Athletic directors at major schools all over the country are paid handsomely to know what makes a great college football coach, yet time and time again we see coaches fail — sometimes spectacularly — to bring success and a winning attitude to campus. So what’s the answer? Is it recruiting ability, X’s and O’s, enthusiasm, or something else? Some coaches …
Another weekend is upon us and it’s time to take stock of teams that are up, down or right there in the middle. One of the teams listed in today’s report has a bye this week, but the same issues might be present this coming Thursday. Down Low Oregon Ducks – Injuries and defensive concerns galore Give credit to Washington …
Philadelphia played its long awaited showdown with the Washington LOLSkins and it was even nastier and more dramatic than anyone could have imagined. DeSean Jackson has been cocky and attitudinal since he played at Cal. No one doubted that he wanted to get revenge against the team that cut him over the summer (and cost him millions of dollars a …
A pickup basketball game between the football coaches of the University of New Hampshire and Brown University in the 1990s was the first of many meetings between two future NFL head coaches. Then-New Hampshire running backs coach Chip Kelly and a Brown assistant coach named Bill O’Brien exchanged ideas about X’s and O’s on the first of many occasions. O’Brien was …
It’s Breather Week for the Oregon Ducks, who are fresh off another easy win over Washington State. A never-in-doubt, always-in-the-bag, easy-peasy lemon-squeezy win over the Cougars — who were never in it. But, since we at FishDuck.com/imaduckfanbornandaduckfanbredandillitalicizeduntilimdead aren’t just Duck fans, but college football fans as well, we wanted to preview some of the conference games on the slate this week. …
Football Recruiting News Around four months ago, I had a conversation with an Oregon fan who’s very much in the know. Quarterback Kyler Murray (4-Star/Allen, TX/Rivals100) had just committed to Texas A&M and my mood was shot. That someone, however, told me not to fret as Murray was “still in play” and to keep a close watch on the shifty …
Well, it was my best week yet. Not by much, only three points actually, but it was enough to vault me to the very top (No. 1, baby!) of the Fans of Oregon Ducks group. Out of 2,658 people, through four weeks, I’m the cream of the crop. Out of the millions of people that play ESPN’s College Football Challenge, I’m …
Conditioning. Tempo. Team Speed. Everyone knows of these components that the Oregon Spread Offense attacks the defenses with, and it is assumed that process can be confusing for defenses in lining up during the haste before the play begins. What about the other elements of the attack that create confusion? Today we look at how one facet of the Oregon Football …
Marcus Mariota shines under pressure in conference opener The first road trip for the Oregon Ducks was not pretty despite managing to survive. Highlighted by seven sacks, the Washington State Cougars exposed Oregon’s obvious weakness in Week 4. With three starting linemen sitting out Saturday due to injuries, the Oregon running game never got going, and the health of Mariota became a concern. Luckily we have this …
There are those Duck fans with the attitude that anything less than a three touchdown win is just unacceptable, and they are heaping criticism on the Duck coaching staff. Some even go so far as to say that the only reason Oregon beat WSU was a favorable non-call on pass interference toward the end of the game. One writer even …
This is what we wanted, right? The Oregon fan’s burden has always been that there will never be enough respect for the Ducks: that the offense is a gimmick, that their schedule isn’t tough enough, largely due to playing in an underwhelming conference. They’re told the Pac-12 isn’t anywhere near as good as the mighty SEC, winner of seven of …
The Concept of Tempered Steel If you aren’t a huge science guy (I for one am not), you might mistake the process of tempering steel for hardening a metal. While increasing steel’s strength, tempering is actually all about softening a metal through the use of heat to make it more flexible. In season three of Oregon’s best quarterback in school …
