Who dat? A First Look at the Vikings--offense

PSU kicker Zach Brown won Big Sky Player of the Week for special teams twice in the first two weeks of the season. He’s kicked seven field goals, three against ASU and four against UC Davis, 7-8 altogether. But check out the leg on this guy: his kicks, in order, were ASU 42,53,47; UC Davis, 36,42,53 (his one miss),48,46. Seven made field goals, six of 42 yards or longer in two games, those are Kai Forbath numbers. Shoot, the Buffalo Bills could have won four Super Bowls with a kicker like this.

The lesson here is that you can’t automatically assume a lower division opponent is inferior at all positions and all phases. Brown is a serious weapon. If the Vikings get much past midfield, they are are in scoring territory. Clearly he’ll win them some extra games this season in the Big Sky.

#5 Receiver Ray Fry had 67 catches for 904 yards last year, and those are good numbers, but they are even better numbers when you consider he was the one reliable target in a struggling offense. Playing out of the slot receiver position , at 5-8, 180, he’s thick, sturdy and fearless over the middle. Last September he had 10 catches for 146 yards against Oregon State. He was a running back in high school for Seattle Mariner High, with 1660 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior year, so he runs well after the catch.

A little, pesky receiver can be a great equalizer. Remember James Rodgers? He’s like a gnat that keeps buzzing back in your face. In the slot he may be matched up against Eddie Pleasant or the Oregon nickelback, and crossing routes become a particular concern, requiring a lot of communication between defenders. It's a challenge not to lose him in the heavy traffic over the middle. The umpire, stationed five yards off the line on the defensive side of the ball, becomes his own personal pick setter, like the tree or the swing set in the back yard when you were ten.

Pistol Formation, basic set

#1 RB Cory McCaffrey was an all-state sprinter in high school and the all-time state record holder for high school rushing yards. Scout.com listed him at 4.55 for the forty back in 2008, and athletic.net lists his best high school 100 meter time at 10.81. By comparison, LaMichael James won a Texas state 3A title in the hundred at 10.51, and reports have Lache Seastrunk clocked as fast as 10.37 or 10.33.

He isn’t as fast as LaMichael James or Kenjon Barner, but he has great vision and runs tough. In the Pistol he’ll be able to hide behind the Viking offensive line, and it will be a challenge to find him and wrap him up. Arizona State kept him well contained in Tempe, shutting him down to 12 yards on 11 carries, but he found his rhythm against UC Davis, shaking loose for 116 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown, including a long run of 40 yds.

Backup Willie Griffin, a transfer from the Washington Huskies, added 61 yards on 11 carries against UC Davis. He’s built similarly, low to the ground at 5-8, 195. He prepped at McClymonds High in Oakland, an East Bay powerhouse, the school of Bill Russell and Frank Robinson. He was a high school teammate of former Duck NaDerris Ward.

With two stout, low to the ground, quick little runners, the Vikes can play hide-and-seek in the running game. The Ducks must penetrate, pursue, and fill cutback lanes. They must gang tackle and wrap up, and not let these guys get in rhythm and start thinking they can play with the big boys.

Griffin actually started three games for the Huskies in 2008. McCaffrey still holds the Oregon high school all-time record for rushing yards with 8.640, 16th all-time on the national list, and after all those accomplishments and a personal recommendation by Duck legend Dan Fouts he was still passed over for a scholarship. It would be natural for him to want to prove something against the Oregon first team defense. The best answer is to not let him get started, to fill the holes early and often, asserting dominance at the line of scrimmage.

#10 Lincoln High product Connor Kavanaugh won the Vikings' quarterback competition. He threw for 3,283 yards and 34 touchdowns as a high school senior, and was 6A Offensive Player of the Year and first team All State at qb. For his prep career he accumulated 6,821 passing yards and 72 touchdowns.

Last season he was the backup to Drew Hubel, and in part time duty he completed 47 of 83 passes for 444 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. Curiously, he was second on the team in rushing, 72 carries for 390 yards and three touchdowns. His running ability was a big part of the reason he won the starting job this season, Nigel Burton's first as head coach. A dual threat quarterback is vital in the Pistol.

Kavanaugh is now 1-1 in the young season as a starter, having thrown for 324 yards and rushed for a net of 64. A junior, he's slight at 6-0, 180 but athletic and mobile. Kavanaugh's brother Taylor is a senior at Oregon State, a punt returner and reserve wide receiver for the Beavers, so he'll have extra motivation to play well on the biggest stage of his career.

The Pistol allows him to get the ball out quickly with a good view of the defense, and Burton and his staff will hope to get him into a rhythm and try to diffuse the Ducks advantage in size and speed by spreading the ball around.

The Ducks have the size, strength and talent to overwhelm Kavanaugh's protection up front, and if they play with proper urgency the defense and the revved-up Autzen crowd could make it a very difficult day for him.

The Offensive line is a work in progress, with limited experience as a unit going in to the season. Back in August, Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian offered this summary:

Burton feels comfortable with the talent at the skill positions but the offensive line is a question mark. PSU ranked eighth in rushing yards per game (107.6) and fifth in yards per carry (3.6) last season in the Big Sky Conference. Junior Dustin Waldron is the most experienced with 14 starts. Sophomores Manuel Rojas and Kyle Ritt started half of last season. That's the extent of experience on the roster.

In the two games this year the Vikes have rushed for 304 yards and passed for 387 with three sacks. two coming in the opener against Arizona State, so give the retooled offensive line a solid B grade so far in the young season.

This week they'll face the extra challenge presented by Autzen's home crowd. If the stadium is loud and engaged rather than disinterested and detached, the PSU line is likely to suffer the false starts and miscommunication that plague visiting teams in the most hostile environment west of Texas. A blase crowd is a net advantage for the Vikings. Oregon's defense normally picks up a huge amount of energy from the Autzen faithful, and so much of defense is desire and intensity and effort.