Ducks embarrass Washington 43-19
by John Berkowitz on Oct 24, 2009 3:52 PM PDT
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Some of the brightest minds in sports journalism including mine thought this one had the potential of being a trap game for Oregon. It did look that way for awhile in the first half when the Huskies shut down Oregon in the first quarter and outgained them in the first half despite falling behind 15-3 because of errors in the red zone and on special teams.
Washington needed to come out firing on all cylinders in the second half and they didn't. Oregon scored 21 straight points in the third quarter to put this one away early. The Husky defense didn't have any answer for the Ducks offense and the offense led by Jake Locker didn't help them out at all keeping them on the field way too long.
This was just a terrible game for Jake Locker. He looked dazed and confused out there much of the day. Jake was hesitant and was slow to make decisions. When he did make decisions they weren't very good one's. He just never really settled down.
Once again the coaching was pretty questionable. Sarks clock management in the final minutes of the second half was attrocious. His decision to go for it one a fourth and two in the first half near the goal line instead of going for a field goal is another thing that will be second guessed this week.
Jeremiah Masoli didn't look like a kid with a knee injury today. He was 14 for 22 for 166 yards and one TD. He also rushed for 65 important yards and two touchdowns. LaMichael James picked up 151 yards and two TD's on only 15 carries. The tight ends were big for Oregon as expected. David Paulson had two big receptions for 59 yards and Ed Dickson three for 44.
Jake Locker was 20 for 40 for 234 yards no touchdowns and two drive killing interceptions. Chris Polk had a good game with 100 yards and on 16 carries but he coughed up the ball in the second half for a drive killing fuble which resulted in an Oregon TD only a few plays later.
For Washington it is back to the drawing board during the bye week. The Huskies could really use a week to heal and get their heads back on straight for the stretch run of the conference season. Washington falls to 3-5 and has a tough hill to climb in their last four games if they want to qualify for a bowl game.
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well
you did score the first legit TD on us since Utah.
If ya can't get your Dick Enright, get your Dick Harter!
euphoria of the early season is gone
and so is a bowl game dream. unfortunate reality is this is the same record they would have had last year with a healthy Jake Locker. Although he certainly did not look like a top pro prospect this afternoon. Here’s to better times ahead.
I'm tired of next year. Win now!
by wishfulthinking on Oct 24, 2009 4:06 PM PDT reply actions
Bowl hopes are still alive
WSU should be a win.
UCLA, and Oregon State are beatable.
Cal we can beat, depends on which Cal team shows up though.
The margin for error has become pretty slim though.
You folks have come a long way
From 0-12 to even thinking about a bowl is proof that you will be able to compete with Oregon sooner rather than later.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
I'll enjoy that
I’d like to get back to the Oregon-UW classics. Fun for both sides.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
I think Cal is more beatable than Oregon State. They are probably roughly equal opponents, but we get Cal at home in December, while we have to play OSU in Corvallis. Best shot a bowl is beating UCLA, WSU and Cal.
If we can’t beat UCLA in a couple weeks, I’ll be very disappointed. Some disturbing trends the last few weeks that have me a little less excited about Sark & Holt. We really need to come out of the bye week and put a good effort on the field vs. a reeling Bruins team and cut out the mistakes (both coaching and on the field) that have plagued us.
They both will be tough...
i agree….have to go with the opponent at home.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Oregon State is a tough football team – while it’s certainly possible we could beat them in Corvallis, we haven’t won on the road yet, and that includes not beating a very mediocre Arizona State team.
Cal is very good too, but at least at that point in the season we may have a lot more to play for than Cal, and the elements may contribute to a potential poor effort by the Bears.
Yep. Heads up Dawg fans. Only the kind of Duck fans that infuriate you – it’s a vocal, yet small group – would deny that the Huskies are obviously headed the right direction. Lots of winnable games ahead on your schedule.
By the grace of Juju, we all are day-to-day.
Right direction for sure.
Long ass road though . . . .
Get well soon, Washington. Blow-outs are only fun for so long (like six years or so.)
