Finding Silver Lining

[Elduderino]

Ok, so like most of you I had been anxiously awaiting last night's game, and like all of us, came away very dissapointed. That being said, having been raised in a "football family" (I mean like fanatical), I was taught that there is always something to be taken away and learned from even the worst game. So here goes....

1. Jackson Rice. Already been discussed, but worth mentioning again. Kid has a big, big future.

2. Jeff Maehl. Maybe a bit surprising but the kid played a great game really. He did a good job of getting open and catching the ball, even while Masoli was staring him down most of the game. You can tell he has improved greatly in the last half a year.

3. The O needs to be slowed down a bit for Masoli. Dude is having some serious trouble making reads at game speed. He was really off on his zone reads, and he struggled mightily reading coverage. The INT play was designed for him to hesitate that way, you can tell by the way he moves, but he failed in reading the coverage.

4. BSU is going to be good. Kellen Moore is probably the best QB we'll see all year, flat out. The kid is ice. We as a fanbase and a team underestimated them again. To put it simply, they are better than we are.

5. Blount should be done for a while, and it may not be a bad thing. Initially I thought he should be gone by this morning, after sleeping on it, and listening to other views l(ike MFR's), I think there are many important things to consider in his punishment. That being said, this is an excellent opportunity for backs like LMJ, Crenshaw and Alston to make an impact on the season.

6. Maybe most important for this team, the pressure is off. Nobody expects much out of them for the rest of the year. Even Moseley on his twitter feed said something to the effect of a bowl game being no certainty. I disagree strongly. This was one game, the first game even. We have a long, long way to go, with Utah and Cal looming in the next month. There is lots of ground to make up sure, but we have the opportunities to make an impact on this year, no doubt.


That's all I've got, and it was tough to come up with those; but, I do think we'll bounce back. Hang in there everyone.

[Tray Dub]

Maehl dropped two or three balls. I wasn't pleased with him at all (hate to be so pessimistic, but just pointing out what I saw)

[Elduderino]

The two on identical plays weren't drops. The first one Masoli threw out of bounds and Maehl tried to tightrope it but was out of bounds. The second skipped off the ground and he went down to get it and couldn't make a play.

Maybe I'm missing some of them, I might remember one drop, but I do clearly remember Maehl's terrific catch on a poorly thrown third down ball, that allowed us our only score.

Undeniable is that without him working hard to get open and making tough catches, we'd have not scored, and we'd have had around 100 total yards.

[gofightingducks]

4. BSU is going to be good. Kellen Moore is probably the best QB we'll see all year, flat out. The kid is ice. We as a fanbase and a team underestimated them again. To put it simply, they are better than we are.

They are most likely going to go undefeated in play in the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl, they don't really play anybody else this season. As far as them being the better team, I think they have better coaches and were better prepared for both games. It is hard to say but had the Ducks had better play calling (similar to what was called the last 3 games of last season) and Masoli not been knocked out last season the outcomes may have been different, but bottom line is they won both games which makes them the better team and although they are in a weak conference they have had more success. They beat Oklahoma without the officials help something the Ducks have failed to do, and they have recently beaten Utah and BYU, something else the Ducks have failed to do...... I guess we will see about the Ducks against Utah in a couple of weeks, they didn't do to good against Utah State at home, but they get up for the big games.

[gofightingducks]

The two on identical plays weren't drops. The first one Masoli threw out of bounds and Maehl tried to tightrope it but was out of bounds. The second skipped off the ground and he went down to get it and couldn't make a play.

Maybe I'm missing some of them, I might remember one drop, but I do clearly remember Maehl's terrific catch on a poorly thrown third down ball, that allowed us our only score.

Undeniable is that without him working hard to get open and making tough catches, we'd have not scored, and we'd have had around 100 total yards.

Both of Maehls "drops" were bad throws. Too bad the Ducks don't have a Dez Bryant or Michael Crabtree that would make those kinds of catches because I don't see Masoli getting better in the passing game.

[canaduck]

Jamere Holland hangs on to his one ball and who knows.......... Football is a beautiful game.

[gofightingducks]

Jamere Holland hangs on to his one ball and who knows.......... Football is a beautiful game.

That could have changed things dramatically, the Ducks could have went on to score and would have had a huge momentum boost! Where is Nike in the research and development process in making the Ducks gloves so the Duck receivers can catch?

Oh yeah I forgot that he false started on that play!

[alabamaduck]

That catch wouldn't have mattered...Holland got called for a false start on the same play so it would have been called back

[SuperDuck]

Ok, so like most of you I had been anxiously awaiting last night's game, and like all of us, came away very dissapointed. That being said, having been raised in a "football family" (I mean like fanatical), I was taught that there is always something to be taken away and learned from even the worst game. So here goes....

