Special Teams Spark Oregon Win Over Washington State

De'Anthony Thomas breaks into the open field against the Cougars
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

LaMichael James and Darron Thomas returned to a loud ovation Saturday afternoon as they looked to shake the rust off against the Washington State Cougars. Thomas connected on a 55 yard touch down pass to Lavasier Tuinei but also accounted for two interceptions and was pulled in favor of back up Bryan Bennett at the half as Chip Kelly commented that he felt Bennett gave them the best opportunity to win the game. Coach Kelly has hinted at the fact that much of the reason for Thomas' benching was as much to protect his injury for later in the season as much as it was riding Bennett's hot streak.

Special teams set the tone early as the Ducks opened the game with a three and out on defense. Avery Patterson broke through around the corner to get his hands on the punt and Boseko Lokombo picked up the ball to put the Ducks on the board first. Jackson Rice completed a short pass to Alejandro Maldenado for the two point conversion to put Oregon up 8-0 after the first quarter. After a WSU field goal Oregon began to drive again. Darron Thomas was flushed out of the pocket and threw a deep pass to a waiting Lavasier Tuinei who turned and stumbled into the end zone to add some separation between the two squads.

Oregon was threatening to blow the doors off the game as they were getting into Cougar territory but on a 4th and 7 play Washington State got their first touchdown on the day when Thomas' second interception was returned 76 yards by Damante Horton to bring the Cougars within 5 points just before the half.

The Ducks got back to form as they rattled of 21 points in the third quarter, including a 45 yard screen pass from Bennett to De'Anthony Thomas who put some spectacular moves on inside the 10 to go practically untouched into the end zone. The Cougars responded with a scoring drive and a 24 yard touch down pass to Jared Karstetter but the momentum swung back the Ducks instantly as De'Anthony Thomas took the next kick off 93 yards for his second touchdown of the quarter.

Kenjon Barner scored to open the scoring for the Ducks in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach but Washington State kept fighting. Marshall Lobbestael lead the visitors on a 13 play drive capping it off with a 9 yard Ricky Galvin run and a two point conversion, again to Karstetter to give the final tally of 43-28. Oregon collected the ensuing onside kick attempt and ran out the clock as the Ducks got out of Autzen with their 21st consecutive win in Autzen Stadium.

Coming into the game, Washington State boasted a top 10 passing attack and it showed as Lobbestael racked up 337 passing yards against a young Oregon secondary. Marquess Wilson turned in a career high 11 receptions to lead all receivers with 126 yards.  In addition to the touchdown Jared Karstetter had 114 receiving yards in his second consecutive 100 yard day against the Ducks.

The Cougars made Oregon earn this one and showed promise moving forward in the year as they were able to slow the Oregon run game in the first half but ultimately didn't have the depth to contend with the Ducks. Oregon made several mistakes through the game and WSU capitalized to keep the game competitive.

For the Ducks, Kenjon Barner lead the rushing attack, turning in his third consecutive 100 yard effort in spite of James adding 53 in limited action. James looked comfortable carrying the ball, even with the large, bulky brace on his elbow.

Moving on for next week, Oregon is on the road to face a tough Washington squad who held off a rejuvenated Arizona squad. There is no love lost between these two teams and the game may very well get chippy as Washington tries to return to Pac-12 prominence. Washington State also is on the road again as they travel down to the bay area to face California at AT&T Park in San Fransisco.

Washington State Vs. #7 Oregon: Preview

LaMichael James can hurt the Cougars if he gets the chance.

Last year's trip to Pullman is one a lot of Oregon fans would rather forget. Oregon ended up winning that game by a score of 43-23 but they paid a price to get that win. On a kickoff, Kenjon Barner fielded the ball just inside his own end zone and started bringing it out. A WSU defender coming off of a block, was propelled forward and laid a scary hit on Barner that forced a fumble and Kenjon Barner out of the game. Barner missed several weeks with a concussion but made a full recovery. That injury really seemed to put a damper on the Oregon offense which had a hard time getting into their rhythm. Then, Darron Thomas went down with a shoulder injury and would not return for the remainder of the game.

The Cougars put up more of a fight than most expected, keeping the game reasonably close throughout and took a 14-8 lead late in the first quarter against the eventual Pac-10 champions. Quarter back Jeff Tuel threw for 245 yards and a score in the loss and the defense forced three Oregon turnovers. Oregon's QB tandem of Darron Thomas and Nate Costa were just too much to handle though. They combined for over 300 yards through the air and between them only threw 5 total incompletions.

