You know there has to be something wrong with the Oregon football team when the crowd avidly cheers as quarterback Brady Leaf enters the game. Something must be going terribly awry for the only half-capacity crowd to go ballistic as the backup trots onto the field.
Those examples epitomize the football team’s current state of affairs. Starting quarterback Dennis Dixon quickly fell out of favor with the Oregon crowd during his three-interception performance, and he now has one touchdown pass and eight picks in his last five games. He hasn’t inspired much to cheer about in the second half of the season despite playing in blowouts like the Portland State University and Washington games.
Watching Dixon in the team’s last five games makes you wonder about his current mindset. After last week’s loss to USC, he showed frustration when he was asked to talk to reporters. And after Saturday’s performance, about two dozen members of the media stayed in the interviewing room 50 minutes after the game to talk to the starting quarterback.
Except, he didn’t show up.
That didn’t come as much of a surprise because I wouldn’t really want to talk about playing that poorly either. But not talking to the media gives us reason to believe that Dixon can’t accept the pressure and responsibilities of being a Division I quarterback.
Sure in past games he’s given us the automated response of not worrying about what kind of performance he’s had, but that’s what he’s instructed to say, otherwise everyone would be worrying about what’s on his mind.
By not even giving us his clichéd answer, Dixon must be in some kind of bad place right now.
That, or he just really hates us. I like to believe it’s somewhere in between.
Sitting in the media room waiting for Dixon, I tried to imagine myself answering questions and dealing with the mob of microphones shoved in my face. My response would be along the lines of:
“Look, I know I had a terrible game and haven’t been playing well very lately, but there’s a simple answer for all of this: It’s damn cold outside. I only play well when the temperature is above 68 degrees. It’s that simple. I thought you guys would have realized this by now. Next question.”
At least Leaf can handle dealing with reporters. As many dumb questions as we ask (somebody asked him about transferring which he had already dismissed earlier in the week to the Oregonian) Leaf is able to take it all in stride and not cause a scene the way Dixon did last week against USC. I imagine Leaf’s picked up a thing or two from his older brother on how not to deal with the media.
Even though this is likely Leaf’s best chance to start a game, coach Mike Bellotti said he’ll pick whoever the coaches believe will give the team its best chance to win. Leaf didn’t assume the position was his for the taking. He knows his role on the team and is willing to do his part to help the team win. Even if it means playing garbage time in a lopsided game.
Dixon needs to figure out that as quarterback of a high-profile team, his role is to be the team’s outspoken leader and not to be affected by his performance. Unless that happens, expect to see a similar game against Oregon State.
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