95.5 the game just came out with breaking news that Nate Costa suffered a knee injury in practice last night.  They didn't know which knee or the severity, but said that an athletic department source described it as "potentially serious."  They'll get more from Bellotti in a conference call tonight.

The first thought is last year, and if Nate reinjured his ACL.  I hope that's not the case.  But, with a bit over a week until the Husky game, I hope that Roper's ready.

I'm glued to the computer and radio on this.  The moment I get anything, it'll go right up.

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

[UPDATE] Ducks Attack wonders if this is a hoax, as they've been unable to get confirmation from the athletic department.  He also cites lack of updates by Moseley, etc.  I hear Moseley's out of town.  And athletic department officials can't comment publicly on injury matters (only coaches with player consent).  I can tell you that Jay Allen is the longtime sports director at KXL/95.5, and he broke this himself.  He has inside sources, and a ton on the line.  There is no way this is a hoax, and, if it is, I would be beyond shocked.

[UPDATE]: Moseley confirms an "incident".  Also says there will be more info as it becomes available.

[UPDATE]: Moseley and 1320 the score are reporting that Costa has injured the same knee that was surgically repaired last year. Good news is that he finished out the practice and then discussed this with the coaches. From what we've heard, he will be getting an MRI tonight. However, Oregon's orthopedic surgeon is out of town, so results may not be back until Sunday. At this point, we don't know the extent of this. It could be very serious, or quite minor. He won't be playing for at least a few days.

Only 9 Days until our team takes the field under the lights at Autzen to take on the Huskies. Now, we've talked about the game itself, and we've been thinking about the matchups and all that for some time. So over the next week, let's take a look at some of the great plays of the rivalry.

I'm gonna kick things off in 1988. In Musgrave's sophomore year, Oregon had a nice 5-1 record going into the Washington game, but were still underdogs against a ranked Husky team led by Don James.

But Oregon held in there most of the game, making enough plays to stay in it, and got the ball down 10-14 with little time left. Musgrave led the team deep into Husky and the team found themselves in a 4th and 1 situation at the 5 yard line. With star backs Derick Loville and Latin Berry, everyone expected the dive, but OC Bob Toledo (yes, this was a loooong time ago) called the reverse, the 49 special to Terry Obee, and magic happened:

Pandemonium ensued. I grew up hearing about this play from my dad, and this was one of the first big breakthroughs against the Huskies after years of domination.

Unfortunately, this would be the last win of the 1988 season. In the next game, Musgrave broke his collerbone and the season was effectively over. If not for that, this play could be rememberred in the same vein as another famous play from 1994.

GO DUCKS!

We've all kind of figured since spring ball that Nate Costa was the starting quarterback.  In spite of Justin Roper's great bowl performance, Costa just always seemed to have more tools (namely, a pair of legs) that fit our offense.  That the coaching staff called him the 'heir apparent' did little to quell those thoughts.

So what are we to make of this?

Roper has apparently 'closed the gap' on Costa, and a decision will be made by the end of the week?  And he may even try to use Chris Harper, too?

My gut tells me that its still Costa's job to lose, and that this is to serve as a bit of motivation.  And, hell, if Roper wins the job and is the starter, I don't have a huge problem with that, either.

But if MB decides that he's unsure, and goes with the ol' two-QB system, I'm going to vomit.  Between the disaster of the Holiday Bowl, and letting Jason Fife leech playing time way too long, I've seen enough of the two QB system.  Pick a guy, and stay with him.  If he really sucks, go to the other guy.  But PLEASE don't rotate QBs in and out every other possession.

As for Harper, please redshirt him.  In talking with Jared, he mentioned the possibility of using Harper as a RB in trick plays where you can make him throw.  If that's all you want him for, use Crenshaw.  But wasting the redshirt this year strikes me as akin to putting Dixon in against Oklahoma "to see what he can do."  Without that, Dixon is our starting quarterback right now.

In other notes:

Could there be a controversy at punter as well?  I think this is just public praise for Taylor.  Syria is the best punter in a decade at Oregon, no way he's not the starter (though nice to hear that the future is doing so well).

Also, no Drew Davis for the Washington game as he just had a tonsillectomy.  Get well, Drew.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

Wow.  I knew we had a great community here.  But I completely underestimated you guys.  I've had no less than 20 emails from people interested in helping out with the blog.  Its really flattering that all of you care so much as to be willing to give your time.

We value each and every one of you but, unfortunately, I can only take two on the front page.  However, I encourage everyone to keep writing the fanposts, those are a critical part of this blog.

I'm looking over all the emails now, and will get back to people in the next day or so.  If you're not selected, PLEASE don't take it personally.  This place doesn't work without each and every one of you.

Hopefully, we'll have two new authors by the end of the week.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

Purdue Boilermakers
Location:  West Lafayette, Indiana
Enrollment:  39,228
Coach:  Joe Tiller (83-54 @ Purdue, 106-73-1 overall)
2007 Record:  8-5 (3-5 Big Ten)

I am really looking forward to September 13, when Oregon will take on Purdue in West Lafayette, IN. I’ve heard good things about the stadium and its environment, and it should be a fun time for all Duck fans (myself included!) making the trek.

