So we got out-muscled and out played and out coached in the title game. Granted, we were within one at one point but their D just shut us down. -Our LB corps couldn't tackle to save their lives. D-line was doing fine. Containment and gap control went awry plus you can't stop a 6'5 250 lb Jones from trucking you. And let's not get started on Elliott. -Our injuries and Carrington suspension caught up to us. Carrington would have caught those dropped passes by Stanford and Nelson. -Mariota may or may not come back. Who knows. But look on the bright side. We were in the first ever CFP Title game, we won the Pac-12 title, a Rose Bowl title, and had the schools' first ever Heisman Trophy winner. And this can be a measuring stick to get bigger, faster, and more physical at the point of attack.
Our LBs are quick but we need more size. The lineman we get up front are fine, it's just that a lot of our LBs are converted safeties (size wise). I know that speed is a part of our scheme but man, maybe it's time to rethink that. Offensively we are fine. Injuries and the Carrington suspension just caught up to us.
The problem with the defense is that they were exhausted. The offense gave them zero rest time. Hell, they forced four turnovers that the offense did little with. This loss is squarely on the offense and their inability to convert in the red zone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I mostly agree about the Offense hurting the most. But the D-Line got a pretty decent push most of the night.. but the LB play was pretty bad. Not being able to shed blocks, arm tackles, going high, when you need to go low on huge guys like Cardale, etc, etc.
I'm not sure what you're talking about. The only LB that played Safety in college or HS that I'm aware of is Derrick Malone Jr. and he only played on passing downs. Size isn't the problem as they're plenty big. Compared to tOSU, even if we list 6'3 250 Tony Washington as a DE (roughly the same size as DE Steve Miller 6'3 255), Oregon's 3 other starting LBs average weight was 240 lbs vs tOSU's starters at 239 lbs... and btw, Buckeye 225 lb starting LB Darron Lee played Safety in HS. While they improved over their atrocious start of the year, the LBs were again the Defense's weakest link to my eyes. Good size and speed measurables can't overcome being out of position and poor tacking. They got caught out of their gaps many times... my guy Torrodney was guilty of this on a couple of occasions. Hopefully the guys returning continue to get better at their reads and communicating and get pushed by the new guys... hopefully one of them is named Houston STOMP
The interesting thing to me was that OSU didn't beat us by being physical. OSU beat us because they have insanely good athletes. I saw Mariota have trouble getting around the corner and that almost never happens. They have NFL speed on defense, and it showed.
Certainly Linebacker play was not a strength of the team during the season or the NCG... what can u & I do about it other then notice? STOMP
I wish there were no playoffs, and we had just ended the season dominating the Rose Bowl and imagining we were the real #1 team.
I've wondered if the game would have gone differently if JT Barrett hadn't gotten hurt. We could not stop them on 3rd or 4th down because all they had to do was have that behemoth mother fucker fall across the line.
Not many D1 athletes can be brought down by arm tackles unless your arms are tree trunks (Ngata). You have to be in front of the guy, moving forward and down lower so as to have leverage. I can recall slow & undersized Michael Clay bringing down all sorts of RBs who were bigger and faster then him... low man wins STOMP
I miss clay, Kiko, and Matthews so much. That was my favorite group of linebackers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Our LB's who Pellum should know best, must learn how to tackle. OSU ran us over! We know where the problem is and has been, now it's time to fix it. On a side note: Ed Ogeron took over as a D line coach for LSU, something tells me we could have gotten him as our DC without to much effort. Pellum better be on point next year cause they'll be no Marcus to bail his prevent D out!
RB Tony James had a Redshirt year this season but is now running track. This evening he ran a 6.71 second 60M dash, which is the 2nd fastest time in the history of UO's track program. STOMP