I guess today I'll try to fill in for axe23 and qrsouther, neither of whom I saw.

 The Ducks were in full pads for the second half of today's double. Here are a few bullets from an 80 degree, clear sky practice.

• The offense wore black jerseys after losing Saturday's competition day and many of the players broke in the retro yellow helmets.
• Daryle Hawkins was used at the RB, WR/Tazer position (but still wearing the red QB no contact jersey) while Bryan Bennett took all of the 3rd string snaps. Because I've only seen this at one practice he could just be filling in for some tired legs. However, Hawkins was given a lot of reps (4th string D. Haines had some too at WR), so the coaches just may be considering him for a position change. Given that we have 3 talented QB's coming in next year it's something to think about.
  
• From what I saw, James and Barner only participated in about half of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, though they both looked healthy and quick. Williams, Seastrunk and Hawkins split most of the other carries.
• Jackson Rice threw "punts" on a punt return drill that Barner and Harris fielded very well. Rice has a good arm.
• Both Beard and Maldonado were 50/50 on long field goals today, both missing way left from the left hash. I doubt we'll see any field goals longer than 50 yards to start the season.
• Chip Kelly was constantly in the offensive line's ear today, trying to get them to match the defensive lines intensity and play. Long runs were almost non-existent as the D-line sure has founds its rhythm.
• The talked-to-death-over-contemplated QB battle stayed even once again today. Some of the basic passing drills (4-on-3 and drills without DB's) were executed by only one quarterback throwing at a time (instead of all QB's throwing at the same time to different receivers). I think Chip changed things up so that he can get a better look at Thomas and Costa despite the drawback of getting in less reps.
  
• I don't think either Costa or Thomas threw a pick today. Costa had a few good robotic scampers down the field out of bounds and consistently found the short open receiver. Thomas took several ambitious runs with only a little success and like Costa, had no problem finding his check down.
  
• Most of the deep passes got swatted or were off target but neither QB made a lot of mistakes. Today wasn't either of the QB's best day but the minimal amount of negative plays was good. Thankfully the word is that Chip Kelly will announce his starter this Saturday.
  
• Bryan Bennett looked human throwing a bad INT to Cliff Harris but he also had I couple of nice throws. DJ Davis stood out making crisp moves and coming back to the ball with good hands.

I wish I had more to report but there is only so much that I could take in with my untrained (possibly erroneous) eyes. Although, If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

After spending countless hours discussing/ arguing about Oregon football with family and friends, I'm ready to stop the speculation and watch our team first hand. Since we're coming off a Rose Bowl year and expectations are extremely high, I expect Fall Camp to be the most followed and scrutinized camp ever. But for good reason. We've never had as much talent and skill at most positions then we do now and I'm biased but I think Oregon can only trip over itself--no one in the Pac-10 can stop us when we're at our best. Here are a few talking points going into Fall Camp, nothing you probably don't already know but maybe something worth commenting on. Or just use the post for a Pre-fall camp open thread

What I'll be watching for (the obvious)

• Quarterback Battle - coming into camp I give the edge to Costa, but if I have any rooting interests it's that Thomas plays like he did in his high school highlight reel and surprises everyone. Otherwise, I'm just fascinated to see who wins the job. 
• DB Play - We had a great year recruiting and there appears to be a lot to sort out. We're loaded at DB, so there are more headlines then I can mention. Will Terrence Mitchell continue to work his way up the depth chart? What about prized recruit Dior Mathis? Or fan favorite Cliff Harris? If nothing else, I'm excited to see Talmadge Jackson III, John Boyett and Javes Lewis again and, of course, newly positioned Eddy Pleasant.
• Special Teams - Thankfully Chip Kelly doesn't need to go on national T.V. and brag about special teams (like Neu-weasel) because of a lack of positives, but still, five yard punts or blocked field goals will lose a team games or a season. I'll be watching to see how polished the kicking and punting can become over the course of spring camp, though if their final grade comes out to be a C+ before the first game, I'd be satisfied.

What I'll be watching for (Freshman)

• RB's - Lache Seastrunk and Dontae Willams may or may not see playing time as we all know, but all the more reason to see them in action at fall camp. What's hard about getting great recruits on top of Oregon's already great players is that you have to wait a year or two to see them in the spotlight and that requires patience, $%&@!
• QB, PK, DT - Bryce Bennett, Alejandro Maldonado and Ricky Heimuli are three other players that I'll be sizing up. Bennett didn't get that much hype because we signed him early, Maldonado potentially could win the kicking job and how beast will Heimuli be?
• Others - Every year it seems an unexpected recruit works his way into a backup or starting role by the start or middle of the season. Anyone want to go out on a limb?

What I'll be watching for (Schemes, Plays, Coaches, Overall team)

• The 3-4 Defense - After Chip denied the change in scheme, I'd like to see the defense for myself. Maybe the defensive change has been so gradual and incorporating that Chip thinks the media is trying to make too big a story of it. But as FishDuck and others have shown there is proof of a 3-4. I also know I'm not going to unlock any secrets at Fall Camp...

• What new formations, plays, etc. will be whipped out in preparation for a new QB? I hope to see a passing game that throws and completes the deep ball more often. I also expect to see a stumbling offense in comparison to our gritty defense.
  
• It's always fun to watch drills and coaches yelling at players, but to be honest, I've never been to Oregon's Fall Camp. What should I expect? What will you be watching for?
  

Here's the schedule via Moseley
Mon., Aug. 9: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 10: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 11: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 12: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 13: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 14: 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 16: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 17: 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 18: 1:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 19: 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m
Fri., Aug. 20: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 21: 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 23: 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 24:  9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

so yesterday I saw that ESPN has this game called "Can You Guess My Number?".  A football/basketball/etc player's # is photoshopped out and you have to guess his #. I thought we could try this with current/former Oregon athletes. Post your 'shopped photos without a name and number for us to guess. if we're unable to guess correctly then you can post another player with the same #. So I'll start... its more fun if you don't cheat!

Thoughts here.

Continue reading this post »

take a look at how different the ATQ site once looked: archive taken on Aug 17, 2003 http://web.archive.org/web/20030817225828/http://www.addictedtoquack.com/

(I figure it was owned by someone else then)

to see all of the archive for the ATQ url: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://addictedtoquack.com
haha this is priceless.