Sitting Ducks
Following is the transcript of Chip Kelly's press conference after the University of Oregon's 26-17 loss to Ohio State in Friday's Rose Bowl:
Opening statement
"I don't know how many passes Pryor threw, but if you had known going into the game that he was going to throw as many as he did, would you have liked your chances and was it surprising they threw as many as they did? It was surprising to us. We felt watching their last couple of games where they didn't throw it very much and were rather conservative, they came in and opened it up, and obviously Terrelle beat us."
How much did the clock figure into trying to get the field goal first at the five-minute mark?
"It didn't. I mean, it's not a clock issue. We're down two scores so you need a touchdown and a field goal. It doesn't matter which way you get it, if you get the touchdown or you get the field goal. We needed both. We felt we could kick it. He is a very good kicker for us, and at that distance we felt confident he was going to put it through."
Time of possession is not a big deal for you guys, but do you think maybe it mattered some more this time with how much more time Ohio State had the ball?
"No, time of possession, I was not worried about. I was worried about Terrelle Pryor."
What was the main problem with Masoli today? It was an uncharacteristic game for him:
"Yeah, they did a great job of taking him away and not letting him run a lot of our read stuff. They had a guy assigned to the quarterback, so he has to hand the ball off, and that's what they wanted us to do, and we handed it off. Part of trying to defend us is you have to take something away, and they tried to take away the quarterback."
Chip, Jeremiah didn't seem like he really got in sync passing the ball tonight. What was going wrong in the passing game?
"It's always a passing game, it's a combination of whether it's a protection breakdown or getting to the right depth, the right routes. We had a drop or two that we thought we could convert late so he just kind on sat down, but we just missed it. We weren't on the same page."
You mentioned that Terrelle hadn't thrown the ball a lot lately, but was more the guy you saw recruiting him out of high school, just the more complete quarterback?
"No, when I saw him in high school he was a man amongst boys, and at times tonight he looked like a man amongst boys. He's a lot bigger, stronger and more physical. He looks like a defensive lineman. He's an impressive player when you see him up close. He certainly beat us on how he threw the ball."
What happened on the Blount fumble?
"There was a fumbled exchange. I don't know exactly until I watch the replay, whether it was too high in the handoff, or we didn't have the good pocket. I can't tell you that until I look at the tape."
Did that have any deflation on the sidelines for you that play because it seemed like it was kind of a turning point:
"No, on our sideline we always felt like we were in it until kind of when the field goal was missed. We've still got a shot if we can stop them. But I don't think at that point in time that that changed our mindset at all."
Can you blame not being on the same page on not having played in four weeks?
"No, those are excuses, and we don't use them."
Can you talk about Kenjon's play today in the return game, the run game?
"Kenjon's special. We moved him over last spring. He was a great high school running back from down here, and we felt like when we recruited him that he was a defensive back, and we moved him over last spring. It only took a couple of plays when I knew he wasn't going back.
"He's just a dynamic player with the ball in his hands, whether it's in the return game or running the ball or catching the ball. You know, the great thing about tonight, and I know there's a lot of negatives about tonight, and obviously losing to a very, very good football team, but I get to spend three more years with Kenjon."
