A pleasant progression to watch in this first half of the season is the mental growth of the team, as Coach Mario Cristobal molds them physically and mentally into a winner. The previously unknown spotlight got a little too bright for them in the game against Stanford, yet many of us would assert that the win over the Huskies would …
Beating Washington: Is the Impact Primarily Symbolic or Substantive?
“I am relieved that I can now wear my purple ties again.” Through the dozen-year streak of beating the bastard Huskies, I have had many ask how I could wear a purple tie to the office. My answer was always delivered with a smile: I would say that, “it is a benign color to me now!” Not so for the …
Husky Win Streak Ends at TWO: Let’s Discus!
I am a muttering mass of protoplasm at the moment; I don’t know how to feel. But I did not want to wait until Monday for my article–we have such a great group here that likes to discuss things–let’s talk about this win! I’ll have my usual opinion/analysis piece on Monday, but tell me what you are feeling, the impact …
Husky Hubris: “Why We Fight”
Why an article about “Husky Hate?” Isn’t the intensity between Husky and Duck fans almost genetic now, like cats and dogs? I cannot alter my near irrational hatred of the Huskies and have written about it many times, yet trying to examine it is difficult since I am clearly clouded by the emotion. Yet what is the major “thing” (as …
Deeper Dive: Freshmen and Offensive Line Improve Against Cal
There was much to wring our hands about in the Cal game, but there is also improvement on this team that doesn’t always get noticed. Although yesterday’s article was the primary discussion piece for the Cal game, I thought I would touch on a few other points that time and space did not allow for. There are many more aspects …
Ducks Continue to Learn as Mental “Yearlings” versus Cal
Our Beloved Ducks are “mental yearlings”? A few of my Greybeard Duck-Buddies wanted to understand the label I gave to the current Oregon football team and why I would come to that conclusion? It comes down to my judgment of the mental component, the game maturity, if-you-will, of this team compared to the past. We have a ways to go in …
Cristobal Introduces the “New Oregon” to Fans and the Nation
“I feel a lot better — don’t you?” That sounds ludicrous to most, but it is my honest feeling the morning after, as my perspective is a little different than most. (Some would say quite flawed at times, but I can live with that). You see, I honestly thought Oregon was going to be clobbered by Stanford due to the …
Changed Your Views on the Ducks? One Analyst Has …
There are some people you always want to learn football from, especially when they understand the game so well and played college football. Guest analyst Justin Samples is one of those people, and he has written many acclaimed opinion/analysis articles at FishDuck.com. I thought I would check-in with him concerning his thoughts about the team after the first two non-conference games. …
The Zone Read: Is the PISTOL a Good Fit for Oregon?
Alright … I was wrong in last week’s article. And not just once, but in a couple of places. I was erroneously applying prior knowledge of the Oregon Spread Offense to the new Oregon Offense that features the Pistol formation the majority of the time. In this article, I will apologize, own up to my errors (each of them) and …
Cristobal Signals the Decline of the Backside Zone Read at Oregon
If you want a fluffy editorial, this ain’t it. I am not going to cover the same stuff as other media — that everyone can already see, such as dropped passes, elite throws by Justin Herbert, improvements on the defense, etc. I will focus on what I am passionate about on offense, and I was dismayed at what I saw …
FishDuck Prediction: “Look for ELEVEN WINS Baby!”
It is easy to stay safe and later ridicule others who stick their neck out on predictions, so I have not been one to worry about the blow-back from my prognostications. I was pretty good last year in predicting seven wins, but we won’t talk about 2016 … as that brings me back to 50/50 like everyone else. We all …