• From AddictedtoQuack, an in depth look at the struggles of Jeremiah Masoli in poor weather situations. I’d be interested to see that data compiled into some sort of averages, but I was too lazy to do it myself.
• First, LeGarrette Blount offered another apology, this time in the Oregon Daily Emerald. Then, he was back on track for reinstatement.
• Ken Goe ruined my belief in Santa Claus, but at least made up for it by entertaining me.
• I found a coach clearly busying himself with anything other than proper voting (I’ll give you a hint: Air Force coach Troy Calhoun votes Cal 19th, leaves Oregon unranked).
• We found out coach Kelly does at least look at the polls even if he says they don’t matter. For the record, his take – “It doesn’t make sense” – parallels that of every free-thinking human.
• There was even a nice story on former Oregon point guard Kenya Wilkins taking his place in history among other Ducks players.
• Of course, worst link of the week goes to this. Losing Walter Thurmond III is a devastating blow to the Ducks defense.

The golf equivalent of playing Washington State

It’s a funny thing what a week can do. We’ve gone from, “who should be quarterback?” to “where should I book my hotel in Pasadena?”

You’ll probably hear a lot of quotes this week about how the team needs to avoid a letdown, how they treat every game the same and how they won’t take Washington State lightly.

But human nature tells us the intensity will be a little lighter and the performance a little less crisp. And with the news that Walter Thurmond III is out for the season, there’s the added shock value to a team that just lost its leader.

So do we have ourselves a trap game? Uh, No. Wait, I didn’t say that loud enough. NOOO!

Let’s be real, it’s Washington State, the perfect game for this team right now. The Ducks are coming off of an emotional first month of the season that featured three ranked teams. What they really need is a gimme. A six inch tap-in as they make the turn to the back nine if you will.

I know what you’re thinking. “Nick, no game is guaranteed. We have to be ready!” That’s all well and good for the team and I hope they take that approach, but if we’re being honest, we all know this game is a win-in-waiting. I mean, they’re starting a true freshman at quarterback. In Autzen Stadium. With a bad team. Unless he’s Ryan Leaf and Drew Bledsoe combined, the Ducks will be fine.

Go ahead and draw your parallels to 2003 when Oregon beat Michigan then turned around and laid an egg at home to the Cougars the following week, but it simply doesn’t apply. That was a Wazzu team that finished in the top ten.  This Washington State team isn’t capable of that type of game. They’re simply not good enough. And that’s just what the Ducks need.

For some reason, Oregon doesn’t do injuries in the variety of “he’ll be out 3-4 weeks.” Nope, if  it’s a special season in the making, you can be almost certain that a star player will suffer a major injury.

• In 1998, when Oregon shot out to a top 11 ranking, they ended up losing running back Rueben Droughns midway through the season and limped through the second half of the schedule. They were already without top defensive player Peter Sirmon.
• Then there was 2005 when quarterback Kellen Clemens went down with a broken ankle and ended his season with the Ducks in the hunt for a BCS bowl.
• In 2007, you know what happened and I’m not talking about it.

Now, once again, the Ducks have lost a playmaking star in Walter Thurmond III (you could add LeGarrette Blount to the list, but that was self-inflicted). It would be comical if it weren’t so frustrating.

Frankly, I don’t know how Joey Harrington got through 2001 without being abducted by aliens (or perhaps something more plausible like a knee injury).

To be clear, though, this isn’t about me or you. I can cry a little bit on a  blog (and a lot in private), but Thurmond is really the one who gets a raw deal. He was in the middle of putting his stamp on the program as one of its best cornerbacks ever. The NFL was surely paying attention.

Of course, Thurmond is an amazing athlete and he’ll bounce back. His shot at the next level simply awaits his return after some intense rehab.

As for me, it’s going to take some time.

Of course, they never really left, but most had written them off after losing to Boise State. In ESPN’s College Pick ‘Em game, 93% of the nation picked Cal and with a high level of confidence. Everyone loved Cal, save for zany fans incapable of objective analysis (guilty). Oregon had even dropped in the rankings after beating Purdue and barely registered after a win over Utah.

None of that matters, but it shows just how far off the radar Oregon had gone. On the opening kick with Walter Thurmond III fumbling and getting injured, it looked like the nation might be right. Then, Oregon went three and out on the first offensive possession. Followed that up with a fumble, but on the same play, Cal’s Josh Hill fumbled the recovery back to Oregon and the Ducks ended up with a first down. From there, the snowball rolled downhill into a mountainous avalanche of  California dream busting.

But before you can compliment the offense on its coming out party, you have to recognize what the defense did. Because really, that’s what won this game. The inauspicious start could have gone bad quickly, but the defense buckled down and stopped any thoughts of Cal rolling up an early lead. No TJ Ward? Whatever. Walter Thurmond III’s not going to be available? Big deal. Without what would be considered Oregon’s top two defensive players, the Ducks put on an effort for the ages.

They gave up a measly three points on a drive that they forced Cal to a net of negative eight yards. The Bears never reached the 20 yard line. In fact, Cal’s best drive was stopped at the  Ducks 26 and ended in a missed field goal. In the end, the Bears were held to 45 points under their average. And Jahvid Best’s Heisman campaign? Buried.

Relish the moment for now. On the wild pendulum that is 2009 Oregon football, the expectations are back at a fever pitch. There are more highs and lows to come. Hopefully, more of the former and less of the latter.

