It’s Time to Fire People
This was it. This was the last straw.
Mediocrity is one thing– Ducks fans are used to that, and it doesn’t bother us as much as it would at a school that actually takes pride in its athletic programs– but Mike Bellotti has allowed this team to regress to the point where they’re just plain bad. The Ducks were beat by a Mountain West team by 30 points. And it wasn’t even that close. Oregon was out-coached and out-played in just about every aspect of the game, despite having two high-priced coordinators and one of the most talented rosters in the Pac-10.
The players looked unprepared and unmotivated. The coaches appeared confused. Maybe they thought the Ducks were playing Portland State again. Maybe the paint on the new helmets released some sort of intoxicant upon contact. Or maybe it was a late Wednesday night at Sheri’s Ranch. Whatever the case, they seemed only mildly aware that there was a football game taking place in which they were supposed to participate.
The offensive playcalling was particularly awful– I wouldn’t trust Gary Crowton to teach a newborn how to cry. This is the second year in a row where his high school junior varsity gimmick offensive schemes have been routinely exposed by teams with real, live coaches. Here’s a goddamn pro-tip, Crowton: When your Wide Receivers and Running Backs are far superior athletically than the other team’s defensive backs, you throw the fucking ball deep. You don’t call quick screens, you don’t call quick outs, and you don’t run the option with a quarterback who’s been sitting on the sidelines. You throw the ball deep like your quarterback is Sexy Rexy. Or hell, you have two very good Running Backs. Line up in the I and pound the ball down their throats.
Gimmick offenses are often used by teams with glaring positional weaknesses like slow Wide Receivers, a porous offensive line, or a low-quality Running Back. Teams with superior talent like the Ducks shouldn’t ever have to resort to permanent gimmicks– they should be able to outrun or outbruise teams like BYU. Gimmick offenses wouldn’t be gimmicks if they actually worked on a regular basis against competent teams.
And speaking of superior talent, the immense talents of both Dennis Dixon and (gasp) Brady Leaf has been utterly wasted by Bellotti and Crowton. Both of these quarterbacks would have been good enough to start for all but two Pac-10 teams this year. But Bellotti never committed to just one of them as he should (and any competent coach would) have. In the two bowl games of their era he has played roulette with the position, virtually guaranteeing that every drive would be helmed by a quarterback deprived of rhythm and confidence. It’s as if he’s been coaching to not hurt either Quarterback’s feelings.
Basically, it’s time for a change when your team hasn’t won a bowl game in four years and has been outscored 56-140 in the last four games of the season. Mike Bellotti appears to have lost the ability to prepare, motivate, and make adjustments to his team. At the very least, Crowton should be fired and the Defensive Coordinator position evaluated. Losing isn’t good, but it is tolerable if your team plays superior opponents or remains competitive throughout games. Losing because your coaching staff is unprepared and befuddled is absolutely unacceptable for any self-respecting collegiate program. This is why coaches like Larry Coker and Walt Harris are fired, not patted on the back and asked to try a lil’ bit harder next year. The administration must take action during the offseason if they want Oregon to be known as something more than “that team with the horrible day-glow uniforms,” because getting blown out by religious teams from garbage conferences isn’t exactly going to help bring in donors or recruits.
Edit: “Embarrasing” seems to be the operative word as far as this game’s concerned.
[…] It is probable that the imbalance in spending between athletics and academics will not be resolved to the professors’ satisfaction anytime soon, but that’s not the fault of this school’s administration. Rather, it is donors who tend to be more attracted to giving money to the University’s athletic programs. The football team is going to have more media recognition (no matter how poorly they perform against Mountain West teams) than any of the University’s research labs. It’s up to the professors’ themselves to curry favor with private donors and encourage them to start putting more money into the learning side of things, rather than criticizing the administration. The administration, for their part, seems to be doing what they can. […]
Mike –
Just as long as it’s not Dennis Green, I’ll be happy.