When I first started to think about Purdue, I assumed them to be a very mediocre team. From what I’ve read since then, this appears to be an accurate assumption. NYTimes preview had them pegged at 43. And while their senior QB (Curtis Painter) has received a lot of hype, he seems to be the team’s only decent player. Phil Steele’s rankings agree:  he ranks Painter #2 in the nation, but ranks every other offensive and defensive unit in the latter half of the Big 10. Really, there are no standouts on the team besides Painter.

Many others have done a more adequate job of breaking down Purdue, and I will not go into that detail. The always great Brian over at MGoBlog has an extensive breakdown that shouldn’t be missed, and Travis over at the OffTheTracks has been previewing all of Purdue’s positions, with very little prejudice. Both previews are worth a read.

Instead, I am going to focus on how Oregon stacks up against Purdue, and the important battles to watch...

Continue reading this post »

University of Washington Huskies

Location:  Seattle, Washington

Enrollment:  42,974

Coach:  Tyrone Willingham (11-25 @ UW, 76-76-1 overall)

2007 Record:  4-9 (2-7 Pac-10)

Allow me to make a list of things I hate more than the Washington Huskies:

1.  Certain political figures who shall not be named

2.  Wal-Mart

That’s about it.  Any longtime readers know my hatred everything purple and gold.  So their struggles over the last few years leave me with little sympathy for the Puppies.  I’ve often wondered how a team in such a great city of wealth could fall so far, but you’d better believe I revel in it.  Since their Rose Bowl appearance in 2000, Washington’s spiral to irrelevance has been met with these records:

2001:  7-4

2002:  7-6

2003:  6-6

2004:  1-10

2005:  2-9

2006:  5-7

2007:  4-9

That’s a whole lot of bad, only made worse by the truth that this team has no future, either.  Outside of Jake Locker, this team has no talent.  They finished 60^th in the nation in total offense last year (394.2 ypg), and an abysmal 104^th in total defense last year.  Ty Willingham is on the hottest seat in the nation, and his ass is sure to be shitcanned at the end of the year.

Lets take a look at Satan’s minions:

When Oregon has the ball:

Did I mention that Washington’s defense is somewhere beyond bad?  They were 89^th against the run and 104^th against the pass last year, so equally bad against both.  And, you remember running for four hundred sixty something yards against them last year.  Washington does return six starters, but are still plagued by a fundamental lack of talent on the defensive end.  A new defensive coordinator is sure to help, but how much?

E.J. Savannah had 111 tackles at outside linebacker last year, and is probably the only player on that end worth mentioning by name—though his eligibility remains in question.  The others are a mix defensive linemen with little experience, uninspiring linebackers, and a senior laden defensive backfield that has roughly as much skill as my one year old son.

As I’ve said, though, this defense is equally bad on both sides of the ball.  I’d expect Bellotti to break Costa in easy, with a heavy dose of JJ and Blount in this game.  Those guys should be able to keep each other fresh the whole game long, which should lead to big rushing numbers by the end of the game.  Costa will have a lot of safe passes early on (flats, bubble screens, etc.) until we can take a couple score lead.  I think at that point, Bellotti will let him take a couple of chances to get comfortable.  Costa will get somewhere around 150 yards thorough the air, but we could get over 300 yards rushing.  I’d be extremely disappointed if we didn’t have around 40 points.

When Washington has the ball:

There’s been some bagging on Jake Locker but he’s not overrated—he’s the real deal.  We know he runs like a beast.  And, while he need major improvement as far as passing accuracy goes, we saw last year what can happen if he’s able to find his touch on the deep ball.  Locker does have a bit of a hamstring issue, but its not expected to keep him out of the game.

Let me begin by making one thing crystal clear—Locker’s not going to be gift wrapped two deep blown coverages by the secondary this time.  It was that group’s worst performance of the year in that game, and its not going to happen again.  At least not against this opponent.  Every Washington receiver of not is no longer with the team.  However, one man to keep an eye on is freshman Chris Polk, who is expected kind of like James Rodgers.  Watch the fly sweep.  Louis Rankin is gone, but Brandon Johnson, a serviceable back, will step into the starting job.  The offensive line is very good, and starters return at fullback and tight end.

This unit is okay, but it is very unknown at the skill positions besides Locker.

Special Teams:

The Huskies are very good at punter and kicker.

Final Outlook:

The offense is a mystery, but I expect them to be pretty good.  Look for them to get up about 24 points as our defensive line and linebackers work out some kinks.  However, their defense is something terrible.  We saw a record running performance against them last year, and I expect the same this time around.  Tons of yards for JJ and Blount, and a 42-24 opening day win for Oregon.  Puppies go home licking their wounds, and all is good in the world.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave

As you can see, I haven't been around much lately. Its been another several day absence for me from the site, and it seems that this has been becoming more common. I've kind of known this in the back of my mind for awhile now, but it really sunk in when I tried to sit down and write some team previews for the upcoming season: I just don't have 20-30 hours per week to put into this website anymore. My son is getting older and demanding more of my attention. I now have two dogs as well. And my wife would like a bit of my time, too. Regular visitors know that I've never been happy with the lack of basketball coverage due to the fact that I coach high school ball and don't see most of the games, let alone have time to blog about them. But I've always felt that the football coverage was solid. However, its becoming apparent that I don't have the time to do the job that I've done the last couple of seasons. Jared and Nick do a solid job helping out on here, but they have major time commitments as well.