This year, the Cougars come into town reeling from back to back blowout losses. In the last two games, Washington state has been outscored 88-35, the most recent defeat coming in Seattle against North rival Oregon State. Senior Marshall Lobbestael will get the start under center as Jeff Tuel re injured his shoulder last week against the Beavers. The Cougars have a prolific passing offense which ranks in the top 10 nationally and that is due in part to Lobbestael's efforts, he has thrown for 1739 yards already this season. It's also thanks to the receivers he has at his disposal. Marquess Wilson is probably the best wide receiver in the Pac-12 that you haven't heard about. Only a sophomore, Wilson has 41 receptions for 763 yards and 6 touchdowns to this point in the year. He is complimented by a pair of senior wide outs Isiah Barton and Jared Karstetter. Last season against the Ducks Karstetter went for over 100 yards on 10 receptions and looks to do the same again this year.

Washington State can pile up the yards through the air in a hurry, as they have shown throughout the year. However, to beat a talented squad like Oregon, they need to have balance to keep the speedy secondary honest. To this point in the season, no rusher for the Cougars has eclipsed the 100 yard mark in a game. A lot of that is due to the potency of the passing game, but they will need to show that the run is a threat to keep Nick Alioti from deploying his speedy DB's to stay back in pass coverage. The rushing attack is lead by Freshman Rickey Galvin who is averaging 6.4 yards a carry. He just hasn't had as many opportunities to carry the ball as someone like LaMichael James.

Early in the week, coach Chip Kelly was still evasive about players injuries, specifically LaMichael James and Darron Thomas. It's speculated but not unreasonably so that Thomas and James will be a full go as it appeared he was capable to start last week, but ceded to Bryan Bennett who lead the Ducks to a 45-2 victory over Colorado. James was suited also for the Colorado and was able to play according to him but did not see action as the Ducks had put that game away early. Both Bennett and running back Kenjon Barner proved to be more than capable to pick up where James and Thomas left off as they have headed wins over Arizona State and Colorado.

Washington State has had it's secondary be exposed by it's last few opponents. It was to be expected that Andrew Luck was going to throw the ball all over the yard, but last week, Oregon State's Sean Mannion threw for nearly 400 yards against them in an offense that has otherwise not looked impressive. The vertical threat will be there with Josh Huff starting to get back into the action and dynamic freshman DeAnthony Thomas lining up all over the field. If WSU losses track of DeAnthony, it could spell trouble for them throughout the day as Thomas to Thomas has started to gain momentum. This is the last game for the Ducks before they start to face a more challenging schedule, starting with a road trip up to Seattle, to face the Huskies, then down to Palo Alto for the conference game of the year against Stanford.

Oregon Will Win If:                           WSU Will Win If:
Thomas spreads the ball around            Lobbestael shreds Oregon's DBs
Oregon gets a big lead early                 Control the ball
Minimize penalties                               Force multiple turnovers

Rule Changes Are Ruining the NFL: An Editorial

Last night, the Ravens and Jaguars locked up in a game that made you unsure if the defenses were that good, or the offenses were that bad. Jacksonville fumbled three times, once inside the 1 yard line and the Ravens didn't get a first down until nearly 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. What stood out to me was not the action by the players, but the actions of the referees.

I took the following information from the ESPN.com staff as the discussion was going on there as well. This is according to the NFL Rule Book.

Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8 (Unnecessary roughness) in the NFL rulebook
(f) If a player uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily. Although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet and facemask is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protecting those players who are in virtually defenseless postures, including but not limited to:

(1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face with the helmet or facemask, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; or

(2) Lowering the head and violently or unnecessarily making forcible contact with the “hairline” or forehead part of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body.

Now, let's take a look at the two plays in question and their direct effect on the game as it was. With 12:40 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Jacksonville faced a 3rd and long play. Blaine Gabbert dropped back to throw and Deji Karim got his hands on the ball. It squirted through for what would have been an incompletion and then was punished by Baltimore safety Bernard Pollard. Here's the video of the hit.

By my estimation, that is a clean, legal hit. The only reason Pollard lowered his helmet was to avoid contact with Karim's. He squares him up wraps his arms around him and takes him to the ground. Did he make contact to the receiver's head or neck forcibly? There is a little contact but it's little more than the face mask brushing the top of Pollard's helmet as he comes in to make the play. So in light of the rules, by the book this play should not have been called unnecessary roughness. After this play, the Jaguars were given a first down and new life as they went down to kick a field goal to go up by 9.

