LeGarrette Blount Reinstated, Could Be Key To Oregon Making Rose Bowl

So much talk about LeGarrette Blount, and almost none of it about, well, football. But Addicted To Quack aptly explains why the loss to Stanford revealed that it is on the field where Blount’s reinstatement will have the greatest impact:

[I]t wasn’t just Oregon’s defense that struggled to match Stanford’s physical play. Oregon failed to convert on 3rd down seven of 13 times… It’s clear the only weak link for an offense that has few weaknesses is a big, physical back, in the same vain as Gerhart, who can be relied on to move the chains in short yardage situations.

Had Oregon had a big physical back to counter Stanford’s style, the outcome might have been very different.

Case in point: At the end of the third quarter with the Ducks trailing 45-28, Oregon faced a 4th-and-3 at Stanford’s 39-yard-line. In what appeared to be a blown play, Masoli was tackled for a one-yard loss, and Stanford took over on their own 40. Seven plays later, Cardinal kicker Nate Whitaker kicked a 41-yard field goal that turned out to be the difference for Stanford.

Blount might have made a difference in the same scenario. In fact, considering Oregon was trying to control the clock on that drive (that 4th-and-three was the seventh straight rushing play) to give its defense a break, Blount is likely the perfect back for that scenario. The power back that Oregon’s missed at certain points in the season.

Notwithstanding the Ducks’ 51-42 loss to Stanford, they control their own destiny down the stretch, where wins in the season’s final three games would clinch Oregon its first Rose Bowl berth since 1995. It is in these key games, Addicted To Quack argues, that LeGarrette Blount might make all the difference:

[W]ith games against Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State left on the schedule and a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth hanging in the balance, the timing for Blount’s return is as good as any. Why? Because all three of Oregon’s remaining opponents rank in the nation’s top 15 in rushing defense (No. 6, No. 10, and No. 15, respectively). And all three are far more physical than most of the defense’s we’ve faced this season. And all three will likely have watched the game against Stanford.

From DuckSportsNews.com, via SB Nation’s Addicted To Quack, which is sure to have more reaction and analysis of Blount’s reinstatement:

University of Oregon senior running back LeGarrette Blount has been reinstated to the Ducks’ football program and will be available to play Saturday when they host Arizona State in a game scheduled to kickoff at 7:20 p.m. (PST), according to an announcement from the school’s head coach Chip Kelly Monday.

Blount, who has missed Oregon’s last eight games after being suspended by Kelly following the season-opening loss at Boise State, has remained a member of the team and has participated in practice since the post-game incident which led to his suspension.

Kelly said he forwarded his recommendation for Blount’s reinstatement to Oregon Athletics Director Mike Bellotti Sunday night, who in turn passed it along to University President Richard Lariviere and Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott.

Blount’s suspension was originally announced to encompass the entire 2009 season, but Kelly announced on Oct. 2 the potential for reinstatement contingent upon the running back completing a series of conditions to the satisfaction of athletics department, University and Pac-10 officials. Kelly emphasized that Blount would continually be held accountable to those conditions for the remainder of the year.

“I’m grateful to Coach Kelly that he cares enough to offer me this second chance,” Blount said. “Now it is up to me to prove to people that their lasting impressions of me are not what they saw in Boise.

“When I am ready to address this further with the public and the media, I will do so,” Blount added. “Until that time, I feel my actions can speak louder than anything I could say. I just want to help my teammates who have been supportive of me.”

The Ducks’ 1,000-yard rusher from a year ago was held to minus 5 yards in his only appearance this year in a 19-8 loss at Boise State.

Joe Schad has just tweeted thusly … more info to follow:

You maybe recall over a month ago (if you don't, simply scroll down this page) when Oregon coach Chip Kelly publicly stated that Blount would be eligible for reinstatement following their game against Stanford. It seems Blount met whatever expectations were set forth by Kelly and the school. Oregon has three regular season games remaining, followed by a bowl appearance. Their next challenge is Arizona State at home this Saturday night.

Joe Schad of ESPN reminds you via Twitter that the Pac-10 will have final say over the reinstatement.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly announced today that suspended RB LeGarrette Blount can return to the Oregon football team, but only if he meets a series of “laddered expectations,” and not before the November 7th game against Stanford.

Kelly’s own words on the situation:

“He has a rigid set of conditions he must live up to and there are certainly no guarantees in place. This merely provides him the opportunity for my reconsideration in the future should he meet those demands.”

Kelly met with many experts and consulted with outsiders in the decision, including America’s new Athlete Rehabilitation Czar, Tony Dungy, who urged Kelly to give Blount another chance with the proper conditions. Blount has signed a contract agreeing to the terms he is to live under if he wants to play, and any violation thereof means getting the immediate and final boot from his spot in Eugene.

If he does return for the Stanford game, Blount will have served a seven game suspension, missing over half of his final year in Eugene and severely denting his NFL draft stock with every team in the NFL except the Bengals.

Oregon blog Addicted to Quack (get it, huh huh?!) has a list of Blount-related links before chiming in with their two cents:

While many people are going to claim this is for self-serving reasons, that’s clearly not the case. Blount adds very little football wise to the team right now. In fact, Blount has a better chance of hurting the football team than helping it. But Kelly apparently believes in him, and is willing to give him a second chance. Blount won’t see the field soon, and if he does, he will almost definitely start at the bottom of the depth chart, and have to fight for every carry he gets. This is not a move that strengthens the football team. But it is one that will help out a young man.

The Oregonian’s John Hunt thinks he might have found the loophole in Chip Kelly’s assumed reinstatement of LeGarrette Blount. Here’s what Kelly said when Blount was initially suspended for the remainder of the season.

“LeGarrette Blount will still be on our team,‘’ Kelly said at the news conference. "LeGarrette Blount will just not play for us on Saturdays.’’

Now, if you want to get technical, Oregon will play at least one game this season on a day other than Saturday.

Oregon’s next game that does not fall on a Saturday is the Civil War on Dec. 3. Of the possible bowl games, only the Emerald Bowl falls on a Saturday (Dec. 26).

So if Kelly wanted to, he could say that Blount is eligible starting in December to play again for the Ducks and he wouldn’t be contradicting himself. He’ll just have to make sure the Ducks play well enough to avoid the Emerald Bowl.

See…it’s not a reinstatement. It’s a clarification.

According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, part of the reason Chip Kelly has done an about-face on Blount is the way the LeGarrette has impressed many well-respected people in the community, including football’s favorite reputation-voucher and guiding light, Tony Dungy.

Among those people are Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Kermit Washington and noted sociologist and scholar Harry Edwards, a professor emeritus at Cal-Berkley.

I’m curious to know if these meetings were all separately or if instead this is now the panel that all football players who have wronged society must stand before in judgment.

Another reason Kelly might want to give Blount the benefit of the doubt is the fact that he recently became a father and now has a family that needs to be provided for, something a pro career could certainly do.