Sloppy & Outplayed
We really stunk this game up. Sark should have kicked a field goal at the 2 yard line. The team was flat in the third quarter, the defense could not handle the misdirection. Our special teams got a blocked punt and burned on fake FG and this was Jake Lockers worst game this year.
I think this was a combination of the team being worn down after 4-5 nailbiting games in a row. Let’s heal up and get a win down in Corvalis.
Relax everyone
Everyone needs to RELAX. We all knew this would take some time to fix the last coach did not leave alot top players. Sark has the team going the right way things will get better. We all know Sark can coach and recruit we as fans need to give this coaching staff some time to get the top high school players.
Message for Carl1
It isn’t what you say it is how you say it. Congratulations…you are the only poster I had to ban this week.
Once again I want to thank all the Oregon fans who popped by this week and made it fun. You are welcome back anytime!
Don`t Know If I Quite Agree w/Relax
I think a serious coaching issue has to be addressed. Sark is clearly conflicted between his HC/OC duties. He`s gambling away points and chances to win and has to reel that in asap because digging a deep hole for a team with thin talent and fragile psyches is not good coaching. Maybe give a veto to Coach Coz in those situations? Hell put a hotline to Dawgfather James on the sideline and let him make goaline decisions…but this must stop. Just kidding, of course, but Sark is too smart and too talented to keep doing this. GO HUSKIES!
by 206 on Oct 24, 2009 7:01 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
this is true.
not kicking the FG in the second quarter at that point is unthinkable. Calling WR screens and lateral passes against a D with that kind of speed is poor preparation. In addition, after suffering through how many straight years of Ty’s third quarter melt downs, when are we going to admit that we continue to come out flat an unprepared in third quarters.
By the way, this is not me freaking out, just some negative observations on coaching. Obviously, we cannot deny all the positives. The honeymoon is over, though, and it is time to start calling out what we see.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Couldn't agree more
It’s time to admit that we are experiencing growing pains with the coaching staff. It was expected, anytime you have this many young coaches, there will be bumps, there will be screw ups, that’s the risk in hiring a first time head coach. The question is are they quick learners? We’ll find out soon enough, this is a tough conference with a lot of very highly experienced coaches, we better learn fast.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
The honeymoon is over
You can’t ignore what the eye’s are seeing.
These guys need to realize that they are not calling plays for USC anymore. Perhaps once more talent arrives those gambles work. Right now they are just suicide.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions
not kicking the FG in the second quarter at that point is unthinkable.
Disagree in a big way. I have absolutely no qualms about going for it in that situation. What was unthinkable was Jake throwing the ball up for grabs there – in that situation, he needs to be coached to throw it to an open man, run it in or throw it away. As Sark said, if they don’t get in there they still have Oregon pinned at their 2 yard line.
The problem I had was the playcalling in that situation. Way too much of the I-formation and trying to pound it in with Bronson. Why abandon our most effective play in that situation? Put Jake in the shotgun spread and run the QB draw.
Kirk...
It is the play calling…I am yelling for Homer since fall camp…use your FB.
I like the draw up the middle suggstion to.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions
You call the FG in that situation or several reasons...
… we have not been good in goal line situations – this is not a strength of our o-line
… 3 pts there keeps the game less that a TD difference
… consequence of failure is a major momentum swing when the outcome of the game where we are overmatched is still in question
There is a difference between being aggressive and being stupid. We need to play games to win recognizing the talent that we have. As JB says, Sark is not running USC players out there.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
We weren’t going to win the game kicking FG’s. Oregon was being very aggressive and succeeding – we were not going to keep up by settling for a FG there. Again, the execution was the problem – the worst-case scenario on that play should’ve been an incomplete pass and Oregon with the ball on their 2 yard line. Their offense wasn’t really clicking yet – at that point we were doing a decent job limiting them on offense.
The bigger problem was the sequence of playcalling for those 4 downs – not having Jake run a QB draw out of the shotgun spread was a big mistake.
I agree John!
