What We Learned: The Marcus Formula

Josh Hall FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Concept of Tempered Steel If you aren’t a huge science guy (I for one am not), you might mistake the process of tempering steel for hardening a metal. While increasing steel’s strength, tempering is actually all about softening a metal through the use of heat to make it more flexible. In season three of Oregon’s best quarterback in school …

Winning the Trenches: The Key to the Oregon Ducks and Philadelphia Eagles’ 3-4 Defenses

Joe Kearns Analysis

There is a reason why defensive line guru Jerry Azzinaro was the one Oregon position coach who joined Chip Kelly on the Philadelphia Eagles’ coaching staff. The 3-4 defensive scheme and two-gap technique are just as important to Kelly as the fast-tempo, zone-blocking, and packaged plays. Azzinaro was Kelly’s right-hand man in installing the 3-4 as the base defense at …

Collegiate Programs Can Learn From the NFL’s Ray Rice Situation

Will Denner FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Note: This article contains graphic information regarding domestic violence. Read at your own discretion. An already nasty situation grew worse on Monday when new video surfaced of now former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his wife Janay in an Atlantic City casino elevator. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to see the video, you know how disturbing Rice’s actions …

Chip Kelly Update: Like Father, Like Son

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Let’s call the Oregon Ducks’ football program the ‘father’ and the Philadelphia Eagles’ version the ‘son’. (Yes, Chip Kelly is the parent of both, but don’t overthink this metaphor into something creepy.) With all due respect for South Dakota State, both teams had their first real test this past weekend, and the family resemblance was striking. Both teams were favored but …

What Mark Helfrich Has That Chip Kelly Didn’t

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

At some point during Michigan State’s 20-point run in the second and third quarters, I recalled a forgotten worry of many Oregon fans: “Wait, did the Ducks ever solve the ‘teams with great defenses shut Oregon down’ perception?” Turns out, they hadn’t. That had been the nightmare that had haunted Oregon for the past five seasons, that its offense looked …

Chip Kelly Update: Here Goes Nothin’

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles finalized their roster this week, polished their trickiest schemes in closed practices and got ready for the season to actually begin. The Eagles are 10.5 point favorites at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, led by quarterback Chad Henne. Older fans will remember Chip Kelly’s second game as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 when the Ducks crushed the …

Ducks — and Fans — Must Rediscover “One Week at a Time” Approach

Will Denner FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

It began in 2009, when Chip Kelly, in his inaugural year as head coach, took a Ducks team to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995. The 2010 season followed with a national championship appearance, and 2011 saw the Ducks end their 95-year-long winless drought in the Rose Bowl. The triumphs of those three seasons combined brought the …

Chip Kelly Update: Cuts to the Quick

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

OK, it’s getting serious now. And Cody Parkey (above) is smiling. The Eagles cut down to 76 players days ahead of the Tuesday deadline and handled it with class. (Their final cut to 75 was an injury waiver for backup center Julian Vandervelde on cut day.) Final cuts to 53 players are due by tomorrow (Saturday). The early releases were …

Chip Kelly Update: Oregon Bias, More Kenjon & Less Huff

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Philadelphia Eagles have gone through the entire off-season with no roster changes at all. Then boom! Heading into preseason Game 3, Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman moved decisively. First they released Jason Phillips, a special teams ace who never came back from an ACL tear. Then the team traded a conditional 7th-round draft pick for former Oregon star Kenjon Barner, …

Duckling Profile: The Awesome That is Wogan

Lawrence Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Anyone that has built a puzzle knows that absolutely every piece is needed in order for it to work. Without all of the pieces, a puzzle can never fully be complete. In the same way, Oregon football has been impressive the last several years, but there was always something missing — a kicker. And without a quality kicker, the Oregon …

Chip Kelly Update: Shots Fired Across the Bow

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The opening skirmish in Chip Kelly’s 2014 NFL season took place last Friday, and while the results weren’t pretty — especially with the starting offensive line — the team showed a glimpse of its potential. The final score doesn’t really matter — it was a 28-24 loss to the Chicago Bears — but the engine of the offense was clearly …

Chip Kelly Update: The Boy King Dilemma

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Eagles begin preseason play against Chicago tonight, and the results don’t matter one bit — for the standings. Chip Kelly told a press conference that the starters will probably only play 10-15 snaps, as long as they look reasonably competent. (If they go three and out more than once, they’ll have to stay in a bit longer.) But these …