Can we just all get along and go have a beer at a nice gay bar-after reading all this crap i’m kinda interested in looking for a strong and handsome gay man. why are heterosexual men so damn nelly? gay men usually have a great sense of humor and are alot more fun to be around-i have poked my last chick- it’s all men from now on-
Oregon football has become a cartoon. They are victims of their own hype. The “talented” players (every high school coach in the state of Washington knows J Stewart has no heart & plays soft) have bought into the hype, believing that they are superior to their opponents. Bellotti is a poor sport that disses opponents….omitting Oregon State from his top 25 ballot & bad-mouthing BYU. The reality is that State played better than they Ducks this year & BYU has more winning tradition than Oregon can ever hope for. With all of the hype, there doesn’t seem to be anyway out of their dilenna as they can not possibly live up to it. Perhaps the only thing left for them to do is to go back to old school unis that were good enough for Berry, Fouts & Renfro and find a coach that respects his opponents and teached his players to respect them as well.
Hence one of the primary reasons I was rooting for Boise State and the Golden Gophers.
Nick, I’ll be honest, we don’t need your help. So leave it. People like myself know that Oregon football sucks. We can realize it. The more you force things on people, the more they’re gonna resist. So just let the Ducks alone, and go back to the Sun Bowl win y’all deserved.
And a note for everyone getting into a tissy fit about this: The only way that anything is going to get done is with a change of guard. Belotti needs to go, and Oregon needs to rebuild. That is all.
Sho…
OSU, Cal, and USC all played other “major” conference teams. That’s why I didn’t list them. Maybe they wouldn’t have beat a WAC team. OSU had already got spanked by one of them. Wait…then OSU goes on to win against USC.
I am trying to “win” no one (like Ducks fans have won anyone????). I have never seen a college town (and I have lived in a few) where so many people root against the local team.
I’m just trying to help you guys out. Really. Take it or leave it.
Duck fans’ lack of objectivity (Ian now excluded) turns off just about everyone in listening distance.
That’s the thing about college football: one year you’re shocking the nation beating CU at the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon in 2001), and then Oregon goes on to lose the Seattle Bowl, the Sun Bowl and the Vegas Bowl; there are probably high schools out there who can beat CU. Dan Hawkins must be kicking his own ass right now for leaving BSU.
It seems now that the
This is beautiful…
Now that the Sooners have lost, the bad calls at Autzen are plastered everywhere on the internet in an effort to give BSU more credibility.
I see that Ian did indeed write an article concerning this. However, an article by a guy out there somewhere on the internet does not help the Oregon football team. It is THEIR honesty that would have helped them in the rest of their season.
So yes…we are still (to quote Ian) “wasting their time contemplating the Oklahoma game?”…a lot of people are today.
My first response was to help, not hurt. You might read in there that I admitted that Oregon was a much better team than Oregon State…and I never called anyone a douchebag.
It seems now that the “mid-major” conferences have fared better than the PAC-10 (at least BYU, Hawaii, and BSU vs. Oregon, Arizona State, and UCLA).
Maybe we are not all that we thought we were, eh?
I agree with the last bit.
How does beating a team by 30 points not make you more relevant than them? Also, goody-two-shoes? Its time to move past the inane name calling buddy. The explanation for the BYU win is that they are a superior program. Oregon ends the year with 6 losses– hardly a case for relevancy. Dixon is a talented athlete, not a talented QB, and until Bellotti pulls his head out and lets him play full time (like every other winning team in the country) The Ducks will pay the consequences.
The only possible explanation for what happened was that the Ducks enjoyed Vegas and BYU didn’t. This is rife with quotes, including:
“I’m (down) 50 (dollars) right now. It’s kind of depressing,” Dixon said.
Ironic, given that he was still about 24 hours from knowing the true meaning of depressing. You can bet that the entire BYU team was in bed by 8, firstly because they’re a bunch of Mormon goody-two-shoes, but also because they’re all in their mid-30’s. Oregon is a (relatively) young team that hadn’t lived up to the early-season hype, and was in a disappointing bowl game in the least disappointing city to party in. Big freaking surprise that they came out and played like they had the brown bottle flu.
