What if the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil began a chain reaction that set off a tornado in Texas? This notion raised by MIT meteorologist Edward Lorenz has implications for causation in physics, economics and yes, football. The rise of the spread offense in the 21st century generated a butterfly effect on defenses. Coaches in bastions of the …
The transition from Chip Kelly to Mark Helfrich has been fascinating to observe in many areas, but now we can begin to compare their game plans, since Helf’ has now been heading Oregon for nearly two years. Are there similarities? What are the differences? I laid the groundwork in three videos two years ago that fans and coaches loved, thus I …
We are seeing more of the Mark Helfrich stamp upon the Oregon offense become evident through this 2014 season, yet an old Chip Kelly game plan has remained with the new head coach. Using plays in the playbook infrequently and then storing them for years at a time is becoming a norm for Helfrich and Offensive Coordinator Scott Frost. This …
Maybe this isn’t the same Stanford. For starters, Stanford is already a three loss team, as well as an unranked team. During the past four years when they’ve played Oregon, they’ve always had a dominant lead back. Oregon, on the other hand, always had a running back by committee. Cardinal RB’s Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, and Tyler Gaffney all gashed …
Let’s be real, the Ducks have one of the most dynamic offenses throughout the NCAA. Their ability to rapidly put points on the board causes opponents to feel as if it would be impossible to pull off a comeback. Credit is due where credit is deserved, and it’s always pivotal to point out the certain individuals that fuel that Ducks …
The phone lines between Coach Mike Morris (the Grizzled Ol’ Coach) and I have been burning up as we have been discussing the Oregon coaching staff’s introduction of an increasing amount of Pistol Offensive components into the Oregon Spread Offense. It was the Coach who called and noted the big step-up in Pistol variations against UCLA, but we hesitated to …
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 …
How fun is it to see a new variation of a foundation play of the Oregon offense! The Sweep Read is one of those plays of the Oregon offense that has been unchanged since FishDuck.com introduced the play to football fans more than three years ago. Now we are beginning to see new wrinkles that Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich is adding to …
Let’s take a moment to re-live the Oregon vs Cal game from last season. We all remember the rain, right? In one of the wettest games in Autzen history, the Ducks marched onto a 55-16 victory over the Golden Bears. There is one play in particular that needs to be recognized. It was the first quarter, Marcus Mariota swung out …
With Eagles’ camp opening last Friday, it’s a great time to talk Oregon Spread Offense here in Philadelphia. The success of the Eagles in 2013 excited both the fan base and the local sports media. The extensive coverage of the Eagles, especially their offensive scheme, has brought a new understanding and appreciation in this region for the Oregon offense. I …
As pointed out in an earlier post here at FishDuck, the Oregon Ducks have become one of the premier rushing teams in all of college football and we’ll now examine another reason why. I have written other articles discussing some of the factor’s that play a critical role in their success running the football; including a breakdown of the zone blocking scheme …
The spring season has come and gone in the college football world, it was a teaser sticking around just long enough to leave everyone wanting even more in typical George Costanza-style. It’s often hard to project success or failure based on a few spring practices, and in terms of scheme, most spring games are as bare-bones as it gets. That being said, …
