Towards the end of last season Oregon fans got a preview of life without Dennis Dixon, and it was almost unbearable to watch. The once potent offense suddenly looked lost and confused and they went three and out on every possession. However, with Head Coach Mike Bellotti and Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly given the entire offseason to retool the offense, it should fair a lot better. The Ducks will not be able to make another National Championship run, but they should be able to finish towards the top of the pack and go bowling once again.
Offense:
A good offense starts with the offensive line. Led by Center Max Unger, Oregon hopes that its line will live up to the expectations. All 5 projected starters on the offensive line are seniors and this very experienced line has the potential to be one of the best in the Pac-10. This offensive line is the reason that Oregon has led the conference in rushing each of the past two seasons. Despite losing Jonathan Stewart, Oregon’s running game should remain strong because of the arrival of junior college transfer LeGarrette Blount. The 6 foot 2, 229 pound running back topped 1,100 yards in each aof his two seasons in community college. Also look for a big season from Jeremiah Johnson who missed most of last season due to a torn ACL. Johnson has great size and speed and is a good fit in the spread offense. He features one of the best stiff arms in the country and has averaged 6.3 yards per carry over the past three seasons. One of the biggest questions in the offseason is who will fill the void left by Dennis Dixon. Although it will be impossible to replace Dixon, Nate Costa and Justin Roper have both shown that they can play and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly should be able to work them into a successful season. Costa and Roper may have problems at receiver if Jaison Williams continues to drop passes. Williams was impressive his sophomore season, but had a tremendous amount of drops last year. Also, tight end Ed Dickson proved last season that he can be a threat to catch the ball down the field as well as over the middle.
Defense:
With an offense that won’t put up nearly as many points as it did last year, Nick Aliotti’s defense will be extremely important. The defense is returning seven starters including lineman Nick Reed who led the nation with 22.5 tackles for a loss. Also returning are cornerbacks Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III as well as strong safety Patrick Chung. This is a defense that forced 33 turnovers last season, the second most in the Pac-10, they will have to continue to be aggressive this year because they won’t have the offense of Stewart and Dixon to help them out.
Special Teams:
Oregon is set with Groza Award semifinalist Matt Evensen at kicker. While running back Andre Crenshaw will replace Stewart as the return man. Kick-off and punt coverage both need to be improved as they were both awful last season.
The Autzen Zoo:
Autzen stadium is one of the best home-field advantages in the country and helped the Ducks achieve some big wins last season. However, Autzen won’t help the Ducks as much this season as the real tests will be on the road. Of the six home games that the Ducks will play, Boise State is the only team that had a winning record last year. However the road schedule is extremely difficult as Oregon has trips to USC, Cal, Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State, and a trip to Purdue.
Over the past ten years the average salary of NFL first round draft picks has increased by over ten million dollars. This year first round picks were paid an average of 27.3 million. Falcons’ rookie Matt Ryan is currently being paid more than Tom Brady. Brady has won three super bowls, two super bowl MVP awards, one NFL MVP award, and an NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.
Top Brady has earned his contract and with his long list of achievements, deserves to be the highest paid player in the league. Does an unproven rookie like Matt Ryan truly deserve to have this kind of money?
Matt Ryan has a six year seventy two million dollar contract. This type of contract is absurd. NFL rookies do not deserve to get paid nearly as much as they do. What have they done to deserve this money? They played great in college. Who cares? There are plenty of great college players that do not make it in the NFL. Players should earn their contracts on the field.
NBA rookies are not signed to blockbuster deals; they work hard on the court, put up good numbers and wait for the money to come. NFL rookies need to do the same; the money will come if you produce. It is stupid to invest so much money in players that have never played a single down in the National Football League.
Every year there are a few first round picks that make an absurd amount of money and end up doing absolutely nothing in the NFL. This is unfair to the veterans who are making less money after proving themselves on the field and actually helping their teams win. Money should be earned in the NFL, not in the NCAA.
Although he is a gambler by nature on and off the field, and he would probably lean towards gambling with his date in court, Vick needs to get a plea agreement. With evidence quickly piling up against him it appears as if he is guilty.
Federal prosecutors said that a superceeding indictment may be on the way. Vick's friends who have already negoitiated plea deals will bring stong evidence against Vick. If Vick decides to go to trial they have agreed to testify and describe at least 8 brutal and horrifying executions of dogs.
The effect of these testomonies would he incredibly damaging to Vick's case. The pictures and vivid descriptions of the executions would leave a big impression of the jury. Worst of all Vick may be forced to testify. "If he does testify, he faces a nightmare of cross-examination from federal prosecutors armed with at least seven cooperating witnesses and six years of e-mails, documents and financial records from Bad Newz Kennels."
