SB Nation User Blog: jtlight

The Oregon defense: better than they're getting credit for

jtlight — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:00:14 -0000

Nick Foles and the Arizona offense racked up 41 points against the Ducks. However, this number was skewed due to two overtimes.

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If you've spent two seconds perusing any Ohio State Buckeyes blogs, you'll have no doubt read about the poor Oregon defense. This has been quite infuriating, simply because the analysis provided has been woefully ignorant. Case in point, a post from Buckeye Battle Cry, which will be joining SBNation on January 1st (Welcome guys!).

With a few exceptions at the beginning of the year, the Oregon D has been allowing apposing offenses to rush for pretty close to their season averages.

The crown jewel of this chart is Stanford’s #11 ranked rushing offense and the 236 yards they gained on the ground against Oregon, which of course led to a 51-42 defeat of the Ducks.

The good and still improving #17 [OSU] rushing offense (198.92 ypg) against the #40 [Oregon] rushing defense (130.64 ypg) that gives up basically whatever the offense wants to take.

Sounds good to me.

Unfortunately, this type of 2nd rate analysis is standard throughout the Buckeye blogosphere. SBNation's tOSU blog, We Will Always Have Tempe, front-paged this post.

What we can take from all of these posts is the infatuation with all things "total." Total yards, total points, total defense, etc. I've even seen some commenters go so far as mention time of possession. And if you're looking at the Ducks through this narrow lens, of course Oregon will not stack up.

Yet on January 1st, Buckeye Nation will be in for a rude awakening.

The first thing we need to do is get past this idea of total yards or rushing defense as a good indication of the Oregon defense. Oregon simply runs too many plays on both sides of the ball. Over the course of the season, the Oregon defense defended 864 plays. The Buckeye defense defended 773. This is a difference of about 8 plays per game, and is due mostly to the difference in pace that Oregon plays compared to most other teams.

To get a good feel for how these teams actually play, we really need to look at how they perform on a down-by-down basis. The best way to do this is to go to our friend Bill Connelly with RockMNation and Football Outsiders.com, who has done a great job breaking down these statistics.

And, if you've been reading this site for a while, you know I'm going straight to S&P+. For a full explanation of what these numbers mean, check out Bill's primer, and further post on Football Outsiders. Basically, this statistic is a great indicator of just how good teams are on a per-play basis.

Now, I'm not gonna sit here and say that Oregon's defense is better than OSU's. It's not. But, it's a lot closer than any Buckeye fan is willing to admit. Looking at these statistics, Oregon has the 15th ranked defense in the country, and beyond that has the 10th ranked rushing defense in the country (mostly because they have faced a lot of really good rushing teams). These results really shouldn't be a surprise. Oregon is giving up only 4.6 yards per play on the season, good for 11th nationally. And they are giving up only 3.41 yards per rush, good for 24th nationally (again, let's remember that S&P+ takes into account opponent strengths).

This Oregon team is where it is because of its defense. It faced potent offenses over and over throughout the season, and gave the offense an opportunity to succeed through strong defensive play.

We'll be getting into the matchups more in the week before the Rose Bowl, but the crux of Buckeye arguments thus far have been that the Duck defense just isn't that good. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Quack Fix: Men's basketball drops another, football gears up for Rose Bowl, recruiting nears the stretch run

jtlight — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:38:29 -0000

Quite a bit of quack from over the weekend, so let's get right to it.

