Just the words of “Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defense” gets some Oregon fans angry. They did not like it a dozen years ago when Nick Aliotti employed it successfully during our first ‘Natty runner-up showing, and were not happy to see it continued in the second ‘Natty runner-up season after he retired. I paused from my research for a good car accident lawyer in Washington, to ponder some questions about the Oregon defense.
The concept of the “Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defense” is simple and quite effective when you have a high-scoring offense to complement the overall game-plan. I believe we have been seeing it again, but I am not sure it is unintentional, or as the overall design? We know the Oregon offense has the potential of more scoring when needed, and that appears to be primarily in the first half of B1G contests.
The philosophy of BBDB is to prevent explosion plays, and force the opposing offense slowly march down the field, while having to work hard to earn every yard. Long drives against a good defense are not a high-percentage endeavor, thus between punts, turnovers, and field goals–a high scoring team can prevail with this defensive philosophy. The question is whether the 2024 Oregon Ducks are doing this as an intentional strategy, or whether it is a function of the highly talented athletes on the Duck defense?
Fans were complaining about how well Purdue ran the ball on Oregon (208 yards) of which was true. The Boilermakers had a good rushing attack in prior games that were losses, thus their performance was not a surprise. What was a surprise is not scoring at all; Purdue moved the ball up-and-down the field, but could not get into the end zone. It was worse for Illinois in that they had some drives, but could not finish them off. When they did score a touchdown, it was against the Duck reserves.
Oregon has held six of their eight opponents to 14 points or below, and now are in the top-ten in the nation for scoring defense–holding teams to an average just below 16 points per game. Do you think this is intentional, or just the way it has worked out? Let me know in the only Oregon football forum-with-decorum, as I could see making a case either direction.
Brawny B1G? Or Baloney?
We heard quite a bit over the summer about how Oregon is going to have a hard time adapting to the B1G because of the emphasis upon the trenches in this league. The pundits declared that we would “wear-down” as the season went on, especially with an eight game stretch without a bye. (We have finished five of those eight games to date) For many of us devoted-Ducks, it seems that the B1G is having to adapt to Oregon, not the other way around.
This was a spectacular interception by No. 9 Nikko Reed. (Photo by Steven Chan)
Head Coach Dan Lanning put an emphasis on the trenches in his recruiting to build a team to take to the ‘Natty, and not just to compete in the B1G. It is the defensive line that wears down over the course of a game, and Lanning has built it three-deep with players he has confidence in. The absence of No. 1 Jordan Burch has not been as dramatic due to the superb play of No. 10 Matayo Uiagalelei in relief, who now leads the defense with 5.5 sacks thus far. We have noted other players such as No. 52 A’Mauri Washington, who has shown a lightning first step at nose tackle and helped to set up his teammates for tackles-for-losses.
The defensive secondary is now being recognized for the talent that joined the Ducks, and for those who remained, although many could have transferred out. Donte Manning (No. 8) has made some big contributions in relief, while No. 9 Nikko Reed has surprised many with being a starter. His Illinois game-stats of three passes defended, and a tackle-for-loss exemplified what we have witnessed since he made the game-ending interception against Idaho.
We are seeing the emergence of other newbies such as No. 13 Sione Laulea, who at 6’4″ towers above others as a corner, and he made the interception against Illinois look easy. The depth built is not only helping this team survive a rigorous conference, but the speed recruited to these positions are giving our new B1G brothers difficult match-ups. After eight games, I do not see any fear coming from the Oregon quarters…only confidence.
So, are we intentionally running a Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defense or not? Did Coach Lanning design this team with the B1G in mind, or did he just build it to compete in the Playoffs while our new conferences foes are having to adjust to “that team out west?” Let me know your thoughts in the only free Oregon football message board because…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!”
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Photo by Craig Strobeck
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…