Blount Force

Dave posted this today on his blog and I thought I would share with readers here. Good stuff Dave!


It takes a lot for me to feel as though I’m short on words...I don’t know where to start...how can I organize this into something that makes sense? I won’t try.

I don’t want to belabor what happened at the end of the game, but I can’t help but mention it. To begin, Byron Hout was punched on the chin because he was an a**hole, and he probably deserved what he got...I don’t know this, but he’s probably deserved it for a long time. Boise State should suspend him...show the nation that they do not condone such behavior from their players. Blount also got what he deserved. It would be one thing if he was a leader on the team, a captain that everybody respected, but that is not what he represented. Blount was a prima donna, had caused problems in the past, and concluded his career with a move that will take years to erase from the memories of sports fans. I feel bad for Blount, but in some ways, this was coming. I hope he recovers. I hope he learns. I hope he makes it in the end. Done. Nuff said. Time to move on.

LaGarrette wasn’t the only source of embarrassment for Oregon on Thursday. Let us not forget the game. We have some issues, and losing our record setting tailback is only the icing on the cake. The concerns about our offensive line are real—very real. It’s easy to second-guess play calling, but if a back can’t run, and if a quarterback is constantly pressured, what do you expect to happen? Blount looked slow out there, and Masoli was not accurate...the issues on the line only made this worse. Kelly and his crew either needs to make these guys better, or plan plays according to how they predict the line will hold up. Having LaMichael James may help, because unlike Blount, he is more likely to speed it on the outside, away from the big defenders.

I’ve heard some positive things about the defense, but I don’t agree with all of them. The second half, Boise was clearly trying to run the clock...we knew that...they knew that...as a result, we stopped them a few times. But when they did choose to pass, we looked awful. Third and long. Complete for a first down. When we knew it was coming, we couldn’t stop it, and we are going to face faster, better players in the future, so we better get ready.

Losing to Boise is not the end of the season, but the questions that arise from a loss like this are real, and they are scary. We can bounce back. We can have a stellar season. We need the coaches to seriously look at our weaknesses, and we need to play around those. Our offense is about getting play makers the ball in space, and with some adjustments, I think we can still do that. My confidence has been shaken, but it is not broken. Next week will say a lot about Oregon as a team, and Kelly as a coach. I’ll be at Autzen. I’ll scream as loudly as I can. And I’ll be a proud Duck.

On a side note, the fans in Boise were absolutely fantastic. We had a great time with the folks around us. We were welcomed, wanted, and respected. I hate Sports Illustrated by the way.

Duckstud now: If you liked this article give Dave a shoutout on his blog.

GO DUCKS