An Encouraging Sign from the Rewind, and the All-PAC-10 Team

Thank goodness for the DVR. It's the only football Duck fans will have for 34 days. Plenty of time to study up.

One of the keys to moving the football on Auburn's defense is to find an answer to their quick, strong, aggressive defensive tackle Nick Fairley, number 90 in their 4-3 front. Fairley is a beast.

But Oregon's offensive line, including All-PAC-10 selection center Jordan Holmes and 2nd team pick Bo Thran, did an excellent job on Saturday of neutralizing PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year Steven Paea. He's certainly a great player, but he wasn't a factor in Oregon's 37-20 victory over the Beavers. LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner each went over 130 yards, and Darron Thomas wasn't sacked.

Call me a homer, but I think Brandon Bair outplayed Paea this season. Bair, another of Oregon's 2nd team selections, had 45 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 8 pass deflections this season. In the OSU game, one beastly bat-down led to an interception, and another prevented a touchdown to a wide-open Quizz Rodgers in the left flat at the goal line. Bair made a lot of big stops and clutch plays in the center of a 12-0 defense.

Maybe he can outplay Nick Fairley also.

Do the coaches know something that fans don't? Talmadge Jackson III was 1st Team all-conference at cornerback, and fan favorite Cliff Harris only made it as a punt returner, 2nd team at DB.

Growing Respect: Last year Ed Dickson was the only Duck to make first team all-conference, on a team that won the league by two games. This year Oregon has 7 picks on the first team, and six on the second.

Ted Miller notes special congratulations to Ducks LaMichael James and David Paulson, who made 1st Team All-PAC-10 AND 1st Team Academic All-Conference.

The UO players would be the first to credit their teammates and coaches, and that's one of the things Duck fans love about this group. Two essential elements of their success have been their focus, and a complete commitment to a team-first mentality. In this they are a reflection of their coach. John Hunt of the Oregonian captured this in his story on Chip Kelly's acceptance speech as Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year:

"It's a great compliment to have your name and Eddie Robinson's in the same sentence,'' Kelly said upon accepting the award at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel from the Football Writers Association of America. "To put it in perspective, if I won 10 games for the next 38 years, I'm still six wins short of Coach Robinson.

Obviously, what this means to us and our university, I really can't put into words. But I also have always felt every coach of the year award is more a representation of your team,'' Kelly said. "This award is shared with our great assistant coaches and with a bunch of young man back in Eugene, Oregon, who are truly special.''

A huge part of success is changing the way you think, and acting like a success once you have achieved it. The Ducks have prepared themselves for success, and now that they are there, they are prepared to handle it.