SB Nation - Jeff Maehl

The Enemy of My Enemy, Part I: The Rose Bowl

Bama Hawkeye — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:15:09 -0000

As we begin preparing for the year in which the Big Ten shocks the college football world by winning five of its seven bowls, let's learn about the opponents. Oh sure, we could turn to the fans of our opponents and ask them questions about their beloved cats, birds, and bees. But this site was founded upon the idea of rivals. That's why we're talking with our opponents' rivals. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

As we look at the Rose Bowl, AndyPanda of the outstanding Oregon State blog, Building the Dam, was kind enough to answer these questions that we had about the hated Oregon Ducks.

1. What schemes worked best for you on defense against Oregon's motion Pistol, spread sweeps, and zone read attack?

The key to contending with Coach Chip Kelley's spread option read offense is to play assignment football, and maintain gap and assignment discipline, and do it all night long. A traditional style pro defense. You cannot over-pursue, and one step can be too much, as the speed Oregon has will run into, or cut back thru, any gap a mistake opens. The Ducks' offense is predicated on option reads, and Jeremiah Masoli is a master at quick recognition and decision making.

Masoli isn't an exceptional thrower, but he is good enough to capitalize on an assignment error, as was evidenced when OSU's James Dockery over-committed on Jeff Maehl, and there was no safety support. The result was an immediate over the top 73 yard touchdown.

And while Masoli is rightly known for his running ability, his reads can just as easily result in someone else being the star. With cornerback Tim Clark already out with a broken leg, all conference Keaton Kristick missed only one play with a tweaked wrist. Masoli immediately sent LaMichael James thru where Kristick and Clark would have been for a 52 yard touchdown.

Those two plays, one break down, and one where a personnel vulnerability existed, were the difference in the game, producing over a quarter of the Ducks' total yards, and underscoring how important it is to maintain discipline against Oregon's offense on every play.

2. What's going to happen when Ohio State's (C) Michael Brewster (296 lbs), (RG), Bryant Browning (312 lbs), (LG) Justin Boren (315 lbs), (LT) J.B. Shugarts (298 lbs), and (RT) Jim Cordle (297 lbs) line up against Oregon's (LDT) Brandon Bair (250 lbs) (RDT) Blake Ferras (290 lbs), (RDE) Kenny Rowe (230 lbs), and (LDE) Will Tukuafu (272 lbs)? That's an average of 43 pounds difference at each position. Do the Buckeyes get burnt, or does Oregon get crushed?

A variety of blitzes and stunts will happen. The Oregon linebacking crew of Eddie Pleasant, Casey Matthews, and Spencer Paysinger are fast enough that they can come from anywhere, and if an offensive line releases to pick up the blitz, Tukuafu is strong enough, and Rowe is fast enough, to recover despite being initially stopped, and still make the play.

A sustained power running game can work against the Ducks, as Stanford demonstrated, but it must start with an effective passing game that pushes back Oregon's back seven. The key to overcoming the Duck defense is to prevent them from running toward the line of scrimmage, which allows them to capitalize on their speed.

3. The Beavers put 30 points up on the Ducks in the first 35 minutes of the game. The final 25 minutes saw the Beavers only get a field goal. How was OSU able to dominate the Ducks early, and what did Oregon do late to turn the tide?

Early on, Oregon St. quarterback Sean Canfield was on, and by completing a number of passes, was able to keep the Oregon defense backpedaling much of the time, not attacking the line of scrimmage.

What Oregon did in the second half was keep the ball away from Oregon St. The Ducks are known for being a quick strike offense that doesn't need a time of possession advantage to generate points and wins, but few teams will win a firefight against the Rodgers brothers and Canfield. Against the Beavers, the Ducks played defense with their offense.

Oregon knew the best way to curb the Rodgers are to have them standing on the sidelines as much of the time as possible. With a boost in their power running game from LeGarrett Blount, Oregon held the ball for about 18 and a half of the last 26 minutes, and over 13 minutes in the last 17 and a half minutes. The Beavers only had one fourth quarter possession.

So limited in their number of opportunities, the weather, in the 20's, resulted in a couple of dropped balls off receivers' hands, resulting in a field goal instead of a probable touchdown, and another stalled drive. And the difference in the game when the Ducks were able to keep the Beavers' offense off the field for over six minutes at the end of the game. Both Kenjon Barner and Masoli won individual matchups, where the OSU defense was in position to make the play, and one on one, just got beat. The Ducks converted three fourth downs in the game, two on the final drive.

4. Much of the rest of the country looks at Oregon as having fashion models, not football players. Has the Oregon fan base embraced the Phil Knight-ification of their football team, or would they rather focus on the game?

The Oregon fan base loves Uncle Phil, who epitomizes the high dollar image most of them aspire to. And if any aspect of the image in any way causes a distraction of any sort, that's just another advantage they gain.

Admit it. You wish he went to your school.

5. What can Buckeye fans do in advance of the game to most annoy Oregon fans?

Remind them of the Stanford and Boise St. games, where they were physically dominated, then talk about how good Washington is going to be soon. It doesn't matter if Washington actually will be good or not; they hate the Huskies, almost as much as the Huskies hate them. Or talk about how college football games should be "dry" events. [ed. note: The Rivalry, Esq. does not and cannot endorse dry sporting events. We encourage Buckeye fans to use the other recommended methods of criticism]

Thank you again to AndyPanda of Building the Dam. We wish the Beavers the best of luck in beating the hell into BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Quack Fix: Ducks hand out season awards, look forward to tOSU, Volleyball falls in NCAA 2nd round

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:21:37 -0000

The end of the regular season of college football is always bittersweet, with that magical time coming to an end. But we have something pretty great to look forward to: The Rose Bowl!

