The two previous football seasons were torture for Oregon fans. Our expectations of winning, even the national title, were crushed as mediocrity, confusion and mistakes became the norm, replacing the dominance, resourcefulness and the high-scoring Ducks performances we had become so accustomed to. The Ducks’ 2016 defense became a doormat of Division I teams. Another year in sports is fast unfolding. …
When a football team scrimmages itself, it is a zero-sum game: if either the offense or defense has success, it automatically makes the other team look bad. For this scrimmage review, I will analyze why one team was successful rather than just say the offense scored a touchdown so they must be good or the defense gave up a touchdown so they must be bad. Three …
A note from Charles Fischer: Today we begin a new Saturday article series, “Coaching the Coaches,” to help teach the young coach to learn from veterans. This article is written by a highly successful college coach, who gives us an inside perspective football fans don’t get to see. The wisdom of what you read below cannot be measured, and you will learn so …
My friends, this article marks the beginning of a new phase for the site where we are replacing many of our writers with Coaches who write articles and give their opinions about Oregon football. Tomorrow it is an analysis article, while today it is a Coaches’ Opinion article by Coach Ruskin. What you will read are three major observations and …
Processing what just happened in Arizona may take a little while, but Oregon’s coaches are undoubtedly ready to turn the page and get on with continuing to build the program. With a little luck like they had last year, the 2017-18 Ducks could have even more depth, experience and talent. It’s incredible but true. We’ll take the stance that everyone …
We all remember the losses and as coach Dana Altman said, ‘This one’s going to hurt for awhile.’ But there’s so much to be proud of this team for, and so much to look ahead to. The pre-season Oregon started the season with Chris Boucher on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Injuries hit them early, and they played without Dillon …
At one time or another we all slogged through basic literature and were tutored in the Greek structure for the dramatic story, that of Beginning, Middle and End. So if Oregon (my alma mater) was the beginning, and San Francisco (my home) the end, then I feel as though I’ve had a front row seat to the story arc of …
My friends, a play that Oregon seldom ever ran and I lusted for, (in a most football kind of way) was the Counter Play. I love how this is Power-Football, and fits the larger Offensive lineman profile that Coach Taggart and Cristobal are recruiting. Coach Ruskin has been studying the South Florida offense and will have a few analysis treats for …
The title of this article isn’t meant to be phony; it really is true. 10 other conference members heard the “swoosh” sound of Duck feathers flying by them in recruiting … and they are whipping their heads around, looking towards Eugene and saying, “WTF?” Oregon is ahead of all of them but USC in Willie Taggart’s first recruiting season! Sure, …
My friends….the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, and I were pondering this point at a recent Skull Session in the FishDuck ManCave, as it gets to the root of many concerns Oregon fans have had–especially with all the seasons spoiled in the past by injured QBs at Oregon. This article lays the foundation for upcoming articles by the GOC and …
The change of coaching staff has brought about an unexpected vibe beyond what I could have imagined (it figures since being a season ticket holder for 30 years), as I am used to coaching continuity at Oregon, and clearly not used to wholesale change. Oh sure — I anticipated the excitement of the unknown and the hopes of Oregon football …
Mr. FishDuck asked me to have some fun and have a speculative look at whom Willie Taggart’s new Oregon coaching staff might include from his current staff at the University of South Florida. This is definitely going to be fun for me as the naming of each new assistant – whether I saw it coming or whether it’s a big surprise …