The Featured Photo above is a dandy, as it is from the 2011 game when Nevada came to town. This was a swing pass from Darron Thomas to De’Anthony Thomas that went for one of five touchdown passes that day, and it was a sweet memory in so many ways. The FishDuck.com era had just begun, and when the video below was made (and the picture above), the site was barely a month old. We recently passed our eight-year anniversary, and while things change, in other ways they do not; the game before the home opener against Nevada in 2011 was a tough loss to another SEC team, LSU, at the same AT&T Stadium.
The Ducks bounced back in a big way to smash the Wolfpack by a 69-20 score, and the Oregon offense put on an impressive show of both rushing and passing. Can our Beloved Ducks bounce back in the same way in 2019?
What to Watch for: From FishDuck.com Analyst Mike West
The most important job Marcus Arroyo has at this point is to find ways to get his wide receivers open. In my opinion, this group lacks the speed to open up the running game for the Ducks (against very good defenses). Many will disagree with that assessment, and I can understand why, yet I’ll stick with it nonetheless. What I’m really saying is, if Marcus Arroyo wants a job at Oregon next year, his receivers must have a coming out party against Nevada.
I discussed explosive plays last week and in prior analysis articles (plays that gain more than 20 yards). Even without speed, Arroyo will have no justification for not setting up at least three passing plays that gain more than 20 yards each. That is the most needed development to Oregon’s offense this year. It absolutely must happen this game, or opponents will recognize they can focus on Oregon’s short-to-mid-range passing game.
The Ducks need to block better …
The only other area I believe Arroyo must focus on is sequential running plays to complement Oregon’s core plays. Arroyo has a counter run from the Pistol formation, but we need to see different blocking schemes for the Shotgun zone reads. Although the offensive line played well, they are getting beat on their slant blocking scheme (it looks as though they “sprint” to a location instead of reading the player they are going to block).
This is another coaching area that requires improvement because the offensive line is the most outstanding unit on this team, and it would be a shame to waste their abilities. Look for how the lineman attack (the angles they take) when they are run blocking in this game.
If the offense does not score 42 points or more, Arroyo’s seat will get plenty hot. We should have seen 31-35 by mid-third quarter last week, so fans will have little patience for a “sub-par” performance this week.
My friends, (Charles again) play the video above and click on the time ribbon for the final two minutes and watch what we were doing back in 2011. How does it compare to now? What about the system they had back then versus the system we have now on offense? Don’t be distracted by that lout who is narrating, but consider how the offense was designed; wasn’t that a fun time?
The final line of the video had just been spoken for the first time ever, as it was not in the script. As we were shooting, it came directly from my heart and out of my mouth to say …
“Oh how we love to learn about our Beloved Ducks!”
Charles Fischer (FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon Top Photo by Amazing Moments Photography
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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…