A lot of “A win is a win” going on via Twitter. That’s a rationalization method, as we all know not all wins are created equal.

Let me ask you this: If they Beavers had won 45-0 without any flaws, would you feel like absolute shit, as you do now?

Of course it’s the Mamma Machados of the world spewing that BS. This win was ghetto and jank. The only positives I saw where Justin Strong making some nice plays and taking good angles, Grant Bays looked good at times (was really high on him as a recruit), Nelson had nice coverage…can’t think of much else. Yeah Zimmerman had a nice game, but those balls were gift-wrapped, and I don’t see that translating to him having a breakout season in the Pac-12 once competition picks up.

The rest was all typical OSU. Over a 9 month period we read crap spewed by the mainstream media saying that this year is going to be different, but did you see anything different? That is all propaganda to get us hopeful and excited about a mediocre, if not bad, product, and spend our wages on it. But there was nothing different, and nothing to get excited over. I saw the same exact bones of last year’s team, and the year before, and the year before…etc. All that changes is the cast of characters. It’s a perpetual vaudeville show up there in Corvallis with the directors and choreographers remaining the same and the performers changing. There can’t be “teaching moments” if you don’t have teachers who have mastered the subject. This is why we see Banker looking like a fool year after year, for example. He’s a so-so D coordinator and is probably more suited for high school football. But since OSU is “poor” we’re told he’s awesome. A more honest statement would be “this D coordinator sucks, but he’s one of Riley’s best friends, Riley doesn’t like change, and Riley is signed for life, so you’ll have to deal with it.” At least we could respect the honesty of that.

Also, OSU has such low self-esteem. That low self-esteem starts at the top, and it’s not necessarily verbal (they say the right things, it’s just forced and insincere). It’s more how they act. Hiring gimmick coaches like CR, signing Riley for life out of desperation, etc. These are the actions of desperate people who think lowly of the university, yet are trying to create a buzz. That unspoken message does get passed down to fans. The loyal fan will take the unspoken cue and run with it, making up justifications that do become spoken and eventually spoken so much they become belief. “Nobody can recruit to Corvallis” is a good example of this. That starts at the top via unspokens and moves down the chain. The loyal fan, therefore, plays a key role in this smokescreen. A better message would be how to creatively move beyond these perceived and self-fulfilling beliefs. I’ve offered so many solutions in that regard, but they fall on deaf ears. This is a bit of a tangent but not entirely…what we say today on the field is due to the process off the field, and it starts at the top and percolates into the players and fans’ expectations and self-worth. It’s sinister, and I won’t accept it, which is why I’ll never agree that “a win is a win”. Today’s win was absolute shit. I repeat: absolute shit! Not all wins are created equal, and I will not let these assholes tell me or my readers otherwise.

Have a good Labor Day weekend, Beavos. And I look forward to another season of madness here at AB, the only source of real talk.

Here we are Beavos, another year wiser and another year balder.

Kickoff to the new season is at 1pm.

I’m going to wait until after this game (should be more like a scrimmage, but Riley will find a way to make it close) to give predictions on the season. Gun to my head right now I’d say Beavs finish 7-5, but teams never win the games they should, and the Beavs are especially bad at it. What they have going for them is an easy schedule, so 7-5 should be the low barometer. I don’t see a magical season here, but we’ll wait until after tomorrow before making big picture calls.

With regard to the Portland State game, what I want to see is if (a) the Beavs can get a big lead and then (b) if Riley will pull the starters and give the backups some valuable experience. If he doesn’t, we’re stuck with the same old dumbo Riley. Other than that, this game isn’t very interesting.

Go Beavs

From Bone. Thanks for this.

