Independent Football Commentary and Analysis
8-4. By all accounts an up and down season. Perhaps some optimism but in general most fans are not completely satisfied. There’s a general feeling of mediocrity, underachievement, and that things must improve. Welcome to modern day Oregon football. For historical perspective, in 1990, the Ducks went 8-3 and went to […]
As Charles Fischer pointed out in yesterday’s article, the Oregon offense did take steps forward in the first half against ASU. This was encouraging to see and showed that the coaching staff was willing to open up the playbook to things that have WORKED at Oregon, and weren’t absolutely hell-bent […]
Hopefully, Oregon isn’t there already. The Ducks went 7-5 in Willie Taggart’s first season. We all felt a little better about that because we knew with a healthy Justin Herbert the Ducks would have cruised to a 9-3 record. Coming into this season with “Slick” gone, a new coach who […]
Oregon’s lost to Washington State has brought Oregon Duck fans clarity on exactly where the program stands: Improving, but not there yet. The loss to the Cougars exposed, among other things, the Ducks lack of depth at receiver and lack of defensive play-makers. Most importantly, it showed the lack of […]
Some Tuesday morning thoughts as I finish taking in the Husky victory last weekend before fully turning my eyes towards Pullman and the ESPN GameDay hosting hysteria of this weekend. 1) Recruiting Per Rivals.com, the Ducks currently sit third nationally for the 2019 recruiting cycle. After witnessing the “best college […]
We all know how agonizing last week’s loss to Stanford was, but a lot of good came out of a tough night Saturday at Autzen Stadium. Oregon’s easy non-conference slate offered a chance for the Ducks to fine-tune things and answer some key questions. Unfortunately, on the offensive side of ball, the nonconference […]
The “pre-season” starts this Saturday for the Ducks. Bowling Green, Portland State, and San Jose State occupy the Ducks first three weeks until the real action begins at home against Stanford on September 22nd. Not the typical non-conference slate we’re accustomed to, but you gotta’ play the hand you’re dealt, […]
It’s a fickle business trying to predict college football games. Last season, I predicted the Ducks would got 10-2 then win the Alamo Bowl. Many bashed me and called me a hopelessly optimistic Duck fan, which I found humorous, considering those close to me know I’m much more of a […]
As soon as last April’s NFL draft ended, the draft prognosticators began whipping up their mock drafts for 2019, with Oregon’s own Justin Herbert being projected by many experts as a sure-fire first round pick, and even going as high as the number two pick overall. Hmmm … an Oregon […]
It wasn’t too long ago — the Mark Helfrich era — that when Oregon lost a couple of highly coveted 3-star recruits, a symbolic ”Fall of Rome” would occur in Eugene. In the words of the great Bob Dylan: “the times, they are a changin’.” That’s right folks, have no fear over the recent decommitments of 3-star recruits Marques […]
There really wasn’t anything about Willie Taggart that I was going to miss when he decided to head back to Florida. His game planning was pedestrian, his in-game coaching was sub-par, his media persona was “car salesman-esque,” and his running of Justin Herbert up the gut as if he were Jerome Bettis was utterly mind-boggling. These things ultimately cost the Ducks […]
As the debate rages on about the size and scope of the new Hayward Field, it got me thinking about what was going through the mind of the man who matters the most in all of this—Phil Knight. Could it be that building the world’s premier track-and-field-only stadium brings Oregon […]
