| Ducks vs Bruins analysis |
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| Written by Administrator | |||||||||
| Saturday, 24 November 2007 | |||||||||
 Defense ruled the day.
By Dietrich Moore
There’s an old football expression regarding the backup quarterback only being one play away from playing in a game which proved to be one that the Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins know very well. If you compared the record and overall personnel of Oregon and UCLA it would appear they are clearly different teams. However, they are very similar in other regards such as, neither teams have a quarterback, both teams are depleted with injury, and both teams had something to play for…Oregon for the Rose Bowl and UCLA to get to a bowl. As I analyzed one of the most boring and dry games I’ve ever watched I realized both teams had similar game plans with regard to the offensive and defensive components of the game. If you thought today’s game was going to be a defensive struggle you were correct in your assessment. The Oregon offense started the game running the spread-option offense as we had seen all season but with a little bit of a twist. The first drive of the game resulted in a 3-and-out but you saw a glimpse of how the Ducks planned to use their offensive personnel in various ways to establish a rhythm and success. Cody Kempt was a part of the personnel shuffle as he entered the game for the first time on the second drive of the game. His role was to provide more of an option threat than Leaf to help keep the aggressive Bruin defense honest. Andre Crenshaw was utilized as a running back lined up in the quarterback position as part of the personnel shuffle. His role was to take the direct snap and either hand off or run the ball himself. Again, it was a good way to change things up but throughout the game it provided too much of a tendency for the Bruin defense. The UCLA defense was able to defend this facet the Oregon offense as they were not expecting Crenshaw to throw the ball even though he was an option quarterback in high school.
The tactics by the Oregon offense, while a great idea, proved to be ineffective as Kempt was not accurate nor did he have much time to throw the ball due to the successful mixture of 5 and 6-man pressures from UCLA defense. Kempt was forced into full time duty as a result of Brady Leaf injuring his ankle which was different than the previous injury. Justin Roper came into the game in the second half in relief of Kempt and completed a couple passes but was not able to put any consistent drive together. One thing worth mentioning after last week’s officiating fiasco was the drama that unfolded on Cody Kempt’s first interception. Cody Kempt’s first pass attempt as a Duck was ruled an interception but upon looking at the reply I thought the pass skipped on the ground as did the television announcers. I was baffled when the review resulted in the play standing. This is the second week in a row the Ducks were victimized by poor officiating. The Oregon offense was never able to establish the run or put together a consistent drive to gain any kind of momentum. I don’t think anyone would have expected the Oregon team to be shut out which makes you a little concerned about the future of the program. However, my hat goes off to Chip Kelly as he had very limited personnel to work with in preparations for the game. Kelly did the best he could to mix things up with personnel while still putting players in positions that were suitable too their strengths. Unfortunately the bottom line is he didn’t have much to work with which resulted in not much accomplished. One thing that did not help the Oregon offense was the UCLA special teams coverage on their punts. Their punter did a great job kicking the ball which resulted in the Oregon offense starting with poor field position most of the game. The Oregon defense had a challenge ahead that they stepped up too. The defense needed to be a major factor in the game in order to negate the lack of productivity of the offense. The game plan for both defenses appeared to be the same which was concentrate on the run and pressure the opposing quarterbacks in passing situations. Both defenses were able to accomplish the aforementioned goals but it was the UCLA offense that was able to gain enough field position to secure 3 field goals and a touchdown late in the 4th quarter. The Oregon defense was had much success with a 4 man rush and was also having success bringing 5 and 6 man pressures from various looks. The mixture of pressure resulted in 3 sacks in the 1st quarter for the Duck defense for a total of 5 for the game. The Duck defense was in control most of the game with exception of a late touchdown run in the 4th quarter. I give the Duck defense much credit as they did everything in its power to secure a victory given some of the most difficult situations pertaining to starting field position and the 4 turnovers committed by the offense. The Oregon defense accomplished its goal of stopping the run, pressuring the quarterback, and committing 2 turnovers. The solid performance by the defense proved to not be enough as the game ended up being one where the defense or special teams were going to need to be the unit to score. I will have to say the Bruin defense won today as they allowed the Oregon offense to get as close as the Bruin 34 yard line but was not able to get that close again which takes away a scoring component of your game, hence the result of a shutout. The team is going to have to get back to the drawing board and work to salvage the remaining game versus the Beavers. When I say the “drawing board” I really mean the “offensive drawing board”. The Beavers are once again playing well at the end of the season so the Duckies will have to bring their A+ game next week. The Ducks will be back at home which will help create some emotion and sense of confidence as the Ducks look to continue it’s quest to a Pac-10 Championship!
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 24 November 2007 ) | |||||||||
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