The men's basketball team dropped their third straight to the St. Mary's Gaels on Saturday, 81-76. In the end, the Gael's made plays when it mattered, and the Ducks just didn't. Oregon held a five point lead in the second half, but couldn't pull out the victory. St. Mary's is a good team, but should a Pac-10 really lose to them three years in a row?
Unfortunately, it's not just the Ducks that are terrible, it's the entire Pac-10. SBNation's college basketball blog, Searching for Billy Edelin, asks if the Pac-10 is a one-bid league after UCLA and Washington fell on their faces over the weekend.
However, there is some good basketball being played in Eugene. The Oregon women have been excellent this year and sit at 8-1, and set out on their first big test of the season on Wednesday at Georgia Tech.
Moving to football, the Ducks had a competition day yesterday, which the defense won due to an offensive penalty. The players seemed to really get into it after some time off. Some young guys also got some looks during the practice, as Coach Kelly wanted to see them compete. Just one more benefit of the extra 15 practices bowls provide.
The Register Guard will be profiling a Duck every day until the Rose Bowl. Over the weekend Carson York and Blake Ferras were profiled. Today's Duck is Casey Matthews, who was also discussed in qsouther's weekend fanpost.
While Rose Bowl practice is big, the coaching staff is throwing recruiting into high gear, and most of the coaches flew all over the country last week visiting the Ducks top targets this year. Oregon has made significant strides in national recruiting, and that is seen most is simple name recognition, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.
TheState.com, has a profile on Marcus Lattimore, one of the most sought after recruits of 2010, and who will be visiting Oregon on January 22nd. Lattimore has the physical tools to succeed, but he's also been an inspiration to his community off the field, and has not let the publicity or hype go to his head. In that way, he reminds me of Jonathan Stewart. Good luck to Marcus in his final decision.
Lastly, KVAL is counting down the top 10 Ducks of the 2000s, and one of my favorite Ducks, Keenan Howry, comes in at #8.

As always, leave your links and comments below. After the jump, a video of competition day.

Quack Fix: Basketball prepares for St. Mary's, a few Rose Bowl links

jtlight — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:50:57 -0000

Well, things have really slowed down this week. Here's the quack that's out there:

The Duck men's basketball team has a chance at revenge this weekend. After losing to St. Mary's two years in a row, and a historically bad loss last weekend at Missouri, the Ducks will be going for the win tomorrow, though without Joevan Catron and possibly without Tajuan Porter, who is listed as day-to-day. Bob Clark's practice report for yesterday also had an interesting note. The cold weather in Eugene so affected Mac Court that most players were practicing in long sleeve shirts. Yep, it's time for a new arena.
SBNation's Big 10 blog, The Rivalry, Esq., has an interview with AndyPanda from Building the Dam, to learn a bit about the Ducks from their rival. While Andy does a good job overall, he stumbles into the same excuses many Beaver fans do, blaming lost opportunity for the loss. So quickly the Beaver fans forget that on their last 2 drives, with the game on the line, the Beavers had 10 plays for 37 yards.
Hank Stern from the Willamette Week takes a page from ATQ and does a Q&A with an OSU fan to talk about everybody's favorite topic: Terrelle Pryor.
Ted Miller has a post comparing the preseason and postseason Pac-10 all conference teams.
tOSU bloggers are starting to talk about the game. Here's a post on the early point spread from the Buckeye Blog. The early opinion of tOSU seems to be that the Buckeye's will push the Ducks around on offense and stop the Ducks spread offense on defense. This shouldn't really surprise anyone. Then again, the Buckeye's couldn't beat the 6th place Pac-10 team. At home. Against a true freshman QB who was started for the second time.
Lastly, if you were looking for Rose Bowl tickets, looks like you're going to have to buy them through a third party, as the Ducks will use up their allotment.

As always, leave your comments and links below. GO DUCKS!

In a strange swing the Ducks LOSE a commit after the civil war. FL RB Ethan Grant who was a barn...

jtlight — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:11:16 -0000

In a strange swing the Ducks LOSE a commit after the civil war. FL RB Ethan Grant who was a barn burner. He leaves the Ducks to side w/TCU

@Prehmmr

Pac-10 All Conference teams announced: Chip Kelly named COY, LaMichael James offensive freshman of the year

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:17:54 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Chip Kelly led the Ducks from disaster to a Pac-10 championship. Congrats on being named coach of the year, Chip!