A hard sell to Sark midseason but it has to happen eventually for the UW program to ever get back to an elite PAC10 level. Sark can be an offensive version of his mentor Coach Pete and design the weekly offensive game plan.
by 206 on Oct 24, 2009 8:15 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Btw, I am absolutely humbled watching this USC-OSU game. We have a very long way to go to get back to the competitive level of either of these programs. And dethroning USC might take alot longer than I care to admit.
by 206 on Oct 24, 2009 8:24 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Made me envious
of the Beav’s ability to keep the USC defense off balance. Not sure if Nuss will do a better job than Sark, but something needs to change —we haven’t had any sort of offensive flow in weeks.
Big play
I thought one of the plays that would turn out to have a huge impact on the game was Jake’s incomplete pass thru the back of the endzone on 2nd down. He was rolling out, didn’t have anyone particularly open. However, it did seem like he had blockers in front of him and probably could have easily gotten into the endzone had he tucked the ball and ran. Two plays later he throws an ill advised pass that gets picked off.
I’ve seen this from Jake quiet a few times this year. He ends up making a negative play trying to make something happen down the field rather than tucking and running. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy that he looks to pass first this year and I think it will go a long way into his development as a pro QB. But At some point the clock in his head has to go off and he needs to remember that he is often one of the fastest players on the field and take off for what he can get. I worry that Sark hasn’t Seneca-ized Jake. Meaning he is almost afraid to take off much to his own detriment.
"I call the big one Bitey."-Homer J. Simpson
by Willie Mays Haze on Oct 24, 2009 8:53 PM PDT reply actions
Duck fan here....
I was worried coming into this one. I know Washington is a capable team and I think they played a sub-par game here.
A. Jake Locker did not look like the QB I had been hearing so much about. I don’t think I saw him scramble more than 3 times. Doesn’t he run a 4/4?
B. Sark seemed…. intimidated. Not by the Ducks, but by the rivalry and expectations. I think he got a little too aggressive and payed for it then played it waaaaay too conservative after getting burned.
C. What’s with that psycho defensive coordinator? Maybe a little less intensity and a little more tact would help.
D. Is for Ducks.
The future looks bright-ish for Washington. Thanks for beating USC and good luck next week!
Life is hilarious.
ABCD
A. Jake was off tonight. I am hearing that a combination of his back and a bruised quad were a big problem. Iw ouldn’t blame it all on that. He made terrible decisions and just froze at times. He didn’t run with confidence. His coaches didn’t help him out with the play selection either. Don’t forget the Oregon defense which sacked him four times.
B. Sark didn’t do a great job and we have seen that the last few weeks. Obviously he has a learning curve and that curve has tough lessons.
C. I didn’t notice the cameras focusing on Holt much tonight so no comment there. It has been mentioned in the recent past. At least he didn’t pick up personal fouls tonight.
D. Thanks and I think you guys will take USC at home.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 24, 2009 9:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Observations
Just watched the game again and I have a few things I have to get off my chest:
1. Kearse is a brave MoFo. Kudos to him for what he brings.
2. D-Line is getting more pressure – this is encouraging.
3. If Locker had any thoughts of going out after this year, he ought to rethink them. His decision making is degrading, his feet are getting “happier” and he has developed this bad habit of double clutching while locked on a single receiver. Two weeks in a row he’s thrown those jump passes with tragic consequences. I know some of you don’t want to acknowledge that Jake has not arrived yet because he is still our best playmaker, but his decision making in the red zone has taken too many points off the board for us the last two weeks to be ignored. Even when he ran, he kept second guessing himself – he kept stopping and skipping instead of just racing for the spot. He’s in a horrible slump right now.
4. Is there a bigger disappointment than Ben Ossai? The left side of our line continues to just kill us.
5. Gotta love what Polk is giving us. The kid is playing his heart out.
6. I thought both Fellner and Long were outstanding today … relatiely speaking (and when I say relative, I mean as freshmen playing in a high stakes rivalry game against a ranked opponent)
7. Playcalling … ughhh
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I mostly agree
1. Kearse and Aguilar are both looking really good. Too bad Goodwin isn’t getting playing time, not his year.
2. Encouraging, we need to continue to improve, and the run defense needs serious help.
3. Locker needs another year. I think calling it a “horrible slump” is overreacting. He isn’t playing his best, but the offensive line is playing their worst, he’s getting killed out there. Fans need to stop blaming everything on Locker. If the rest of the offense, especially the line, would do their job, he’d be looking pretty darn good.
