The Oregon offense, known nationwide for its lethal, fast-paced style, has looked surpassingly clumsy and forgettable this spring.
Each practice has brought about more questions at quarterback, as well as at receiver, and the offense seemed to take yet another step back in last Friday’s scrimmage.
Coach Mike Bellotti admitted as much earlier this week, when he described the situation at quarterback as even more wide open than when camp began.
Maybe it’s the defense. The Ducks’ secondary looks to be the best in more than a decade, maybe the best ever. Not surprising then, that Oregon’s bevy of young signal-callers have had trouble getting anything done in the passing game.
But no matter the reason for the problems, they must be addressed, and Bellotti did what he usually does when a quarterback isn’t getting it done: Let someone else give it a shot.
This is a trait of his that has angered some fans over the years. They would rather have him stick with one guy and develop him as the primary quarterback at the detriment of others’ development.
I, for one, can’t stand the two-quarterback system that Bellotti has employed off and on over the years. I subscribe to the theory that if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t really have a quarterback. We’ve all seen this spring that you can have five quarterbacks, and still not have a quarterback.
But this re-assessing of the top of the quarterback depth chart was a great move. Three of the five quarterbacks are new to the program, the other two were thrust into our collective consciousness in the rash of injuries the Ducks experienced last fall. That is to say, all five are relatively unknown quantities. None are worthy of first-team reps on potential alone, and with Nate Costa (last season’s heir apparent) on the sidelines for full-contact drills, I see it as the perfect opportunity to develop all of these kids as much as possible.
Because player development is what spring drills are all about, right?
I would go as far as predicting that if Costa and senior running back Jeremiah Johnson were available for full-contact this spring, the offense would look a hell of a lot better, and the headlines would be much different.
But in the absence of Costa, and with the decision by the coaches to rotate first-team reps among the quarterbacks, the five healthy players have received much more attention from the coaches along with those valuable first-team reps.
In the absence of Johnson, we have all been witness to the emergence of LeGarrette Blount as a real threat out of the backfield. Blount has lived up to every bit of hype that surrounded him as the top-rated junior college running back in the country. Would he have had the opportunity to show us what he can do if Johnson were at full speed? Maybe, but the opportunities for him to shine would have been fewer.
So quit with the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing about the well-being of the vaunted Oregon offense, Duck fan. This isn’t fall camp. The Washington Huskies aren’t quite looming on the horizon just yet.
Spring camp is all about player development, and with some top performers still coming back from injuries the Ducks have had the opportunity to see more out of some unknown quantities than they otherwise would have.
So what can we hope to see in the spring game? Will a new offensive weapon emerge? Will one of the young quarterbacks shine?
My hope is the same as one Bellotti expressed to me earlier this week: Let’s just hope there are no major injuries.
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