Don’t take this the wrong way. I didn’t jump from any bandwagons because of a tougher than expected win on Saturday, but I did have a bit of an epiphany.

This is a young team. And with youth comes unpredictability. The bright and shiny names added to the numerous preseason awards watch lists made it easy to avoid that fact. As I watched Purdue and Oregon put on a thriller of a game, I started to get confused. How could Oregon look so brilliant and so perplexing from one series to the next. There was no consistency either way. They weren’t constantly bad and they’re weren’t always great, but they were both. There’s really only one explanation for something like that – youth.

It might seem obvious. The make-over of both the offensive and defensive lines has been well-documented, but we all know how easy it is to underestimate the importance of positions that often go manned by those without household names.

You hear LeGarrette Blount, Jeremiah Masoli, Walter Thurmond III, and TJ Ward and you’re ready to gift wrap a 9-11 win season. But reality hits hard and the truth is, the inexperience of this team almost ensures that “elite” will have to wait. Whether it waits another two weeks or an entire season is left to be determined.

I’m not condemning Oregon to a losing season. I actually think that’s a hasty opinion and unlikely scenario considering the talent and consistency of this program in the last 15 years. I’m simply saying that the expectations that the Ducks could replace 7 of 9 starters on the two lines and look like a polished, veteran team was misguided.

The offense had exactly one player on the entire two deep against Purdue that is a senior. One. Out of 22 players. And in case you think there’s experience in those youngsters, only six of them came into this year with more than a full season worth of games played. That’s games played, not started. It should come as no surprise that the offense is struggling to find an efficient rhythm so early in the season.

The inexperience is stunning on offense and while there are more seniors starting on the defensive side of the ball, the story isn’t all that different. Four starters and six on the two deep are in their final year of eligibility. That makes for a total of seven seniors out of 44 players on the two deep.

I’m not trying to rationalize a rough start nor am I trying to set an excuse for a difficult season. All I’m trying to say is I was wrong. This isn’t the team I thought it was. Not yet, anyway.

Keep in mind that my observations below are not that of a journalist spending day after day getting familiar with the players and coaches. These impressions are from one day only so I don’t want anyone to draw any conclusions from this. You won’t find any secrets here (I wouldn’t even know them if I saw them) and I’m not getting into nuts and bolts of football strategy (again, wouldn’t know enough anyway). Much of the scrimmaging portion of practice was at times difficult to see just because of the way they lay out the field for spectators.

Still, all the disclaimers aside, it was fun being able to get a first-hand look at the team and I’d like to think my thoughts provide some insight to those who can’t attend a practice.

• I showed up intent on learning more about LaMichael James. I have a gut feeling this guy is going to be really good. Unfortunately, nothing sparked for me during the practice other than I remember him making a nice catch during a drill. I’ll just have to wait for Sept. 3 to see what he’s made of.
• Came away really impressed with Ed Dickson. In person, he’s a legitimately-sized tight end and I watched him make three completely different types of catches during drills. On one, he had to reach out and use his hands, on another he was covered (blanketed, really) by a defender and still managed to make the catch. The third I remember had him running down the field where he beat his man thoroughly and made a catch on the run. I really hope to see him more involved this year.
• The receivers as a whole seemed to have a little bit of the dropsies, but mishaps can add up over the course of two hours and seem like more than it really is. It’s tough to say as someone who lives out of town and doesn’t observe these practices regularly. It was a little discouraging to see many top receivers sidelined. Jamere Holland, Diante Jackson and D.J. Davis didn’t play. Jackson was suited up, but didn’t seem to get involved. Davis was sporting a boot on his foot.
• In one conversation I had about LaGarrette Blount, it was mentioned that he only caught two passes all of last year so it was notable to me that I saw at least two catches during end of practice scrimmaging.
• Watching Jeremiah Masoli was fun. He definitely doesn’t look the part of a quarterback, but plays it well. I’ve been skeptical of him given that his hype is largely based on three games from last season. However, he seems in command on the field and calm. He can look lethargic going through drills, but it’s clear to me that he is very comfortable this year. There was a nice pass on a deep route to the corner that fell right into Jeff Maehl’s hands. That was notable as I’ve also been concerned about his downfield passing. Of course, I should mention that my view was obscured making me less than 100% positive it was Masoli making the throw.
• It was cool seeing Rashad Bauman back on the practice field working with DBs. He was a fun guy to watch and it would be nice to see this gig take him into some coaching success.
• Everything that is being said about the quick pace of Chip Kelly’s practice is true. It’s noted in this article that they may have run more plays Thursday than any practice so far and I’d believe it. There isn’t a wasted moment on the field.
• Really enjoyed watching a drill that faced off defensive and offensive lineman. It’s fun to watch those guys compete, especially up close. It’s easy to see how things can get chippy when the “big uglies” go at it with each other. By far, the most interesting aspect was new defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro. I think he’s completely nuts and I know for sure he has a ton of passion. I don’t know how a guy wouldn’t be motivated to work for him.
• Because fashion matters at Oregon, I’d like to start the campaign for adding Walter Thurmond III to Kirk Herbstreit’s all-uniform team for guys who look good in their gear. The guy looks like a playmaking DB and he proves it. He picked one pass and you could see him hit another gear as he headed toward the end zone.