For those of you with the bye week blues, especially after a gut-wrenching game like the one last week, don’t worry, you’re not alone – the team feels it too.
“After the tough loss last week it might kind of be better to get out there and get it out of the way,” said senior wide receiver Cameron Colvin.
Quarterback Dennis Dixon said he doesn’t need the week off either. “I’d like to be playing every week. Everyone’s got the spark right now, everyone’s happy,” he said. “It’s always a great day to play on Saturday but unfortunately we’re not going to be playing so we’ll be watching everyone else.”
Even coach Mike Bellotti got in on the action. “I’d like to have one bye right in the middle to be honest with you,” he said. “But the fact that we have two byes and that Thursday night game…it makes the season longer but it certainly gives some of our players the chance to rest and recover within the season itself.”
And for all the forlorn faces I’ve seen around Eugene this week, there were none at football practice, where everyone was upbeat and seemingly at ease. Bellotti said he was pleased with the attitude of the team during this week’s practices.
“I thought that they were very excited and energetic. I think the frustration has turned to very positive energy about our last game,” Bellotti said. “Certainly, it would be nice to play this week but the reality is we need the break to get healthy and that’s going to be a good thing.”
I’ve found myself wondering, as I’m sure many Duck fans have, if there is a collapse coming from this team. Dixon said that the fourth quarter of the loss to Cal proves that this team has a different mentality than last season.
“I think last year the team would have fallen over after that first interception…myself as well,” he said. “This year everyone’s got strong confidence that they’ll be capable of getting things done on both sides of the ball.”
In the wake of that two-interception quarter, Dixon has shown some of the maturity that senior quarterbacks need to have, taking full responsibility for the poor decision that led to his first interception.
“That first one was just being greedy on my part and I take full judgment on that,” he said. “Then we get a tipped ball, and that’s unfortunate but it happens. It falls as an interception but you’ve got to bounce back and I think we did that.”
That, to me, is the biggest difference in Dixon from last season to this season. Last season he would have been more likely to cold-shoulder the media and hide from accountability after throwing two fourth-quarter picks. This year he seems more willing to accept setbacks and his own failures as a natural part of progression, and own up to them.
The quarterback has been pushing all the right buttons on this team all year. After home blowouts of Houston and Fresno State, he was openly critical of some of the protection breakdowns of the offensive line and missed routes by his receivers. To me this seems fine. You get a good win and temper it with a reminder for your teammates of things that still need work.
Conversely, since the loss to Cal, Dixon has been nothing but supportive of his teammates. This is also the perfect way to deal with the situation. He’s picking his team up. Right now is not the time to remind his teammates of what they did wrong, because this week there’s no victory celebration to make them forget.
He’s reminding them that they’re a team, reminding them that they’re good, and reminding them that this season is not even close to over yet.
I just thought it would be a useful message to pass along to Duck fans.