In eight games this season Oregon’s top-ranked offensive line has allowed only three sacks in 480 minutes played. No small feat given the number of reads, schemes and protections sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas must know in order to keep the powerful Duck offense afloat.
Since Oregon doesn’t huddle, Thomas must constantly communicate with his five offensive linemen in order to avoid a breakdown. The Ducks have had great success against most defensive fronts they’ve faced this season, something second-year offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich feels has been a complete group effort.
“The front has to know it, the tail back has to know it, hopefully the quarterback knows it,” Helfrich said of the different protection schemes. “And then your receivers need to be dialed into that, too.”
Thomas approaches the offensive line before every play, asking what his guys are noticing and signaling to them players he feels might be blitzing.
“All the down guys, and Darron, we’re looking down field trying to see what the defense is doing,” Oregon senior Jordan Holmes said. “Seeing if they’re tipping blitzes and stuff. Sometimes we don’t see it, sometimes we do. If we see it we’ll tell Darron and he’ll make the adjustments.”
That give-and-take starts with the tackles on the outside, stationed in two-point stances with a better line of sight. They relay what’s seen down the line where it eventually reaches Holmes before the ball is snapped — all of this in a matter of seconds.
Thomas’ mobility — he’s second on the team rushing with 50 carries for 311 yards and two touchdowns — helps the offense extend plays long after any initial breakdown. Holmes admitted that the front five have let more than just three defenders slip through this season, but the improvements are still being made.
“We’re getting better at it each week. Communication — it’s a key thing,” Holmes said. “Sometimes it’s loud like when we’re playing an away game, sometimes it’s almost impossible even when you see it and you’re trying to scream at the guy next to you. Sometimes he doesn’t hear it.”
The relationship between a quarterback and his offensive line is tested each week in Oregon’s breakneck offense, but in his first year as the starting signal-caller, Thomas has shown great poise under pressure.
“Darron’s been great,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “I think you see him get better and better each game. It’s neat to see him continue to grow and develop. He handles all of our protection up there.”
Thomas and the offense spent time in practice this week working on the variety of different looks Washington will present defensively. The Huskies’ defense, however, is one of the weakest in the conference, ranking ninth in scoring defense (34.1 points per game), rushing defense (212.1 yards per game), and total defense (429.8 yards per game).
“They run a lot of different looks on defense,” Kelly said. “You know, they blitz you almost 50 percent of the time, so they’re going to challenge you from a scheme standpoint.”
Thomas may welcome another weapon in his backfield arsenal in the form of sophomore running back Kenjon Barner, who practiced with the first and second team offenses this week for the first time since suffering a concussion at Washington State on Oct. 9.
“Kenjon’s a great player, you know,” Helfrich said. “Kenjon’s a guy that brings a spark with his smile and a spark with his ability and just gives it another kind of weapon in there that’s hard to defend. That guy is very versatile, very smart and he gives great effort.”
Oregon also has the luxury of the nation’s leading rusher in its back pocket with sophomore LaMichael James. When the Ducks traveled to Seattle last fall, James paced Oregon with 154 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries.
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