In the beginning, Oregon’s 2017 season did not feel like its disastrous 2016 season, which resulted in the firing of the entire coaching staff. A new coach had already won the recruiting season by convincing key veterans to return (Royce Freeman and Tyrell Crosby), bringing in a stellar 2017 class and building the foundation of an historic 2018 class. But …
The top and bottom of the food chain is fairly easy to predict. The shark eats the minnow every time. Predicting what happens in the middle of college football’s food chain, however, is another matter. And this is the first season in ages that Oregon fans are entering with general expectations to be somewhere in the middle. Not a minnow. …
I would love to hear from those in management, in coaching or who have had the experience of having a tremendously talented star on your team who is also a constant screwup. We’ve all been there — the Prima Donna, the Rock Star who demands special treatment and, frankly, is worth it for the value he or she brings to the organization. …
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 …
Oregon lost last Saturday. They lost the game, a starting wide receiver and the blindside protection for Dakota Prukop. The Ducks lost a lot – but they did not lose the season. The next few months appear to be headed in one of two ways. At times, the Ducks certainly look like a team that could lose more than four …
For the second year in a row, much to the dismay of national pundits and a segment of the Ducks’ own fan base, Oregon‘s prolific offense will be led by a graduate transfer. With last week’s release of the two-deep depth chart, Oregon’s closely-watched quarterback battle was officially decided (for the opener, at least). Montana State’s Dakota Prukop, one of …
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out As reported by ESPN at the recent Pac-12 Media Days, Washington coach Chris Petersen turned the tables and begged the dogs — to not get their expectations up too high. It’s not false modesty. It’s an honest assessment from the one insider who knows the Huskies best. Petersen also knows that man’s level of satisfaction relates highly …
Something I worried about going into last season was the skill Vernon Adams had in throwing the long-ball, and whether the coaches would allow him to do it. It took awhile, but it became apparent to all that (even with the occasional interception) the odds for a completion were good, and sometimes for big scores at big moments. I know this …
So, I’m sitting here at my couch after watching the game, mouth agape because we actually just beat Stanford. The same Ducks who lost to the freaking Cougs at home just beat the playoff bound machine from Palo Alto. And the best part is that they did it on their terms. The Ducks ran the ball 36 times and threw …
Sitting at breakfast Saturday morning, an older Oregon fan gave me a hearty “Go Ducks!” as he walked by. Then he approached me, leaned in, and with the protracted delivery that lets one know that wisdom is about to be dispensed, he whispered, “… but I don’t think we’re going to win today.” I told him that I couldn’t say …
News Depth on the perimeter has been a subtle surprise around the fall camp cooler with former top-rated recruits Darren Carrington, Jalen Brown and newcomers Malik Lovette and Alex Ofodile grabbing headlines. It would appear that a once-overlooked skill position is slowly molding Oregon’s recruiting profile, a nuance that is paying off with interest from the best the country has to offer. …
With fall camp underway and the entire 105-man roster now practicing, we can look deeper into the questions surrounding the 2015 Oregon Ducks. The team lost a lot of experience and productivity when several teammates graduated, and the 2015 Ducks will have to replace them. Many names that were staples on both sides of the ball over the last few years are now gone, and …