This has led me to think about what the future of the site is. This has involved conversations with my wife, the higher ups at SBN, other bloggers, etc. One option was to simply quit. That was never really a viable option to me. We've got way to great of a community here to just up and leave. Besdies, I love doing this. I wasn't looking to stop completely, just looking to not spend quite so much time doing it. Another option was to just leave the status quo. Its still an okay blog just updating a few times a week--but just okay is not good enough by my standards. I think that we all expect better, and if we want the online community here to continue to be strong, people need a reason to come back. Another option was to find someone else to shift all of my responsibility onto. Besides just writing, there's a lot of behind the scences stuff to keep up with. But everyone has commitments, and if I can't find all that time, why should I expect someone else to.

So, while muddling over what to do, Peter Bean suggested a solution that could solve all our problems here. We have a great community here. And I've never thought of this as "my" site, as much as its "our" site, with "our" referring to any Duck fan who wants to come here and be a part. So, since this place belongs to all of us, lets use the community to make it stronger.

We're looking for at least two more writers. Ideally, one would be the primary football writer, and one the primary basketball writer. I'd ask the football writer for three posts a week, mainly dealing with scouting reports, previews, and game recaps. Ditto for the basketball writer. You could write whatever you want beyond that (there is no such thing as stepping on toes here), but that is all I would really ask for. I'll continue to take care of all the administration stuff, jersey contest, blogpoll, as well as a couple of articles a week, and Jared and Nick will continue their fine work. But taking some of the research off my plate will give me some time to spend will free up some time with my family, and having someone else cover the game recap will make my wife and son happy, who already sacrifice half their weekend to let me watch football all Saturday. Having a basketball writer around will allow us to actually have basketball coverage, which has been sorely lacking until late in the season the last couple of years. We could probably all team up to cover baseball.

This is a blog, so there is no pay, but its all for the love of the Ducks and to have a place to chat Oregon Sports all year round. A couple of more writers would allow us to have updates everyday, and really fuel the discussion even further. If you're interested, shoot me an email with what you'd like to cover, and a writing sample. I want to be here and keep this place going for many, many years. I just need a bit of help.

GO DUCKS!!!

--Dave (addictedtoquack@gmail.com)

In the second week of fall camp, not much has been happening, and that is an amazing thing. Oregon thus far has avoided any major injuries, and lets hope it stays that way. Everyone seems to be progressing in play and in health.

Jeremiah Johnson seems to be 100%, quelling any fears I had about the running game. Johnson and Blount are potential big-time stars, and Crewshaw (despite his recent minor injury) and Alston round out a very talented backfield.

It also seems that offensive line is getting fleshed out. C.E. Kaiser, who has an awesome name, is getting a lot of time at right tackle. Whatever happens, we have 7-8 guys that are very good. This is a great offensive line, and will be a key to helping the young QB develop.

Spencer Paysinger is making a splash at the "will" linebacker, shoring up another position that was questionable.

I am also getting more comfortable with our defensive line. Despite the lack of big-time names, there seem to be many bodies, all with a decent amount of talent and ability. Despite Justin Thompson being late to camp, the move of Stevens has helped a lot. He and Blake Ferras have been getting a lot of time with the No. 2's, as have Simi Toeaina and Toni Celotto. 

As far as the QB goes, it is doubtful that Costa will lose the starting spot. He has been solid thus far, and no one else has done anything to surpass him. On the receiving end, Jaison Williams has been catching just about everything in sight, and when he drops passes now, it's almost a shock rather than a concern. It's also good to hear that Dickson has been involved. He will be a huge mismatch for any defense, and I'm excited to see what Chip Kelly can do with him.

Overall, this team should be ready to play come August 30th. I don't feel underwhelmed at any position, and there are few teams that will hold large position advantages.

We all know that these things could change at any moment, but for the time being, I'm happy about where this team is at and where it's heading.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from all around:

SBNation writer The Boy, and leader of RockMNation is really into statistics. I mean, really into statistics. He has gone so far as to create his own statistics. His Beyond the BoxScore series is incredibly detailed and highly interesting. Based on his research, he has been looking around the nation at every major conference. Today he previewed the first part of the Pac-10. There's nothing that's much of a revelation, but it's a good read, and come on, what haven't we heard at this point. Also, he drives home the point that no one outside of Corvallis pays attention to OSU's "success", so that's always fun.

For all of you chomping at the bit to talk about Utah State, you won't find much around here, but Bronco Nation previews the Aggies. That's pretty much all you're getting out of us on Utah State.

Lastly, UW's Locker is still day-to-day, and had trouble running today. Every day he sits out, the better it is for our defense.

GO DUCKS!