2022 Holiday Bowl: The Luck of Duck Comes From Pluck

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

It was fitting that Oregon came back to win in the final seconds of the 2022 Holiday Bowl continuing the breathless endings of the final three games of Oregon’s regular season. Yet this victory can be credited to some good coaching, and some plucky-play by veterans on the offense who came through in crunch time. The puzzling questions that surround …

Dan Lanning: Best First Year Recruiting Class for ANY Oregon HC?

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Recruiting

That is a very tall title…better than Mike Bellotti? Better than Chip Kelly or Mark Helfrich? Better than the recruiting monster Mario Cristobal? We have signings to record up through tomorrow, (the end of this signing period) and possibly in the February signing period as well. But if this is not the best–it will be one of the best first-year …

Oregon Taking Portal Transfers is VERY Risky Business

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

As I start to dig into some of the fine-points of the transfer portal–I realize I’ve been looking at it primarily from the angle of the player, and not the program. Portal transfers can change a team remarkably, and the more I study and ponder it as I do my online betting with Nostrabet–the more my inclinations veer to sticking …

People are Pretty Selfish: Should I Continue the OBD Forum?

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

The Our Beloved Ducks Forum has been a massive sociological experiment that I never saw coming…from so many angles.  So many surprises…so much confirmation of the goodness of people, yet so many heartbreaking moments for me. It has been an indictment of the current culture, one that is not limited to those who are young. These events with those who …

Dan Lanning - Oregon Ducks Football - FishDuck.com in Eugene, OR

Lanning Plays With Fire, Duck Fans Get Burned

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

I should have written this article a month ago when I first felt strongly about it, but at the time I did not want to be a buzz-kill for Oregon fans. Coaches Dan Lanning and Kenny Dillingham have done some wonderful things at Oregon, and I believe in their upside…but they are making some reckless in-game decisions. Oregon fans along …

The Oregon Brand is BACK and is No Longer Chip Kelly’s Legacy

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

You are nodding in agreement from the title and you know where I’m going with this, although I admit that I wish to get the conversation begun in the only forum-with-decorum among all Oregon websites, the Our Beloved Ducks forum. (If you have not checked it out–you should, and look at all the Oregon Sports News posted for you) You …

FishDuck Analysts Offer Insights for Cal Game

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

A fun experience as a fan is discussing strategy, Xs and Os, and the Oregon defense with fellow FishDuck analyst DazeNconfused, who is anything but that. He has written some killer articles with tremendous insights at FishDuck, and for a Cal-prep article–I thought the two of us might have some items to watch for in this afternoon’s game. In particular, …

Will Dillingham Surprise UCLA…With a Chip Kelly Play?

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

There are some interesting items to watch for in this game today against UCLA, as if there was not enough drama associated with this Pac-12 showdown. Yet in discussing some Xs and Os with FishDuck Analyst, DazeNconfused, recently–we observed some new play roll-outs in the last two games within Oregon’s offense by offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham that hint at more. …

Oregon’s Lanning/Lupoi Fire Zone Blitz

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Analysis

The Fire Zone Blitz is still alive and used at Oregon by Coaches Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi when they wish to apply maximum pressure in scenarios with seven yards or more for the opposing offense to attain a first down. Last time we reviewed simulated pressures, where the rush was only with four defenders, but from unpredictable directions. A …

Lanning/Lupoi Blitzes: How Oregon Plays It Safe

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Analysis

Oregon fans were thrilled to learn of the defensive pedigree of new Duck head coach Dan Lanning after leading the Georgia defense to a national championship last year. While most fans would assume there would be a learning curve for Oregon’s defensive players beyond this year, we anticipated seeing more success on defense than what we have thus far this …

Would Willie Taggart Have Outperformed Mario Cristobal?

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck Editorials

These are not two of your favorite people to contemplate right now, but I would ask for your indulgence and fantasizing along with me. I understand how people are angry at Coach Willie Taggart for leaving after only one year, but if Coach Mario Cristobal had been offered his dream job in Florida after only one year–wouldn’t he have bolted …