4. Both of our tackles are getting their butts handed to them. We really need help, and we need it immediately.
5. What a nice surprise.
6. Future looks pretty bright, too bad it can’t come faster.
7. Growing pains, hopefully the staff will be quick learners.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
1. Goodwin…he simply isnt playing well and the other guys are better.
2. It is one thing or the other each game. Not enough depth…not enough talent.
3. You bet he needs another year.
4. Ossai pretty out of shape.
5. Polk is one of the bestbacks in the conference.
6. I think the young DB’s have good futures.
7. Execution…ughhh
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
3 games in a row where Jake's mechanics have been poor...
… to go along with poor decision making. He is doubting himself out there. You can tell with all of his double clutching and his hesitation on his scrambles. Let’s not pretend he is out there executing this offense. Of course this is fixable. And when he fixes it, his talents are going to make him a beast. But he’s not there yet.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
He’s definitely not there yet. I feel for Jake – the financial pressure for him to enter the draft will be huge. But he’s clearly still a work in progress, and I worry that if he enters the draft this year, he won’t really develop properly in the NFL and have a career well short of what it could be.
If he returns next year, chances are he’ll be leaving a lot of money on the table and gambling that more development in college will mean a longer, better NFL career where it pays off in his 2nd and 3rd contracts for what he gives up in his rookie contract.
It's time to call out the coaching staff re: special teams
I’m sober, and I put my emotions to bed after the third quarter. So don’t think that this is a senseless rant.
I’ve been harping on this subject for several weeks, though nobody in the press (or this blog) seems to be challenging this part of the game. But no one who saw the game today can deny that our special teams suck. Forget that we got beat by a better team in the second half; when we should have been tied or even in the lead going into halftime, the difference hung directly on ST’s.
ST’s have languished here since the DJ era, and Sark said when he was hired that they would be re-emphasized because “they make up 1/3 of the game.” Well, it’s time to show some progress. Forget future intent with recruiting—we’re disorganized. This part of the game looks no better that it did under TW, and we’re going to lose games because of it unless some improvements are made.
Sorry to be so negative, but repetitive fundamental errors just rile my a__.
everyone has acknowledged the special teams....
…. its kind of like the o-line and the secondary. They are what they are. Not much else to say.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I think that you're a bit blithe in your dismissal
This is about more than talent (or lack thereof).
Our punting game looks like the keystone cops. Our kick return team is way out of sync, and rotating bodies almost guarantees that it will remain so. The same penalties over and over on the return teams is baffling, though again may have to do with “trying” new bodies. Success faking field goals/extra points on two successive plays—has anyone ever seen this?
Granted, it would be nice to have someone who can kick-off into the end zones. But in a bit of irony, the lone (relative) bright spot on ST’s has been field goals, which going into the season was supposed to be our weakness.
The importance of special teams cannot be underestimated, and like any other aspect of the game it requires coaching and coordination. We have a kicker and a punter—the rest of it doesn’t require any specialized talent (except for a good snapper). What it does need is to put together a bunch of players who understand their roles and believe that theirs are the keys to the game.
Reading some of the quotes today made me mad – if we were having trouble getting the right personnel into the game on the PAT after the blocked punt, why not call TO? Instead, we were scrambling to get 11 guys on the field and the Ducks were able to waltz into the endzone for a 2-point conversion on a fake. A kind of play the Ducks run frequently, so our staff shouldn’t have been surprised by it. I’m totally perplexed at how reluctant this staff is to use a TO.
Our special teams really need to improve. Sark claims he is putting a heavy emphasis on it – well Coach, it isn’t working. Maybe Nansen isn’t the right guy to be leading that unit. Maybe you need to get some other ideas and coaches involved. Whatever he’s doing, it’s not working and he needs to change.
Your point was that somehow you are the only one harping on Special Teams ...
