The point of concern following the Tennessee game surrounded Colt Lyerla and his reactions toward what Mark Helfrich had to say about his absence, labeling it as “circumstances.” Lyerla did apologize for his recent comments on Twitter, but Helfrich decided to remain firm with where he stood on the situation. Helfrich explained why he decided to stay consistent with his comments towards players missing practices/games and felt it was the best course of action for his team right now.
“It would be way easier for me if I said ‘this guy was 2-to-4 weeks, this guy has a head cold, this guy has this and that,’ but I don’t think that is the best thing for our program,” Helfrich said. “If a person is suspended for an off-field reason or something of that nature, absolutely.”
As for the rest of the team, Helfrich was pleased with what seemed to be a relatively relaxed practice and is merely focused on getting better on a daily basis. The Ducks still have about two weeks between them and California and they will presumably use this week to rest up and save their more hands-on practices for next week.
“We did some creative things today,” Helfrich said. “I’m going to actually start a website complaining about our play calling today because I had some of the players called both the offenses and defenses. The officiating was spectacular (that was me), but got some good work in; just trying to stay in condition, be on rhythm and still get better for the quote- unquote top-tier guys.”
Helfrich was also in favor of the fortunate timing of having a bye week this week as the Ducks get an extra week to prepare for their Pac-12 opener. Helfrich felt it was a good time for veterans to rest up, while also giving younger players more reps.
“This one (bye week) is perfect,” Helfrich said. “It’s between non-conference play and conference play. Gives our guys a weird opportunity before school … to have a little bit more down time off the field, but you’re still going to try and utilize it the same way; stay healthy and get better.”
The Ducks will have two more practices this week before they head into their prep week for Cal. For live tweeting following practice along with news/recaps, check back here with the Emerald.