness will go way down if the front seven can provide some pressure in this game. Without it, Kearse, Aguilar, and capable tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins will find too much room downfield. Price has to be disrupted, or the Ducks will have difficulty containing a very effective Washington offense.
The Ducks need some stops in Seattle. Nick Holt’s Dawg defense has been vulnerable this year, yielding 33.4 points a game. although they defend the run better than Oregon. Oregon’s offensive line, which has fallen into the habit of taking the first quarter off in several recent games, needs to be more effective and assertive in the last game in unremodeled Husky Stadium. It’s a big day at Montlake with Don James scheduled for the ceremonial coin toss and the 1991 National Championship team being honored at halftime. The Huskies are pulling out all the emotional stops. A win would culminate the resurgence of Washington football. Another Oregon win would be a new wound, giving the Ducks the rich pleasure of driving an old enemy before them and hearing the lamentations of their women.
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