It's a play that looms large because let's say for the sake of argument, the rest of the game goes unchanged. The Ravens score a touchdown to make the score 9-7 with just over 2 minutes remaining. Now, without that penalty, the Jaguars do not get their third field goal of the game at that point. Remember that we're under the assumption the rest of the game has the same result. If the Jaguars do not get that field goal, the Ravens take the lead with 2 minutes remaining at 7-6 and in that instance would not need to attempt an onside kick and make Jacksonville drive the length of the field to try and win it with either a touch down of field goal. That is a game changing call and one that directly affected the outcome of last nights game.

Later in the game, the Ravens were on their only scoring drive of the night, late in the fourth quarter. On a 1st and 10, Joe Flacco threw the ball deep to Torrey Smith who was leveled on the play and knocked out of bounds. Smith held onto the ball but was ruled out before he came down to the ground. Here is the video from that play. Scroll to 3:36 on the video, I couldn't figure out how to link it at a specific time.

Again, the receiver goes up to catch the ball and is leveled by the defender. Well, where's the flag? If Karim was defenseless, why wasn't Smith? Was it because he caught the ball? Look at it from the point of view from the defender. The player in front of you gets his hands on the ball and you are running toward him at full speed and then you make a hit. It's a bang bang play in both cases and in my opinion both plays are clean, hard hits. In my opinion, both plays either need to be flagged or not flagged but they should be treated fairly. Not make it a guessing game for defenders. What's frustrating about the unnecessary roughness call is the last part of the rule. Again, thanks to the ESPN.com team who illustrated the rule on their website this morning:

"If in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactics, the covering official(s) should always call unnecessary roughness."

So according to the last statement, if a referee doesn't know if the play was an illegal hit, it should be treated as an illegal hit. I don't like that. These players have been trained for years that you hit the guy with the ball as hard as you can to make him drop the ball. That helps your team. Let's say Pollard pulls up and doesn't lay a hit on Karim and he holds onto the ball. He stops for fear of drawing a penalty and Karim takes it up the middle of the field for a big gain. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. I don't like that a referee's unsureness can change a game so drastically.

The other rule which is ruining the NFL is moving the kick off to the 35 yard line. In the NFL, kickers were already getting touch backs on a regular basis. Now, it's a surprise if it's not kicked out of the back of the end zone, or the returner takes a knee. It's making the kick off a pointless endeavor. If the NFL is truly trying to put out the best possible product while prolonging players' well being, just start every drive after a score at the 20. Acting as though the kick off is still the same as it was is a sham. It's a wasted play and an insult to fans watching on TV and at the stadium.

I understand that these rules are in the best interest and the safety of the players. I get that. However, it seems that the NFL is getting too gun shy with these games and is getting to the point of alienating it's fan base. People go to games to see big plays, big guys and big hits. No one wants to see a concussion, but at the same time people want to see these players playing to their full potential. One solution I've heard and it makes sense to me is to take away the helmets all together. Maybe guys won't throw their head around like wild men if their head isn't protected and the superman complex is gone.

Atlanta Braves/MLB: Offseason Tidbits/Transactions

Hello people, I would like to take this brief opportunity to introduce myself and my column here on http://www.jaketabor.com/. I’m a lifelong Oregonian who grew up loving 2 things: Ducks football and Atlanta Braves baseball. Now you may be saying to yourself, “I understand the Ducks part (being 100 miles in proximity to Eugene) but Atlanta in 3000 miles away.” Well, when I was growing up we had 5 channels and WTBS Superstation was one of ‘em; thus making my transition into a 3rd generation Brave. I chose to write solely about the Braves and the MLB because Jake does a great job on covering my other passion, the Ducks, so it made sense. I would like for this to be a weekly column revolving around the Braves but sometimes the off-season can be a little thin on stories. Now, onto my Braves column:

As it stands now, the Braves are doing a little internal managerial housekeeping. Since our season was prematurely cut short (I will not bore anyone with stories of my broken heart) the Braves have fired 1 coach, hitting coach Larry Parrish. This came as no surprise as the Braves dipped to a .229 batting average for the month of September; not to mention the paltry .211 the Braves hit with runners in scoring position. The Braves have hired former White Sox hitting coach, Greg Walker. This Brave was pulling for Dave Magadan, hitting coach of the Red Sox; but hey, what do I know? The Braves main activity this off-season has been to hire a new “special assistant” to the GM; this position is to gather video footage on pitchers so the hitter can have a more effective approach to hitting, timing, etc..

