If only the forward pass had not been introduced to the game of football.
Entering Oregon’s game Saturday against Stanford, the Ducks’ defense is looking for a strong showing after allowing more than 50 points in two of its last three outings.
The defense has been solid against the run, allowing 83 yards per game, the third lowest total in the Pacific-10 Conference. But when opponents have gone to the air, the Ducks have been vulnerable. Oregon is last in the conference in pass defense, allowing 289.7 yards per game.
While pundits have been quick to point fingers at defensive backs for the defense’s shortcomings, Oregon secondary coach John Neal said it’s not entirely on their shoulders to stop an opponent’s passing game.
“It’s not four guys that have to stop all the situations when the ball’s in the air,” Neal said. “It’s a bit of a team concept.”
Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti’s system calls for eight or sometimes nine men in the box to shut down the run. The scheme was praised when Oregon held Colorado to 49 yards rushing in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. But over the past two seasons, Oregon opponents have gone to the air and lit up the Ducks like a firecracker.
Senior cornerback Steven Moore said the scheme isn’t the problem, instead citing a lack of big plays.
“You want to stop the run first, and that’s part of the scheme,” Moore said. “When you have two people back there by themselves, big plays happen sometimes. I don’t blame that on the scheme, we just have to make plays when plays come our way.”
The defense has failed to make the necessary plays of late. Two weeks ago, Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter torched the Ducks for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Two weeks prior to that, Washington State quarterback Matt Kegel threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
Neal said statistics and rankings won’t be an issue for the Ducks if they start making the necessary adjustments.
“Maybe we can change some of those stats,” Neal said. “Right now the only stat we’re worried about is winning. If we can win, stats aren’t important. You only worry about stats when you lose and you start studying them and wondering.”
Instead of focusing on the negative, defensive players like tackle Igor Olshansky are trying to stay positive. Olshansky said everyone is doing their job in stopping the run. Now, he and the rest of the defensive line needs to help the secondary by getting more pressure on the quarterback.
“It’s always our job to get to the quarterback,” Olshansky said. “If we don’t, then we’re not doing our job.”
Neal said everyone doing their job is exactly what the defense needs to help get Oregon back on track. He added that if the secondary can step up, the Ducks could get a win that could turn around their season.
“It’s big because we’re still looking for (a complete game),” Neal said. “We haven’t done it yet. (Against) Arizona, yeah, but they have their own problems.
“We need to get our confidence back. I think we lost some confidence two of the last three weeks. Right now we’re dealing with our own problems, and we need a breakout game.”
Neal said the secondary is very close to having that breakout game. He added that if the defense is going to get over the hump, it all comes back to making plays.
“We’re not making plays that we’re capable of making, period,” Neal said.
“But the thing is, we’re right there to make a play. We can knock a pass down, we can intercept a ball, we can get in a better position in coverage. If we can do that, we’ll beat Stanford.”