LeGarrette Blount Reinstated, Could Be Key To Oregon Making Rose Bowl

So much talk about LeGarrette Blount, and almost none of it about, well, football. But Addicted To Quack aptly explains why the loss to Stanford revealed that it is on the field where Blount’s reinstatement will have the greatest impact:

Notwithstanding the Ducks’ 51-42 loss to Stanford, they control their own destiny down the stretch, where wins in the season’s final three games would clinch Oregon its first Rose Bowl berth since 1995. It is in these key games, Addicted To Quack argues, that LeGarrette Blount might make all the difference:

From DuckSportsNews.com, via SB Nation’s Addicted To Quack, which is sure to have more reaction and analysis of Blount’s reinstatement:

Joe Schad has just tweeted thusly … more info to follow:

You maybe recall over a month ago (if you don’t, simply scroll down this page) when Oregon coach Chip Kelly publicly stated that Blount would be eligible for reinstatement following their game against Stanford. It seems Blount met whatever expectations were set forth by Kelly and the school. Oregon has three regular season games remaining, followed by a bowl appearance. Their next challenge is Arizona State at home this Saturday night.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly announced today that suspended RB LeGarrette Blount can return to the Oregon football team, but only if he meets a series of “laddered expectations,” and not before the November 7th game against Stanford.Kelly’s own words on the situation:

Kelly met with many experts and consulted with outsiders in the decision, including America’s new Athlete Rehabilitation Czar, Tony Dungy, who urged Kelly to give Blount another chance with the proper conditions. Blount has signed a contract agreeing to the terms he is to live under if he wants to play, and any violation thereof means getting the immediate and final boot from his spot in Eugene.

Oregon blog Addicted to Quack (get it, huh huh?!) has a list of Blount-related links before chiming in with their two cents:

The Oregonian’s John Hunt thinks he might have found the loophole in Chip Kelly’s assumed reinstatement of LeGarrette Blount. Here’s what Kelly said when Blount was initially suspended for the remainder of the season.

Now, if you want to get technical, Oregon will play at least one game this season on a day other than Saturday.

According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, part of the reason Chip Kelly has done an about-face on Blount is the way the LeGarrette has impressed many well-respected people in the community, including football’s favorite reputation-voucher and guiding light, Tony Dungy.

I’m curious to know if these meetings were all separately or if instead this is now the panel that all football players who have wronged society must stand before in judgment.

If the timing of the apology--almost a month after the September 4th postgame incident where Blount punched a Boise State player and threatened to go into the stands in Bronco stadium--seems random, it should not seem random after tonight. A press conference is scheduled for Friday where Chip Kelly will address the issue of Blount’s season-long suspension. The nut you are looking for, busy squirrel, follows:

Blount has practiced on the scout team, but a reinstatement of Blount would be a stunning reversal after an outsized public uproar surrounding the incident. Would it be wise? It depends. Kelly, coming off a 42-3 upset of Cal, can’t be accused of needing Blount in the lineup due to lack of production. The decision would be based on the assumption that Blount had proven to be a good citizen, seemed penitent, and wasn’t likely to do something like, oh, I don’t know...jump into the stands and attempt to assault total strangers.