A few updates now that camp has officially ended.
• Vanderveen appears to have the backup spot locked up. After having a pretty good scrimmage, he has continued to play with more and more confidence. Looks much better than Del Rio at this point.
• It doesn’t sound like there will be a redemption season for Romaine. Let the Garrett Owens show begin.
• Ending fall camp with very few injuries. Even with the increase in contact in practice
• Bolden and Mullaney are locks to start at receiver. Gilmore and Jarmon will probably see a lot of reps in the game because Jarmon was out for about a week. Both Mullaney and Bolen have looked good since they started practicing again.
• My under the radar receiver who I think could end up making an impact down the road is Kendall Hill. Converted safety who has had knee injuries the last two years. Very smooth athlete, good size, with great coordination. It might not be this year because he is still learning the playbook, but I like what I see.
• We will probably only see Haskins in goal line and short yardage situations, he is mostly working with the scout team.
Here is how the defense is looking.
Defensive Tackle
• They have done a good job at controlling the line of scrimmage all camp. They also are constantly in the backfield, especially the defensive tackles. Delva, Hautau, Grimble, all look much improved from last year. I think Peko is going to live up to the hype. He has the type of body you want at defensive tackle, and he (along with Grimble) has very nimble feet. This might be the strongest group we have had at this position in a while. Expect a lot of rotation with theses four players
Defensive ends
• You know what you will get out of Dylan Wynn, a rock solid player who doesn’t makes mistakes. James looks like he could be a contributor and Gwacham looks like he can handle defensive end just fine. The line is just missing a playmaker like they had in Creighton, need to wait for games to see who steps up and takes the spot.
Linebackers
• This might have been the most fun defensive position to watch for me. They are really getting after it, you can see influence that Bray has had on them the last three seasons. They play pissed off, fly to the ball, and really improved in pass coverage. Jabral Johnson will slide to the outside if Doctor or Alexander miss time and Rommel Mageo plays in the middle.
Corners
• Little concerning, only four corners were practicing outside of the scout team. Nelson, Scott, Williams, and Marable. Hunt is still nursing his injury and hasn’t seen the field really at all during camp. Nelson and Scott both are playing at a very high level, especially Nelson. Very rarely are passes completed against him. From what I have seen with the corners as well as the linebackers is the level play up and down the depth chart has improved, I accredit that to better coaching from Perry and Bray. Even players like Marable are playing at a higher a higher level than I anticipated.
Safeties
• Another really deep position group. With the lack of corners, there will be a lot of safeties playing in the nickel and dime packages. In the nickel they bring in Zach Robinson and move Murphy to the down in the slot. Victor Butler’s little brother has been making a ton of plays all camp, he could see some time. I think this is the deepest position group on the team, not linebackers.
In all honesty, I can see this being one of the top defenses in the conference, there just seems to be a different attitude from all levels of the defense. They are returning 9 starters with a ton of starts, improved the big area of weakness at DT, along with the return of Doctor is huge. If they can find someone who is able to get pressure on the quarterback at the end opposite of Wynn, this will be a fun defense to watch.

Thank user SilverStream for these.

The Plays

Mannion passes to Villamin over the middle, the ball bounces off Villamin’s hands, high up in the air, is intercepted (I think by Zack Robinson), and run back for a TD. It’s a ball that was thrown hard, but it’s a ball that Villamin has to catch. Mannion and the coaches will be talking to Villamin about this one quite I bit, I’m guessing.

Del Rio in. Hawkins with a fly sweep to the right — got outside quickly and turned up towards sidelines. Didn’t get many yards, but that’s because the blocking wasn’t there. I think XH already runs the fly sweep well. With both Hawkins and Boldin available this season, the fly sweep will likely be an important part of the OSU ground game this season.

On the next play, Del Rio lets the snap go right through his hands, and then fails to pick up the ball, allowing a defender to scoop the ball and run into the endzone. Del Rio looked slow and unsure of himself on the play

Del Rio pass to the left side to Ricky Ortiz — it was a well-thrown pass, but Ortiz dropped the ball (a ball he could have and should have caught)

Del Rio pass downfield on the right side, picked off cleanly by Justin Strong, RS Freshman safety, and run back. Del Rio threw the ball into tight coverage, and Strong made a nice play on the ball, cutting in front of the receiver (who I think was Malik Gilmore, although I may be misremembering this). Ill-advised pass by Del Rio. Not clear whether Del Rio saw that the receiver was tightly covered — looked like Del Rio was throwing to a spot, regardless of the coverage.

VanderVeen in. Nice run by Chris Brown to the right side for 8+ yards, good job finding a hole through multiple defenders and getting upfield quickly.

