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Sean Canfield is playing poised and full of fire for the Beavers this season. (Photo: Ethan Erickson)
Official Sports Report: October 14, 2009 Fire's Brewin' in Sean Canfield's Stomach Commentary Exclusive to Beavers OSR
by Mike Parker CORVALLIS, Ore. — Moments after Jacquizz Rodgers had scored his third touchdown to put the Beavers up 20-0 early in the second quarter this past Saturday against Stanford, I couldn’t help but notice (and comment upon during our broadcast) that Sean Canfield appeared to be yelling something towards the Stanford sideline.
Upon my drawing attention to that apparent happenstance, my broadcast partner, Jim Wilson, chimed in “Yeah, Mike, and that’s the wrong sideline. Keep off the opponents. You’re ahead, 20-0…” I tacitly agreed with big Jimmy, but in the ensuing commercial break after Justin Kahut provided the PAT, I gave the matter second thought.
Had it been someone other than Canfield throwing some noise toward the opponent, I probably would have taken a dim view of such behavior. But during the ninety seconds of reflection before the Beavers kicked off again — and swarmed Chris Owusu again! — I actually came to reconcile Sean’s actions. While not condoning, I stopped well short of condemning. It is impossible to know all that may have provoked Sean, but his emotional reaction seemed indicative of a growing fire in his belly.
As the Beavers head into the second half of the season in Los Angeles a week from this Saturday, I am convinced it is all to the good to see Canfield emoting about his team. From the thrust of his left arm to signal first down against Cincinnati a few weeks back, to the aggressive approach he has taken on his last two quarterback sneaks, and all the way through to whatever he was trying to communicate to the Stanford sideline, I see a young man coming into a mature understanding of what quarterbacking is all about.
It is more than being able “to make all the throws.” It is more than the ability to study film or break down defenses, or evade a sack. There is an undeniable spiritual quality that seems requisite to play the position successfully.
Perhaps by considering a recent (and startling) admission by a Pac- 10 head coach we can get a better feel for the dynamics I am referring to with regard to Canfield.
Jeff Tedford said the following about the 2007 season in an interview carried in The San Jose Mercury News, about the wheels falling off for his Golden Bear football team during and after the stunning 31-28 loss to the Beavers: “Back then, I just focused on X’s and O’s. Instead of spending time…looking for things in the locker room that were maybe getting us down, I spent all my time trying to come up with plays. So I learned a lot as a coach that year that there’s a lot more to it than just X’s and O’s. To keep your team motivated, to keep their confidence up and keep them together is a big thing.”
I consider this a candid admission in that most would probably agree that Tedford’s newfound illumination has brought him to grips with a fundamental tenet about coaching he should have learned long ago. Yet good for Jeff to own up to an apparent flaw in his approach. That he is an excellent football coach with uncanny acumen in the X’s and O’s no one has ever denied. But, as he admits, “there’s a lot more to it…”
And so is true with the quarterback position. Guys in the huddle need to believe in their trigger man. Not to say that Canfield has ever reminded me of the Dennis Hopper character in Hoosiers, but that team from the wonderful movie turns a corner during a timeout when the besotted coach is able to clearly communicate “the picket fence.”
There is something special, even profound, about someone looking you in the eye and, in effect, saying, “We’re going to get this done.” With each passing week, it strikes me that that’s exactly what Canfield is communicating, whether to his own teammates or, as we saw Saturday, to the opposite sideline.
The entire Oregon State team played with tremendous passion against the Cardinal. I sensed during the week that the Beavers were getting a little tired of the “who can possibly stop Toby Gerhart behind the giant unbalanced line?” story line. Mike Riley said as much to me during Beaver Sports Talk on Thursday night from McMenamin’s across from the OSU campus. He said, on the record, that he had gathered his team after practice and said, “Hey, let’s get ‘Quizz more yards than Gerhart… Let’s get James more return yards than (Chris) Owusu.”
Then, in his final remark on our pre-game interview about an hour before kickoff on Saturday, he transposed a statement he had made earlier in the week. On Sunday he had said, “This is not a good time to be catching Stanford.” By Saturday he said, “This may not be a good time for the Stanfords to catch the Beavers.” By Riley’s standards such a statement is borderline bravado. But it reflected the sort of chip on the shoulder attitude that has proven to be a spur to good works for many Oregon State football teams. Riley’s demeanor was reflected in Canfield’s feisty play.
With the mighty USC Trojans up next in Los Angeles, coach Riley is back to his more understated rhetoric. When a reporter asked him about the extra time to prepare, Riley said sardonically, “We’ll need it.” There is no question that the Beavers will benefit from the extra time to heal physically and to get ready tactically for trying to get over a hump that has stymied them for nearly half a century.
Whatever the cautious and respectful tone Mike and his coaches and players will strike in the coming days about the challenge ahead, I fully expect that by the time I conduct my final interview before the kick off on October 24th that I will be looking into the eye of a man who believes in his team and will believe that it is capable of victory. I expect that belief to be shared by his quarterback and the rest of the Beaver players. If Sean hits a big play for a touchdown early and pumps his fist a bit, good for him. I think even big Jim will agree.