There is a ton more to come as Braves GM Frank Wren opens up the coffers and tries to fill the glaring holes in shortstop, bench positions, as well as someone to fill in for Prado in LF when he has to fill in for an aging Chipper Jones at 3B. I’m positive I will have an entire week devoted to that no-winning waste of space Derek Lowe….brb, gotta go punch a hole in something…

It appears heading into this off-season that the Braves are staring at more questions than answers. Sure we got Michael Bourne providing the necessary speed and OBP, but we MUST give him ample chance to run and score. This lies within the, so far, inept Fredi Gonzales. I will try like hell to make this an informative blog and not a platform in which to bash the Braves moron….err the Braves manager. NOW ONTO TRADE RUMORS...

That being said, here are the goings-on from around the MLB that doesn't have anything to do with the World Series:

-The biggest story from around the league involves Theo Epstein leaving the BoSox to try to resurrect everyone's lovable losers, the Cubbies. On Friday night, the Sox and Cubs finally announced that Theo Epstein will take over as the Cubs' President of Baseball Operations. Both organizations will forgo further comment until Tuesday, which is the next scheduled non-game day in the World Series. Compensation has not yet been agreed upon but the issue will be "resolved in the near term" according the the joint press release. The two sides have struggled to reach agreement this past week, with the Red Sox requesting Pitcher Matt Garza from the Cubs.

-Meanwhile, the Cubs will also pluck Jed Hoyer and Jason Mcleod from the Padres, but San Diego won't seek compensation. The Padres are set to promote internally with Josh Byrnes taking the GM job.

-It's widely assumed that Yu Darvish will be playing in the Major Leagues next year, but the 25-year-old right-hander wrote on his personal blog on the matter and explained that "nothing is decided." Earlier in the week, it was suggested that the Rangers, Blue Jays, Nationals, Royals, and Mariners are among the early favorites to land the hurler.

-This Braves fan is almost upset that we can't be in the running for the Prince Fielder Sweepstakes (we have ROY candidate Freddie Freeman). After his team was knocked out of the playoffs, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told his fans that the club will be in the mix to try and retain free agent 1b Prince Fielder. Tim Dierkes writes that he would be very surprised to see the Brewers re-sign Fielder within the exclusive negotiation period. I personally don't see this happening, what with the small African Village promised to Ryan Braun.

-The Orioles continue their GM search this week and interviewed Jerry Dipoto of the Diamondbacks, Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays, and most recently Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson. They asked to talk with Marlins assistant GM Dan Jennings but were denied permission.

-Speaking of the O's, reliever Jeremy Accardo is a free agent after refusing last weeks assignment; meaning he was designated to be assigned to the minors, refused, and thus was fired.

-The Angels top choice for GM is Rays' executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, but he's unlikely to leave his post in Tampa Bay for the job. The Halos will now move on to other candidates including their own Tory Hernandez, Kim Ng of MLB, Rick Hahn of the White Sox, Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Eppler of the Yankees and Jerry Dipoto of the Diamondbacks. *YAWN*

-The Nationals and righty Chien-ming Wang continue discussions about an extension, but the two sides aren't yet close to a deal.

-Veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes states he would rather pitch in 2012 than retire. Rhodes' preference is to pitch for the Cardinals in 2012, which would be Rhodes' 21st Major League season. This just in: Rhodes interested in pitching in the Old-timers Game if it ever comes back.

-THIS WEEK IN SOAP OPERA NEWS: Frank and Jamie McCourt confirmed that they have FINALLY COME TO AN AGREEMENT: Jamie will obtain $130MM and relinquish any claim to a share of the Dodgers. She will also no longer stand in the way of Frank's plan to sell the team's media rights. Again proving women don't belong in baseball...I KID I KID!

-After saying earlier this month that there was "too much drama" surrounding the club, Big Papi David Ortiz has expressed interest for his 10th season with the Red Sox in 2012.

AND FINALLY IN LEAGUE NEWS:
-In a radio interview this week, Selig said that the collective bargaining agreement talks were "constructive," though it would be 'pretty optimistic' to hope that a new deal could be announced before the end of the World Series.

That wraps it up for me, the following weeks will be shorter than this 1st installment. Till next week, keep those tomahawks handy.

~RAC

Bennett, Barner lead #10 Oregon in Rout of Buffaloes

Kenjon Barner runs to daylight in the first half
(AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey)

Darron Thomas and LaMichael James both dressed to play for the road trip to Colorado. It was clear after the first quarter that neither of them would be needed against the Buffaloes. Oregon opened the game going 6 plays for 80 yards, capped by a 4 yard Kenjon Barner touchdown. The play that really set the tone for the drive though, and the day was a Bryan Bennett scramble for 43 yards that was capped with a personal foul penalty that put Oregon in the red zone. After the two point conversion, Oregon's defense stood tall, as they would do throughout the game to force a punt and get the ball back to the dynamic Oregon offense. The Ducks rattled off 29 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 45-2 win. It was Oregon's 6th consecutive game in which the offense tallied more than 500 yards.