… which is not true.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I didn't mean to call myself the Oracle
And though I don’t read or hear everything that’s uttered about this team, up to now I haven’t really heard anyone in the media or otherwise pressing the issue of ST performance. My intent was to provoke a little overdue conversation on this issue, which again I think is worrisome because of an apparent lack of organization.
I agree
Good special teams play are dependent on depth, talent and speed. Those just happen to be the three most important things that this team is lacking.
On the bright side the kick coverage teams have been outstanding.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Not real surprised
by today’s game. We don’t have the horses to win games against better teams while playing bad fundamental football.
Also didn’t surprise me that Sark went for it on 4th down—he’d said the day before that field goals would not win this game, and he was right. What I do quarrel with was the piss poor play they DID run on 4th down.
Not sure what was with Jake today, but he held the ball too long on several occasions, didn’t step up into the pocket when it was there, would not run even when the passing options, judging by the passes he threw, were poor…..
One reason is that the Ducks were in the backfield all day. Their outside pressure was intense and virtually immediate, though we protected up the gut pretty decently.
Very, very disappointed with the special teams errors. They were not a matter of inferior athletes. They were blown assignments. That’s on the coaches as much as the players.
A couple thoughts:
1) Locker looked like the more banged up quarterback. That guy is a warrior but he takes way too much of a pounding. Masoli’s agility with the brace was just a flat out surprise.
2) Polk was better than I estimated but I put our linebacking corp ahead of UWs. LMJ IS special. His ability to make people miss is outrageous.
3) Playcalling was equally baffling to me on the Oregon side in the first half. I understand that we got soften up the core of your defense with the linebackers and all but to pass like 11/15 times was too much. Both these new coaches are trying to do too much.
4) The gap between these two teams was not as wide as the scoreline. There was really something amiss with Locker. We were running much of the game with Peppars/Harris/Gildon due to Jackson’s back spasm. Those are the 4-6 on the cb depth chart. I really hope we get Talmadge back because watching Arizona, USC and Oregon State made me cringe with the thought of our secondary in it’s current state.
Good Luck
Bison
1) He certainly did. I was surprised at how mobile Masoli was. Jake coulduse a week off.
2) I knew you would be surprised by Polk. LMJ is a great back but the blocking really helped him in the second half.
3) I thought chip called a good game overall.
4) I agree…once again the third quarter explosion took care of things for Oregon. We didn’t challenege your secondary deep but give credit to your defensive front seven for that.
Best of luck too and thanks for joining us this week…you are welcome anytime.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 24, 2009 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I think only Bolden had a hundred yard
game on us before Polk. This conference with LMJ, Quizz, Polk, and even guys like Bass, Antolin, Franklin, Vareen et al. are going to make this a very good running conference for some time.
Not sure if anyone or any team has gotten 100 on Oregon.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Play Calling Improvements
What are people’s thoughts on how the play calling can improve? From what I can gather, the grumblings include:
1. Decisions on whether or not to go for it on 4th and short goal to go.
So not really play calling, but people on here seem to think play calling duties impacts Sark’s decision making here. I personally do not have a problem going for it on these short yardage situations. We needed to score touchdowns to win this game, and you don’t get within 1-2 yards of the goal line very often. Aggressive decision making near the goal line is OK.
2. Actual play calling on short goal to go.
I think they need to utilize Locker more with a draw, or run Polk up the middle more. The Polk run worked in the 4th quarter.
3. Not running Jake enough.
Sark made it clear we are running a pro-style offense and we won’t put pressure on Locker’s legs to win. I agree we don’t want to injure Locker by over-extending him, but there can probably be a few more plays called for him during the game. As for Locker pulling up in scramble situations instead of running…I think even Sark wants him to run in a lot of those situations. I don’t think Sark is holding him back and telling him to not run in those situations. Those decisions are a balance that hopefully Locker needs to be more comfortable with as he matures.
What else are you guys thinking that needs to be improved?
Overall I think Sark is a strong play caller and think he deserves to fine tune what he is doing at least through the season.
