#2 Oregon Gets Back to Work Preparing for Pac-12 Showdown with Arizona
UO coach Mark Helfrich has said the team needs to focus on the mental aspect of the game during this bye prior to Arizona's visit to Autzen Stadium on Oct. 2.
(EUGENE, Ore. ) — Four days after winning their fourth straight game to open the 2014 season, and with most of the coaching staff out on the road recruiting, the Ducks got back to work Wednesday morning with a practice indoors during a rainy Eugene morning.
There were periods of position drills and 11-on-11, and then some team building exercises. UO coach Mark Helfrich has said the team needs to focus on the mental aspect of the game during this bye prior to Arizona's visit to Autzen Stadium on Oct. 2 (7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN), while letting their bodies heal up.
After the UO secondary seemed out of whack at times against Washington State’s wide-open passing attack, senior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu said communication is a high priority this week. “That’s our biggest issue right now,” Ekpre-Olomu said. “Tackling is another big issue. And then just all around getting better. Learning from what we did in the first four games, and trying to figure out how to improve on that.”
In reviewing film of the WSU game, Ekpre-Olomu said the Ducks looked like “two different teams at different times. You look at some plays and that’s just not the same team you see on other plays. I don’t know if it was just our overall effort in the game. We just definitely have to sustain it better, take it one play at a time.”
That’s a focus offensively as well, particularly for a line that played in Pullman with new starters at both tackle spots. But not all of the line’s breakdowns owed to the newcomers, Helfrich has said; the veterans on the interior had their moments as well.
Senior left guard Hamani Stevens said he and senior tackle Jake Fisher, who didn’t make the trip to WSU, had been at the point where they could rely on non-verbal communication to make adjustments at the line. He’s not there yet with true freshman Tyrell Crosby, who started against the Cougars.
“I’ve got to make sure he knows what he’s doing, he knows what I’m doing and we can work together,” Stevens said. “There were a couple plays where we were trying to get everything communicated, just too much. There was a lot of communication, not enough just going out there and running the play. We were just overthinking it, and we weren’t able to play as well.”
The good news for the Ducks is, they came out victorious despite those flaws. Last year they learned a tough lesson at Arizona about what can happen when things break down and it affects the team’s mindset; at WSU, they kept fighting and pulled out a win.
“Some days things might not be going your way,” Ekpre-Olomu said. “You’ve just got to figure out a way to get the win at the end of the game. That’s really all that matters. You take that lesson, but at the same time you don’t want to get in a scenario like that at all.”
Observations:
After doing drills in the Mo, the Ducks went outside for a team-building drill that involved position group having to get across the field and back in a limited amount of time, keeping a bunch of balls in the air while running. It accentuated chemistry (being on the same page regarding the pace they ran at), communication (making sure everybody touched a ball at least once) and leadership (having a couple voices in each group keep everything together). The linemen had the most consistent success. … That drill was done in some of the heaviest rain Eugene has seen yet this fall, following one of the hottest summers on record around here. … The newcomers have academic orientation sessions this week, with classes set to begin Monday at the university.
Source: goducks.com
Ekpre-Olomu - Grasu Post Practice:
