Sacks in The City: The Thibodeaux Sheaux
And then I asked myself: What if it's ok for KT to be the best player on the roster?
Defense is all about sacks. Players getting sacks. Players trying to get sacks. And players who can’t get sacks (but we still love them for trying).
And we all know which Duck is getting the most sacks this year.
Today, we’re going to talk about how it’s okay to recognize that Kayvon Thibodeaux is going to be far and away the most influential player on Oregon’s team this year.
But let’s set some ground rules:
The rest of the roster is still good and talented.
I’m a self-admitted PopoHead. Dorlus will surprise you all. I love Noah, Mase, and I can’t wait to see a healthy Justin Flowe and a fresh-faced Keith Brown add speed to the linebacking corps. This is far more of endorsement of KT than it is an expression of panic about the rest of the squad.
Scheme will still matter, duh.
Tim DeRuyter’s defense is going to be an exciting change. Avalos was strong, but he leaned heavily on a Nickel system that lives and dies with talent like Jevon Holland and Brady Breeze. After losing their talent and experience, Avalos’ scheme was exposed and ended up leaving the entire defense out to dry a lot last year. TDR’s 3-4, linebacker-developing mindset, has improved the defense at Texas A&M, but has also succeeded at Fresno State and Cal—proving that he doesn’t necessarily need talent to do well (even though he sure as hell has it in Eugene).
I’m mostly arguing with myself.
Sometimes these blogs can be a case of me inventing a fake person to have an argument with, or picking a fight with random twitter idiot that none of you know, but I’m really just trying to convince myself that it’s okay to admit that there’s a singular individual that will define the success of this Oregon team more than any other.
Let’s play hypothetical-doom-future for a second: If the Ducks somehow go out this year and have an all around awful season—where every conceivable thing goes wrong—you could still honestly count on Kayvon Thibodeaux having an All-American season.
Now, it would be a criminal oversimplification to say that the team is just, “KT and then everyone else,” but I still think it’s healthy to explore the possibility that KT is so damn good that he becomes the leading story and focus of the year. And it’s okay to lean into that narrative, rather than do what I usually do and downplay their greatness, while desperately trying to divert attention to the defense or the team as a whole.
It’s okay to not have a Gang Green every year. Especially when you have a Gang KT.
He’s on every big watchlist, every big board, every preseason All-American team, and every United Airlines influencer ad. All of the things that make a player a big fuckin’ deal, Mr. Thibodeaux has it in spades.
And he has gained all of this notoriety despite not exactly leaping off of a stat sheet.
He doesn’t—and hasn’t ever been—ranked in the top ten nationally in any major defensive category, but his clear impact, and the time-tested eye test, has continued to get him noticed by everyone in football as a force of nature.
Unfortunately for KT, he has been more of a pressure machine than a full-on sack monster. So much of his presence on a game is seen either in real time, or upon further film review, and not in the box score.
But he does show up when it counts.
18 combined QB pressures in Pac-12 Title Games (12 of those on USC’s Kedon Slovis), 10 total tackles (4.5 TFL), and 3.5 sacks. Throw in his punt block versus Utah in 2019, and you have a man who loves the big moments more than he has ever loved an individual statistic.
It seems way too obvious, but Kayvon is the first and last factor by which anyone should look at this Oregon team. Quarterback is obviously the flashiest thing to argue about, and the new defensive scheme will be important too, but sometimes the most correct way to judge a team is also the thing that is standing right in front of you, screaming: “I am a phenom.”
And I promise you (and myself) that it’s okay for that to be the case here.
Like I said in the upfront, high praise for Kayvon is not a slight on the rest of the team or program.
There is a massive difference between saying: “Oregon needs KT.” & “Oregon has KT.”
Lucky for us, we have KT. And having KT means that we are much better off than those who don’t have KT.
I usually avoid the “this guy = the whole team” talking point like the plague (if that saying still means anything).
But I am listening, and I am learning, and I am willing to let those little thoughts enter my brain enough to give KT the respect he deserves while he’s still right here in green and yellow.
As a wise paper salesman once said:
“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”
We’re still in the good ol’ KT days, and I won’t try to trick myself into thinking that he doesn’t hold the ceiling of the 2021 season in his first-rounder hands.
Go Ducks.