Oregon handed out their team awards at a banquet yesterday. Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James shared the award for Mose Outstanding Player, while Will Tukuafu and Walter Thurmond III shared the award for most inspirational. There were a number of other awards handed out and Moseley has some more stories from the event. I'm hoping to see some video of Coach Frost razzing Jeff Maehl.
Yet the celebration will not last long. The Ducks are already looking forward to the matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Kelly has already been watching films of the Big 10 champs, who have the best defense the Ducks have seen this season. However, Kelly does not seem too worried. The Ducks have the versatility on offense to create mismatches all over the field, and have been incredibly successful isolating those all season long.
Meanwhile, Jim Tressel is looking at the Ducks as well, and the focal point defensively will be Jeremiah Masoli, whom Tressel described as "scary." He also stated the the Buckeyes will need to "get in shape" after seeing the quick pace of Oregon's offense. I think the Buckeyes will have problems keeping pace with Oregon over 4 quarters, just as almost every other team has this season.
Lastly, though this is old, for those of you that may have forgotten about when OSU played USC: This is why I am not worried about the OSU offense. I'm very much excited for the Chip Kelly/Jim Tressel coaching matchup.
In other sports news, while we had let some time pass without mentioning Oregon volleyball, they made it to the NCAA tournament, and won a match versus Clemson before falling to the 13th ranked Kentucky Wildcats. It was a great season for the Ducks, who were ranked in the top 25 for nearly the entire season.

After the jump, we have another edition of Inside the Pac, breaking down the Civil War. As always, leave any other Duck news below. GO DUCKS!

Inside the Pac - Civil War Edition

Reflecting on the Civil War: Oregon comes through in all the big moments

jtlight — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:16:25 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

I like this picture more than the one Beaver fans always post. But it's also more important, as this run occurred in a game with the Pac-10 title on the line.

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Well, I've had almost 24 hours to digest what has happened in the world of Duck football, and, it's still as beautiful as ever. And while the game wasn't perfect, we saw our Ducks grow up over the last two games. Oregon pretty much blew through their first 5 Pac-10, winning by margins of 39, 46, 14, 24, and 27. Everything looked easy, the Ducks got some great breaks and took advantage of them to turn games into blowouts.

However, the contests against Arizona and Oregon State were not so easy. In both games, the Ducks faced adversity. But when the game was on the line, this Duck team made the plays it needed to. The offenses showed poise and confidence, and seemed to have an ingrained belief that they would come through. There was a confidence in this team that we haven't seen in some time.

To me, the play of the game was the 4th and 6 conversion to Jeff Maehl. This was a conversion the Ducks simply had to have. OSU had all the momentum at that point, up by 9 points after scoring touchdowns on their previous two drives. But Jeremiah Masoli threw a strike, that has handled by Maehl right as he was hit, and the Ducks kept the drive alive.

Without that conversion, winning that game becomes very difficult. But that's what this Duck team has done. They have converted the biggest plays of the game over and over again. They executed to the highest level and have shown the desire and confidence of a championship team.

It was this attitude that propelled the Ducks to become the first team to be Pac-10 champions by two whole games since the 1991 Washington Huskies.

Let's also give props to the defense. They had no easy task, going against an incredibly accurate passer in Sean Canfield, and the best wide receiver in the conference in James Rodgers. Yet, the Duck defense put the game on their shoulders. OSU was never able to develop a run game, and seemed to almost totally abandon it in the second half. The Ducks held the Beavers to 83 yards on 25 carries. And that lack of a rushing game forced OSU into many long 3rd down conversions. The Ducks held the Beavers to 5/14 on 3rd down. Previously, the Beavers had converted just over 48% of their third downs.

While the Ducks had defensive issues on two OSU drives (to end the first half and start the second half). However, outside of those two drives, that Oregon defense gave up only 214 yards on 50 plays, for a mere 4.3 yards per play. It's easy to point to the 33 points and the two drives where OSU looked very good, but outside of that, the Ducks bottled up the OSU offense, took them off their normal offense, and forced them away from their typically balanced attack. By the end of the game, the Oregon defense looked fresh and energetic, and the OSU offense was struggling. When the Ducks were able to get pressure on Canfield, he stood no chance.

The one blight on the game were Duck mistakes. If Oregon had not gifted OSU 10 points in the first half, this game is much different. Similarly, Oregon had a stretch in the second quarter where the offense sputtered, and they squandered multiple opportunities to put the game away early, though OSU should get some credit for stepping up. But when the Ducks offense got rolling, OSU could simply not stop it. The final 4 drives for the Ducks: Touchdown, Touchdown, Field Goal, run out the clock.

But again, the whole game came down to the play in the final quarter, and Oregon dominated on both sides of the ball. They had two drives into OSU territory while OSU struggled to move the ball and scored no points.

Oregon was better prepared to play for four quarters. They were the better team, more explosive on offense, faster and more consistent on defense. They were also the hardest working team in the Pac-10, showing incredible focus throughout the entire season.

And that hard work has paid off. The Oregon Ducks are the best team in the Pac-10, by a good margin, and are going to be playing in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2010. It couldn't get much better.

Reliving Oregon State's Highlights from the Civil War

Jake Bertalotto — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:04:37 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

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Just like after Oregon State's late November 42-36 loss to USC, the more you look back on the game, the easier it gets to see just what could have been. The missed opportunities in (or near) the red zone were abundant.

