There were a lot of flaws exposed Saturday. the offensive line, despite all of the successes of the running backs, have a long ways to go. While the staff focused on getting bigger and stronger, in some cases they did so to the detriment of mobility. (On multiple occasions I watched a pulling lineman (sometimes a guard, others a tackle) who were simply unable to move well enough to be a threat as a blocker. In fact, on more than one occasion, I watched the 'pulling lineman' get in the way of the running back, not make it to block anyone and the DL who had been lined up in front of the OL made the play from the backside.
That's all part of the growing pains we should expect to see.
Often in my Fifth Quarter critique, I am very critical. I look not at the niceties of what went right, but try to watch to see where some problems occurred. It's easier to do during a loss as some people find problems when making a negative assessment of a 77-21 win.
So what were some positives?
1) Freshmen: There were so may freshmen making a difference on Saturday it was very impressive. I knew Jordon Scott and Austin Faoliu would be critical. I had reported often about Thomas Graham; I had even mentioned players like Darrian McNeal. So who was I most surprisingly impressed by? Two safeties: Billy Gibson and Nick Pickett. Gibson looked like he could easily be a significant impact player and a freshman All-American if he stays healthy and continues to improve. The other was Nick Pickett. I recognize that injury was the mother of the necessity here, but the fact that someone many had considered a probable red-shirt came in to make an impact was crucial.
2) Royce Freeman and Kani Benoit. These are easy, but clearly the Duck staff wants to use more power running than East-West running and with these two, that makes it more possible. The ability of Benoit to come in and spell Freeman is crucial to long-term success. Plus, it gives some 'thunder' backs reason to believe they are needed.
3) Johnny Johnson III. Yes, I could have put him under #1; but I feel so strongly about his progression that he deserves separate mention. He did not fill up the stat sheet, but he showed why he earned to starting spot opposite Dillon Mitchell. He has tremendous hands and a very good understanding of defenses. Most importantly, though, is that he was a significant force as a blocker. The former three-star who many considered an 'afterthought' in last recruiting class could end up the most important receiver Oregon signed.
4) Coaching. While the number of penalties was about the only thing which the new staff could not change, they made adjustments. This had become a key source of significant fan frustration since Nick Aliotti's retirement; an inability of the defense staff to make adjustments. This staff did and literally shut down the Thunderbirds in the second half. it was nice to see.
5) Development during a blowout. It is easy to 'shut it down' when the backups get into the latter stages of a blowout. We have seen too many instances of Oregon's backups coming in and using three straight up the middle handoffs to try and speed up the clock. You might as well just take a knee three times; it would provide the same value.
To see Taylor Alie actually running the offense; to see the running backs having to read the o-line, block defenders and make moves; to watch the OL have to make OL adjustments, actually pass block in addition to run block were all good things.
(I hope to use the season and additional writings to work past the long, lonely summer of isolation, so I am hoping to bring more public thoughts like this forward. Hope everyone enjoyed week one!)
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