Honestly Ducks fans, I was planning on writing a much different article today. Don’t worry, there will always be time for spitballing nicknames for Oregon’s offensive line (Mario’s Manhandlers?) Right now, it’s gut-check time. Following the Ducks’ (3-1) heartbreaking 41-38 loss to the Oregon State Beavers (2-2) on Friday night at Reser Stadium, I came to a realization: The Beavers …
In a game filled with frustrating moments, it is only fitting that decisions made on the side of the ball that was having some success (the offense) ended up losing the game in the final moments for Oregon. Where do we start in our analysis, and frankly, how far do we want to go? A porous defense and a conservative …
Since it is rivalry week, I feel compelled to fling some disrespect and have some fun with Oregon State fans. But the team? We need to be careful with snap judgments because this is a highly improved Beaver team, one that is quite capable of beating Our Beloved Ducks and I will explain why. Of course there is always some …
This year’s initial College Football Playoff rankings were bound to be the strangest, for obvious reasons. In a year marred by uncertainty, it was anyone’s guess as to how the committee would weigh factors such as the number of games a team has played, strength of schedule and even games lost due to unavailable players. Although the Ducks were considered …
Good teams win games and lose games, but truly great teams always find a way to win. This does not mean Oregon is a great team, but they are on their way to greatness. Oregon is currently 3-0, and as fans, we haven’t felt good about any of those three wins. Against Stanford, Oregon turned the ball over twice and …
Of course, I hope I’m wrong. The Ducks have (for the most part) dominated the Beavers over the past decade, so like any green-blooded Oregon fan, I’d like to see the carnage continue. But the Ducks have played with fire so far this season by slipping and stumbling past supposedly lesser opponents in Stanford, WSU, and UCLA. A revamped offense …
Picture it: November 7, 2020. Oregon is playing Stanford at home, hoping to kick off a national championship bid season with a bang. Sophomore QB Tyler Shough throws for a decent stat line in his inaugural start, with 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He looks a little jumpy throwing the ball, and the staff compensates by running a lot …
That massive THUD you heard after the game was thousands of Oregon fans with Playoff expectations coming back to earth. This is not what anyone expected coming into this COVID season, and now we are all contemplating how much we need to “re-imagine” our goals for Our Beloved Ducks. (I had to use the new trendy word at least once.) …
In this homecoming … who is the master and who is the grasshopper? Chip Kelly put Oregon on the map years back, but he has reinvented himself, and his new UCLA offense is a far cry from the Chip Kelly offense we were accustomed to in Eugene. Meanwhile in Eugene, Coach Mario Cristobal, with an infusion from new OC Joe …
A few weeks back, I wrote about the possibility of seeing a specific play from Coach Brennan Marion’s highly praised GoGo offense. Though we’ve yet to see the Oregon Ducks implement the two-back look of the GoGo, we did get to see Coach Joe Moorhead’s take on the Mesh Wheel concept against the Washington State Cougars with the kind of results …
As always, I’ve been pondering about Our Beloved Ducks and have been fascinated with the impact of mental issues hitting other teams in the conference. Oregon has met these challenges well thus far, but both the fans and the team may have some trying times ahead. I have written before about the importance of establishing mental toughness, just as Coach …
This is not the year we envisioned for Oregon’s offensive line. We all expected to have Penei Sewell anchor the left side this fall. However, the pandemic robbed us of the opportunity to watch Sewell dominate the line of scrimmage for one final season as a Duck, as he instead prepares for the 2021 NFL Draft. Sewell’s opt-out dramatically changed …