The Richie Incognito fiasco is
finally over.
Thank goodness.
No more questions or comments. No more ‘this guy is in our community? Oh no!’
I suffered sudden migraines every time I heard people jump on Mike Bellotti about his decision to bring in the troubled youth.
I’ll admit, I had my doubts about it as well, but for some of those in the media, it was like blood in shark-infested waters.
Accusations about Oregon becoming a second-chance university or Bellotti caring more about winning than the community are swirling the air.
I’m not brown-nosing the guy, but credit needs to be given where credit is due.
He didn’t have this guy come in with an impulse. OK, he had
to give him a term scholarship because of timing and classes starting so soon, but he had rules set about what Incognito’s conduct needed
to be.
It’s easy for us in the media to question what a person does and why, but we also need to recognize when something is done right.
Incognito didn’t comply with all of Bellotti’s standards.
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya, Richie.
It’s as easy as that.
He couldn’t have handled the whole situation any better.
But I digress.
This Saturday’s game against Washington State is huge for the Ducks.
If they lose, a 1-4 hole is hard to get out of with a much-improved Stanford and No. 7 California still to face on the road.
In fact, the Ducks need to bust out of their offensive slump and show some life.
Granted, this isn’t a team blessed with an explosive offense, but one would have to think its talent is way too high to be ranked seventh in the conference in scoring offense.
Kellen Clemens is in dire need of a breakout game where he can regain the confidence of his downfield passing, but it motivates me when he says he needs to just sling it.
And as every Oregon critic has said, the key to getting the ball to guys such as Tim Day or Dante Rosario is opening it up. They’ve tried, but it just isn’t happening.
One positive aspect has been brought to the forefront of the offense; Terrence Whitehead is ready to be a feature back.
The way he slams into holes and always seems to break tackles and turn what looks like a negative play to a positive one is keeping this offense moving.
Oregon has the right idea of getting the ball in No. 24’s hands as much as possible.
The man is seventh in the conference in rushing. To take a page out of Keyshawn Johnson’s playbook — give him the damn ball!
But maybe the biggest problem for the flailing Ducks is their red zone and special teams play.
It has been apparent all year that Oregon has struggled to stick the ball in the end zone. Oregon ranks seventh in the conference in red zone offense scoring 11 out of 17 attempts inside the 20-yard line. That come to a 64.7 percentage, which is not what Oregon football is used to.
Bellotti says anything less than 80 percent is unacceptable.
And it hasn’t only been the red zone offense.
The defense ranks ninth in the Pac-10 in allowing opponents to score with 83.3 percent once they reach the red zone.
I don’t think that is the 80 percent Bellotti wants.
They are also at or near the bottom of the turnover margin, sacks allowed, third-down conversions, kickoff coverage and penalties.
All of these used to be categories Oregon excelled at, but now it’s a struggle.
The Ducks also need to figure
out how to get better field position because it seems they are starting
a lot of drives deep in their own
territory.
The Oregon fans are growing impatient with this team because the Ducks aren’t winning and haven’t shown signs of the Oregon that would drive the length of the field in five plays in less than two minutes.
But fans look at the positive.
No more Incognito questions!

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