Darron Thomas can sling the rock. He ran the passing game very well as a first-year starter in 2010, good enough to win 12 games and accumulate a passer rating of 151.0, phenomenal for a sophomore. He’s working on his progressions and delivery. Having thrown pass patterns with the newcomers all summer, he could achieve a significant boost in productivity as the Ducks challenge for a third straight conference title. This year, he could outplay Luck, Barkley and Foles by an even wider margin than he did last season.
But that’s not what we’re talking about today.
His improvement in the pass offense is a given. As a competitive, motivated quarterback he devotes hours to that, and that skill is his moneymaker in terms of national recognition and a career in the NFL. It’s also a big reason why the Oregon offense could be even more diverse and effective in 2011, and that’s a staggering possibility. Chip Kelly’s and his staff have added some deep threats. DT proved in the national championship game that he can take over the offense if he needs to, that the Ducks could open it up throwing if the running game wasn’t working, put the game on his shoulders. They may have to somewhere along the way, and the threat of an improved passing attack opens up huge possibilities for Oregon’s stunningly talented stable of running backs, LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, De’Anthony Thomas, Tra Carson and Lache Seastrunk. Tell me when the fifth running back on the Oregon roster had 10.5 speed in the 100.
But for all his accomplishments and all the many things he does well, Darron Thomas can add a vital tool to his toolbox as the Ducks seek their third straight conference title and compete for the national one: deception in the zone read mesh.
Dennis Dixon and Jeremiah Masoli were magicians with the ball as the triggermen in Oregon’s zone read. His senior year, Dixon regularly performed a Chriss Angel Mindfreak on defenses, television cameramen and whole stadiums, making the ball disappear and reappear in the end zone:
In the Washington game of 2007, the Ducks racked up a school record 465 yards of offense, and repeatedly, Dixon is so smooth in the zone read mesh the Huskies simply don’t have any idea who has the ball. The seminal moment comes at 6:46 in this link, where the entire Husky front seven swarms Jonathan Stewart, the Dawg crowd goes wild, and Dixon is dashing up the left side for a big gain. When he doesn’t outright fool the defense, DD creates a split second hesitation on the part of the Husky linebackers and d-lineman, and they are doomed. Oregon’s fast, powerful runners beat them off the ball as Dixon’s mastery at deception effectively puts an extra block on every defender.
Jeremiah Masoli was also marvelous on the give or the keep, and his decisiveness and quickness in the zone read made it a devastating play while he ran the offense. Masoli had a lot of confidence in his decisions in the mesh, sometimes even able to make a play work if he made the wrong read. Masoli just juked or outran people, beat them one-on-one. Looking at his highlights, you’ll also see many examples of plays where he freezes or completely fools the defense:
Now, Darron Thomas is wonderful in the Oregon system. He ran for 486 yards last season, a 5.2 yard average, with 5 touchdowns. He made a lot of big plays, and saved his best rushing effort for the Ducks’ crucial conference showdown with Stanford, 15 carries for 117 yards, a 7.8 yard average with a touchdown. His execution of Oregon’s bread-and-butter play also triggered LaMichael James’ great second season, 1731 yards and 21 tds. That’s a lot of right decisions. But in year two, after three seasons of working on the zone read mesh together in practice, with probably 10,000 repetitions, Darron Thomas should be ready to take his effectiveness to the next level as a dual threat quarterback. His reads will be keener. His timing, riding the mesh, giving or taking the ball, will be a crucial half a beat cleaner. Sometimes he’ll stay with the mesh to last possible instant. He’ll have more confidence taking off. With an athletic backup behind him, and Thomas having gained 10-15 pounds of muscle in the off season, the coaches will trust his durability and instincts even more.
Thomas isn’t Dennis Dixon fast or Jeremiah Masoli powerful. But he’s a tough athlete who applies himself in practice and performs with great composure. He has big hands to hide the ball. As he refines his zone read skills, along with his passing talents and recognition in the multiple options of the Duck attack, he’ll be even tougher to defend.
And that is a scary thought for the 12 teams on the Oregon schedule, and the two they’ll likely face in postseason.
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