There are obvious reasons as to why the Oregon football team surpassed even the most reasonable expectations before the season started.
There’s the offense and Dennis Dixon, of course. There’s the defense making key turnovers. The special teams, as well, have been solid and have avoided the issues with fumbling that plagued the team last year.
Their resolve has been tested multiple times and the Ducks have proved they’re more than capable of erasing a deficit.
Their attitude, the fire in their belly, or lack thereof, however, was something I’ve always wondered about. As far as the stars go, both Dixon and Jonathan Stewart often talk like football’s a job for them and that they’d rather let their actions on the field do all the talking for them. As far as their relations with the media go, they’d rather just play football than talk about it: “We’re good. We know it. You know it. Now stop asking questions about why we’re so good.”
The majority of the Ducks will often avoid any negativity about an opponent, or the way the team’s viewed among the national media. There have been plenty of questions asked about the amount of hype Oregon’s receiving this year and often the Ducks will deflect the prying into their personal beliefs and aspirations by saying the attention is “nice,” but they can’t focus on that type of stuff.
It turns out, actually, at least one player does. It just took a national audience to get it out in the air.
I’m talking about Jeff Kendall, who appeared on Jim Rome’s radio show last Friday when he proceeded to bash Oregon doubters for nearly six minutes. It was epic. It was enlightening. But most of all, it told me that the team does have a killer instinct – but one they’re not willing to share too often, for whatever reason.
You see, as Kendall pointed out, Oregon was on the war path this season because of what happened to them last season and the way they were burned by predictions about the team heading into this year.
“We’d like to send a special ‘Thank you’ to all the columnists who picked us to finish as a middle-of-the-pack team,” Kendall said on Rome’s show. “Great call on that one.”
I just wish I knew to talk to Oregon’s third-string center to provide me with the type of mental approach the team’s taking this year. Apparently, these guys were pretty steamed about what is being said about them, especially the doubts at the beginning of the year.
Not only that, but Kendall said that Oregon was the only school to offer him, Max Unger and Geoff Schwartz scholarships out of high school. I find that hard to believe considering how good the guys are, but as Kendall pointed out, that chip on their shoulders has made them all the better.
I should have seen this coming, only it’s hard to get past that non-negative, complimentary clichés when you write for the school paper. Still, I feel like I should have pressed some of these guys harder because it’s hard for me to imagine a bunch of football players treating each consecutive game with the existential mindset of ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ I suppose Kendall’s appreciation for Rome, and the fact that the guy is never requested for an interview, was reason to let everything hang out. I’m just jealous about the whole thing, I guess.
It was an awesome rant by Kendall though. Schwartz, who also was on the show, let Kendall do the ranting and came away pleased with the whole process.
“That was all Kendall’s deal,” Schwartz said. “We worked on it together, but I was going to let him do it. It was a great job. I loved it.”
Even Mike Bellotti, who isn’t a big fan of the trash-talk, was happy with the show.
“It was pretty awesome,” Bellotti said. “I didn’t understand all of it. I heard it. I was impressed that Jim Rome was impressed and I got a lot of e-mails and supportive stuff from people across the country.
“We just got to go out and back it up. It it’s smack talk, or whatever they call it, I don’t really know. It sounded good. He seemed like he was in good rhythm and good form.”
I’ll second that. Good take, Kendall.
[email protected]