It's hard to go through Oregon State's highlights from the game without thinking about the fumble recovery that put OSU at the UO 17 yard-line (result: field goal), or the 48-yard pass from Canfield to Quizz that put the Beavers deep into Oregon territory (result: field goal), but that's exactly what we're going to do with the help of Mike Parker. As you'll see, many of these highlights should have been followed up with an exuberant "TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!!" call by Parker, but were not.

Let's get started.

Mike Parker: First down and five for Oregon, at it's 25 yard-line, just getting started... Masoli out of shoutgun, takes the pass from center, the ball is tipped, AND PICKED OFF BY DOCKERY!! Down the left sideline! Dockery inside the 25 and down he goes at about the 23. A 12 yard return for James Dockery, and the Beavers get the first turnover of the game, and they set up shop first and ten at the Oregon 23.

On Monday I claimed that turnovers would be a big factor in the game-- and they were. Oregon fumbled once and threw an interception, and it could have been worse than that. Remember OSU's kickoff at the very end of the first half that was almost fumbled? How about the snap that was well over Masoli's head late in the game? The Beavers won the turnover battle, but Oregon more than made up for their two mishaps with three killer fourth down conversions.

The Oregon State drive after the Dockery interception was a bad omen for the remainder of the game: it took a fourth down conversion to score a touchdown. Imagine if Riley would have called for a field goal at that point... it could have meant four first half field goals.

Mike Parker: It's an I formation-- power formation for the Beavers. Three tight ends, Jacquizz the running back... fourth and goal, turn, give to Quizz, running to the right, and QUIZZ IS IN! TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!

Oregon State took an early 7-0 lead on that play, but Oregon came right back down the field and tied it up. Oregon State's next drive stalled at about the 25-yard line, and another Kahut field goal made it 10-7, Beavers. After Jeff Maehl burned James Dockery for a 73-yard score, the Beavers found themselves trailing for the first time of the game, 14-10. It was at this point that the game slowed down... both teams exchanged several punts... but Oregon State would be the next team to knock on the door:

Mike Parker: Trips formation to the right, play clock down to two, Canfield out of shotgun, throws over the middle to Jacquizz Rodgers, breaks one tackle at the 40, comes back to the 45, HAS A CHANCE DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE!. 35-30. 25-20. Cuts back inside at about the 15 yardline!

He indeed had a chance there... perhaps OSU's best chance of scoring on that drive. After the long pass play got the Beavers to the Oregon 15, a penalty backed them up five yards, bringing up 1st and 15. A 9-yard pass to Kjos made it 2nd and 6-- then a Jacquizz Rodgers rush for no gain and an incomplete pass intended for James Rodgers brought out the field goal unit, and the Beavers brought it to within one: 14-13 Oregon.

Immediately after the field goal, Oregon regained possession with 7 minutes remaining in the half:

Mike Parker: On first down, Masoli, THE BALL IS LOOSE, being chased! The Beavers after it! The Beavers trying to come up with it! Matt Lagrone says he has it... and I believe he does. The ball knocked loose, AND LAGRONE RECOVERS FOR THE BEAVERS! And the Beavers have a first down at the Oregon 17!

And guess what? Again... Oregon State settles for a field goal. But nonetheless, the Beavers took a 16-14 lead.

Oregon would then take the lead with a touchdown by LaMichael James. I'll point out that the Ducks fumbled the ball a play before scoring on that drive... but Jeremiah Masoli recovered, and the Ducks took a 21-16 lead with 1:09 remaining in the half.

A pass interference call on Talmadge Jackson III (could he have been more obvious?) and four completions got the Beavers into Oregon territory at the 33. Another completion to Brady Camp (after a false start, ugh) set the Beavers up with a 2nd and 5 play:

Mike Parker: Second and five at the Oregon 28. Canfield out of shotgun, from the left hashmark, takes the snap from center, surveys his options, throws down the middle, CAUGHT BY JAMES RODGERS, TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!

The Beavers then headed into the locker room with the lead, which never hurts the confidence levels heading into the second half. After a first half in which they settled for field goals way too many times, the Beavers needed to come out and drive the ball down the field and score, which is exactly what they did:

Mike Parker: Third and six from the nine, left has. Canfield from shotgun to throw, down the middle to Casey Kjos, TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!!!

That made it 30-21 Beavers... and that's when Chip Kelly turned to the physicality of Legarette Blount, and it paid off with a quick score. That drive was when the first crucial Oregon fourth down conversion occured-- a quick slant from Masoli to Maehl on 4th and 6. After that, the Beavers got (guess what?) another field goal (score now 33-28), then Oregon scored a touchdown to take the lead for good (34-33).

Morgan Flint added a field goal for the Ducks early in the fourth quarter as Oregon attempted to chew up the clock. Oregon State's only drive of the fourth quarter was the one that ended in James Rodgers diving out of bounds just past the first down markers, oh-so-close to a crucial conversion. But Oregon regained possession of the ball, converted two first downs, successfully eating six minutes of clock to seal the victory.

I told you it's hard to rehash all those missed opportunities.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com) | Twitter

Quack Fix: Ducks lose to Montana and more from Saturday's big win

ntrebon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:19:10 -0000

More photos » by Wily Low - AP

23 days ago: Oregon's Ed Dickson (83) celebrates after scoring a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation against Arizona in the second half of an NCAA college football game at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Oregon won 44 - 41 in overtime. (AP Photo/Wily Low)

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Ugh. What a deflating loss last night in basketball. Thankfully, we have nine more days of Civil War hysteria. Here's your morning quack.

