I’ve often wondered if Mario Cristobal has a sense of humor. Here’s a man who intentionally replaced the vaunted Chip Kelly spread offense at Oregon, featuring an awesome running game, with an offense led by a coordinator whose strength is his passing background. How’s that for a head scratcher? But guess what? Old tricks are new tricks in football. Just …
When it comes to having a good defense, the number-one priority is usually stopping the run. Defenses like Alabama’s and Clemson’s have won titles by adhering to this basic philosophy. With championship aspirations of its own, Oregon hopes to join the Tigers and the Tide and have a shutdown run defense in 2019. Here’s how the Ducks will be trying …
For those longing for a return to the program’s peak offensive production of the past, the finality of spring football did not offer much for an Oregon Duck team that ranked 41st in total offense, 49th in passing offense and 54th in rushing offense in 2018. This is not entirely surprising however, as head coach Mario Cristobal emphasized that the …
Stemming across the defensive line is a simple yet effective tactic that new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos will implement in the Oregon Duck defense. In short, stemming is a shift from the defensive line, right before the snap of the ball, used to confuse the offensive line. The better the defense is at recognizing the offense’s snap count, the more …
(My friends, we have a “blast-from-the-past” as we have an unpublished article about star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner from 2015. He has gone on to a career with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, but I thought it would be fun to see some highlights of him while with the Ducks during the long off-season. Enjoy!) Charles Fischer ——————————————————————————————————— The …
Expectations weigh heavily on the Oregon offense this year, no sense shying away from it. The meteoric rise of Oregon football in the early 2000s was fueled by innovation, executed at a blur-like tempo and presented in uniforms unlike anything ever seen. This overload of stimuli throughout the “Golden Era” of Oregon football (2009-2014) has cast a shadow over the …
New Oregon Duck defensive coordinator Andy Avalos prefers that his defense stay multiple and mix up its coverages, but quarters coverage may be his most dependable scheme on the back end. Avalos plays quarters in a more aggressive fashion, allowing his corners to play closer to the line of scrimmage in order to jam receivers and knock them off their routes …
In our last article on the new Oregon Duck defense, we discussed the basics of Coach Andy Avalos’ system. Now let’s get into the two positions that make it go, the Stud and the Spur. Avalos refers to the latter simply as the Nickel, so that’s the terminology I will use going forward. However, first on the list is the …
Is it a 3-4 front? Or is it a 4-3? There is a lot of discussion among the Duck fan base about the new defensive scheme being installed by recently hired coordinator Andy Avalos. In the interest of greater clarity, today I simply want to dive into the look and personnel of the defense. Once we understand the base alignment and …
One of the most exciting and nerve-racking scenarios in football is third and long. You know your team has to put the ball in the air, and the opponent knows it too. Just how difficult is it to convert in these situations? To start, let’s put such a situation into perspective by looking at how difficult it is to convert any …
It is no secret that Oregon fans are gnashing their teeth over the 2018 offense this offseason. Many critics blame Marcus Arroyo for one of the most bland attacks in recent Duck history. The offense looked so simple that, at times, it seemed like even a caveman could predict the plays. Fear not fans, I have faith that we will …
Throughout a long off-season, I often find myself thinking of different plays I’d like to see added to a team’s playbook. Today I want to follow up on my last article with three new plays that I would love to see included in the Oregon Duck offense in 2019. Do I expect these exact plays to be added in the …