Oregon offensive line coach Mario Cristobal spoke to the media Tuesday after Oregon’s loss to No. 23 Stanford. The Ducks’ offense struggled in the game, only scoring seven points, but the running game was efficient throughout. Offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby and Jake Pisarcik suffered concussions during the game and are considered day-to-day.
Here is some of what Cristobal told reporters:
How’d you grade the offensive line’s performance on Saturday?
You know what, we ran the ball really well. Really got after it up front against a really good defensive team that’s been known to be physical and really ran up a bunch of yards. Would like to have more possessions in the game, you know, especially with a guy like Royce [Freeman] and the way he was running, and Tony [Brooks-James] and Kani [Benoit], and continue to do that. It will take the pressure of our young quarterbacks, so very positive.
How difficult is it to have seven points considering the way you guys ran?
“It’s difficult. It’s a tough pill to swallow. In the right kind of way, the approach is always going to be, ‘You know what, internalize it in a manner where you’re going to use it as motivation.’ There have been too many positives to go the other way, and, you know, injuries are part of the game, and we’ve got to continue to find ways to manufacture yards and points. It’s been difficult for two weeks, that’s obvious, but the attitude has been great. There are answers out there that we’ve been working on. Heck, you’d love to be completely healthy, but that’s not the case and that’s not going to happen, and that’s OK. We’re pressing on. Guys have done a good job with their approach. Expect to gave a good practice today and continue moving forward.”
From a coaching standpoint, do you approach things differently when you have a younger guy?
“Well, I think in some cases you do. You’ve got to recognize what his talents are, what he feels comfortable with, but at the same time not too comfortable and too simple … the results won’t be what you want. There’s a line there, so we’re going to push to find that line and try to put us in the best position, and you have to. I know it sounds cliche, but you’ve got to find ways where that quarterback feels comfortable, where the protections are solid, where the running game can help him out and take some pressure off of him and put it all together so we can keep moving the chains.”
Are there other things, more than you’re already doing, that you can employ to get Braxton [Burmeister] more comfortable, your unit?
“We do everything, brother. I think I’ve been home once in the past 14 days, you know, trying to sleep in the office, trying to find that stuff, and there are a lot of things. I know it didn’t show in the game, but I think it will because it’s starting to show up in practice. He’s gaining a lot of confidence. So is Taylor [Alie]. Everyone is gaining confidence in these guys, and now there’s got to be drill and transition to game day. That’s the biggest day. … That’s always the biggest and most important challenge, but it’s got to happen.”
Herbert returns …
Sort of. Herbert returned but was limited in practice today.
Justin Herbert’s limited today, but he’s out here. pic.twitter.com/T8mQqolljc
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) October 17, 2017
This is the most we saw from Herbert today. pic.twitter.com/VVh7JjwiRJ
— Steve Mims (@SteveMims_RG) October 17, 2017
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