The men's basketball team suffered an embarrassing 68-55 loss to the Montana Grizzlies at home last night. A poor first half did the Ducks in, as they managed only 20 first half points -- despite an early 12-2 lead. As some of you noted elsewhere, this result is quite a buzzkill. The Ducks are off until Sunday night when they host Montana State.
John Hunt has a blog entry with some quotes from Scott Frost talking about the impact of Saturday's dramatic win and reflecting on one of his own. Frost also notes that Jeff Maehl was the only receiver not rotated out late in the game on Saturday: "Jeff's earned the right to be in there when the chips are down because he's the kind of kid who makes big plays in big situations.'' Looks like that was the right call.
Rob Moseley's feature piece today takes us through the final drive against Arizona. That 18-yard run by LaMichael James on 3rd-and-11 is probably my favorite play of the drive, save for the touchdown catch by Ed Dickson.
George Schroeder also has a piece up that talks about Pat Kilkenny's decision to move the Civil War game to a Thursday night. While the move may be inconvenient for some of you attending, it's hard to argue that the date change and the fact that the game will decide the Pac-10 championship means that the nation's undivided attention will be focused on Autzen stadium next Thursday night.
Finally, the prolific Moseley also has a notebook entry up about Nate Costa earning conference player of the week honors for special teams after his game-saving hold on an errant extra point snap. Apparently the Sporting News named it the national "play of the week."
KEZI has a report up of a group of Oregon fans in yellow, including one dressed as the grim reaper, made their way through the OSU campus. I gotta say, I don't think a yellow grim reaper is all that effective.<sarcasm> Besides, isn't black one of our colors now too? </sarcasm>
Civil War baseball tickets for the May 26th game at PGE Park go on sale today. The game is officially a non-conference game, but will serve as the fifth game between the Ducks and Beavers in 2010.

After the jump are is a video of Steven Jackson talking Civil War, so check it out.

Here's Steven Jackson with some of his own thoughts on the rivalry between the Ducks and Beavers:

Quack Fix: Wrapping up a great win in Tucson

jtlight — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:13:49 -0000

What a weekend. The Ducks made it out of Tucson alive, though barely. It's always tough to go on the road, and this Oregon team has struggled to find consistency away from Autzen. However, the Ducks were able to pull it out, basically willing themselves to victory despite a number of mistakes and setbacks.

First of all, Jeremiah Masoli. It's not always pretty, but he gets the job done. His improvement from his early season problems has been the main reason for the Ducks offensive success, and he's earing lots of national recognition. He's being called a winner and unflappable by Ivan Maisel. George Schroeder has a column on him as well. Masoli, more than anything else, has learned to just allow the game to happen, and take what is there. He rarely makes bad decisions, and when he does, he doesn't let that affect his future play (like Dennis Dixon did in the early days). In a tough road environment where things hadn't been going well, Masoli and the offense came through when they needed to.
We're not the only people praising Nate Costa. Sporting News named his hold the play of the day. For a play as routine as an extra point, Costa and Flint handled the poor snap like pros, and allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief after a half second of sheer terror.
Both Masoli and LaMichael James set record this weekend. Masoli set the record for the highest scoring QB in Oregon history (passing Joey Harrington), while LMJ set the Pac-10 freshman rushing record, surpassing Jacquizz Rodgers' record from last season.
Jeff Maehl is also earning some well-deserved praise. He's received a lot of unwarranted criticism this year, but his rapport with Masoli was huge in moving the chains during the final Oregon drive, and the throw and catch for the first OT touchdown was a thing of beauty.
Ken Woody's blog on the game is an excellent read, as always. He's not as positive as many of us are, but that just means that there are some good things to work on in the week and a half ahead.
Arizona President Robert Shelton apologized to UO for the behavior of the Arizona fans. Hopefully this will be a lesson to Arizona and all other Pac-10 schools, and some of these issues can get cleaned up.

After the jump, a couple of videos on the game, including player reaction. As always, leave any other links in the comments. GO DUCKS!

Masoli, James, and Maehl react after the win

Inside the Pac recaps the weekend and looks forward to the Civil War

Ducks coast to easy victory over Sun Devils, shows promise for Rose Bowl run

jtlight — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:47:57 -0000

by Rick Bowmer - AP

LaMichael James is on pace to be the most productive back in Oregon history.

View full size photo »

It's not often that a 23 point victory can be view as "disappointing," and while I won't quite that far, it sure seems like the Ducks left a lot on the field. They turned the ball over twice, which led to 14 of ASU's 21 points. They allowed a QB getting his first significant playing time to complete some big 3rd downs after getting outside the pocket. They struggled to stop the run during a couple of drives. Jeremiah Masoli struggled with his accuracy in the second half.

But, beyond the many mistakes, the Ducks looked dominant when they wanted to, led 31-7 at the half, and controlled the game after scoring on their first drive, something which they have been very poor at throughout the year.

So, with the game in hand, I was watching this game with an eye towards the Arizona and OSU games. And, though I have some concerns, what I saw this weekend made me feel much better.

First, Jacquizz Rodgers will give our defense fits, and will get a lot of yards after initial contact. The Ducks had trouble stopping Dimitri Nance at times, and he gained a number of yards after initial contact. Quizz will do the same. However, the speed of the Ducks defense gives the Ducks the ability to get quick penetration into the backfield, and I believe the Ducks will be able to get enough pressure at times to force OSU into 2nd and 3rd and long situations. At least, I hope that's the case.