VanderVeen rolls to his right and hits his receiver on the numbers for about 8 yards. VanderVeen looks comfortable rolling out and throwing on the run — also seems good at avoiding the rush and extending the play

VanderVeen throws a screen pass to Chris Brown on the left side — Chris Brown was covered tightly on the play and the pass was incomplete; VanderVeen probably should not have thrown the ball at all

VanderVeen throws a long pass down the left hash to Xavier Hawkins; pass falls incomplete; Hawkins was fighting the defender downfield (I believe it was Larry Scott), and I don’t think Hawkins even got his hands on the ball at all (it’s the kind of catch that Brandin Cooks was so good at making despite tight downfield coverage — but Hawkins is not able to fight through a defender to make this sort of play, at least not at this early point in his career)

VanderVeen dropped the snap, and didn’t make much of an effort to recover the ball, which was picked up and run back for a TD by the defense. Not VanderVeen’s finest moment. Seemed like he just gave up on the play, treating this as a scrimmage, and not wanting to get hurt or anything. VanderVeen will hear about this later from John Garrett, and won’t enjoy watching this on film.

Ward on a short cutback run to the left side, up-ended by Justin Strong on a beautiful form tackle just past the line of scrimmage. Justin Strong looks like came to play today.

VanderVeen rolls to his left away from pressure, throws on the run, and hits Caleb Smith down the left sideline for first down yardage — nice poise, footwork, and throw by VanderVeen.

Damien Haskins bounces a play outside and picks up 8+ yards. Quick feet and good vision by Haskins to turn a nothing play into a nice gain.

VanderVeen drops back, moves around in a collapsing pocket, and then pulls down the ball and gains about 10 yards up the middle on a nice scramble. VanderVeen again shows nice footwork and decent footspeed, as well as good poise and football IQ.

VanderVeen is too slow getting off the play, and is hit with a delay of game penalty. Yelling ensues from coaches on the sideline to VanderVeen, saying he has to do a better job of getting the offense ready to run the play and getting the play started on time

VanderVeen tries to hit Xavier Hawkins on a long pass down the right hash. VanderVeen threw the ball before XH made his cut, and XH cut outside while the ball was thrown inside. One of the coaches on the sideline (I think it was John Garrett) loudly yelled “No” as soon as the pass was thrown.

Draw play to the middle-right of the field, and Chris Brown picks up good yardage again (8+ yards, maybe more); CB again shows good vision and quickness in picking and hitting his holes

VanderVeen nicely sets up and completes a middle TE screen to Caleb Smith, good for about 10 yards. Caleb Smith is hit hard and dropped quickly by Brandon Arnold (another guy who came to play today, and recorded a number of good hits).

Chris Brown up the middle for nothing. Nolan Hansen, playing OG, got blown up on the play (and got yelled at by Cav from the sidelines).

Kendall Hill, WR split to the left, jumped offsides.

VanderVeen completes a short pass to Chris Brown on the left side — good pass, good catch, decent, safe yardage.

Inside the 20 yard line (red zone), Caleb Smith ran a seam route up the middle and got behind the defense, but VanderVeen’s pass was a little high and to the side, and Caleb Smith juggled the ball but could not hold on. Almost a nice TD connection between Caleb Smith and VanderVeen.

Del Rio in at QB. Storm Woods gets a few yards (but goes down quickly after contact — too quickly in my view).

Same thing, this time to the right side — a couple of yards, but Storm goes down quickly after initial contact.

On 3rd and 5, Del Rio’s pass is blocked by a defender (not sure who did it) and batted high up in the air. May have been caught on the way down (not sure by whom) but I wasn’t watching that — I was watching Del Rio to see his reaction — Del Rio looked frozen in place.

Del Rio comes back with a nice pass to Jordan Villamin for about 10 yards — good pass, good catch in traffic by Villamin.

Larry Scott has been defending aggressively all day — LS and Jordan Villamin appeared to have some sharp words, and a little pushing, after the last play, but were quickly separated.

Good pass by Del Rio just short of the goal line, dropped by the receiver in tight coverage (I think it was Villamin who dropped the pass, but I’m not positive).

VanderVeen back in. First play is pass to Wark for about 5 yards to the right side. Pass was a little bit behind Wark, who reached up and out to grab the ball and secure it. (Wark impresses me as a solid, reliable receiver with good hands who continues to make plays. Not flashy, but solid.)

VanderVeen back to throw, the pocket collapses quickly, VanderVeen buys time by moving around, and then throws the ball away to avoid a sack. Good footwork and poise again — made the right decision to avoid the sack here by throwing the ball away.