Colorado quarter back Tyler Hanson left the game in the second quarter and the Buffaloes didn't score until late in the third quarter on a bizarre play. After the Duck defense forced a punt, Cliff Harris went back to field a punt inside his own 10. Harris ran back and his momentum carried him back into his own end zone and he was unable to get back out as the Colorado punt team forced a safety breaking up the shut out for the Ducks.

For the offense, Kenjon Barner lead the Oregon rushing game with 115 yards on only 10 carries and had two scores, before coach; Chip Kelly shut him down for the day. Barner's highlight came in the first quarter as he sprinted to daylight scoring on a 84 yard rush to put the visitors up 22-0. Bryan Bennett completed just over half of his passes but did connect for two touchdown scores, one to De'Anthony Thomas and a one handed catch by David Paulson to get Bennett his second passing score of the day. Bennett truly showed his dual threat capabilities in his first collegiate start by adding another score on the ground, part of his 69 rushing yards on the day.

Colorado's offense was often stymied by an defense that sacked the quarter back 5 times and got themselves on the board with a interception return for a touch down by Michael Clay. The defense dominated the line of scrimmage and made Colorado play from 3rd and long throughout the day.

Seeing as how two of Oregon's superstars, Darron Thomas and LaMichael James, dressed but did not play, it's reasonable to assume they will both be back in action next week when the Ducks return home for an upstart Washington State squad. Colorado on the other hand will go on the road to Tempe to play South division leader Arizona State.

#10 Oregon Vs. Colorado : Preview

LaMichael James may be back this next week after spending last week on the sidelines.
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

The Ducks travel to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado to face a new conference foe in the Colorado Buffaloes. The last time these two teams saw each other was in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl in which Oregon routed Colorado 38-16 in a game that put the Ducks in the national spot light. Since then, Colorado has joined the Pac-12 so these two squads will be seeing a lot more of one another from this point on.

Oregon will be making it's first trip to Boulder since 1978 and they will be making it without their two biggest play makers on offense. According to Rob Moseley, Bryan Bennett has been taking all the first team snaps this week, in spite of Darron Thomas being suited up for practice without a brace or limp.

Thomas injured the knee early in the third quarter against Arizona St. and Bennett came in, leading the Duck offense to victory, trailing 24-21 at the time. Bennett was just 2 of 5 but showed promise in running the read option, the cornerstone of the Oregon offense. Also injured is star running back LaMichael James. He, on the contrary plans to make the trip to Colorado and will play if the team needs him. “I definitely could play,” James said. “ Kenjon (Barner’s) doing a great job running the ball, and De’Anthony (Thomas). And Darron and Bryan Bennett, those guys are doing a great job right now. I don’t know if they’ll need me."

On the other side of the ball, Colorado is also going to be without their leading rusher, Rodney Stewart. The Buffs will miss Stewart who is well on his way to setting school career records for all purpose yards as well as yards from scrimmage. Stewart sprained his knee in their loss to Washington and will be out at least 2 weeks. Not only does he lead the team in rushing, he is also a very capable receiver out of the backfield, being #2 on the team in receptions. Colorado will turn to a running back by committee and hope that the three running backs on the roster can pick up the slack of the offense's most viable weapon.

Injuries have been a big story for the home team this year. Already on the year, the defense has lost 59 games from it's projected 2 deep from the beginning of the year. Most notably in the medical report for the defense is Douglas Rippy, inside linebacker and the team's leading tackler. Even before the injuries decimated the Buff's defense, the secondary was already thin; due to a suspension for what coach Embree called failure to meet team obligations and responsibilities. What's left of the defense is going to face a tall task in containing an Oregon offense that didn't seem to miss a beat with back up running back and a quarter back. They need to get to Bennett and try to shake him up early and try and rattle him. A first start on the road could prove to be a difficult adjustment for the red shirt freshman and if Colorado can force some miscues they have a puncher's chance in this one.

Colorado Will Win If:                         Oregon Will Win If:
Rattle Bryan Bennett                             Run the ball well
Score Early                                           Protect Bennett
Force Miscues                                      Get production from Bennett

A Bit of Housekeeping

Tabor's Big League Chew would like to welcome the Chop Talk segment to the blog. Written by Ryan Crouch, it will be covering rumors in the MLB with a focus on the Atlanta Braves. I am very excited about this as I hope to bring in a larger audience from the baseball world.