It was Dec. 1, 2013. With the score at 7-7 in the second quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles marched to the Arizona Cardinals’ 6-yard line. It was at this moment when Chip Kelly unveiled a surprising wrinkle. If Nick Foles was there, who was lined up as quarterback? Meet Brad Smith. …
There’s a lot more to defensive football than many people realize, as this isn’t a little kid’s soccer game with a herd of midgets chasing the ball. What coaches refer to as run fits are more like a well-choreographed dance. Run fits are the defensive responsibilities given to particular players in attacking a blocker or ball carrier either to the inside …
It’s only year two of the Chip Kelly era in Philadelphia, and the Eagles have already overhauled their receiver group. They released three-time Pro Bowler DeSean Jackson and veteran slot receiver Jason Avant. They re-signed Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin. Then, they traded up in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft to select Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews, but the front …
Watching Stanford take on Oregon recently has been brutal for Duck fans, but interesting for coaches, specifically on passing downs as Stanford’s three and four man pass rush really caused Oregon problems. Stanford does a terrific job of making things look much more complex than they actually are for offenses, as we’ll examine. Against Oregon, Stanford targets the Ducks’ offensive line …
The Oregon Ducks use formations incredibly well on offense. Many also categorize them as a “spread offense,” which to most people means 4 wide receivers and 1 running back, or “10 personnel” in coaching speak (1 running back, 0 tight ends). Without getting too nit-picky about the “spread offense” phrasing, I’d like to bust one myth. They use a tight …
The trademark of the Oregon offense since the start of the Chip Kelly era has been the speed with which the ball gets moved down the field. The Ducks have a habit of marching down and scoring in a hurry, and since Mark Helfrich took over last season, not much has changed. Since the Chip Kelly offense took over at Oregon, one …
Chip Kelly didn’t just bring his offensive scheme with him to the Philadelphia Eagles. For the second time in his coaching career, he changed a 4-3 base defense to his 3-4 scheme. To ease this transition in Year 2, Kelly drafted a player in the fifth round who he relied on during the defensive scheme change at Oregon: defensive lineman …
The window for us fans that is the Spring Game revealed much more this year than many would believe as I too had a hard time fathoming what I was seeing on the field from Head Coach Mark Helfrich. Just as he has been aggressive in recruiting and charging ahead faster than previous coaches in pursuing recruits–he is doing the …
The “Fire Zone Blitz” is one of the effective blitzes that the Oregon hybrid 3-4 defense uses to pressure a Quarterback. The Ducks do a great job of bringing heavy pressure with 5-man zone blitzes, and then bringing 4 or often, only 3 pass rushers, but there’s another weapon that helps Duck defensive linemen get to the passer. Having success from a …
The spring season has come and gone in the college football world, it was a teaser sticking around just long enough to leave everyone wanting even more in typical George Costanza-style. It’s often hard to project success or failure based on a few spring practices, and in terms of scheme, most spring games are as bare-bones as it gets. That being said, …
By Charles Fischer and the “Grizzled Ol’ Coach” Mike Morris We have ALL been fooled by Spring Games of the past, as players who starred in these May games would not ever see the light of day on the football field in the fall – or they transferred out. Yet other times they have shown us glimpses of the potential some of …
Thanks to my friend, Charles Fischer, I have had the great opportunity to write about many of my favorite offensive schemes here on FishDuck.com. From the Zone Read Bubble to One Back Play Action to Packaged Tempo Plays, these analyses have been about concepts that are the heart of my own personal offensive philosophy. One of the few core spread …