I’m sorry, but this win does not make BYU a more relevant program than Oregon, nor does it make Mountain West any better than the PAC 10. Certainly the helmets and the poor play fed perceptions of the Ducks as being overhyped disappointments, but the season wasn’t really that bad, considering the amount of talent coming back next year. I say keep Crowton, keep the spread and there’s no reason to not expect the early-season fireworks to go off all year long (as long as we find some linebackers.)
Ayn Rand! AYN RAND!!!
thats pretty funny Tim. I could almost hear that manly baritone register you speak of
Hi Ron
Welcome in!!! Dont forget to check in with Ian and get your not so confidential back ground check and involuntary body cavity search
dont worry it wont hurt a bit.
man you guys are ruthless
is ian ever going to return with actual football knowledge?
I’m beginning to have second thoughts about Big D.
Hey Ian
Sorry it seems I hijacked your wonerfully stupid blog after you so gracefully made so many stupid comments in your original thread about talent in other conferences, now it appears that more people question your sexuallity than the “superior talent” on your ducks squad, again I apoligize. Your smart,pretty and all that oter garbage women like to hear.
Its OK, I’m not going to file a lawsuit for violating what little personal privacy I have left but is does creep me out that you google the other bloggers, or is it just the one you have some strrange sexual fasination with. Don’t bother Ian I’m taken and besides the last thing I need is some sexually confused, half drunk Duck fan nagging me around the house.
Now that I have all the petty name calling out of the way,I just want to see one more thing. Can anyone produce a duck football player(a real player) who is willing to come in here, read Ians blog, and throw his coaches under the bus. I want someone of real value to admit that the coaching staff is not entirely responsible for the public embarassment which Oregon Football undured in a losses to “inferior” teams from “inferior” conferences.
AJ FEELEY!!! nice Tim nice, lets not forget the immensely talented Joey Harrington, by the way I wasn’t referencing dickens I was referring to your dic….ens never mind not really funny
If I was Darin, I would be considering a lawsuit over that.
Heh
Tim: “And why is it always with the Dickens character references?”
Heh, tell me about it.
The irony here, meanwhile, is that Ian is probably the least attached to the Pac-10 of anyone here. Except for me. I watch the MAC these days: the Conference of Quarterbacks! Midweek games on ESPN2! Lots of games between teams named Directional Michigan!
Nick: “I am an idiot because I am a Beaver fan?”
No, the point (expressed somewhat immoderately) is that Ian, no-‘count LSU-or-whoever fan that he is, has spent a lot of time talking about how the refs handed the Oklahoma game to the Ducks. Read the link, dude. Or just keep calling us all douchebags; it really doesn’t bother me one way or the other.
“If I was Darin, I would be considering a lawsuit over that.”
Woohoo! Drink!
Hey, man, AJ FEELEY BITCHES! A.J. FEELEY!
Contributing 18 players to the NFL vs. 16 is not exactly a blowout. Has Oregon ever produced a Heisman winner? That was rhetorical. BYU has. Also, I am pretty sure Steve Young Played for BYU. They have also won a National Championship, which Oregon has not. Its time to get in touch with reality– Oregon Football is a joke.
Is that you Deb? Aren’t you in jail yet?
And why is it that the football threads always inspire the most vitriol. I mean, seriously, everybody in the PAC-10 and the Mountain West sucks, okay? And why is it always with the Dickens character references? I’ve been named Timothy my entire life, and that’s the first thing everyone jumps to: Dickens. Nobody makes fun of its biblical origins (meaning God’s gift or honoring God…as in to the
ladiesdudes*), nobody tosses out Timothy Leary references. Every now and again I get a McVeigh thing, but overall the effort is pretty weak. Or were you mocking me with that talentless and high-voiced ukulele player from the 60s? That’s a little better, but I assure you, friend, that I only speak in the manliest of baritone registers. Ask Ian, he knows. From when we’re fucking.*You see how I beat you to the OMG TEH GAY joke there, see how easy that was?
OK…this is still bugging me.
I am an idiot because I am a Beaver fan? The Oregon football program is too important to you.
When you think that someone is an idiot because of what sports team they are for…that says a lot about you.
I think if I could sum up my first comment on this site it would be “integrity”. The kind you lack by bringing up someone’s place of employment after stating “will not be published”. If I was Darin, I would be considering a lawsuit over that.
