The Crabby Fighting Duck can put a scare in those Bears, take the thrill out of Tightwad Hill. He's buffed-up after a season of pushups, and got more muscle for the tussle than those little devils and old weasels that visited last month. This is big-boy football, not intramurals. 4-0? Here's your 4-0, and a 5-0 to go with it. There's nothing like the smack of a quack attack: Ka-blooey!
Ron Bellamy has a story on Jeff Tedford and the 2001 Ducks, and as Bellamy recites that roster, it's a tough call to say whether that team might have been more talented than this year's Ducks. Consider this excerpt:
That team featured Joey Harrington at quarterback, 1,000-yard rushers Maurice Morris and Onterrio Smith in the backfield, and gifted receivers in Keenan Howry, Jason Willis, Samie Parker and tight end Justin Peelle, all of whom went on to the NFL, where Morris and Peelle still play.Defensively, the Ducks had outstanding cornerbacks in Rashad Bauman and Steve Smith and a future NFL linebacker in Wes Mallard and safety in Keith Lewis.
This year's team might be a better TEAM than that group. They certainly win more decisively. The schedule broke better for the 2010 team. So far they've blown opponents away and avoided a stumble, as well as two blocked punts. But when you start lining them up position by position, is this year's team better than 2001, or are they just benefiting from a greater parity in college football? I guess we'll have a better idea three games from now. Will the current group do as well in the NFL? Is that even a valid measurement? Interesting questions.
Ken Goe has an entertaining feature on growing Duck legend John Boyett, who gives toughness lessons to Chuck Norris in the offseason. Goe reveals a few personal quirks that Boyett has, from the appreciative perspective of roommates Casey Matthews and David Paulson and his coaches. We forget sometimes that these athletes we admire so much and invest so much in are just kids, with quirky habits, messy rooms, and a tendency to lose their keys and sleep through their alarm. Boyett is a throwback, tough and determined and fun to watch, a coach's kid who seems to have the game in his pores.
Ted Miller has a feature on Oregon's offensive line, the group that has pancaked foes to the tune of 5105 yards and 492 points this year (the defense has scored a few of the points, but even those defensive scores wouldn't have happened if this offense didn't put so much pressure on opponents). The linemen are putting out a new calendar next spring. Lane Kiffin praises their effectiveness, but manages to work in a ridiculous and inacurate diss about their NFL-worthiness. Miller also has some great factoids in his weekly "Did you know?" segment. Among them: Jeff Maehl has 15 td catches in his last 14 games.
Day after day, the best collection of Duck video is found on Ducksoup, the Wines family blog. They've got Chip Kelly, Brian Bennett, and Rachel Bachman's video feature on longtime Oregon fan David Carlo, who has been attending games since 1937.
The crabby fighting Duck's not thinking about getting his picture taken right now, or the NFL, or where they keep the strawberries in Strawberry Canyon. He's got a fruit punch of his own to deliver this weekend: Whammo!
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