Chris Brown runs to the left side for a couple of yards — bad blocking by the second-string O-line, and no holes at all. Brown did what he could by just plowing forward and trying to push the pile to gain what he could.

Rinse and repeat. Brown for a yard or two, with no holes to run through at all.

High punt, good coverage, T. Ward tried to make the catch, and fumbled the ball. Ugh.

Del Rio in again, this time with the first string line and the first string backs (Ward and Woods). Feels like the coaches are giving Del Rio this chance to redeem himself by moving the offense down the field. First play was play action, Del Rio dropped back, and overthrew a receiver who was covered loosely about 8 yards downfield. Pass floated — Del Rio lucky it wasn’t picked off.

Naked backfield, Del Rio threw a ball downfield about 8-10 yards into tight coverage that fell incomplete, but Murphy was close to intercepting it. Ball probably should not have been thrown. Looks like Del Rio may be pressing, knowing that he has to do something with this opportunity.

Damien Haskins back in. Runs to the left, uses a nice stutter step to get around a defender and pick up about 5 yards. Again, makes something out of not much.

Another run to the left by Haskins, again for about 5 yards. Haskins is hit, but does not go down easy. Tough kid.

VanderVeen back in. VanderVeen scrambles around to buy time, and sees Jacob Wark open down the left sideline. VanderVeen throws a decent pass (not a perfect spiral, but good enough) that just gets over/past the defender. Wark manages to stay focused, catches the ball, turns upfield, and runs 50 yards down the left sideline for a TD. Celebration ensues.

VanderVeen again. Play action pass on right side to Ricky Ortiz. Throw is a little high, but Ortiz makes a nice catch for a short gain.

VanderVeen throws the ball into the dirt rather than forcing it into Xavier Hawkins on a short screen play; good decision, since XH was not open at all.

VanderVeen drops back, overthrows Wark 15 yards down the middle of the field. Wark was open, VanderVeen simply overthrew him.

Chris Brown on a draw play gets a few yards on a solid run.

VanderVeen nice pass over the middle for about 10 yards (not sure of receiver — perhaps Iona Pritchard).

VanderVeen quick pass to the right sideline to Xavier Hawkins (bubble screen type play); Hawkins caught the ball cleanly, and got upfield quickly for a 7-8 yard gain. Nice play on both ends (good throw by VanderVeen, nice catch and run by Hawkins).

Chris Brown with an excellent run to the right side for first down+ yardage. Found a hole, hit it, and got upfield fast.

Chris Brown takes the ball right, cuts back left, and then heads upfield for 5+ yards. Another nice run.

Chris Brown to the left side for zero — no hole at all.

In red zone, VanderVeen finds Hawkins in the left corner of the end zone for the TD; good route by Hawkins to break left from his defender; when VanderVeen saw the break, he just lobbed the ball over the defender to Hawkins in the corner; nice play by both guys.

Kyle Kempt in for the first time. Completes a pass to Datrin Guyton. Well-thrown ball (nice spiral, good location) on the money.

Ryan Nall’s first carry — decent run to the right side for a few yards. Nall runs upright, but he’s a big strong guy who perhaps can get away with it, at least sometimes.

Kempt looks for Guyton on the right side (an out pattern — about 12-15 yards deep). Looked like a well-thrown ball, but Guyton slipped and couldn’t get there.

Kempt throws another nice ball, this one to Drew Kell, caught for about 10 yards.

Yet another well-thrown ball from Kempt, this one to Kendall Hill, up the left-middle, for about 10 yards.

Kempt throws high to Jaylyn Bailey (Soph RB) in the right flat, Bailey can’t catch it

Handoff to Nall, who slipped and didn’t gain anything.

Kempt pass to Guyton — hit Guyton right in the numbers, and Guyton dropped it. Nice pass. Bad drop.

Kempt came out at this point.

Next up at QB was Nick Mitchell for a series. He moved the offense down the field against the third string defense.

Then Marcus McMaryion came in for a couple of series. He moved the offense well, too. And that was the end of the scrimmage.

Both Mitchell and McMaryion performed surprisingly well. In fact, the only QB who under-performed today was Del Rio.

I took notes on the plays run by Nick Mitchell and Marcus McMaryion. I may transcribe those later tonight, if I get time.