The Oregon front 7 was able to get pressure on the ASU quarterbacks. Unfortunately, due to Samson Szakacsy's speed, he was able to neutralize that pressure. The Ducks, after struggling to create pressure against the two best offensive line's in the conference, notched two sacks, and pressured the QBs multiple times. In the next two games, the Ducks will face offenses that will be susceptible to pressure. OSU has done a very poor job of protecting the QB all year, and Arizona gave up 3 sacks against Cal, nearly doubling the number of sacks they've given up all year. Also, Arizona, up until this week, had not faced the top 5 pass rushes in the Pac-10, so their numbers are skewed. The greatest problem for the Ducks when they faced Stanford was the lack of any pressure on Andrew Luck. I don't forsee a similar problem in the last two games of the season. It's also important that niether Sean Canfield nor Foles have the scrambling ability that gave Oregon fits last night.

While the secondary took a beating last week, they played very well this week. Talmadge Jackson III is proving to be a very good CB, especially on deep passes. Cliff Harris almost had his 2nd interception as a Duck, and the safety play was back to what we expect, after a very poor showing against Stanford.

Offensively, we have one of the best running backs in the nation in LaMichael James. I've run out of words for him. He simply makes amazing plays every single week. The Oregon offensive line dominated the top rushing defense in the conference, and Oregon steamrolled it's way to 250+ rushing yards.

Passing the ball, Oregon had a good but not great game. However, Masoli and the Duck receivers have done a great job of finding holes in the zones. Masoli's accuracy problems notwithstanding, he had a great touchdown pass to Jeff Maehl. One thing that has been missing from Oregon's offense is the deep threat, and we have seen flashes of it over the last three games, which is a great sign for the offense in general.

I still don't see how Arizona or Oregon State will slow down the Ducks offense. They haven't been held below 40 points with Masoli at the helm in Pac-10 play. As long as the Ducks don't turn the ball over, the offense should be pretty much unstoppable.

So, what'd you guys take from the game? What concerned you? What gave you hope? Either way, it's good to wash away the taste of the Stanford game with a win. GO DUCKS!

Poll

Which of the Ducks remaining two games worries you more?

Arizona Wildcats

215 votes

Oregon State Beavers

276 votes

491 votes | Poll has closed

Cal-UCLA Football Competition News Roundup

TwistNHook — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

UCLA QB Kevin Prince or Karl Dorrell in a fake mustache? Tedford alone knows.

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In many ways, an internet blog takes after the personalities of its moderators. Its Marshawnthusiasts. That's why CougCenter is the quintessential of cool. And Addicted To Quack is so slow. Mentally.

Here at CGB, we are one thing and one thing alone: Ridiculously self-centered. We're self-centered when it comes to discussing our personal lives, but we're also self-centered when it comes to discussing our beloved Cal Bears. We always talk about Cal. Cal this. Cal that. Tedford this. Marshawn that. And it's been great. We couldn't have become the 3rd best Cal sports oriented web log without it.

But I know how it makes those other teams feel. Stanford feels like we just don't care about them. Which we don't. And Arizona State feels like we don't spend enough time together. Given everything I know about every ASU student I've ever met, I agree 100%. We need to spend more time at ASU.

But this self-absorption, it ends now. Because after the fold, we take a look at UCLA. We look at some news paper articles. We read some of our SBN brethren, the Bruins Nation. We go on a magical mystery tour of all things Southern Branch.

First, we have some information on a cornerback battle that could have some serious implications for the game. We all know Kevin Riley needs to get things going to help take the pressure off of Jahvid Best. And we all know that Verner is kind of like the Syd'Quan Thompson of LA. But what is going on on the other side of the field?

In the meantime, [Sheldon] Price will continue to fill in. He had some difficult moments, including having his 160-pound body ricochet harmlessly off Ducks receiver Jeff Maehl on a slant pass that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown.

"After watching the tape on Sunday, I pushed it behind me," Price said of his performance in the game. "I threw it out because there is no point dwelling on the past."

The UCLA depth chart listed Price and sophomore Courtney Viney as possible starters this week, but Bullough said Price would keep the job.

The normal CB, Aaron Hester, is injured, so this might be an opportunity for Kevin Riley to get going. Nestor at Bruins Nation is puzzled by this decision:

Honestly, I don't get this decision. No doubt Sheldon is giving eveyrthing he can but to me it seems like Viney brings a more noticable physical presence in the way he covers and tackles (despiting giving up size). At least that's what I remember from the effort he gave against pretty athletic Tennessee receivers at Neyland stadium. Anyway, we will see how it goes on Saturday.

The concern with Price appears to be with his size. We do not have the largest, most physical receivers, so I am not sure if we can take advantage of a diminutive corner back. But, hopefully, Marvin Jones and Verran Tucker can get going. We get Boateng back, which is certainly good news.

From the same article as above, further information on the UCLA RB situation:

Tailback Johnathan Franklin returned to practice Wednesday and tested his sprained left ankle, getting a handful of carries.

His availability remains in question for Saturday's game against California. Franklin, the Bruins' leading rusher with 332 yards, was injured in the 24-10 loss to Oregon.

Franklin, who gives the Bruins speed in the backfield, was unable to get in a full workout.

It leaves coaches pondering other options.

"We'll find out on Saturday," Franklin said about whether he would play.

Asked what was difficult about running on the ankle, Franklin said, "No comment on that." Asked if it still hurt, Franklin said, "No comment on that."

Asked if he was told not to comment, Franklin smiled.

