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The ONE key factor I observed in the "big" bowl games
I remember when Chip Kelly was asked to describe his first recruiting class at Oregon he replied, "Speed, speed, speed. To play for us you have to be fast on both sides of the ball."
The best teams in college football have speed all over the field. Alabama was clearly faster than Cincinnati and the same for Georgia over Michigan. Likewise, I couldn't believe how slow Utah looked on defense.
Every team has fast individual players but overall TEAM SPEED is a necessity.
In my now jaded feelings about Mario Cristobal, I think in his quest for "physicality" the Ducks were not a fast TEAM which in part can explain why less talented teams were able to hang in there against Oregon.
I know specialized trainers would disagree but by and large you can't coach speed as in making your team fast...you have to recruit it.
I hope Oregon will do so.
- Phil
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Re: The ONE key factor I observed in the "big" bowl games
It was the speed at certain positions that impressed me, especially watching Georgia.
Did you see that big 360 lb LB Davis easley get around the block and then chase down the running back? I've never seen somebody that big that could move like that. The game has really changed a lot from several decades ago. The 85 Bears DC Buddy Ryan thought the William Perry the "Fridge" was too big at 300 lb. Ditka who didn't get along with or agree with Ryan said he'll use him on offense. And hence the famous leaping touchdown run prevailed.
Utah's slower players is what the difference is between 3 and 5 star recruits. There's always exceptions. Utah really gets the most out of their players. Despite the loss last night they really played a respectful game, which they would've won if the defense would have made a stop in the second half.
I think the Ducks have speed at a number of positions. Our corners, KT, and you could say Sewell does at his size. The Ducks DT's certainly didn't have that kind of speed like Georgia. The offense didn't always take advantage and make plays to help out our speedy, but smaller running backs.
I hope the Ducks can maybe find a speedy receiver and some fast big uglies up front on defense to complement what they already have.
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