This is going to be the most interesting Spring Football Game since Oregon converted to the spread offense a dozen years ago in 2005, and I simply cannot wait. I really should be more mature about this instead of breathlessly panting like a 13-year-old talking about an upcoming rock concert, but I cannot help it. I am Oregon. As I …
In a really fine defensive back class that the Oregon Ducks football team signed in February 2017, one of the headliners is certainly cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. from Rancho Cucamonga, California. Graham was a three-year starter for the Cougars playing wide receiver, safety and cornerback. He follows notable alumni Terrell Thomas (N.Y. Giants) and Gerald Alexander (Jacksonville, Carolina), as well as former Oregon …
In our last FishDuck.com analysis, we showed how the classic off-tackle power blocking scheme has been adapted to the Spread Offense. While those play possibilities are interesting and exciting to me, I am more looking forward to the several ways the Oregon Ducks might merge the Counter Trey into their Smash-Mouth … with deception, offense. The Counter Trey Coach Tom Osborne …
“The difference is night and day.” This answer from a high school coach in Washington stunned me when I asked about the difference in Oregon Spring Football compared to years in the past. This is the time of year when coaches come in from across the nation to meet the Oregon coaches, “talk football” and watch the practices and drills. …
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about which stats are “meaningful stats” — the ones that are important — and which stats are “ESPN stats,” or meaningless ones. How many times have you heard an announcer proclaim that Joe Blow just threw for a school record of 500 yards, and oh, by the way, his team is losing!? Or how …
The two previous football seasons were torture for Oregon fans. Our expectations of winning, even the national title, were crushed as mediocrity, confusion and mistakes became the norm, replacing the dominance, resourcefulness and the high-scoring Ducks performances we had become so accustomed to. The Ducks’ 2016 defense became a doormat of Division I teams. Another year in sports is fast unfolding. …
As a fan of college football, it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the sheer number of recruits and analyses given by coaches and teams during the off season. It can be hard to sort through the noise when sometimes all a dedicated fan wants to know is who is going to make plays next season. Who is going to be …
Football Recruiting Amid a flurry of offers and developments along the recruiting trail, Oregon has scored a major “victory of the future” and is now in the driver’s seat for perhaps its biggest recruiting get to date. Top-ranked dual-threat quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. (4-Star/Eugene, OR), son of newly minted Oregon receivers coach, Michael Sr., has transferred to Sheldon High School in …
My Friends, to better understand the new offense that Coach Willie Taggart is bringing to Oregon–it helps to have the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, give us the basics of what to look for in this new and exciting offense that blends power, deception and speed. Read it slowly and digest the pieces as it is a valuable part of …
When a football team scrimmages itself, it is a zero-sum game: if either the offense or defense has success, it automatically makes the other team look bad. For this scrimmage review, I will analyze why one team was successful rather than just say the offense scored a touchdown so they must be good or the defense gave up a touchdown so they must be bad. Three …
I am often surprised by these Spring scrimmages, but this one was for different reasons than you might think; this is a new offense, and the defense is improved and frankly things are progressing faster on both sides of the ball than I anticipated. Oh, sure – after freezing in Eugene last week from big pelting raindrops and hail – …
A note from Charles Fischer: Today we begin a new Saturday article series, “Coaching the Coaches,” to help teach the young coach to learn from veterans. This article is written by a highly successful college coach, who gives us an inside perspective football fans don’t get to see. The wisdom of what you read below cannot be measured, and you will learn so …