Their running game is not strong to start with, so I'm pretty sure some back up RB will come in and kill us Arizona 2008 style. It's in the cards!

And who could that backup RB be? Why Christian Ramirez!

Ramirez presents a completely different option than the team's more diminutive backs. At 6-foot-2, Ramirez is the biggest Bruin back, with two inches on Coleman, four inches on Franklin and six inches on Knox and Thigpen.

His size gives him a built-in advantage in pass protection and in the receiving game, though he was admittedly shaky with his blocking against Oregon.

"I need to try to use the combination that I have - the size and speed. And I pride myself on catching the ball, being a receiving back. I can split out and turn it into a five-wide easily. I still need to get some more experience in (protection). I felt a little rocky out there Saturday. I'm coming. I need to get back into the groove, and try to establish myself again."

UCLA does have some injury concerns. Another is with star LB, Reggie Carter. He does appear likely to play, even though his practice has been limited:

Carter expects to be in his usual position – middle linebacker – for Saturday’s game.

"They told me to relax a little bit but my knee feels great," he said. "I’m more anxious for Saturday than I am for Tuesday so I’m not complaining."

As agreeable as Carter was to sit out of Tuesday’s practice, it was a different story during the third quarter of last Saturday’s game.

Medical personnel were trying to examine him but the foremost thought in his mind was getting back into the game.

"I think I missed two plays and I was upset about that," he recalled. "The doctors want to examine you and poke on you. I said, ‘Just give me some Flexall and a sleeve and let me go.’ "

Carter is confident that the missed practice time won’t have a negative affect on him as he prepares for Saturday. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel agreed.

KTVU brings us some information on what to expect from both the Bruins Offense:

UCLA struggled mightily on offense against Oregon last week, finishing with just 211 total yards, and three turnovers certainly hurt the team's chances of winning the game as well. Kevin Prince returned from a two-game absence and was a bit rusty, completing 13-of-25 passes for 81 yards and one interception. The Bruins rushed for just 66 yards on 33 attempts and failed to score any points on both of their trips to the red zone. UCLA is generating just 20.2 ppg this season, an output that isn't going to scare any opponent. The Bruins are posting 282.8 total ypg, including just 112.6 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.4 ypc. The fact that the team has only managed seven offensive touchdowns in five games is proof of just how inept the offense has been. Whether it has been Prince, Kevin Craft or Richard Brehaut under center for the Bruins, the passing game has been weak. No receiver is good enough to demand double coverage, and while Jonathan Franklin is a solid running back, he is a far cry from Cal's Best.

And the Bruins Defense:

The UCLA defense was not at fault for the loss to Oregon last week. In fact, two of Oregon's three touchdowns weren't even scored by the team's offense. Also, the Bruins had a defensive touchdown in the game, as Akeem Ayers scored on an interception. Sure, UCLA could have played better against the run, as the Ducks gained 221 yards on 43 rushing attempts, but the play against the pass was quite strong. Opponents are scoring only 17.2 ppg against UCLA this season, and the team has yielded a mere eight touchdowns to opposing offenses. Foes are gaining just 285.6 total ypg against UCLA, which has been tough against both the run and the pass. A total of 11 takeaways in five games, including nine interceptions, have clearly helped the Bruins. Keep an eye on Reggie Carter, as he has made 37 tackles, including 5.5 TFLs, and forced a pair of fumbles.

Poll

How do you think Cal will do against UCLA? Thanks to Avinash for these choices

Bears devour Baby Bears in a horrifying sign of cannibalism

24 votes

Bears pat Baby Bears on head, tell them they'll understand when they're older

70 votes

Baby Bears cuddle Big Bears to death

22 votes

Baby Bears overwhelm in numbers, commit patricide

10 votes

126 votes | Poll has closed

Oregon preview

BoilerTMill — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:24:57 -0000

Based solely on history, we should lose this game. Purdue has recently not played well when going out to the West Coast. We are 3-7-2 against Pac-10 opponents on the road, with only one win (at Arizona in 2005) coming since 1970. Worst yet, we have the first negative comment coming from coach Hope. I don't think I was alone this week when his preference for staying closer to home sounded an awful lot like coach Tiller's famous anti-Hawaii dialectic in 2006. If you count the Hawaii trip as a west coast trip (and I do in terms of distance) here are our results since 1970 playing in the Mountain Time Zone or further west:

10/3/1970 at Stanford W 26-14 (Ironically, the day my sister was born, so I blame her)

9/18/1971 at Washington L 35-38

9/27/1975 at Southern Cal L 6-19

9/15/1979 at UCLA L 21-31

9/12/1987 at Washington L 10-28

9/16/1989 at Washington L 9-38

9/14/1991 at California L 18-42

8/30/1998 at Southern Cal L 17-27

1/1/2001 vs. Washington (Rose Bowl) L 24-34

12/31/2001 vs. Washington State (Sun Bowl) L 27-33

12/31/2002 vs. Washington (Sun Bowl) W 34-24

12/31/2004 vs. Arizona State (Sun Bowl) L 23-27

9/17/2005 at Arizona W 31-24

11/25/2006 at Hawaii L 35-42

Oregon offense:

Well, let's just say we're going to get something much different from what we originally expected. In my original Know thy Opponent from over the summer there was plenty to fear. As one reader pointed out, we did not see the zone read option. I would argue that we still haven't truly seen it this year. In a move I don't completely understand, Oregon seemed to be afraid of running it against Boise State. On the one drive they did run it, they scored. The rest of the time it was like they panicked and decided they needed to throw in order to catch up. Jeremiah Masoli had a very inaccurate night throwing the ball, and the rest was history.

