Boomerpdx On Momba’s Best Run

Are The Ducks Better Without De’Anthony? Come on, man.

via espn.go.com

He’s been out of action, but Thomas’s game impact crosses all borders.

Every sports fan watches harder when he touches the ball.

Every defensive player knows their best isn’t good enough when he’s in the game.

And every coach wants a player just like him.

He makes the game better. What makes him special?

Wikipedia calls DAT one of the most decorated prep football players to ever come out of Los Angeles. Coming out of LA means more here.

Instead of joining the USC Trojans, a ten minute commute from his neighborhood, Thomas found his future a thousand mile away.

Boomer NW calls the run to Oregon his best ever.

He didn’t add to the USC legacy of O.J. Simpson, Charles White, and Reggie Bush. Baby boomers know the story too well. Murder, cocaine, vacated national title and a returned Heisman don’t add up as recruiting tools. Besides, he would have been a defensive back, not a game breaking offensive threat.

If he had the Heisman in mind he probably knows how many defensive backs have won a Heisman compared to running backs and receivers. Charles Woodson is the answer. Thomas could have made it two, but the odds are long. He came to Oregon to carry the ball.

He’d have more to carry in LA.

If you’ve visited the Los Angeles Coliseum, you’ve seen USC next door. There’s no neighborhood like that in Eugene. It’s a lifestyle place where getting caught up in drama is normal. It’s too close to Hollywood for no drama.

Instead of the 5-Star recruit electrifying Division 1 football from Autzen Stadium, Thomas would have found a different life circling the drain of south central LA.

His run would have been short. Everyone else who failed would have cushioned the fall.

Instead, Oregon was the right choice and he hit the trail to the big time.

You’ve heard about the transition from high school to college, then college to the pros. Everything speeds up and everyone is bigger and stronger.

From his first Duck appearance DAT showed he’s got enough game to stand with the best. LSU wasn’t his best game, but he left a mark on the mighty SEC after a Duck run at the title the year before.

Since Thomas arrived the Ducks have flown high while the Auburn Tigers limp along. After their Cam Newton inspired 14-0 they’ve fallen to 8-5, 3-9, and 6-1 with Alabama ahead. During the same period the Ducks have gone 12-2, 12-1, and 7-0.

Call it the DAT-era.

A return against UCLA on Saturday sets the table for a two-billed Duck attack of Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas. As good as everyone played during his sprained ankle absence, the 5-1 Bruins will face a fellow Angeleno with enough gas in the tank to drive them back to the comforts of Westwood.

He knows the way down and the way back.

If Thomas stands his listed size of 5’10”, 176 lbs, he’s still small for football. There’s something about big time hits from  future NFL linebackers at the second level, let alone the giants on the defensive line, that says anyone De’Anthony’s size needs a safer sport. But remember, this young man jumped into the fire with LSU for his first game after high school.

Take away the suspicious leg-whip penalties that haven’t been called since, and the fumbles, and you’d never read a story about Oregon and how they still haven’t arrived. Who says that about a team fresh off a natty run?

After the LSU loss Chip Kelly made this observation in Cowboy Stadium:

“They’ve got a little bit different athlete running around out there right now. Looking at their D-line, standing next to them, walking off the field, they don’t look like the kind of guys we see. That’s the common trait, the trait you saw in the Auburn game.”

Now the Momba is a little bit different athlete running around out there. The only arrival ESPN sports writers will note is how many times he shows up in the end zone.

To the voters and computers of the BCS ratings, De’Anthony Thomas spans the difference between #2 Florida State’s .935 and #3 Oregon’s .932.

The Momba’s best run? Right here.

(posted on oregonsportsnews.com)