It’s a fickle business trying to predict college football games. Last season, I predicted the Ducks would got 10-2 then win the Alamo Bowl. Many bashed me and called me a hopelessly optimistic Duck fan, which I found humorous, considering those close to me know I’m much more of a Negative Nellie when it comes to my Ducks. Many saw …
An axiom we savvy Oregon fans and readers of this site know, part of College Football 101, is that when it comes to talent … “Great coaching can help players outperform their recruiting ranking, but to win championships — you must have a roster full of superior talent.” We are all keeping up with the recruiting battles occurring and, while we are …
The Oregon Ducks have lost their edge. Fans know it. Opponents know it. And, most importantly, the rest of the country knows it. At the start of the decade, the Ducks were undeniably the coolest team in the land. They captured the hearts of fans from all over the country, creating a culture based on trailblazing innovation and effortless style. …
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. When it comes to Oregon’s offense over the past decade, this is certainly a good philosophy to follow. Under Chip Kelly, Mark Helfrich and Willie Taggart, the Ducks’ offense has been among the most exciting and innovative groups in the country. Apparently, Mario Cristobal didn’t get the memo. We got our first look …
A subject of great debate with Oregon fans, Bruin boosters and even the sports media has been whether the Chip Kelly offense that he began in Eugene will work at UCLA. I can give reasons in both directions, and I will do so here while providing an ultimate conclusion, a prediction on the level of success Chip Kelly will have …
Some of you must think I’m off my rocker, as Chip Kelly is known for great success through his extraordinary 46-7 tenure in Eugene. Yet he made some mistakes that prevented him from winning the National Championship; mistakes that were not football related. The question on my mind: will he repeat these blunders at UCLA? Did he learn and grow from these …
I once heard a great leader talk about about the Three Phases of Change and couldn’t help but relate it to what we’ve seen with our Ducks and college football nationally. The Three Phases of Change Phase 1—Denial: We can all remember the days of being called a “gimmick” offense while we routinely racked up 50 points. We’d hear the traditional …
After signing day I heard a lot of squawking about this recruiting class and couldn’t help but shake my head. For years Oregon fans have bemoaned the lack of elite line talent on our teams. This showed especially during bowl games against physical opponents from the Big 10 or SEC (I can still see OSU running counter trey over and …
In the aftermath of signing day, as we try to make sense of it all, I compiled a chart (see below) covering the past twelve years of Oregon recruiting to help put things in perspective—from the end of the Mike Bellotti era to the beginning of the Mario Cristobal regime. At first glance, it’s clear that things took a dip …
My friends, it is stunning how much football information is within this site from years of work by so many writers, analysts and coaches. I am creating this article for the sole purpose of simply creating a link for other places on the site to help the readers and coaches to find their topic of interest. To go directly to …
Go to the OREGON FOOTBALL ANALYSIS LIBRARY by FishDuck.com front page to find the articles and links here. Articles about the Oregon Spread Offense under coaches Chip Kelly, Mark Helfrich, Scott Frost, Mario Cristobal, Marcus Arroyo and Willie Taggart are present along with plays and tactics. The Oregon Defensive Articles and Analysis are present on this page as well …
Thank goodness Willie Taggart left. As soon as the rumors started to swirl that he might leave for Florida State, I started hoping he would leave. Taggart’s initial handling of the rumors indicated that he was going to leave Oregon at the first opportunity (even if that didn’t end up being FSU). That would mean instability year after year until …