7 days until the season begins, and despite controversy from coast to coast, there will be football on September 3rd. In the finale of this 3 part preview, first, we will have to go back and have a painful review of the National Championship game. Let’s refute the urban myth- Oregon’s offense wasn’t totally dominated physically in this game. In …
FishWrap Friday Game 1 Preview: Oregon vs. LSU (Part 2: Almost Certainly Biased Analysis)
Well here we go, we’re under 2 million seconds (1,296,000) until football season starts, and the tension continues to build as we wait for the Ducks to take the field in Dallas. LSU Defense Let’s just jump right into it; the biggest point of debate is Oregon’s undersized offensive line against LSU’s physical and fast defensive line. The most notable …
Cantu’s Oregon career a cautionary tale in the recruiting hype
He tore the labrum in the third week of summer workouts in 2008, getting tangled up with a safety. It was never completely right after that. He greyshirted that year, enrolled Winter Term of 2009. He shined in Spring Practice, nabbing three balls for 111 yards in the 2009 Spring Game. One of Oregon’s first recruits from Texas along with …
The 1989 Independence Bowl: How Oregon Overcame Years Of Losing Thanks To An Old Pair Of Shoes
It had been a time of great suffering, 26 years to be exact, since Oregon had last played in a bowl game. There had been opportunities, but the heartbreaking trend known as “Duck-Luck” repeatedly reared its ugly head preventing Oregon from elevating itself above the mire; unfortunate injures or odd circumstance always getting in the way. For a time Oregon …
Record-Setting Night For O’Neil and McLemore Set The Stage For 1994 Rose Bowl Run
It was only one game in a season to remember for the Oregon Ducks, a time when the dream that seemed beyond reach for so many years might finally be attainable. For two teammates in particular, it was a night that permanently etched their names in the Oregon Ducks record books, while moving one step closer to the Pac-10 championship. …
King For a Week: The 7-days Jaiya Figueras Could Do No Wrong — Part 3
Part 3: Going Their Separate Ways — Friends Struggle to Succeed On Separate Paths For The First Time For friends Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, their first couple of years at the University of Oregon had seen the pendulum swing wildly. After their redshirt season in 1993 watching their teammates struggle to win, the two roommates had spearheaded the improbable …
King For a Week: The 7-days Jaiya Figueras Could Do No Wrong — Part 2
Part 2: Jaiya Figueras: The hero’s coming out party arrives early in 1995 The 1994 season was special for the players and fans alike. The sting of losing seasons had been washed away with an improbable run to the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth. It was a huge surprise to everyone, except roommates Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, who …
King For a Week: The 7-days Jaiya Figueras Could Do No Wrong — Part 1
Part 1: Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton: Freshmen Roommates Driven to Succeed Every Oregon Duck fan can probably recite verbatim the infamous Jerry Allen call of Kenny Wheaton’s interception versus Washington in 1994, or fondly remember Joey Harrington hitting Samie Parker in stride for an 80 yard touchdown in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, or Marcus Woods flattening BYU quarterback Ty …
Fish Report: Spring Offense
What do I write about our offense this last spring that hasn’t already been written or commented upon? I believe…quite a bit! I got so focused upon the research project of the New Oregon Defense, and it took so much of my spare time, that I didn’t get to my usual wrap-up after the Spring Football game. The last two …
The Fish Report: Spring Special Teams
Why so many “Fish Reports” lately? I like to write when most are not, or about conclusions that I haven’t seen elsewhere, so I frequently let some time pass before applying my own analysis. (or I’m waiting long enough for all of you to forget enough of the games to make you reluctant to disagree!) My game-plan is to write …
Fish Report: Oregon’s New 3-4 Defense
(Please note that this white paper was written and distributed onto a number of Oregon forums in June of 2010, but this article of the White Paper was not published until the origin of FishDuck.com in June of 2011.) What are we doing on defense? I have struggled trying to discern how the defense is different from past years, as …
The Fish Report: The Wrong Perspective to 2010 NC Game?
I have taken the last couple of weeks to absorb the NC game, contemplate my reactions to it, and note what others have written. I must give my wife Lois, credit for once again coaxing me out from under the kitchen table while in a fetal position. She was very gentle in talking me out amid the sobs and my …