Rich Brooks told Ivan Maisel he doesn't think the Ducks are physical enough for Stanford and Arizona.
He's seen the last two Oregon games, and apparently thinks Oregon is a finesse team.
Bo Thran, Brandon Bair, Casey Matthews, Eddie Pleasant and John Boyett are not physical?
The coach deserves a lot of credit for where Oregon football is now, but he missed the mark on this one. LaMichael James may be fast, but he runs as tough as anyone. And Jeff Maehl will run through three guys to get a first down if the Ducks need one.
Of course in the Brooks era being physical often meant off tackle right, off tackle left, draw play, punt. The Adidas-clad crabby fighting Ducks of his era never averaged 38 points a game or 5500 yards of offense in a season, which Oregon has done the last three years.
Yet Oregon is more physical than any team Brooks had at Kentucky. Just because they have a fast, dynamic offense, it doesn't mean they can't matchup. Even Oregon's receivers are tough. Check some videotape and watch the downfield blocking. Finesse teams don't have that kind of dedication to excellence in blocking, special teams and pursuing defense.
We'll have a lot better idea of how physical the Ducks can be after Saturday's road battle with Vontaze Burfict and ASU. In eight days they'll get a first-hand look at the "character and cruelty" Cardinal.
I'm thinking character, speed, depth, talent, discipline and preparation win out over cruelty, but that's next week.
We'll have to ask the coach what he thinks at the end of the year. Wonder if he's a little jealous of the advantages the Ducks have now. He had to win games in far more difficult circumstances during his tour at Oregon, playing with two-star kids and modest facilities. USC and UCLA used to stockpile all the best talent on the West Coast, and Oregon didn't venture across the country the way they do now.
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