1. Jackson Rice. Already been discussed, but worth mentioning again. Kid has a big, big future.

2. Jeff Maehl. Maybe a bit surprising but the kid played a great game really. He did a good job of getting open and catching the ball, even while Masoli was staring him down most of the game. You can tell he has improved greatly in the last half a year.

3. The O needs to be slowed down a bit for Masoli. Dude is having some serious trouble making reads at game speed. He was really off on his zone reads, and he struggled mightily reading coverage. The INT play was designed for him to hesitate that way, you can tell by the way he moves, but he failed in reading the coverage.

4. BSU is going to be good. Kellen Moore is probably the best QB we'll see all year, flat out. The kid is ice. We as a fanbase and a team underestimated them again. To put it simply, they are better than we are.

5. Blount should be done for a while, and it may not be a bad thing. Initially I thought he should be gone by this morning, after sleeping on it, and listening to other views l(ike MFR's), I think there are many important things to consider in his punishment. That being said, this is an excellent opportunity for backs like LMJ, Crenshaw and Alston to make an impact on the season.

6. Maybe most important for this team, the pressure is off. Nobody expects much out of them for the rest of the year. Even Moseley on his twitter feed said something to the effect of a bowl game being no certainty. I disagree strongly. This was one game, the first game even. We have a long, long way to go, with Utah and Cal looming in the next month. There is lots of ground to make up sure, but we have the opportunities to make an impact on this year, no doubt.


That's all I've got, and it was tough to come up with those; but, I do think we'll bounce back. Hang in there everyone.

Everyone needs to keep in mind that this is only one game. Losing by 11 points at Boise State in the season opener does not mean that we're going to have a bad season, that Masoli needs to be benched, that we need to fire Chip Kelly, etc. It's one game against a very good opponent, played at their house, that's all. There are a LOT of good teams that would have lost to Boise State last night.

My response on the points made here:

#1. Yes, Jackson Rice did a fantastic job, but don't forget that another freshman, Michael Clay, was snapping him the ball and deserves credit as well.

#2. Jeff Maehl is an excellent receiver. Many of those passes were thrown too low.

#3. Something must be done about the offense. They made tweaks in the offseason that were designed to pass the ball more in order to reduce their risk of injury to the QB's. But I don't understand why they almost completely abandoned the run? Mike Bellotti said that they need to run the ball more when he was interviewed with six minutes left in the first half, but Chip totally went the opposite direction.

#4. Agreed. Boise State may already be a top 10 team. Definitely so, if they clean up their mistakes. I'd like their chances against ANY Pac-10 team - including Cal and USC, especially if it was played in Boise.

#5. I've already stated my opinion in another thread. Enough said.

#6. I agree. They may surprise everyone and run the table now that the expectations are off. However, it's obvious that this team needs some work and playing time is the only cure for that.

I'd like to add that the defense played very well, considering the circumstances. They were on the field for what seemed like forever and only gave up 19 points. Yes, it could have been more, but there were mistakes made on both sides. They bent on 3rd down too much, but look at how long they were on the field! They could have thrown in the towel in the second half and most people would have understood, but they never gave up. My hat's off to them!

Time to regroup, lick our wounds, put this game in the rear view and get ready for Purdue.

Oh, and give credit where credit is due. Congratulations to the Boise State Broncos. I hope you guys make it to a BCS bowl.

P.S. If this Chip Kelly thing doesn't work out for some reason, I highly recommend that we go after Chris Petersen. He's the "real deal".

[Phenom]

Lol wtf is up with the Maehl love? I was going crazy when Masoli would ONLY look his way. Dickson >>>>>> Maehl.

[Elduderino]

Lol wtf is up with the Maehl love? I was going crazy when Masoli would ONLY look his way. Dickson >>>>>> Maehl.

Hahah, what it's Jeff's fault that Masoli was locked in on him? If anything it makes it harder for him to consistently get open and make plays, which he did last night.

I agree that Dickson is a great player and needs to get the ball, but it certainly isn't Maehl's fault that Masoli was always going his way. If anything I think Maehl usually gets a bad rap when he deserves more credit. Last year people were piling on him until the Civil War. Bottom line is the guy is our best WR right now.

[brich75]

Jamere Holland hangs on to his one ball and who knows.......... Football is a beautiful game.

he hangs on and its the exact same result.. the play was called back on a holding penalty anyway. It would not have counted.

[uodux1212]

The ONLY silver lining to the game last night was the punting... good work JR!

[canaduck]

Jamere Holland hangs on to his one ball and who knows.......... Football is a beautiful game.

he hangs on and its the exact same result.. the play was called back on a holding penalty anyway. It would not have counted.

Brich and bamaduck thank you for recalling events more clearly that I had

[Greydrake]

The ONLY silver lining to the game last night was the punting... good work JR!

Thought the center snaps were efficent for most of the games, can only think of a couple that were off mark In terms of special teams, only the kickoffs seem to be lacking.
Only one bad center snap on the punting that I can recall, forcing JR to stretch for it.