…hang…not hand. I know most of you would have caught that, but had to make sure Ian catches what has been said.
“Catches”…another word Oregon doesn’t know about.
To quote the old southerner: “You couldn’t catch a cold”.
…or was it, “You couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a boat”?
Ian’s response shows you exactly why I hate the Ducks. Always have. IT’S BECAUSE OF THEIR FANS.
I grew up in (and still live in) the shadow of Autzen Stadium. The “fans” around here hand their whole self-esteem and self-worth on a football team.
Yet they know so little about the game outside of Autzen.
IF they had talked about the Oklahoma game a little longer, maybe they wouldn’t have hit the proverbial wall a few games later! You didn’t read my comments, did you? Too many big words?
HOMERS. Joe Giansante-type kool-aid drinkers!
You know what you get when you drive through the UofO campus slow enough? Cooties and a degree!
sorry guys looks like the cats out of the bag. Actually Ian my job is extremely easy and the best part is I get paid to make those cutting edge jokes about you and your partner. Good now that we got that out of the way we’ll get back to the pac-10. They are not the perinnal power-house that you say they are, espically Oregon, don’t get me wrong they have good years just like anyone but they are not a national power-house and they proved it all year with a 7-6 record. Gary Crowton had what, the third or fourth highest producing offense and you were a 500 team. I checked your list and oregon has placed 18 players in the NFL compared to BYU(16) and Utah(13) so your theory of superior athletes is blown out of the water. As stated before I distain the MWC and BYU even more but they and countless “inferior talented” teams could crush several pac-10 teams. sorry it’s 5:00 time to punch out
I knew there was a reason that Ian bought me diamond earrings for Christmas…DAMN YOU TIM!!
Radiology must be pretty easy if you can make CUTTING EDGE gay jokes on the Internet during work. Classy stuff.
timmy
R U ,(thats a contraction for are you) ian’s boyfriend?
way to go tiny tim, you must be another duck fan chimming in with more meaningless bullshit. see YOU ALL in english class
Dude, at least learn to spell “y’all”. It’s a contraction for “you all”, man.
HEY IAN!!
Wake up and roll off your plus-sized girlfriend(maybe boyfriend/roommate) and defend your precious pac-10 ASU getting completely rolled by a far inferior WAC hawaii. Point in case, do you think USC is happy being in the pac-10? NO!!! They have to play teams that they should destroy every other saturday because its a conference game not because they choose to. Good, in fact great football teams are in every conference(some more than others) but they still have to play the oregon state team that just may sneak up and beat the USC’s of the world. I mean whats next, gimmick laced urban gators takin down the (should be in the pac-10 they’re so damn good) Buckeye’s.
Goddamn, I wished I never would have logged on just to see if Oregon has fired anyone yet and run across your completely lame blog led by captain pac-10 and his complete distorsion of college football, but with any luck I shall continue to grace ya’ll with my presence. Ian keep me updated on how the pac-10 does in the rest of it’s meaning less bowl games.
thanks
Ladies?
Oooh. Burn.
Who is the one defending internet honor at 12:06 am anyway, things slow with the ladies? sorry none of my business.
WOW Ian
And I thought self-righteousness was only a problem in Utah. Man, lets face it, thke only thing worse than those god-awful uni’s was the actual performance that your Ducks (players and coaching alike) put on national television. I probably should have figured that any team led by a Leaf was going to end up crying about something. Please let’s keep in mind I loath the MWC and consider it “overrated” high school football but also consider the the pac-10 (minus usc of course and cal on good years) completely full of mediocrity including (gasp) your pal Brady Leaf. Speaking of QB’s, so this religious, weak-armed John Beck is only really 11 on ESPN’s list , it still appeared to me that he shredded your secondary with his TE and their underpowered, undersized running game made your defensive line look like they were holding egg-nog with cheesecloth. But don’t worry Ian he still is nothing compared to your immense talents of Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf,who by the way are no where on espns list of somewhat talented QBs.