Not even the half of it:
… not recognizing how your talent matches up against opponsing talent (calling WR screens and RB swings against a D with outstanding side to side speed is silly)
… failing to create mismatches in space (especially with Homer floating into regions where blitzes come from)
… failing to call passes the QB can actually make
… failure to establish QB rhythm with short passes where runners have a chance to run after catch
… failure to use misdirection plays against an aggressive blitzing D
… failure to utilize the right talent in the right situation (e.g. Johri would seem to be very effective as a receiver against O)
… failure to manage the clock through playcalling
I’m not going to pretend that I’m the expert, but I’m also not being paid millions a year to do this job. The playcalling is herky jerky and has not consistently taken into account the limitations and the skills of the players involved.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Beat Down
Trap game??? Looks like you forgot to set the trap, huh? Or maybe you foolish huskies were so high on yourselves that you fell into your own trap? Either way, Oregon dominated and easily covered the 10 point spread, like I stated earlier. Just more of the same. I did attend the game and had a great time, minus all the purple. Good luck making a bowl game, your team needs a lot of work to beat the middle of the road pac teams. 6 in a row, all by 20+ points!!
58-39
You are still the program that wants to have our tradition. Unless you win the next 19 matchups, we are still the better program. The tides are turning, can’t wait for the universe to get back into alignment, Huskies win Rosebowls, and Oregon fans wishing they knew what it was like to be in the Rosebowl, ever.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Yep, you're a genius
Now go back to the pond and pat yourself on the back some more ; )
by John Berkowitz on Oct 24, 2009 11:05 PM PDT reply actions
More thoughts...
1. Now that this is over, maybe the Duck fans will go somewhere else.
2. I disagree with the run Locker more group. He is already beat up. He needs to finish the season. What we really need are some ways to keep him from getting killed.
3. That said, I think the goal line offense is short of imagination. Ask any D coordinator and they will tell you the most difficult play to stop in short yardage is some type of option. Even Bill Walsh used to run the outside veer on the goal line. It should be obvious we cannot muscle the other guys out of there. So we need to come up with some other things to do. Get creative!
4. Pretty obvious we are seriously outmanned at some spots. Only time will cure that.
1. Some were good, some were not so good and will never be back since I banned more than a couple this evening.
2. There has to be more to it than we know. Looks like undisclosed injuries to me.
3. Simple solution….use your 240 lb FB more.
4. Help is on the way.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 24, 2009 11:20 PM PDT up reply actions
3. Hmm..A little speed option with the fullback in the lead? An isolation blast type play, followed up with a fake blast, QB roll, TE drag? I love the spread option that Oregon was using. Unfortunately, most of this requires an offensive line that can at least get a stalemate and not get blown into the backfield. Until that happens, there is not a play in football that will be consistent. Therein lies the root of the problem.
Without that, we cannot run consistently. If you cannot run, the defense has no trouble taking away the All everything QB. That means our own defense spends too much time on the field. Any decent Pac 10 club will score on you sooner or later. If we had the OL of some of the good Dawg groups in the past, this would be a very difficult team to handle. Sadly, we do not.
4. Thank heaven.
Lookin back at JB's thoughts on the "trap game"...
I think it could be a trap game for Oregon.
Nope. No trap, JB.
I base that on the fact that Oregon has won five games in a row and Washington wasn’t really compettive in any of those five games. That can breed complacency as well as over confidence…tough to say how that will manifest till the teams hit the field. I do know that Oregon (the players not the fans) doesn’t take UW as seriously as they once did because of the thumpings they have doled out the past five years.
Lets make it six games. Six uncompetitive games. Oregon looked like they took the game a bit more seriously than UW. Maybe that had to do with the fact that we are actually playing for something 1/2 through the year.
Bye weeks can work for you and against you as far as intensity goes. Bye weeks are good for healing, recruiting, and giving younger players a chance to show what they can do. Bye weeks can also stunt momentum.
None of that happened, but it was a nice thought. Maybe it did stunt our momentum a bit, that first quarter wasn’t much.
I think it is given that Masoli will start…how mobile will he be on a gimpy knee? How sharp will he be after missing playing time? . . .