Masoli was 14 of 27 for 121 yards and an interception against the Broncos. Oregon also had just 17 rushing attempts for 31 yards as a team. By comparison, they ran 43 times 306 yards and two scores against us. Oregon is not going to have any success if they run the ball just 17 times. They will probably have more success passing against us because our pass defense was so awful last week, but this is a run-oriented team. Boise State did a good job of stopping the run and taking them out of their comfort zone, so that is what we must do. Masoli had a terrible game against Boise, generating just 6 first downs. He is still an incredible talent and we can't rely on him to be awful again.

Of course, the main thing to discuss with that running game is the loss of LeGarrette Blount. It is an issue, so let's talk about it. Last year, Oregon was a triple threat running team. Blount and Jeremiah Johnson each passed the 1,000 yard mark, while Masoli nearly did as well. Johnson is gone to the NFL, while Blount is obviously gone due to suspension. In truth, we did a good job against Blount last year except for one play. He had 12 carries for 132 yards and two scores, but one carry was a 72 yard run that was a huge momentum shift. We had Oregon backed up deep in their own territory and that big run eventually allowed them to tie the game. The only Oregon offensive player we will see that had a rushing attempt in last year's game is tight end Ed Dickson, who had three carries for 18 yards.

Dickson is actually one of the players I fear the most, as well as running back LaMichael James. Dickson was their leading receiver with 7 catches for 93 yards last year, while he had two cacthes for 19 yards against Boise State. James, in my mind, was the better back than Blount last Thursday. He only had two carries, but he went for 22 yards and had a very impressive 17 yard run on their scoring drive. He is a player that needs to touch the ball more for Oregon, and he certainly will this week. Dickson and Jeff Maehl give Oregon big targets to throw two over the middle, which was a glaring weakness for us against Toledo.

Finally, I would like to see our defensive line have a better week without having to face the heat and humidity. Kawann Short, Mike Neal, and Gerald Gooden all had to leave the Toledo game because of dehydration issues, and as a result we couldn't get a ton of pressure. Oregon had some huge offensive line issues last week, and we have to have everyone healthy to exploit that. The key to disrupting their read option is penetration from the front four. This will allow our linebackers to play back and cover the middle, which they couldn't do against Toledo. If we can be as effective as Boise State was, I like our chances.

Here are the highlights from Oregon's game one

Oregon Defense:

These guys kept the Ducks in last week's game and it should have been a win if not for the ineptness of the offense. They gave up 361 yards, including 164 on the ground, but that was only on 2.8 yards per carry. Most importantly, they bent but did not break. Boise State had four drives end in field goal attempts, but managed just three points because of misses or bad snaps. It will be critical that we get some points on every drive that crosses the 40 because Oregon can buckle down and defend in the red zone. Having a kicker that can bomb from 60 is great in this regard, and hitting from 53 last year at Ohio State shows he can so it in a hostile environment.

Unfortunately for Oregon, their best defensive player, safety T.J. Ward, may be unavailable for the game. Early on in the Boise game Ward seemed to be the only Oregon defensive player interested in stopping the Broncos. Even playing half the game he led with 11 tackles and had one tackle for loss. Kenny Rowe could be a factor as well, as he finished the game with a pair of sacks.

It will be important for us to continue being unpredictable on the offensive side of the ball. Lost in Saturday's game was the way Gary Nord mixed things up. We ran more formations than I can ever remember us running, and we were very successful in each set. Obviously, our offensive line and fullbacks did a great job in clearing holes for Jaycen Taylor and Ralph Bolden. The return of Frank Halliburton will only help an already very good situation. If our offensive line can continue to muscle Oregon's front seven around we will have a very successful day.

Boise State had success early against the run, but Oregon adjusted to have a much better second half defensively. This was a lot like our game with the Ducks last year. Boise had every chance to blow them out, but failed to take advantage. As a result, Oregon had plenty of chances to get back in it. Boise was also very sloppy with the ball, fumbling four times without being touched. We must avoid that fate.

Oregon Special Teams:

It is hard to judge this area because the Ducks did not attempt a field goal or even an extra point, new punter Jackson Rice was very impressive, however, with a 44 yard average on seven kicks. Walter Thurmond is a dangerous returner we have to look out for on both punts and kickoffs. Boise State averaged better than 30 yards per kickoff return, but our blocking must get better first. Our coverage needs to be light years better on kickoffs facing their speed or we will give up a big return.

Intangibles:

It is pretty safe to say that Oregon is a team in severe disarray right now, while Purdue has everyone on the same page. How Oregon responds after 10 days will be a major factor in this game. There were reports of players sniping at coaches on the sidelines while former coach Mike Belotti overshadowed Chip Kelly on several occasions. I guess it is a good thing that Joe Tiller is now 1,000 miles away in Wyoming. We have the advantage that this is fully Danny Hope's program now, where you get the sense that Belotti hasn't completely handed over the reins yet.

Oregon's playcalling has to be much better against us, but our own defense has to tackle better and not give up easy yards over the middle in the passing game. I still don't think we have seen our run defense yet because Toledo barely tried to run against us. If Oregon is smart, they will test us against the run early. They cannot afford to go away from their strength like they did against Boise State.

