Oregon’s 2018 recruiting class looks like it might be the best in Duck history. With a little luck it might be the best in the nation as well. The Ducks have three players who’ll be leaving the program after this year: Roman Sorkin, MiKyle McIntosh and Elijah Brown. High 4-star Miles Norris and 5-star Louis King are already committed. The list of …
Making Excuses for Willie Taggart
In his first press conference as the Oregon Football head coach, Willie Taggart presented his organizing mantra: ”Make no excuses. Blame no one. Do something.” With few exceptions, Taggart has stuck to his commitment to make no excuses. But if Taggart won’t make excuses for the Ducks, somebody must because our expectations for this year should be tempered by the good …
The Stanford FishWrap: Some Positives, and Taggart’s Learning Curve
I hope that readers understand the dilemma that I am in, because if I point out any negative at all — even when the majority of the article is positive — I am described as “bitter” and “going negative” on Oregon. Yet if I leave out the negative? I am regarded as a “homer” and “sunshine pumper.” Since I can’t …
High-Wire or Haywire? CONFIDENCE in Question for the Ducks
Are the Ducks are doing a “high-wire act,” or are we gonna be walking the plank? Either way, at the season’s midpoint, there is real danger below! We need at least one more victory before the Civil War game. Why Oregon Needs a Signature Win Over 60 players witnessed or played in last season’s debacle. Please, not again. Those verbal commits for …
Duck Basketball Returns Almost Nothing, but Has Enough to Beat Anyone
Coach Dana Altman has done it again. Despite losing eight players last spring, Oregon has enough talent to win 23-24 games and enough talent that they should be a Sweet Sixteen contender. Yes, it is amazing. The Oregon roster includes Payton Pritchard, Keith Smith, Roman Sorkin and players you wouldn’t recognize if you stood next to them in the EMU. Here’s …
Ducks’ Season Becomes One Big “What Might Have Been”
Protect the quarterback. It’s Football 101. It’s football gospel. If football had ten commandments it would be etched into one of two stone tablets, just like the original Ten Commandments. But apparently protecting the quarterback in Eugene has gone the way of that mysterious 3rd tablet, as illustrated by the classic Mel Brooks movie The History of the World: …
Charles’ WSU-Oregon FishWrap: “Two Steps Forward and One Step Back”
I am going to write something that is dumber than my usual. In the comments of last week’s article, I expressed my concern about the Ducks getting their butts kicked against the Cougars. It was due to the loss of Justin Herbert at quarterback and how neither QB remaining had neither the skills nor the game experience to carry the Ducks …
Why Oregon Has a “Puncher’s Chance” Against the Cougars Saturday
No one in 1965 said Cassius Clay could beat Sonny Liston, the reigning World Heavyweight champion. The odds were eight to one against the challenger, but Clay trained and thought differently, knocking his opponent out with better boxing skills and tactics. He became one of the greatest fighters of all time, better known as Muhammad Ali. This Saturday our beloved Ducks play …
Road to the Championship: 2019 Oregon Ducks Through the Eyes of Willie Taggart
It’s late in 2019, and another Oregon Ducks football season has just ended. The morning has broken gray and gloomy, rain flinging itself against the glass facade of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex as if delivering a million tiny blows from an angry sky. Willie Taggart swivels his desk chair to look out of his rain-dappled window onto the practice fields. The …
Oregon Football Recruiting: It’s Time to Celebrate
Like the crack of someone opening the first beer at a party, the new Oregon staff is perking up ears and turning heads, giving the program a “national championship vibe.” Oregon signed a top-25 recruiting class in only seven weeks, causing a positive buzz and attracting high-caliber talent. Something has changed. That change is Willie Taggart. Early on, we discovered his amazing ability to recruit, something Eugene has …
How to Establish and Maintain Duck Dynasty
It might seem silly to talk about dynasty the Monday after a disastrous victory against California. Just as the Ducks started to look competent on both sides of the ball, Justin Herbert, Royce Freeman, and Dillon Mitchell suffered injuries. All of this coming at a time when the Ducks are already thin at quarterback (Herbert’s backup wasn’t practicing at quarterback …
Charles’ Cal Game FishWrap: “Who Needs a Quarterback?”
Have you ever had such conflicting feelings from an Oregon football game? Such despair at all the injuries and such pride in how the defense continues to improve in perhaps one of the greatest games by a Duck offensive line – when the team really needed it. Simply put … “I am pissed at the coaches, yet I am proud of what …