Pretty mobile. Pretty sharp. Speaking of QB’s . . . I remember reading about some hot-shot NFL prospect you guys had. What happened to that?
This is a game Oregon mentally had circled as a win before the season started. They really can’t get the 0-12 Washington out of their mind going into this one no matter what the Huskies have done so far this season. Will they have the proper respect for thier opponent this week . . .
I have a Ducks calender on my desk. I just circled this game as a win. Y’all went 0-12? I forgot about that . . . NOT. 0-12 HA HA HA.
All these factors form the bacground needed to create a trap game situation.
Not really. No trap game. I think what it takes to form a trap game (a.k.a. fluke loss) is this:
1) A game right after a big win (Ohio St.)
2) Against an easy-to-overlook or “weak” opponent on the road (Huskies)
3) Who have a coaching staff that knows your team inside and out (Sark)
4) Being forced to play with a back-up QB.
The stars aligned for you guys against USC. Reality set in against the Ducks.
See you in Autzen next year, should be fun. Hope Locker comes back for more!
I forgot to say you weren't quite sure were you? ; )
You forgot to add that good and great teams overcome challenges like this on the way to a championship season.
Like I have been saying since the game finished it wasn’t alll about Washington playing bad yesterday. They certainly did but Oregon played well.
Looking back I think the trap and bye arguments had validity. That was an interesting first quarter but Oregon made their own luck in the second quarter by taking away Washington’s luck. The second quarter set up t he nasty third which put away the game.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 7:55 AM PDT up reply actions
After all of that . . .
and we still lead the series 58-39. Washington sucked for a decade, Oregon sucked for a century.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Lear Pilot, c'mon man,
lose with a little humility. Everybody can see parity coming back in this rivalry. We are 6-0 against you the last 6 years. Those of us 35 and under were fighting acne the last time the ducks sucked and those in college were barely out of diapers. I doubt you beat us next year with 18 of our starters coming back but 2011 at Husky Stadium looms. In any case, our program is going to be very relevant for some time. As you can see, CK is a tireless innovator that is recruiting across the country; he isn’t going anywhere. Obviously, your coaching staff is good as well. It should make for some good times in the future.
Valid point Bison
Credit should be given where credit is due.
The Ducks are doing a great job and as you said the huskies will catch up in the not too distant future.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 2:01 PM PDT up reply actions
what sucks for UW fans is that with 1 min to go in the third quarter, UO had only outgained UW by about 25 yards ...
…. which was not how the game was envisioned to go for UO. The point discrepancy was a result of things that we had not experienced this year: a massive TO deficit, an inability to force FGs in the red zone, and an inability to convert third downs.
This is what makes us bitter. Still … scoreboard is scoreboard and it was a blowout.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
The Ducks have been doing that all year.
You say that the Huskies haven’t been experienced a massive TO deficit, an inability to force FGs, and an inability to convert third downs. That is just because you haven’t played a team like the Ducks yet.
We all tried to tell you that before the game, but Husky nation refused to read the writing on the wall. Oregon has been forcing TOs left and right all season long (against much better teams that UW too). Oregon has had a great red zone TD% all year long. And our defense has been lights out the past 4 weeks. We knew this going in, I’m not sure why you are all so shocked and bitter now . . . .
This game had blow-out written all over it. SIX STRAIGHT BLOW-OUTS. Why the surprise?
* . . . Huskies havent experienced a massive . . . *
that “been” shouldn’t be in that first sentence
by StuckeyDuck on Oct 25, 2009 10:03 PM PDT up reply actions
"That is just because you haven't played a team like the Ducks yet"
Give me a &)$# !@$# $#($*& break!!
LSU, USC, Notre Dame – We haven’t played a bad game against a good team yet, would be much more accurate.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Sorry
I got called out on a flight at midnight, and was just about to fly home when I posted that, my grammar is bad enough to start with, it just gets worse with less sleep.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
He has a good point Lear
We haven’t played a spread option team.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 26, 2009 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions
the hubris to suggest that UO is somehow so much better than USC, LSU and ND is the source of the disagreement.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I think they are on a par with those teams right now…to day they are better?
by John Berkowitz on Oct 26, 2009 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions
When Duck fans win with humility . . .
then, and only then, will I lose with humility.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I think 99% of the Duck fans that came over here did that. The one’s that didn’t were shown the exit.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 26, 2009 10:20 AM PDT up reply actions
I agree
there were some pretty good conversations with Duck fans, and there were only a few knuckle heads.