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First off, Congratulations to Chip Kelly and LaMichael James, who were given great honors today. Coach Kelly was named the Pac-10 Coach of year, and he undoubtedly deserved it. After the debacle at Boise, Oregon rebounded and won the Pac-10 be two whole games. LaMichael James was named the offensive freshman of the year, setting the Pac-10 rushing record for freshman, and was the most explosive running back in the conference, if not nation.

Rounding out the Ducks on the all conference teams, Ed Dickson was named to the first team, while Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, Will Tukuafu, and Casey Matthews were named to the second team.

I think what the voting for this award proves is that Oregon was by far the best team in the conference. It's pretty shocking that Oregon won the conference by two games, yet only got 5 players onto the all conference teams.

Meanwhile, OSU had 7 players on the first team alone, yet couldn't hang with Oregon in the 4th quarter. UCLA had four players on the first team defense, but had a worse defense than Oregon by almost any statistical measure.

While it would have been nice to see the individuals on the team recognized to a greater degree, Oregon gets to take home the ultimate prize: the Pac-10 championship.

LaMichael James named Pac-10's offensive freshman of the year, Chip Kelly named coach of...

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:12:34 -0000

LaMichael James named Pac-10's offensive freshman of the year, Chip Kelly named coach of the year.

Rob Moseley Twitter

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

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:34:51 -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

Three-star safety Derrick Malone Commits to Oregon

jtlight — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:02:04 -0000

Three-star safety Derrick Malone Commits to Oregon

Malone is a safety out of Colton, CA, and is another very solid prospect for the Ducks. He committed just days after visiting during the Civil War. Malone could end up playing SAM, replacing Spencer Paysinger in a couple years. Looks like the Ducks are continuing to recruit athletes to fly around the field.

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

jtlight — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:39:13 -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.

Quack Fix: The Oregon Ducks are the Pac-10 Champions

jtlight — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:59:05 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

It's fitting that LeGarrette Blount was almost the undoing of the season early in the year, and ended up saving it in the 3rd quarter.

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What a night. I still have a grin plastered across my face. The Ducks are Pac-10 champions. Here's your post-Civil War quack:

First off, Chip Kelly. 3 fourth down attempts and conversions that saved and then won the game for the Ducks. George Schroeder caught up with him after the game, and Kelly never had any thought of NOT going for it. And the confidence that Kelly displayed spread to the whole team. Despite being down by 9 in the 3rd, the Ducks never wavered, they never gave up. They just kept on plugging, and made big play after big play, on both sides of the ball.
Ken Woody has his post-game analysis up. A few things that stuck out: Bringing in Blount turned out to be much more than giving him some playing time as a senior. His physicality was something the Ducks desperately needed (Paul was right!). Second, for all the talk about the Beavers "controlling the clock," it was the Ducks that did that in the second half, with a number of huge drives to keep the Beaver offense off the field. Lastly, OSU seemed to make no attempt to establish a running game. The Ducks dominated the ground game, especially in the second half.
Adam Jude has a piece on LeGarrette Blount, and the emotional night after a long and lonely season. One of my favorite parts of the night can be seen on the SportsCenter highlights of the game (they won't let me embed): The massive smile on Gary Cambell's face when he hugs Blount after his touchdown. I'm so happy for LeGarrette for getting to this point. He kept his head down, and worked hard all season, even when he wasn't being rewarded. How the entire team responded to the Boise situation makes me proud to be a Duck.
Ted Miller has a piece on the bumpy ride the Ducks endured. It has been an exciting ride, with some incredible lows, which make the highs that much sweeter.
The senior sendoff was a great success, and good thing it was well before kickoff, or it may have been a bit teary on the sideline.
And, since I can't resist looking forward, let's take a quick look at recruiting. There were some huge visitors last night, including a surprise by Dominique Easley, one of the top DE recruits in the nation. Don't be surprised if the Duck commitments start rolling in.

After the jump a few videos. As always, leave your links and comments below. It's a day of celebration!!! GO DUCKS!!!

The ESPN crew breaks down the Oregon victory

Chip Kelly Talks Civil War

Chip Kelly full post-game press conference

Jeremiah Masoli post-game press conference

KVAL post game coverage