Considering all the evidence mounted against him and knowing the nations feelings towards dogs, there is still a chance that Vick will take this to court. This country is full of animal lovers and Vick has already been convicted in the court of public opinion. The images and horrific stories of dogfighting and executions would certainly weigh heavily in the jury's mind, and probably lead to the conviction of the superstar quarterback.
While negotiating with federal prosecutors, Vick is also trying to talk to the NFL. Vick does not want to lose his chance to return to the game of football by admitting guilt in court. Of course the NFL should probably not be his main concern right now, however he is still worried about his return assuming he is not in jail for a long time......
A settlement with the NFL seems unlikely as commissioner Roger Goodell wants to see how the legal proceedings pan out before he makes up his mind on how to handle the situation.
Possibly more damaging to Vick's return status is the fact that he was face to face with Goodell when the indictment came out and said that he had nothing to do with this. By admitting guilt he will be admitting that he lied to the face of the commissioner. Vick said he did not bet on the fights. The last time a star athlete lied to the commissioner of his sport about betting was Pete Rose. He was found guily and in turn banned for life. Although his gambling was more serious only in the sese that he bet on his own sport while he was managing a team, lying to Goodell about gambling might do more damage to Vick's career than anything he did to the dogs.
It seems as if Michael Vick's NFL career is over, but why? Most people are refusing to acknowledge the fact that these are allegations. In this country you are innocent until proven guilty, however Vick is bieng portrayed as the criminal that he may or may not be.
Even if these allegations are true and Vick is guilty it is not a big enough reason for him to go to jail or lose his NFL career. Maybe this is not politically corrert to say, but whatever. People are too fond of animals because they are cute or whatever. People over react becaue it is a dog. It is a dog!!!! Is it a crime? yes. Is it disgusting and morally wrong? yes. I understand this, but when Tank Johnson was arrested for aggravated assault and gun possession there was no outcry of this magnitude. People love thier animals, but with gun possession Tank Johnson could have killed a human bieng. People are calling for Vick's head for hurting a dog, yet noone seemed to care when Johnson assault charges were pressed. Another thing to consider is that Johnson was guilty, Vick is alledged of crimes. Why is society trying to kick a guy out of the NFL who possibly hurt some dogs, yet we don't care about a guy who has been convicted of assult?
Ray Lewis has been charged with murder previously in his life, Jamal Lewis has been arrested for possession of marijuana. There are drug dealers and murderers in the NFL, but noone seems to care.
So maybe if he returned to the Falcons Vick would be a distraction, but that is only because of all of you. If the public had not made such a big deal of everything Vick would be able to play. Don't get me wrong I do not condone Vick's actions and he has made some stupid decisions in his life. I just think people need to get thier priorties straight and realize that he hurt dogs, while there are people out there hurting thier wives and other people, but we just let it go.
The final thing bothering me is that PETA has become so involved. They are selling anti-Vick t-shirts and are urging people to write letters to NFL commissioner urging for Vick's suspension. This bothers me because, "Earlier this year, two PETA employees faced charges in North Carolina stemming from their illegal euthanization of dogs and cats in that state, and the dumping of animal carcasses in a grocery store dumpster." Yet these are the people saying that Vick is wrong? Are you kidding me?
Promote animal rights stand up for it, good for you. Don't go kill animals and and leave the carcasses at a grocery store and then go say hurting animals is bad. Vick at least kept it at his house and didn't make it a public display.
Everyone should let the Vick saga play out in court and not worry about it until that is finished. He should be allowed to go on with his life.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to allow Michael Vick to play until the legal case is solved.
Roger Goodell is setting a double standard as he is not punishing Michael Vick because Vick is a star athlete and one of the faces of the league. If it was another player who was facing these same allegations he would have already been suspended.
Goodell realizes that Vick is very marketable and has potential to bring in a lot of money for the NFL.
As for the fact that Vick is not a repeat offender, he does not need to be. Dog fighting is such an obscene crime and if that isn't bad enough, Vick was also accused of electrocuting and hanging his dogs.
Pacman Jones was in questions with local authorities. Michael Vick is in trouble with the feds. Jones was found innocent of some charges while the feds have a 95% conviction rate, showing that Vick is more than likely guilty.
Pacman Jones was suspended before any convictions, but Goodell said that Jones' actions gave the league a bad image. How can he not suspend Vick based on those same standards, is he trying to say that dog fighting is not damaging to the league?
No matter how you look at this issue a double standard is being set, and Michael Vick is not being suspended because he is Michael Vick. If he were not a star player he would already be suspended.
I am currently in high school. I will try to post reguarly, but at the very least I will comment your blogs daily. I am aspiring to become a sports writer or broadcaster and plan to attend collge and major in journalism or broadcast journalism.
