For years the Ducks have been a “bend but don’t break” defense. The problem is, in 2016, they finally broke. In this article, I will be focusing on the pass defense and the immediate changes Oregon fans will likely (and hopefully) see this season. The first thing that must be eliminated is the No Man’s Land technique. This is where the …
Oregon Can Get Defensive Help from an Unlikely Source
Oregon’s biggest problem, as all Duck fans know, lies with the defense. The unit is ranked in the bottom 10 in the country, for a variety of reasons. I have faith that Jim Leavitt can get things fixed, but he is going to need help if the Ducks are going to return to double-digit wins. I believe a strong offense can be a great …
Coach’s Opinion: Welcome to “Snowflake” Football
The NCAA has just outlawed “two-a-days” in pre-season football practice and next, they will probably outlaw any physical contact to complete the sissyfication of the last bastion of masculinity and toughness in American education: football. The NCAA does this all in the name of safety to eliminate debate because any coach that argues against these sissy rules is a barbarian …
Why the Oregon Defense Is Poised for Immediate Improvement
FishDuck Note: Below we have a new writer who played college football and in the type of defense that we will see from the Ducks in the 2017 season. After talking with him — Justin graciously agreed to give his views on what he saw of this new defense in the Oregon Spring Game. We’re learning more football! Charles Fischer …
Analysis: A GUMBO OF SPRING HIGHLIGHTS
We, at FishDuck.com, have presented several analyses of Oregon’s Spring Football Game, all featuring a theme of how the new and improved Duck defense stopped different offensive plays. This week there’s not a definite theme – other than they are “delicious” ingredients to savor. Like a hearty Gumbo’s different flavors, these three plays come together to make a delectable concoction. …
The Improved Oregon Defense: Defending the Counter Trey
For the past two weeks, we, at FishDuck.com, have shown examples of good-to-very-good Oregon defense, taken from the Oregon Spring Game. Last week we looked at the Ducks defending their own Inside Zone Read [IZR], and prior to that we saw good examples of Oregon’s defense containing and stopping the Jet and Pistol Sweeps by their offense. Today we’ll look at …
The “404” Defensive Scheme is BACK with DC Jim Leavitt
My friends, we are fortunate again to have an Analysis from our own Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, as he will be slowly releasing information about the new Oregon Offense and Defense over the next couple of months along with our other superb coaches aligned with FishDuck.com. Do know that the defense that our beloved Ducks will be running is …
Oregon Defense: Encouraging Signs With the “Little” Details …
It is always fun to have a “Skull Session” with the Grizzled Ol’ Coach of FishDuck.com, my favorite, Coach Mike Morris. But this time he came with a notebook where he studied every play of the Oregon Spring Game and had some fun analysis themes to reveal over the spring and summer; but where do you start? There is so much on …
Taggart’s Smash-Mouth, Deceptive Spread Offense: The Counter Trey
In our last FishDuck.com analysis, we showed how the classic off-tackle power blocking scheme has been adapted to the Spread Offense. While those play possibilities are interesting and exciting to me, I am more looking forward to the several ways the Oregon Ducks might merge the Counter Trey into their Smash-Mouth … with deception, offense. The Counter Trey Coach Tom Osborne …
How to Use Meaningful Stats to Improve Your Football Program
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about which stats are “meaningful stats” — the ones that are important — and which stats are “ESPN stats,” or meaningless ones. How many times have you heard an announcer proclaim that Joe Blow just threw for a school record of 500 yards, and oh, by the way, his team is losing!? Or how …
The Evolution of Coach Taggart’s SMASH-MOUTH Spread Offense
My Friends, to better understand the new offense that Coach Willie Taggart is bringing to Oregon–it helps to have the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, give us the basics of what to look for in this new and exciting offense that blends power, deception and speed. Read it slowly and digest the pieces as it is a valuable part of …
The Willie Taggart Offense: Oregon’s New Toss Read Play
A few things became crystal clear to me as I poured over hours of South Florida game footage from this past season. For starters, the offense is just plain cool. It’s a run-first system with a ton of variety and ingenuity to it. This offense is really fun to watch! It’s been said that while designing his spread offense, Willie …