Oregon, behind backup quarterback Braxton Burmeister, hung with the Washington State Cougars for three quarters but subsequently went down, 33-10, a score that might have been 49-10 if it weren’t for stellar play by the Duck defense. Burmeister wasn’t given much of a game plan by coach Willie Taggart, but that may not have mattered based on the poor play …
Coach Willie Taggart notched his first Pac-12 conference win behind a strong push from not only a much-maligned offensive line and a fierce pass rush from an improving defense, but also a host of capable replacements who were thrown into action after a succession of key injuries cast a pall on the Autzen Stadium crowd. Going into Saturday’s key match-up with unbeaten Washington State …
Oregon’s three-game victory bubble burst in the desert last weekend as Arizona State kicked a field goal with 2:34 left to knock off the Ducks 37-35. After impressive success in non-conference play, the offense misfired from the start and breakdowns in all phases of the game showed that coach Willie Taggart and his staff have some serious coaching to do …
Oregon’s offense has started with a flash and struggled in the second half of all three victories. Play selection has come under criticism for becoming too conservative, but the young offensive line has failed to sustain dominance while quarterback Justin Herbert has been out of sync, particularly in Laramie’s hostile environment in the win over Wyoming. The question is: How …
Setting the edge and limiting runs in the wide open spaces is the first thing coaches must establish in an effective defense. It happens when the end man on the line of scrimmage, usually a defensive end or an outside linebacker, crosses the line of scrimmage, digs his feet in, lowers his inside shoulder to keep outside leverage, and fights …
Chip Kelly used to say that his spread offense, with up to four or five receivers, was designed to let the offensive linemen know who to block on running plays. By Oregon aligning its receivers wide, defensive coaches had to think hard about where they would line up their run defenders without giving up big-play pass opportunities. Oregon head coach …
My friends, we have a new feature on Fridays before each game this season where former Oregon player and retired college head coach Ken Woody, will take an example out of his book “After Further Review” to help fans learn a little more football and know what to look for, and where, in the upcoming game. I have his new …
One of the most common questions I get on the clinic circuit is: “What do you do if you don’t have a running quarterback?” Of course I would like to have a quarterback that throws like Montana and runs like Jim Brown but somehow those guys are kind of rare. So a key ingredient to a successful offense is to …
My friends, legendary coach Tony DeMeo offers wisdom about planning your team’s plays for coaches, allowing fans to observe what coaches should be striving for. This is part of our ongoing football education, and it is fun to ponder these morsels of football truth. Charles Fischer The single greatest lesson that I have learned in coaching is not how many …
My friends, Coach Tony DeMeo continues to share his 40 years of coaching with our readers (both fans and coaches). This time he writes about when your team is highly favored going into, say, a Southern Utah-type of game. It will be a while before Oregon is back in the position of being a Goliath, but those games appear every …
I was highly anticipating this year’s spring game, as it was our first look at both a new offense and defense. Coach Willie Taggart was installing his version of Oregon’s power spread offense, one that is a bit more smash-mouth than what Oregon had been doing. Then there’s Coach Jim Leavitt’s 3-4/3-3-5 hybrid defense. To be honest, I was pretty …
(The two major players above: who was a great player, and who was a CHAMPION? Charles Fischer) A player can be a great player but not a champion. How can that be? How can a player have record-breaking statistics, yet not be a champion? What is that magic ingredient or special trait that allows a player to wear a champion’s …