I need a new rule, Sark has his 24 hour rule, I need a sleep rule. I’ve had 3 out of 4 nights of getting called out on flights between 12 and 2 am. Lack of sleep combined with a loss to Oregon makes for a grumpy pilot.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
That was an interesting first quarter but Oregon made their own luck in the second quarter by taking away Washington’s luck.
What does that mean?
It means you guys kicked our ass and didn’t let us score 7’s in the red zone.
When your offense was struggling a bit early you block a punt and had some trick plays that put point son the board. Oregon created their own luck again with special teams and defense.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I was a bit nervious in the first quarter
Locker looked like a worldbeater and Oregon couldnt get it’s act together. The blocked punt seemed to have been the spark.
The announcers were pissing me off, though. They were incessantly slobbering over Jake’s knob until halfway through the fourth quarter.
If ya can't get your Dick Enright, get your Dick Harter!
Well we had them for awhile
The thing is I always said that Oregon was the better team. When you let them off the ropes you lose anny advantage you have coming or are going to develop.
You Oregon guys have to remember that us older guys do remember what it was like to have superior talent.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions
What year did you graduate?
Class of ’79 here.
If ya can't get your Dick Enright, get your Dick Harter!
Old Ducker 79?
HS or College?
77 for HS for me?
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions
?
I don’t get it. We made our own luck? Is that like saying Oregon made big plays?
by StuckeyDuck on Oct 25, 2009 10:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes...
It is a calculated risk when you run fake FG’s and overload one side of the line to try to block a punt. In essence it is creating your own luck.
The phrase is a compliment by the way in case you are not familiar with its use.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 26, 2009 7:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Isn't that a Tina Turner song?
I'm tired of next year. Win now!
by wishfulthinking on Oct 25, 2009 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Thoughts
1.Congrats to Oregon. 4 years of bettter recruiting and off season conditioning versus 1 showed up clearly as our lines were getting hammered.
2. I really thought Ty gave the halftime speech as we were so blah.
3. Sark in the last 3 halves has managed to save 8 of 9 timeouts available to throw in the statistics of unused TOs. If he were a HC instead of OC, he might have taken a TO to get 11 guys on field for PAT attempt or call one to let his D regroup in the early 3rd qtr when Oregon layed it on us and literally the D was confused. Guys were standing up looking at sideline as UO was hiking the ball.
4 The end of first half with 1:30 to go or so I thought we shall see what Sark learned from last week at ASU. Apparently nothing as we had to punt but if not for a fluke the ball hitting the PR, and a penalty gave us some momentum going into the lockers.
5. Play calling in Red zone bothers me, throw a pass on 1st is fine, but after an incompletion with 2nd and goal 9 yards you elect to run with your backup RB leaving 3rd and long. If you make a decision to throw, and it falls inc, then throw the ball again to cut down the yards needed. We are still paying a lot of cash for an OJT HC who wants to be OC and calls plays like he has the talent he had at USC.
6. The bye week will be interesting to see if he can rally the troops after a terrific butt kicking.
7. We haven’t won at the Rose Bowl against UCLA since 1995, six straight losses there.
I really wish I could come in here
and recite all the things said last week that were so wrong. But you guys have been nice to me and the many duck fans that have infiltrated your space. So instead I will just say: “Good Game, Washington…better luck next year”.
-Matt
See ya next year Matt
You have to admit we had you wondering till you blocked that punt.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 25, 2009 6:15 PM PDT up reply actions
I tend to agree
One could argue that from a recruiting standpoint it would be to our advantage to have perennial husky suckage. However the wins are far more satisfying when the games are meaningful.
PS, I rooted for Washington against both USC and Notre Dame.
If ya can't get your Dick Enright, get your Dick Harter!
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