Finally, we cannot afford to make the crowd a factor. Let's face it, we have sucked on the road of late. Our last win in a hostile venue came at Minnesota in 2007 (though the Motor City Bowl was almost a Central Michigan home game). That is eight straight losses, and we have to go back to our win at Wisconsin in 2003 for the last time we beat a team on the road that finished with a winning record. Autzen Stadium is known as one of the best home venues in the nation. The Duck fans are anxious to prove the Boise State game was a fluke, so we need to not let them be a huge factor. If we do win, I think this would be our most impressive win since that 2003 game at Wisconsin.

Keys for Purdue:

Continue to mix it up on offense.
Continue to get dominant play from the offensive line
Tackle better
Get penetration along the defensive front to disrupt the read option
Defend the middle of the field in the passing game

To me, these are all minor fixes from the Toledo game. I am confident we can make them, as well. Coach Hope will have this team beleiving it can pull the upset, and I feel a whole lot better about doing so compared to a week ago at this time.

Who are you and what did you do with Jeremiah Masoli?

jtlight — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:00:24 -0000

More photos » by Matt Cilley - AP

Where did you go, Jeremiah?

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We all know there were many, many problems with the offense against Boise State. But I have to say, Jeremiah Masoli looked simply terrible. He looked absolutely nothing like the QB we saw through the latter part of last season. He was indecisive, inaccurate, and had bad pocket presence. Luckily, I feel that these things can be fixed, but Masoli doesn't have much time to get his head on straight.

I'm going to take a look at a few plays that I feel are indicative of Masoli's play. Honestly, there were a lot to chose from. But hopefully these will give you an idea of just what Masoli needs to do to improve.

Play 1:

We'll start with the first 3rd down conversion attempt of the game. It was 3rd and 4 near midfield. During the pre-snap lineup, it a simply look around would reveal that Jeff Maehl (at the top of the screen) was being closely covered 1-on-1 by Kyle Wilson, BSU's best cover corner. On the long side of the field, both Jamere Holland (far bottom) and Ed Dickson (just above him) were being very softly covered by their respective corners.

After the snap, Jeff Maehl proceeded to go straight down the field, and was unable to get any separation from Wilson. Unfortunately, Masoli continued to stare down Maehl this entire time, not even glancing toward the other side of the field, where both Dickson and Holland were nearing the first down marker while still being very loosely covered by their defenders.

In the final shot, we see Masoli throw the ball toward Maehl, a pass which ends up 5 yards out of bounds, while the entire left side of the field would have seen a fairly simple pass to achieve the first down. What's so frustrating about this play, is that this is a similar defense that we have seen our team run over and over again on 3rd and short situations, yet, the Ducks fail to take the first down that the defense is begging to give our team.

Unfortunately, Masoli showed an inability to look beyond his first option through most of the first half, though he did improve marginally as the game went on. It's also important to note that there were other plays where Masoli simply caved under pressure, looking the opposite of Kellen Moore. Again, improvement happened as the game went on, but Masoli's passing was very rough for much of the game.

Play 2:

However, Masoli's rushing was plagued by indecision. In the second example, we see a play that could become another staple of the Oregon offense. This occurred on the Duck's first touchdown drive of the game. Before the snap, LaMichael James is in motion, in what could become a sweep play to him.

This time though, instead of handing the ball off, Masoli likely seeing a push on the left side of the line, decides to keep the ball and run it himself.

As he runs up the field, the left side of the line actually gets a good push. Dickson, Weems, and Thran are moving up the field against 2 defenders, while Asper, Kaiser and Holmes are holding off the backside pressure. At this point, the play is set up for succes. The only player in a decent position to make a play is the BSU linebacker #52, Derrell Acrey. However, he is caught flat footed from moving to his left, and would have trouble making a play.

Unfortunately, for some reason, instead of going outside, Masoli stutter steps to the middle, and loses all of this momentum. You can see what this play may have done, as Weems is starting to break upfield.

At this point, the play is breaking down, Thran is losing his block while Acrey is moving into the now quickly closing hole. Masoli ends up gaining 2-3 yards on the play.

This time, the play was done in by indecision on the part of Masoli. There was a big opportunity on this play for success but Masoli did not hit the hole as it was opening. This is very unlike the Masoli we saw last season, who made the decision and then went straight up the field. And with an inexperienced line, any ball carrier will need to hit the hole with incredible speed. Indecision will simply not be an option.

Unfortunately, we'll see something like that again in the next play.

Play 3:

The final play may have been the most important of the game. This was the 4th down play which has received much criticism, as a field goal would have put Oregon within one possession of the Broncos. I don't criticize the call to go for it, though the execution of the play was poor. Oregon ran multiple times, with similar success each time. Oregon starts in a standard formation.

As soon as the play starts the line fails to push. And as BSU had done countless times, they had left both a DE and LB home on the end to watch Masoli.

Masoli then hands the ball off to Blount, who gets stopped for a loss again, as BSU has more men on the line and is set to stop the run.

While this was not a great play from the beginning, I am surprised that Masoli did not hold on to the ball himself. When he had done this earlier in the game, gains had been not great, but they had at least been positive. What surprises me about this, however, is that we saw last year, over and over again, Masoli take the ball even when a DE was there on that end, unblocked. While success on this play was not guaranteed, I think it's indicative of a lack of confidence that was seen throughout the game on his part. In a game where he needed to be decisive, he was not. This lack of confidence was seen in the passing game, where he didn't have good reads and relied on his first option for much of the game, while showing little pocket presence or awareness.

So where does this leave us? Luckily, I think that these mistakes seen my Masoli are more than fixable. We know the talent that he has, and he improved as the game went on. But his confidence must return. He must trust his instincts and just go, something that made him so great last season.

If he can regain this composure, he'll be just fine. If not, we could be in for a very long season.