One Game at a Time...

After taking a few days to let everything sink in, I'm ready to talk Ducks again. I finally feel good and am very excited about this week's game against Purdue, which now appears to be a much better game than anyone thought it would be.

Before that, however, I need to get some final thoughts out on the Blount situation.

• I commend the coaching staff for its decision. I think Kelly and his staff had no choice but to suspend him for the season. What transpired simply cannot be tolerated and coach Kelly made it clear by this action. The thing I am most proud of, however, is the fact that Kelly has challenged Blount to stay on scholarship with the university, continue working towards a degree and stay with the team. It looks like Blount will take the coach up on his offer, as ESPN reported today.
  
• Legarrette Blount's career is not over. I've read numerous articles claiming things along the lines of "make no mistake, this ends any chance of an NFL career." Call me a naive, but that sounds like a huge crock to me. You're telling me that there's not going to be a spot in training camp next season for a 6'2" 240lb back who rushed for 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns in the Pac-10? Give me a break. I agree that Blount has made his road extremely difficult, lost potential millions, and bought himself the shortest leash possible, but he will be in a camp next year as long as the YouTube clip isn't the last that is heard from him this season. There are a lot of steps he can take between now and then to ensure scouts and franchises he is still a potentially viable option.
  
• I hear a lot of chatter about the fact that in order to give himself a better shot at the NFL, he should transfer to a Div. II school (since he played in a Div. I game this season he can't transfer to even an FCS school). In my opinion, think about all that goes into changing schools. Give him a week to get to his new school, move in, etc. Now we're talking 2 or 3 games down (Some Div. II schools started last Saturday). He gets into practice after this and has to learn a completely different playbook. This takes 2-3 weeks. At this point, potentially half of the season has been blown. Does that really sound like a good option? I don't think so. Staying at Oregon actually has great implications, all things considered, for Blount. He gets to look like a guy who doesn't give up easily, staying in school and perhaps interacting with the community. He gets to practice with the team, thus continuing to get into physical shape, which it appeared he clearly didn't show up inc. Blount will have access to the best facilities in college football to get bigger, stronger, faster. Also, he will remove most of the risk of being injured during a game. While he won't be invited to the combine, there should be a decent showing at Pro-day this year, as I would bet when the hoopla of this wears off there will be intrigue in signing him.
• Finally, Hout should be suspended. Blount's actions aren't excusable and were frankly embarrassing. Let me make it clear that I am NOT defending Legarrette Blount, but had Hout kept his mouth and hands to himself, none of this most likely happens. It's time for Petersen to hold his program accountable. And for people out there asking why Blount wasn't charged with a crime, Hout would also be charged with assault/battery for unwanted touching of Blount in the first place. Obviously less serious than Blount's punch, but a crime also. The video board operator who showed the punch only over and over, should also be replaced, but I won't get into that.

Ok everyone, big exhale....
Purdue comes to Autzen this week in what was supposed to be a soft warm up to Utah and Cal. Well, nothing looks certain for the Ducks anymore this season and suddenly this game has become very important and vital for the Ducks this season as far as confidence goes. I think the Ducks will rebound as Purdue, while winning their opener handily, gave up over 400 yards passing on defense. The Ducks, in my opinion, just need a chance to catch their breath and get a solid drive under their belts. We need to go with works: quick passes and dumps. We need screen passes and quick outs to Ed Dickson. These plays take a lot of the pressure off of the O-Line and gets Masoli confidence. Masoli also needs to make the correct reads. Our offense is reliant on a quarterback who can decide accurately whether to hand off or take the ball himself based on what the defense shows in real time (See Dennis Dixon junior year and Dennis Dixon senior year). I'm very glad Kelly stuck with Masoli throughout the game. He struggled mightily, but you have to show some confidence in your QB. I loathed the days of the dual-quarterback system at Oregon as no one got a chance to get into a rhythm because they were always looking over their shoulders.

I am very excited to see LaMichael do his thing this season. He looks like a dynamic player and showed great flashes during his limited playing time against They Who Must Not Be Named. One good thing to come out of the Blount situation (if there is a good thing), which was brought to my attention by my buddy Clark, is that Blount was to be our big loss at the end of this season. Now, our other RB's get their shot to get meaningful playing time early, hopefully making less of a drop off next season. I, however, am still excited for this season and hope you all are too! I will be at Autzen on Saturday, Yelling-O as loud and proud as ever, and I hope everyone out there does the same.

Go Ducks!!!

--Sam

P.S. The pregame handshake sure seemed to be a great success around the college football scene this weekend...