Lache and the LSU Brawl

Cooper Mountain Nature Park
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Despite what local fish wrap scribe John Canzano may say I don’t see a groundswell of Oregon fans “turning on” Lache Seastrunk. Who could blame the kid for moving on? For one he was caught in the middle of the Willie Lyles saga through no fault of his own getting dragged through the mud by the media. Secondly, his grandma who raised him is ill, third he was buried on the depth chart as low as 6th according to some observers and finally he was homesick. I hold no ill will towards the kid, to slam a kid over transferring is classless and anyone who did that should take a long look in the mirror. As for how this effects the on the field play I see it as being a non-factor in the short term though could have an effect long term on depth. Since Oregon will most likely sign 1 if not 2 highly rated running back recruits this year I think the Ducks will be fine in the long term as well.
As for the bar brawlers down at LSU I am not naïve to think that this doesn’t happen all over the country all the time. I do however think that this may indeed cause Jordan Jefferson to eventually get suspended and possibly get kicked off the team for it as more facts and witnesses come out. You can’t physically assault members of the armed services to the point of hospitalization and not face major scrutiny from the public and from law enforcement starting quarterback for a SEC team or not. On the field I think this is big if Miles does the unexpected and pulls Jefferson. From all accounts that guy is much improved when it comes to throwing (really how could he not after last year) and if he can show early that he can throw accurately Oregon then needs to respect the pass and can’t bring 8-9 man fronts to stop the run. If Jarrett Lee were to play LSU will be one dimensional, I don’t know enough about the JC kid to know if he can be a dual action QB but asking him to start his first game in Cowboys Stadium is a whole lot of pressure. If Oregon can get early points on LSU and force an abandonment of the run LSU will have problems winning. I don’t feel confident breaking down this game until we know who is actually playing. I am assuming that Cliff and Kiko Alonzo will both be out for Oregon, no idea yet about LSU if anyone takes the fall.

Pre-Camp Pac 12 Projections

Trip to Gearhart
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Since USC is not eligible to play in the Pac 12 Champ game if they win the South then the second place team will play in the title game. Here are my early projections. A lot can happen between now and the start of the season with injuries, academic casualties and late transfers (Jeremiah Masoli anyone?).

Pac 12 North:

1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. UW
4. Cal
5. WSU
6. OSU

Pac 12 South:

1. USC*
2. Utah
3. ASU
4. UA
5. UCLA
6. Colorado

Champ game I like Stanford over Utah played down on The Farm.

The Pac 12

Trip to Gearhart
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Wow today is the final day of the Pac 10 - tomorrow the conference welcomes Colorado and Utah. Think of how close we came to being the Pac 16 - Utah might still be in the Mountain West or in a remnant of the Big 12 while Texas and Oklahoma (and who knows who else) would be forming the Eastern division of the Pac 16. I think Larry Scott did the best that he could and the change overall is a good one but I will miss the traditional schedule , probably more so in basketball than football.

Evie Scores A Goal!

Soccer Practice a video by pete4ducks on Flickr.

Evie has been playing soccer the last few months . . .

First Round Draft Recap

Vacation in Kihei
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Winners in round 1: - New Orleans - Cameron Jordan could have gone top 15 - Mark Ingram very nice pick as well I think New England should have kept the pick and taken him

Jake Locker - for getting taken that high - basically will only cost himself 10-15 mill rather than about 45-50 mill by staying at UW

Cleveland: Got a crapload for that #6 pick . . . we will see what they do with those picks this year and next . . .

Baltimore: Jimmy Smith could prove to be the steal of the draft

NY Jets - awesome pick I think to get the kid from Temple at that pick - awesome motor they may have snagged a long term start with por bowl upside at pick #30 . . . that's a hell of a pick . . .

Detroit - Fairly and Suh playing next to eachother in a 4-3 scheme - that is scary no one will be running inside on the Lions for the next decade . . . Fairly has a rap for taking plays off and being dirty but i am okay with a DT being dirty as it is the league (he just needs to watch himself on way after the ball hits or he is gonna have people diving at his knees . . . )

Losers: Titans - Why not just keep Vince Young if you are going to invest a pick that high in Jake freaking Locker? I mean they are basically the same guy except Locker isn't a character risk - guys who throw for such low completion percentages I just don't see being long term successful in the NFL . . .

Dquan Bowers: Evidently he basically has the same medical condition as DeJuan Blair however Bowers according to some teams needs micro-fracture surgery - Bowers with a clean bill of health probably goes at worst 5th . . .

Minnesota - I actually kind of like Ponder - very smart kid, can make NFL throws but clearly the Vikes wanted to get him later but couldn't trade down - however wear they are picking today odds seem quite good that one of Mallet or Dalton will available - Minnesota could have gone dtackle there which is gonna be a huge need position as they are ancient there . . .


The jury is out:

Von Miller is a beast but clearly more suited for the 3-4 than the 4-3 - Dareus might have been the better choice for Denver if they are gong with a 4-3 defense - I think Denver and Buffalo could have swapped picks and both teams would have been better off . . .

Newton - I am not calling this pick a loser yet but i give it a 90% chance of being one - the franchise is pretty moribund and needed to placate the fans with a sexy pick but the fact that Newton has only made 50 throws inside the pocket makes me think he is light years away from being a pro-set qb . . .

New England - tough to doubt Bellichek but he didn't get a pass rusher in the first round and passed on Ingram as well - Solder's tape from the senior bowl made we kind of skeptical - dude has a weird body almost too tall . . . looks more like a power forward than a left tackle

looking forward to round 2 and 3 tonight . . .