Bottom line Ian, The Mountain West is mostly garbage, and you as a Duck fan should realize that the pac-8 is the exact same garbage only with more lawbreaking,spouse-abusing, soon to be overpaid “superior” athletes. Your complaints about coaching have not fallen on def ears, ask any BYU fan who was happy to fire Crowton. Get of your high horse, Ian Your team got their asses demolished on national tele and it pisses you off I understand, but they lost as a TEAM to a deserved or not top 25 team who they had no business playing, MWC or not.
P.S. I wonder how that UNLV vs Oregon would have turned out though.
Oregon is still reaping the Fife Mullet Whirlwind.
I am a Beaver fan.
You are an idiot. And who in the hell is still wasting their time contemplating the Oklahoma game?
Enough with the
Enough.
Enough with the “Mountain West” in italics.
Condescending elitism doesn’t suit you, Pac-10. Leave that to the ACC. It comes more naturally to East Coasters. You West Coasters are supposed to be more laid back, more chill.
The fact of the matter is that BYU can hang with any team in the PAC-10, except for maybe USC. Sure, they lost to Arizona early on, but they lost by three, and y’all lost by 17.
Frankly, I don’t see why everyone was so surprised that BYU won. You had lost three in a row coming in to the game, and BYU was on a nine-game win streak. BYU was ranked number 19 coming in, and I have yet to see a reputable source that picked Oregon to win. This whole “I am just shocked BYU won” makes you guys look plain silly.
Enough with the Oregon is a team with “superior talent” than BYU.
So, “they should be able to outrun or outbruise teams like BYU,” eh? Well, they didn’t. Coaching was obviously a huge factor, but it doesn’t account for a 38-8 blowout. The fact is that BYU is not only better coached but has better players. Trying to explain a 38-8 blowout by referring to coaching alone makes you, again, look silly.
If you want to talk about individual talent, the fact that Jonny Harline was First Team All-American at Tight End on multiple lists, and the fact that Jon Beck was picked as number four on ESPN’s and other lists for the Heisman; compared, of course, with the utter absence of any Duck on any list. . . let’s just say BYU is pretty talented, jack.
And I’m not even a BYU fan. I’m just a bit more objective.
GO UTES!
I know this will be brushed off as untrue…but I believe I know exactly why the Ducks have plummeted in the latter part of this year.
I am a Beaver fan. Oregon and Notre Dame are my two least favorite college teams. However, I am honest enough to see that the Ducks are a much better football team than Oregon State is. The game in Corvallis was the Ducks’ game to loose.
The problem: the Ducks played with no heart in the last part of the season. The reason? That’s where you will disagree.
Please allow me to take you back to a certain game against Oklahoma. I remember rejoicing in the third and fourth quarters regarding the Sooners’ sure win. I was just about to shut off the TV and leave when there was a shift.
It looked as though the Ducks might pull of a miracle win. But they didn’t.
The refs BLEW THE CALL. Stay with me…
It would have been better for the Ducks (and Duck fans) after the game to say, “You know what…you’re right. We shouldn’t have won that game…we didn’t even RECOVER the ball on the onside”. It would not have cost the Ducks any points in any standings.
Instead, I remember ol’ homer-boy Joe Giansante and his cohort from the Steelhead Brewery telling us that’s part of football and “it’s a ‘W'”. All Duck fans in unison then started talking about the blown call on the delay of game. Watch any game and you see the play clock hit :00 without it being called.
The fact is: Oregon didn’t even recover the ball…Oklahoma did. We watching the game from home did not get to see the angle that showed it clearly.
Here is how it has effected the Ducks: the knew they should have lost…they knew they didn’t deserve the ‘W’…and argued to the contrary.
THEY WERE BEING DISHONEST! This led to a general disheartening within the team and fans. BE OBJECTIVE!
I have heard Duck fans over and over tell me about it being a refs fault that they lost. Now be honest enough to admit it was the refs fault that you won!! I have heard it both ways from HOMER since!
Next time, be honest and admit there was a mistake made. It would not have taken anything away from your all-important ‘W’. As a matter of fact, admitting it would have taken it off your conscience and you could then have focused on the future games instead of the past.
Dishonesty leads to a lack of desire. I hope this helps!
You said it.