Chip Kelly Update: Everything’s Good Again …

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive, NFL

… or is it? After weeks of despair and dissension, the 4-7 Philadelphia Eagles rallied to stun the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, 35-28. Chip Kelly outsmarted coaching legend Bill Belichick in their first head-to-head battle. Sam Bradford returned from injury and outdueled uber-QB Tom Brady, playing efficient, error-free football. Best of all, on Monday night the discarded DeSean …

Chip Kelly Update: Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive, NFL

Last week the Eagles lost a tight game to a bad Miami squad, 20-19. And Eagles fans and reporters went crazy with despair. This Sunday, the team was blown out by a bad Tampa Bay team featuring a rookie quarterback (Jameis Winston) who the Oregon Ducks destroyed just 11 months ago. If you thought the infamous Philadelphian negativity would expand …

Shock and Awe — The Oregon Ducks’ Football Hangover Effect

David Miller FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Everyone knows that Oregon goes fast. Duck football is synonymous with speed and tempo and heaps and heaps of points. This article, however, will delve into the mental aspect of the uptempo pace the Ducks have favored is seasons past, as experienced by the Ducks’ opponents. I want to know if there is a hangover effect from playing the Ducks. Before we go …

Despite Lopsided Score, Georgia State “Never Stopped Believing”

Brian Libby FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

When Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston said after last year’s Rose Bowl that the blowout game could have gone either way, it was laughable. When Georgia State’s players and head coach talked after today’s game about having an opportunity in the second half to make a comeback against the Ducks, it was hard to deny. Though undone by four turnovers, …

Hope Springs Eternal for Ducks

Max Thornberry FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Two weeks into the season and as expected, the Ducks offense hasn’t faltered. Vernon Adams Jr. fought through a broken finger to throw for more than 300 yards and extend Oregon’s streak of games with a passing touchdown to 70 in last week’s defeat at the hands of Michigan State. The defense improved in a much tougher contest than the Week …

Incompetent Pac-12 Officials: How Do You Miss ALL of THIS?

Charles Fischer, Mr. FishDuck FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

“Did his head just bob? Was that a face-mask tug on Vernon Adams?” Steve Richardson, a long-time astute Oregon observer and fellow football analyst, stated aloud what I was thinking. We played the run back and yes, it appears that the defender reached up and grabbed the face-mask of Oregon’s new starting quarterback. A minute later we saw the replay up close …

How to Prevent a Panthers Upset

Rory Davidson FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

This week’s game against the Georgia State Panthers may not have the hype last week’s game had, but that’s why this can be a dangerous, early season trap game. The Ducks are emotionally and physically drained after travelling to East Lansing and getting in a dog fight with the Spartans. The Pac-12 season also starts for the Ducks next week, so …

Chip Kelly Update: A Kick in the Teeth

Mark Saltveit FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

The Atlanta Falcons had the worst defense in the NFL last year, ending up 6-10 despite boasting one of the league’s best QB-WR tandems in Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. Dan Quinn was the defensive mastermind behind the Seattle Seahawks during the last two years, when that defense led them to the Super Bowl twice, and an inspired choice to take …

What You Should Know About Georgia State

Kim Hastings FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Good morning, Ducks. This Saturday our boys take a break from Fingergate to play an actual football game against Georgia State. The early point spread lists us as a 40+ point favorite. I think it’s too much. We are facing an experienced and, frankly, violent team. As is our custom, FishDuck.com researched the daylights out of Georgia State to offer you some …

Recruiting Update: Defensive Backs on the Rise

Mark Flores FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

News Lost in the knee-jerk reaction of this weekend’s miscue is the undeniable fact that Oregon’s secondary has turned a corner — no pun intended. Oregon’s youth in the defensive backfield held Michigan State quarterback, Connor Cook, to a meager 192 yards through the air and picked the senior on a second-quarter drive into Oregon territory. While the goal remains at …

How Vernon Adams Can Improve Moving Forward

Jay Garnett FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

Saturday night stung. A loss by three on the road to a top-5 team shouldn’t eliminate Oregon from the College Football Playoff hunt (though it makes the road significantly more difficult), but it sure feels like this was a missed opportunity. Duck Sports Authority’s AJ Jacobson wrote a recap of the game published this Sunday detailing exactly how the Spartans …

Marcus Mariota Isn’t Walking Through That Door

Nathan Roholt FishWrap, FishWrap Archive

In a tale of two games filled with back-and-forth uncertainty, there was one single moment when it appeared the dam holding back the tide of Oregon’s offense would crumble, that despite all the challenges the Ducks faced beforehand, the points and yards were about to flow downhill. That moment was punctuated by, arguably, the most miraculous plays Oregon made against …